BD Atlantic Crossing/ Ode to a Kitchen Timer – Day 2

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So, Day Two is in the logbook … 282 miles so far over two days can’t be called fast progress. But, we knew from the forecasts, that these first days were going to be slow going wind-wise – but what the heck – they still count to the progress home.

Nonetheless, we’re working the game plan here. I’m motoring towards the island of Madeira now where I will refuel, and do some more weather checks. The weather pros think the winds will be filling in within 12 hours of my being ready to leave Madeira, so I may just have to spend another night in another exotic port of call before shipping out. If that forecast holds true, by Wednesday, I think I’ll be able to say I’ve no place left to stop other than the Bahamas, Florida or Charleston … which at that point will mean, I’ll REALLY be heading across the big “pond!”

Ode to the Kitchen Timer!

One thing people often ask me, is about sleeping when sailing by myself. Well, with that wonderful invention called the kitchen timer, I am able to keep myself from falling asleep for too long a period of time. Typically, we figure that the horizon is about 15 minutes away. By that we mean, at the speed we are traveling relative to the closing distance of a ship still just over the horizon (the curve of the earth) the two vessels would take about 20 minutes to cross each other. That means that any ship that I can’t see that is just over the horizon, is about 20 minutes away. So, I set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes and clip it to the collar of my shirt or coat, so it beeps me awake, at which time, I take a critical look around and if there are no shipping traffic or navigation problems, I set it for another 15 minutes and lay back down again. This works pretty well, once you get used to trusting the timer. I’ve conditioned myself now to fall asleep quickly, and I usually wake up just before the timer goes off.

Along coastal routes, the shipping lanes are pretty much predictable, but fishing boats can appear from anywhere. Once out in the open ocean, bigger ships can be going in any direction, and so more vigilance is necessary. While I only saw one ship last night, I’ve seen a dozen today heading in both directions. I suspect many of them are headed down towards the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.

Dave's Alarm ClockThis little kitchen timer is great for many other jobs throughout the day too. The way Bodacious Dream is constructed doesn’t afford a great many visual observation points forward, so when I’m doing chores, I keep the timer going to remind me to look out every once in a while. They’re quite useful … so I always keep two of them onboard … just in case!

As far as how I keep track of time, I stay locked into Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) on the trip for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s the same time as Portugal is on, and so my watch is already set to it – and second of all, the weather forecasts come out on UTC time, so it makes it easier to keep track of them. In fact, I won’t change my watch back until I settle into a North American harbor. This might confuse some people, but it keeps me clear and consistent as to what time things are happening. The only problem is the shifting time of the sunrise and sunset … they keep arriving at odder and odder times in the day – but that gives my mind a bit of exercise in referencing what day and time it is.

Right now, it’s 16:00 UTC (4:00pm) and maybe an hour and a half until sunset. The sun sets early here and rises later than at home. Sunrise this morning wasn’t until 08:00 or so. Makes me miss the long summer days back home, when we competed in the Mackinac Races, when the sunsets and the skies didn’t go dark until 22:00 (10:00pm) – and the skies grew light again around 04:00 in the morning!

Here on the ocean this time of year in the mid-latitudes, with the sun working its way to its furthest point south, there’s a good 12 hours of darkness. It makes you have to plan ahead, what you have to do and when you plan to do it. Changing clothes for the night, for instance, is easier done when it’s still light out, as are things like preparing food. Right now, I’m having an evening cocktail hour repast of orange juice, cheese and crackers! It’s always the simple things in life that keep you going!

The only wildlife I’ve seen so far on this trip has been a few dolphins that came by to play this morning. It’s always great fun to see them. They sure do look happy swimming and jumping along with us.

So, with evening coming on, I’m going now to get things squared away on deck. With just a sliver of a moon, darkness will fall quickly … so I better get busy. Signing off for now, and many thanks for following along.

– Dave and Bodacious Dream

 

BD Atlantic Crossing/ A Sky Full of Stars – Day 1

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I left Cascais, Portugal and slipped into the open Atlantic late-afternoon on Friday. After reviewing the latest weather forecast, my thoughts turned to fuel … so I stopped and purchased four more containers and filled them up on the way to the marina. I think I now have enough fuel to power me through light winds until I can fall in with the trade winds that will carry me home – though that may not happen until I get a couple hundred miles southwest of the Portuguese island of Madeira.

An earlier sunset....
An earlier photo of sunset … as I won’t be able to transmit photos while at sea.

The seas have been pretty large, churning waves left over from the previous storm I had to wait out in Cascais. Now, with winds at less than 10 knots, the seas still push us around a lot. Other than that, it’s the constant drone of the engine and the wondering about what might lie ahead. Presently, I’m making about 170 miles a day, though Bodacious Dream can do 250 easily, if the winds and directions are good.

The air temperature is not too cold; a light jacket suffices. The skies last night were beautiful – full of sparkling stars and large breaks between the clouds. Today, the sun was out for much of the morning, then cloud cover moved in, and if the forecasts are correct, it will be like this for a couple of weeks. Then, once I get closer to land, I may run into some snow! So I’m enjoying the extended fall while I can.

My food stores are plentiful … lots of fruit, cheese, chicken and beef jerky to augment the freeze-dried dinners. Then there’s my chocolate stash, carefully calculated to last the trip. Beyond that, there are a few extra treats reserved for “momentous” occasions. Meeting up with the trade winds will likely bring out the Chips Ahoy cookies, while reaching important one-quarter and halfway markers, may need to be celebrated with Hershey’s dark chocolate kisses.

– Dave

BoDream News/ The Long Journey Home

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Hello All!

Well, I’m back in Cascais, Portugal and happily reunited with Bodacious Dream. She’s been sitting here patiently since early November, waiting for my return from the visit back home. Fortunately, she’s been looked in on from time to time by various friends passing through Cascais, as well as by some fine local sailors. All is well with her, though she does seem a bit lonely! Or maybe that’s just me.

It was a great visit back home – a chance to reconnect with family and old friends, and to catch up with my life as I left it back in late June.

We had another grand Thanksgiving this year with 30 or so people gathered for dinner, and another six or eight dropping by over the course of the evening. As a kid, Thanksgiving was held at either our family’s house or my Aunt and Uncle’s place and at both, there was always a card table set up for the kids to sit at, far away from the main table. That never seemed right to me, so now I make sure that there’s a seat for everyone at the big table!! This year’s table was 26’ long and extended fully across the living room … starting in one corner and angled diagonally to the Northwest directly in line with the light of the setting sun. The living room looks out across the waters of Lake Michigan, and with a fireplace at one end of the room, it has always made a perfect place to host Thanksgiving!

Once again, the tables were filled with an embarrassing abundance of food – the main event being the turkey of course, with Great-Grandma Hall’s stuffing and fisherman’s potatoes alongside the many smaller gourmet dishes and extravagant desserts brought by family and friends. As the evening unfolded and the fire burned bright, we were entertained with a wonderful reading by Harry Mark Petrakis from his biography Stelmark, as well as by the mighty musical talents of our friends … from great blues singing to fancy classical guitar and mandolin. Topping off the event was the annual lighting of the big outdoor evergreen Christmas tree. Gabe and Cameron, the youngest among us, were the honored guest lighters this year! There certainly has been so much to be thankful for this year, and there among such a warm and lovely circle, I believe we lived the day well.

Thanksgiving in Indiana

Holidays serve a special role in that they allow us to reflect on where we’ve been since last we gathered, and where we might be headed in the year to come.

This past year has been something of a whirlwind … beginning with Bodacious Dream’s launch almost exactly one year ago. After months of outfitting and prepping – beginning in late spring, Bodacious Dream and I along with various (and stellar) crew members journeyed up the East Coast from Charleston, SC to Newport, RI to New York City and to Quebec City, Canada. From there, we raced up the St. Lawrence River and across the North Atlantic to St. Malo, France, and then down the French coast with memorable stays in the port cities of Cherbourg, Caen, Lorient and La Rochelle before turning our attention to the return voyage back into U.S. waters.

The approach of Hurricane Sandy at the end of October caused us to put the crossing on hold, and to leave BoDream in Cascais, Portugal until more stable weather could be anticipated. Now I’m back in Cascais, and planning to set sail later this week, thus completing the circle to Charleston, South Carolina where the whole season of racing began with the Atlantic Cup Race back in May.

We’re closely following the weather again, and looking for a window to leave Portugal and head a bit south to pick up the trade winds which will take us west towards the Caribbean before swinging up the coast to Charleston. There we’ll set the boat up for the winter, and use the time to complete some work to prepare her for her next adventure. Right now, there’s another low-pressure storm lurking around the Azores that looks like it will delay my departure until Friday, December 7th.

Weather for Mid-Atlantic - 12.04.12

So, that leaves about 3800 miles or so between Cascais and Charleston, and depending on how fast I can sail, I’m expecting it will take between 14 and 18 days. So, there’s a pretty fair chance I’ll be spending Christmas out at sea, which should give me an unobstructed view of any mysterious comings and goings in the sky on Christmas Eve.

To keep things festive, I’ve got one on my favorite Christmas music albums loaded onto my laptop, so I can listen to some sailing Christmas music during the trip. It’s a great CD for sailors called Christmas Goes to Sea by Lee Murdock. It has some fine traditional sailing songs of the season along with some lovely instrumental tunes! Lee is a great musician, as well as a historian of sea lore and songs. I’ve been following the talented fellow for over 30 years now. My favorite tune is Blessed Christmas Morn. If you like, check out his work at www.leemurdock.com

As always, I’ll be giving it my best to deliver updates along the way. I’ve heard from so many of you who enjoyed my earlier sporadic updates. I want you to know how much I enjoy being able to share these adventures with you. So … stay tuned … next updates will be from the Atlantic Ocean! Look for them via email when they are substantial enough – or head on over to our Bodacious Dream Facebook Page for more occasional updates. And “Like” us over there on Facebook, if you haven’t already done that. That’ll make it easier for you to follow along.

Until my next update … a fine holiday season to you all!

– Dave & Bodacious Dream

BoDream News/ Autumn in Portugal

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Hello from Portugal, where I’m told the American Embassy and the U.S. Navy are both looking for me!

Not that I’ve done anything wrong, it’s just that one of our crew friends has close connections hereabouts, and they would like to properly welcome me to Portugal! Haven’t gotten over there yet, but hopefully will, before I depart. I have to say, from what I’ve seen so far, Portugal is a wonderful place! Such friendly (and pretty) people, and it seems the perfect time to be here – the summer crowds are gone, but the warm vibrancy of the old town of Cascais is still around.

The View across the Harbor...

I sailed in last Sunday. The trip down, which you know (if you read the earlier update) was quite the ride, all worked out well in the end. The part I hadn’t planned for though came right at the end, as I sailed in towards Lisbon. At that point, the lollygag of a sail I was expecting, turned into a 35 knot upwind haul. The gusts and spray were incessant, and I admit I was not properly prepared for that. I only had a “waypoint” on the GPS to head for, and I hadn’t studied the charts much, as the earlier forecast was for no wind and an easy sail into the harbor. So there I was, leaning into the cockpit cowlings, tracking the GPS and chart plotter, steering around waves and wind, all the while getting tossed about by churning currents. It all made for a pretty intense four hours, as I slowly plowed my way towards the port of Cascais.

Portuguese Wind

At one point, I considered turning around and heading back out to sea… to the safety of open water. The only problem was that the next port, Madeira, was some distance away, and I would risk running low on food and water. So, I pressed on to at least take a look at the harbor, and to see if I might find some way to enter it and find dockage. As I came closer, I started to think it would be a bit sporting to give this a try. I figured if I stayed focused on the task at hand, I could do it. I set the boat up so that I could moor on either side, and after a time, I entered the harbor where I took the first available slip I could find. Fortunately, it was a slip suitable for a 150′ yacht, so I made a good (and spacious) landing. I’m embarrassed to say though, I needed all 150 feet to get the job done. But like they say about flying, anything you can walk away from is good!

With some help from the harbor master and crew (and after a good cleaning,) I am now situated in a nice slip, and Bodacious will remain here until I return around December 1st and make plans to sail to Charleston, S.C.. We’re all hoping this ferocious hurricane season will be over by then! Our hearts go out to all those souls lost or displaced by Sandy. News of the hurricane (as well as the storms on the Great Lakes) has kept the sailing community buzzing around the wi-fi hot spots in the harbor. On that score, I’ve been a bit hampered. Just as I got settled here, my computer crashed. In an early morning emergency call, my go-to guy, Jonathan, convinced me NOT to fling the damn thing overboard, but to bring it back home where he would dissect the problem and recover the data.

In the meantime, I quickly purchased a mini-computer so I could keep up with emails and such. Frugality suggested I buy the least expensive one on the shelf, which seemed fine, except for one thing… it has a very small Portuguese keyboard.

A small computer to be sure..

So accounting for clumsy typing, and things not being where I am used to them being, my emails are looking as if I’ve been over-sampling this country’s fine port wines. Fortunately, with the great editing help of Mark Petrakis, you likely won’t notice this. Mark has been receiving my updates and emails in various “soaked” states, and drying them out into more readable forms – which should also help explain the mystery surrounding the sudden improvement in my writing, grammar and spelling skills. Thanks Mark!

And if things go right, we’ll soon have a whole bunch of photos AND videos from the summer, to hold you through the long winter.

I’ve got one more story to share. I found a great little Irish bar here in Cascais, where folks like to gather in the evening for a bit of conversation and music. I was finishing up a beer when a gentleman walked in, and as often happens, gave the stranger a friendly wink and a nod. He asked where I was from, thinking perhaps I was from Belgium or France. As we got to talking, he told me he was from a Portuguese fishing family… and he said… “we never really understood sailing.” As we talked, I told him of the trip in and of the porpoises and how they played and cavorted about the boat for hours late at night, and how I was sure they had something very important to impart to me. He smiled and said… “they are happy you have taken the time to come to their world, a place you aren’t supposed to be… and so they come to play and visit with you.” The twinkle in his eye told me so much. I thought this must have been something that his grandfather had told him as a young boy, and I imagined him at that age, leaning over the bow of their fishing boat, laughing and talking to the dolphins – as all of us who have encountered those wondrous creatures, cannot help but do.

So, while Portugal is lovely, it is time to head back home. So come Saturday, when some of the boaters in the harbor will head south to Madeira, I’ll be heading to the airport for a flight home. I’ve not been back there since June, and it’s time to catch up with family and friends and have a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving, one in which I will be thankful for so much and thinking of so many of you.

– Dave and Bodacious Dream

BoDream News/ Outrunning a Storm!

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Cape Finisterre, Spain

Sorry that my recent updates have been short and few in number. In the midst of taking advantage of an easterly wind to get me clear of the notorious Bay of Biscay and on towards the equally challenging Cape Finisterre, this easterly wind came with warnings of a very strong wind front forecast to reach Cape Finisterre at approximately the same time as Bodacious Dream. It became imperative then that I move as quickly as possible towards Cape Finisterre, and try to round it before the winds arrived.

The first two days out of La Rochelle would have been “champagne sailing” any other time, but for this urgent need to make haste, and to use every option available to do so. As you can imagine, when you are focused on something as specific as hitting a time target 60 hours in the future, you forget to look around and realize how nice the sailing is. It was indeed beautiful…warm – nearly clear skies but light winds. I had to remind myself a number of times just how lucky I was to be there.

I hadn’t made any mention of the strong winds at Cape Finisterre, because I didn’t want to alarm anyone, but the forecasts were calling for winds accelerating north and west of the Cape at 50 knots. No matter how I recalculated my course, I was scheduled to arrive at the Cape no sooner than 00:00 (midnight) while the winds were forecast to kick up between 01:00 and 03:00. To make things worse, every forecasted wind and pressure change along the way occurred just as predicted, so there was little use in hoping the forecast was wrong. Any delay in my passage would mean sailing through 50 knot winds.

Some of you know about winds and wind strengths, while others don’t. An example of a good sailing day would be 10-15 knot winds – nice and comfortable going.  A fun and exhilarating day would be 20 knots. 25 is going to be a bit sporting, and only enjoyable by experienced sailor. 30 is just plain hard work for any sailors, experienced or not. At 40 knots there is little pleasure…and at 50 there is no god. So…the thought of rounding Cape Finisterre with its treacherous reefs in such winds, was not something I wanted to experience.

(Back again…) Well, it’s now Saturday morning and I can say that last night was one of the most beautiful sails I’ve had in a long while. Otto (that would be my autopilot) and I worked our tails off steering and driving the boat for every second of time we could, and we arrived just west of Cape Finisterre at 23:30 in dark of night, gybing into the separation lanes. There is a lot of shipping that travels around the Cape back and forth from the Mediterranean and Africa, and so they have marked lanes to control the direction of traffic. We gybed down through the lanes and exited them at 01:30 and made an angle of sail towards Vigo, a town on the coast of Spain. Once in that area, we’d be sheltered from the worst of the winds, by cover of the coastline.

About 30 minutes after we gybed for Vigo, the predicted winds arrived – quickly rising to 30+ knots. Fortunately, just before 23:00 I had the foresight to reef the mainsail and Solent jib – (reefing is making the sail smaller in size by gathering some of it and tightening it into a “reef.”) Once I found just the right angle and balance of sail trim, Bodacious Dream took off in a way…I can only call mystical…a quiet, fast reach. There was not much more sound than the whisper of the autopilot and the hissing of water passing the hull. We were traveling at 16 to 18 knots down waves. When you have a boat as beautifully designed and implemented as the Kiwi 40 Bodacious Dream, and when you set her just right…that’s what she does. Fast speeds with very little noise, noise being an indicator of drag.

I sat back and marveled at how smoothly and quietly she was sailing, and how lucky I was to have a boat that could handle 30 knots of wind with such class. As if that wasn’t enough, shortly after the winds came, the skies cleared and the bright moon appeared casting soft glows across the wild waters. It reminded me of fractured black glass…the broken edges glistening in the moonlight, as we rolled over each wave. Even more fortunate was that this moment lasted for another six hours, as we made our way to the Vigo area. Once there about daybreak, we turned down coast, and will spend the rest of today and tonight, making our way to Lisbon, about 200 miles south.

La Rochelle to LisbonThe Google View

Oh…and still one MORE thing. Not long after the moon set and the skies went dark, a school of porpoise came by to play. The water was full of phosphorescent plankton, and the wakes of the speedy little guys and the tunnels through which they sped around and under the boat, were all aglow in the dark. Some corkscrewed, some just went in straight zips, like contrails – but all of it was wonderful.

So it was, that while the winds did come, and we were ahead of them enough to escape their full force, in the end, we were doubly blessed with a magical night of sailing.

Now onto Lisbon!

– Dave, Otto (the autopilot) and Bodacious Dream

Dave: On the Wave to Lisbon 1

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From Dave, live on the water… 

“Well … just been a day of wishing for more wind and motor sailing along. It’s actually been quite nice out – warm and sunny, but the wind has been light and from astern, so I’m using the added push of the engine to keep the speed up. All is well though. At this point, I’m just past halfway across the Bay of Biscay, headed to Cape Finisterre … one of the famous places along the way. From there, it’s another 300 miles south to Lisbon. So … for now, 200 miles down, 500 miles left to go.

Also, the computer seems to not want to receive emails at the moment, so I’m a bit hampered by that. I don’t really know why or what to do about it, but thanks to the satellite phone, I’m able to call the weather folks and keep abreast of the coming changes. There should be good winds coming tonight that will move me more quickly towards the Cape. At that point, I will have to negotiate rounding that cape in a breezy condition. Once around, and down about 100 miles, the winds will probably go light again.They say that Saturday afternoon on to Sunday’s arrival will be light sailing again. Oh well. Just hoping I have enough fuel … once again!

So … that’s the quiet news today. Hopefully, whatever gremlins stand between me and receiving emails, will go away so that I’ll be able to hear from some of you.”

– Dave

BoDream News/ Change of Weather, Change of Plans

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Things are always changing, not the least of which are the winds and the weather!! One of the most dynamic parts of sailing is having to carefully and efficiently weave your way through ever-shifting weather, winds and tides.

As of the end of last week, we were looking at a rather open opportunity to leave La Rochelle and head southwest to the Azores, before continuing south to pick up the trade winds and sail for the East Coast of North America. Since then however, two developing low-pressure systems have positioned themselves directly in the route, and have left no other alternative passage around or through them. Well, there IS a route open over the top of them, going up to 50ËšN. This more northern route however is not typically considered safe this time of year, because of the rugged weather systems that march across, but it looked like a possibility for a time. Overall, this route comes with greater risk, as you can only see predictable weather for seven days – and at seven days, I’d be smack in the middle of the route, and any change in direction of one of the low-pressure systems, would have a significant impact on the navigable weather.

Below is what the weather forecast looks like in the mid-Atlantic for next Tuesday. Bodacious Dream would have been at about the eastern edge of the eastern stormfront. The brighter the color, the more intense the low pressure and winds. The site this is taken from – www.passageweather.com – is an interesting site to view, if you’re at all geeky about sailing and weather.

Weather in the Atlantic - 10.30.12

So, we have gone to another plan, and that is to sail south to Lisbon, Portugal and store the boat there until December 1st, and then look for a good weather window to leave from there. Why go to Lisbon? Well, La Rochelle is located on the infamous Bay of Biscay, a place where bad weather gets progressively worse this time of year. Right now, we still have a good weather window to leave La Rochelle that will last for only another 4 to 5 days, and that’s enough time for Bodacious Dream to sail south from La Rochelle and get to Lisbon on the edge of the trade winds. It will be easier and much more likely for us to find a weather window from Lisbon in December than it will be from La Rochelle. So, while it isn’t a significant or even desirable move forward, it clearly is in terms of meeting up with favorable weather, which is something we must always try to do.

So, this will be about a four-day trip south to Portugal. I’ll see what I can do to keep you informed with short updates. It will be an interesting trip in that it traverses the Bay of Biscay, and then around Cape Finisterre, two of the more famous sailing regions to add to the list of notable areas we’ve sailed past this season.

Cape Finisterre (Tip of Iberian Peninsula)Cape Finisterre – Tip of the Iberian Peninsula

So, by the time you receive this, Bodacious Dream will have slipped her mooring lines, and headed off once again. We will miss France and all the good people we’ve had the pleasure to meet and to exchange laughter with … over mispronounced words. Many thanks to all of you here in France who have made my and the BD crew’s visit so special. I’ve enjoyed our times on the boat, sharing stories and dreams, and I look forward to returning and sailing with you all again in the future.

And now onto Portugal … hmmm, wonder what chocolate-flavored breakfast treats they have there?!!

– From Bodacious Dream & “Single-Handed” Dave

BoDream News/ T-Minus 4 Days Til’ Departure!

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I’m back in La Rochelle, France after a short holiday in London and Ireland. Had the great opportunity to meet up with the London Office of William Blair, and share some stories. Great folks there, and one fun story to share … a typical Rearick story!

The plan was to meet at HIX Restaurant in the SoHo district, and I arrived a bit late after a couple of twists and turns on the subway (called the “tube” in London.) I explained to the hostess that I was meeting a group for dinner and she, without any hesitation, pointed me to the room down the stairs. I walked down and into a room full of suits and ties, and figured I was in the right place. Though I didn’t recognize anyone, I heard talk in the background of financial market conditions, and so I relaxed, ordered a beer and began to circulate. After a few minutes of conversation with one group of guys … (of course, you can imagine I wasn’t really dressed the part) … I finally thought to ask if this was in fact, the William Blair party. After a good chuckle, we figured out I was at the wrong party, though curiously enough, this firm does business with William Blair – so all was good. I excused myself, thanked them for my beer and went in search of my party. When I arrived at the proper table, beer in hand, they all knew where I’d been, as they had watched me walk in and disappear down the stairs. Well, what good would a sailor be, if he couldn’t walk into a strange party, tell a good story and get a free beer?

In London, I got a chance to take in some of the high points, especially the Maritime Museum in Greenwich. What an interesting place to visit, complete with the famous Cutty Sark heself, outside “on the hard.” The Cutty Sark, a clipper ship of the tea trading days, which long held the speed record of 73 days for its outbound passage from London to Australia back in 1874.

Cutty Sark Clipper Ship 1874

From London, I took a train and then a ferry to Dublin and spent a couple of days drenching myself in Irish culture and music. Way too short a time to spend, but circumstances being what they are, it was all I had, and a bit was a whole lot better than none at all.

So, now I’m back in La Rochelle, where it’s still raining. Bodacious Dream has been drying out and being looked after by good friends Pat and Michelle of the Croix du Sud, who are also planning on competing in the Global Ocean Race as a double-handed team. I’ll be spending the next couple of days doing the last minute preparations necessary before leaving La Rochelle and France, and then sailing for home on Wednesday. Jobs will include provisioning, water, sorting and packing, weather routing and maintenance.

Fellow sailor with Bodacious Racing, John Hosking has been keeping track of the weather and providing routing guidance for the trip back. So far, it looks like a decent start to the trip, but after a week or so, it gets a bit confusing with a few lows building and moving into my desired path. As you may know, low pressure systems are typically the systems that bring stormy wind and rain. Finding a route between them that still sustains good winds is what we call routing. It will be interesting to see how the whole weather systems play out, as the typical Atlantic weather is somewhat mixed up at the moment. There is an old saying—“Sail south until the butter melts, and then head west with the tradewinds.”  The trade winds are steady winds that blow in consistent directions through the tropical zones. These winds blow from the East toward North America in this area of the Atlantic, and so provided good sailing for the old trading vessels like the Cutty Sark … hence the name Trade Winds!

Here’s what our computer routing programs look like to us.Navigation Routing Display

The black line is the course to the Azores, south west of France. The Red line is one route by the computer, the blue line another. They are determined by computer weather models. The various shades of color represent wind strengths … blues being lighter, greens to yellows being heavier. The wind strengths are represented by the “flag” type symbols. You can see that some have one “feather” on them, while others have one and a half or two. Each full feather is 10 knots of wind, a half is 5 knots.  So, a feather and a half is 15 knots, two feathers is 20 knots. If you think of it as the feather on the back of an arrow, that is the direction of the wind.

So, just a few more days here in France. This afternoon, since it’s Sunday and most of France takes Sundays off, I’m going to try to make some time to travel north to the seaside town of Les Sables-d’Olonne, where the VendĂ©e Global Race is scheduled to begin on November 10th.

The Vendée Globe, begun in 1989, is the evolved version of the Golden Globe Race of 1968 when the first person, Robin Knox-Johnston, sailed his boat non-stop around the world in about 312 days. Nowadays, the race is filled with state-of-the-art, carbon fiber Open 60 sailing machines, each still manned by just one person, with the goal of racing around the world nonstop. The winners in this race typically take less than 90 days for the passage. The Vendée Globe, like the Global Ocean Race and the Velux 5 Oceans Race, are the premier solo world circumnavigation events.

There’s always a lot of discussion as to what would be harder … non-stop or stops in a circumnavigation. What would you think? Some say non-stop … some say stopping. With non-stop, once you build your lead, your strategy is just to stay ahead and not break anything. In the stopped version, you restart even at each port. Each leg then is a new race, and so you sail with a different strategy. Interesting question isn’t it? No doubt, 90 to 100 days, constantly racing your 60 foot boat is a great test of human endurance and fortitude. Check out progress on the VendĂ©e Globe at www.vendeeglobe.org.

Well, enjoy your day. I’ll send out one more update before I depart on Wednesday. Then I’ll be relying again on my friends at Firm Solutions to help forward news of my passage to you through these newsletters, the BD website and Facebook. My plan is to send out news along the route through our onboard satellite communication system – hopefully!

– Dave

BoDream News / Packin’ Up & Headin’ for Home

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It’s Thursday afternoon, as I write this. The Mondial Worlds ended Saturday night, five days ago, and it’s only stopped raining for a few moments since then. Most of the crews left Sunday, and their boats followed shortly thereafter. It being early fall here in La Rochelle, the energy about town has quieted from a month ago when I first arrived. Some of the restaurants have even begun to help me reintegrate into the American life I’m headed back to, by closing early… around 9:30pm!! I had grown accustomed to grabbing something to eat at very late hours.

It’s time now to sort and pack the boat, and get ready to leave myself. Being a traveling sailing program, I’ve acquired many things over the summer – from all sorts of extra gear to new electric tools, due to the different electrical system over here. The race sponsors help arrange storage and moving of gear from one port to another by truck or container – which helps for racing, but since I’m sailing home, much of the gear needs to come with me. Here in La Rochelle, I emptied the contents of the boat into a storage locker, and am now retrieving everything including some things I’ve acquired since the races… like bottles of French Red Wine!!

Deep in the Belly of the Stuff
 Deep in the Belly of the Stuff…

On Monday, with it still raining, and before beginning to repack, I took the time to wash out the boat from one end to the other. The rain keeps coming, so the inside is still struggling to dry, while I keep bringing stuff onboard that’s gotten soaked between the car and the boat. Good thing the dehumidifier is less than a year old. The other task at hand is to set up sails for the trans-Atlantic sail home. The mainsail is up at this point, and I have two jibs I have yet to set up. Whenever the rain stops for a moment, I’m going to take care of that.

Sails and the Lady in Waiting
Sails and The Lady in Waiting..

This push to get the boat ready, is also to give me a chance to leave here this weekend, and to take in some touring of London and Ireland. I hope when I return, that the weather will have changed, at which point, I can do some quick shopping for food, say some goodbyes to friends, untie the dock lines and point the bow west and head for home. This trip will be a solo trip all the way – partly for training purposes, partly to qualify for the Global Ocean Race and partly just for myself. My solo dreams of long ago began with reading about those who sailed solo across the Atlantic. It will be a real treat for me to retell those stories in my memory, as I sail the 3500-4000 miles from La Rochelle to Charleston, SC.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to sailing from France west to North America. Many of the boats this time of year are headed more south than I am, to the Caribbean for the winter. In that case, they will likely sail south to the Canary Islands and Madeira, before hooking onto the trade winds and sailing west. That trip is approximately 4500 miles long. I hope to find a weather window that allows me to sail to the Azores, and then across, which shortens the route by 1000 miles, but also comes with the threat of heavier low pressure systems which may mean lighter or no wind days.

 Using Google Maps to Get to the New WorldUsing Google Maps to Get to the New World..

But the first goal of this trip is to get clear of nearby Bay of Biscay and then past Cape Finisterre, at the northern tip of Spain. It’s a toss-up, but some recent looks at the weather pattern, suggest I might get the weather needed. For the next week though, predictions are for a rather intense low pressure system which could bring wind and rain to the area. That makes it a good time to head to Ireland, and hopefully find some great Irish music and learn a wee bit about the country.

So, one last adventure to be had – Ireland and London – before heading for North America, hopefully Charleston, SC – or else, somewhere in Florida. From there, I will begin the ramp up in preparations for the Global Ocean Race, which starts about a year from now. There are lots of things to do to make the boat ready, and that will take up my winter, and then come spring – lots of sailing solo to train for the race.

I’ll pass along another quick update before I leave France, and then hopefully, there will be some updates along the way as I head west. Until then, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, enjoy the fall weather, and if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, spring is here and summer isn’t far behind!!

 – Dave

BoDream News/ Around the Last Mark..

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Well… a tough day on the water, for sure. With a regatta like this, such top-level competition and an “all in” attitude, you stand to either win or lose a lot.

We started the day in fifth place… a point or two behind one tough competitor and a couple of points ahead of another. We didn’t come to do “just ok,” so we showed up today to race hard, take all the chances necessary and hope, when we had our bets placed, our cards would come up the way we wanted.

In a regatta like this, on the final day, the leaders take few chances and try to retain their lead, and those behind, pull out all the stops and take all the risk. So, what’s to lose in moving from fifth to something less, compared with what’s to gain in moving from fifth to third maybe?

So, first race, we came at ’em. Hard-pressed on the line for a great start, but you can’t be over the line before the start gun – so the trick is to try to hit the line with great speed just at the time the gun goes off. If you’re a second early, you have to go around – which is what happened to us. Unfortunately, that second early cost us about three minutes, as we had to turn around and restart… essentially giving everyone else a head start. Three minutes later, we were back, hard at work trying to make up ground and we did. We made up a lot of ground, but… ran out of runway as they say. In the end, we took a tenth I think, and so lost points to our previously trailing competitor.

Rounding the last mark..

Determined to do better in the second race, we pulled out our upwind code zero at the start and led the fleet to the first mark – first around… downwind to the second mark, at which point the winds began to die a bit and to shift abruptly. We were able to stay very close while rounding the second mark… but in the next upwind leg, the winds took a 50 degree shift away from our covering position, and that cost us dearly. We went from second or third to somewhere around twelfth, in a matter of a few minutes. I’d have to show you how that works on paper, but it works and it’s a really hard pill to swallow when it happens to you. We worked back a few places, but THEN it got exciting!!

Coming into the last mark before heading into the short distance to the finish, we came shoulder to shoulder with another competitor. There are some rather complicated rules in sailboat racing, and one of them is a rule about two boats being overlapped at a mark rounding. If that’s the case, the outside boat has to give the inside boat room to round the mark. We came in as the inside boat… requesting room to round the mark, but the other boat contested our overlap and refused to give us room. With nowhere to go, our two boats each holding steadfast to their beliefs, came side-by-side with each other and collided! Needless to say, there was a lot of contention as to who was right. Fortunately for us, there were two jury boats close by to witness the incident, and they confirmed our “rights” with regard to the rules. Pretty exciting, but nobody wins anything this way… so while other boats slip past, you’re left to untangle boats, rigs and egos.

Third race – at this point, with nothing left to lose, we took off with every intention of taking home another first. Unfortunately, the shifting winds did a similar thing to us once again, and our “all in” bets were lost. We rounded the first mark in an embarrassing last place… but we worked hard and finished back in the middle… but, that was also the end of the regatta, and when the final totals were made… we ended up in 10th place.

Still, I remind myself that these are fortunate days, exciting experiences and exceptional people to be sharing them with. If you write it out… tenth in the world doesn’t look so bad, does it? Well… nonetheless… this has been one of the great regatta’s I’ve ever had the chance to sail.

Next up is a bit of time to put the boat back into offshore condition, and then head for home… North America, that is. I’ll send an update soon as to the plan to sail for home – solo – across the Atlantic, and be home in time for Thanksgiving!!

Thanks for hanging with us through all this. it means a lot to all of us.

– Dave and the Bodacious Crew