Category: bermuda race

500 mb and the Gulf Stream

Today was the last day of class with Lee Chesneau, we discussed the 500 mb charts in weather. We had a guest speaker, Frank Bohlen who has spent most of his life studying the Gulf Stream. It is such a large feature and contains so much energy, it has a very real impact on weather.

  We only scratched the surface on these subjects, but it points us in the right direction to learn more

I have been stopping each time I return to newport crossing the bridge to check on the progress of the Ospreys that are nesting near the marsh. splendid creatures. I cannot wait to see the offspring.

WHAT IS BIG?

I had trouble fitting “Mirabella V” in the frame. That is” Leopard of London” which is 100 feet long on the outside of “Mirabella” The dark mast through the rigging of “Mirabella” is “Speedboat” also 100 feet long. Both of the 100 foot boat have power assisted winches and canting keels, which means that the engine must be running pretty much all the time in order to sail the boat. They sail with 18-25 people as they are all needed to make sail changes or any other big changes, like a jibe.
   Both “Speedboat” and “Leopard” are in Newport waiting for a weather window to make an attempt on the monohull transatlantic record. Because they have power assisted winches they can never own the outright record held by “Maria Cha” set in 2003
   “Speedboat” is also entered in the Bermuda Race starting June 18th, where I am certain they would like to set a course record as well.
    “Mirabella V” is, I believe ,still the largest sloop in the world. Despite to fact that everything is done by a computer and power, I have trouble conceiving of managing anything aboard her. Just the sheer size of the gear and the loads generated are mind boggling. The photo of people standing next to the headstay turnbuckle should be proof enough. This photo is courtesy of Bill Coleman.
   I am thrilled to see these boats and glad of their existence I am anxious to get back to the thread of the 12 meters and the America’s Cup.

196 Entries for the 2010 Bermuda Race

196 entries is a healthy number any time, for a race like the Bermuda Race. 635 nm in distance at a magnetic course of 162  degrees. The start is June 18th, therefore the weather will be what the weather will be.  Add to that the Gulf Stream as a race course feature. It is not always possible to take full advantage of both.  The Gulf Stream is like a barrier or fence in the Ocean that you have to climb over to get where you are going.
  Kitchen Shoals is your landfall/turning mark, before finishing off St. David’s light

Safety at Sea

St. Partick’s day weekend in Newport. The Safety At Sea Seminar also took place. The weather outside was some of the worst we have experienced in some time;sixty knots of wind and over 5 inches of rain.

Personally the trellis I built blew over and broke in several places. It had with stood many storms and I had developed a false sense of security about it sturdiness. Nothing that can’t be repaired.

I am now certified for the next five years as far as US sailing is concerned. On sunday I was certified in CPR and First Aid.
There was some new gear exhibited. Of note was the clothing made by Ursuit.
Overall this was the best organized and best presented Safety at Sea Seminar I have ever attended.
Finally Peter Becker and Stan Schreyer were also being certified before they take off in IMOCA 60’s to set a record between New York and Barcelona.



more Carina memories, the big mouth frog.


In 1971, I was preparing “Carina” for another trans-atlantic crossing to Cowes for the Admiral’s Cup. “Carina” was again part of the 3 boat team representing the United States.

I had “Carina” tied to the dock at Indian Harbour Yacht Club; a man approached me saying he had these things, cold light, recently invented by him, and he was not yet sure what they would be useful for. He gave me some for the trip asking if I/we could provide feedback to him about possible uses.
As we all know today cylume is so big and commonplace that no one probably asks where they came from or when.
During the crossing, we mostly played with them, for amusement. I did use one while working on a leak in the compressor for the refrigeration, but really because it was available.

BERMUDA RACE 1970

As I continue to “mine” my papers and photographs, new material comes to light. I have previously written about my “Carina” years and the Nye family. Not enough can be said about their involvement in yachting. Here are copies of the Bermuda newspaper after our win. and a photo of Bodie Rhodes and one of his daughters Robin.

I do not appear in many photos, so this is unusual. I will also mention, if I did not before. We rounded Argus tower ahead of “Ondine”(73 foot Tripp design) boat for boat.

BURT DARRELL

I first met Burt Darrell in 1970 after the Bermuda Race. We had work done at his yard. In the succeeding years I would always visit and help out at the yard, as the finish of a Bermuda Race would push the limits of the usual island time. I looked forward to it, as I was rewarded with many stories of the sailing past. He was a man of enormous understated charm. Often I was invited to lunch at his house, again understated, well hidden from the public. A house he built himself with lumber salvaged from wrecks on the reefs surrounding Bermuda. The House was built of teak.

It was not unusual for someone of note to turn up for lunch as well.

Burt was an accomplished sailor in his own right having won the King Edward VII Gold Cup six times, in addition to his other accomplishments.

Burt would come to Newport for the America’s Cup races. He, like many real sailors wanted to “look under the hood” . It wasn’t the glamor, but the technology that attracted him.
In 1972 a hurricane crossed the fleet on it’s way to Bermuda. We were in need of repair, like so many other boats once we arrived in Bermuda; and were due to sail in the Trans-atlantic race to Spain to boot. I worked furiously at Burt’s yard on our projects, helping haul other boats in between.