Holy Cow! What a great race! And we won to boot!!

A Couple of Happy Fellas …

We sailed the last 24 hours knowing our two main competitors were both within 7 miles of us. Caught in a turbulent and unpredictable weather system, Matt’s mind was revving at full-speed playing out all sorts of different scenarios. Once we crossed with our competitors though, and knew what strategy cards they were holding, and which ones they were playing – we agreed on the perfect scenario for the situation, which was to do whatever it took to stay between our competitors and the finish line!

The 6 hours prior to coming into the harbor in New York City were pretty tense, as we could see Lecoq Cuisine and 40 Degrees directly behind us, closing the gap as they rode a new wind shift which was giving them a speed edge. At the same time, we knew we would eventually get that same wind, and so be able to hang onto our position. The wind eventually did increase, and when it did, it gave us a nice 20-25 knot push downwind to the finish.

In the course of it, all we had to do was to complete three perfect gybes, which in such winds with a crew of 8 … is doable, but with only the 2 of us … well, it can put you into a kind of death grip and leave you with a helluva mess to clean up. Anyway, the first two gybes went well … but on the third, we had a mess-up when we found ourselves in a compromised position with a huge freighter that was bearing right down on us! Somehow, we cleared it and got out of the way just in time! And in all that, I found time to set up the video camera. I figured we had done two great gybes, and so I thought let’s video the third one to show people. So, during that third gybe, the video was running … right through our near screw-up. I’m planning on uploading that tonight … so stay tuned!

Atlantic Cup Interview w/ Matt & Dave at the Finish Line …

Following that encounter, we opted to throttle back some, took the spinnaker down and put up the jib. We worked our way to the finish, kind of in slow motion … surrounded by ships and pushed back by an outgoing tide. We knew Lecoq was gaining on us quickly towards the end, which forced us to put the spinnaker back up again and close it out that way.

The Morning After …

So, all in all, all is very good – all boats and crew arrived safely … and Bodacious Dream took first place … leaving us with a full tank of memories, more of which I’ll share in the next few days. (Many more things are being shared too on our BD Facebook Page.)

Now for a little wind-down time – off to get some food and then some rest, before finishing up our clean-up of the boat. (Remember Leg 2 of the Atlantic Cup starts this Saturday @ 2pm!)

So, hang tight and we’ll have some videos and photos ready to share here soon.

Thanks again,

– Matt, Dave & Bodacious Dream