BoDream News/ The Vagaries of the Wind

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Class 40 Worlds: Day Three… 

The day started pre-dawn once again, but this time under clear skies and a gentle 8-knot wind. We left the harbor and paraded out to the starting area. Once the wind settled in, the Race Committee set up another “Banana” Course and the starting sequence began. The first start was another general recall, as the boats crowded the line, which blocked the view of the judges, forcing another restart.

Once past that, the race was on. We performed well upwind rounding the top mark in good position, and leaned hard into the downwind portion of the race before rounding and heading back up the course. Numerous position changes followed, with boats crossing closely in tacks and gybes. As we came to the finish, we were able to hold off one of the top competitors, but lost a position to another, leaving us with a seventh place finish. Certainly not as good as we’d have liked, but the third through eighth positions were really a matter of a few boat lengths. We are definitely showing that Bodacious Dream is a solid contender, and when we get the trims all lined up, we are very fast.

Staying ahead of the FleetStaying ahead of the fleet



After the lunch break, we were off again on a long harbor course. Unfortunately, as we set out, the wind began to die, and as we rounded the first mark and headed towards the second mark of the course, the wind completely shut off. We’d positioned ourselves well among the stronger competitors, but it was up to the vagaries of the wind to determine who would be where when it filled in. We’d like to believe we were in the top five, but the wind never filled in and by the end of the day, the race committee abandoned the race and soon shut down racing for the day – and we all headed in. A long day on the water and only one race to show for it, but that’s what dealing with Mother Nature is all about.

Tomorrow is the last day of racing. We’re hoping for at least a couple of races, so we can improve our standings overall. Regardless, I’m really pleased with the way the boat has performed, with the exceptional talent of the crew and their light-hearted can-do attitudes and with the overall intensity of the racing. Coming in the top third of a World Championship Regatta is still something to be very proud of!

Check out our Facebook Page for an excellent album of photos of Bodacious Dream taken on Wednesday by a fine photographer here named Christophe Breschi.

And here again, is the photo of the crew from yesterday.. this time, with everyone identified by name.

 Our Illustrious BD Crew..
Bill Dalbreth, Jerome DeVos, Oliver Scott-Mackiem, Phillip Airey, Richard “Bicky” Bicknell & Brett Elliot


Expect another update, at the end of the day tomorrow. Best to all!

– Dave & the Bodacious Dream Crew

 

BoDream News/ A Wire 2 Wire Win!

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Class 40 Worlds: Day Two..

This morning came on rather harsh. Winds were up to 30 knots as we left the harbor under a solid rain. With the schedule of the locks and tides, we were concerned that they might get us out there, and then not be able to hold a race because of the conditions – but all went smoothly; we cleared the harbor, again pre-dawn, and got the day underway. This morning came on rather harsh. Winds were up to 30 knots as we left the harbor under a solid rain. With the schedule of the locks and tides, we were concerned that they might get us out there, and then not be able to hold a race because of the conditions – but all went smoothly; we cleared the harbor, again pre-dawn, and got the day underway.

Three races today.

Race One was a distance race that kept us on our toes. The initial information on the racecourse was that it would be the same one as yesterday – so we set up all the navigation necessary under that information. At the last minute, before the starting sequence, they changed the course to an entirely different one that sent me scrambling to work out the new set of angles and winds. At the same time that we were tacking, we were also putting on and transferring the water ballast, which left the guys up on deck working like mad to sail the boat!

We had a great start and held our own with the leaders, but on the third leg, had a bad reach plan and lost a number of places. The guys just dug in, and as they say in New Zealand, “grunted it out” and we worked our way back into sixth place by the finish.

By the time of the Second Race, the winds scaled back and down to about 12 knots. The race committee called for a windward/leeward or as they say in France, a “banana course.” We got off to another good start on this, but missed a shift sequence, and so fell a bit behind. Then the wind shut down to single digits, and they shortened the course, before we had a chance to work our way back out of the corner we were in. Not even sure any of us kept track of how far back we were on that little go-round.

Zigging and Zagging in Traffic..
Zigging and Zagging in Traffic..
In Race Three, we were determined to make a difference. We got up there in the start while the other leaders fought for the other end of the starting line. We hooked into the proper shift sequence, and made huge gains on the other boats, all the while sailing faster and higher in the water. We were really feeling like our systems were clicking, and the boat was responding beautifully. We rounded the first mark ahead of everyone, and from there on; we were able to hold that lead all the way to the finish! A great win for the crew, and a convincing one at that!
Our Illustrious BD Crew..
Our Illustrious Crew… Bill Dalbreth, Jerome DeVos, Oliver Scott-Mackiem, Phillip Airey, Richard “Bicky” Bicknell & Brett Elliot
.
Back at it tomorrow, early pre-dawn again. The weather is questionable with a forecast for lighter winds, but our hope is for a sea breeze fill in the afternoon, which will allow us to get in some more good racing.

The guys are really great people to sail with, and they don’t let disappointments get them down… they just keep going right after the rest of the fleet, picking them off one by one as they can.

More tomorrow. Thanks for keeping tabs on us.

– Dave and the Bodacious Dream Crew

BoDream News/ It Begins with a Bang!

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Wow… what a great day of racing!! With 18 boats in the event, the racing is extremely top-notch and in very close quarters. It’s been totally full on from the starting gun through to the end of today’s races, with leads changing all the time.

We left the dock at 7:15 this morning just before sunrise, because of the tides and the lock/harbor entrance schedules. The first race went off at 9:00 am.

There was a slight time delay, but as the starting sequence of five minutes began, the boats began to work out their starting strategies and positions. The way sail races begin is with a five-minute countdown… you can’t cross the starting line until the gun goes off at the end of the five-minute countdown… so you try to position your boat so it’s at full speed to take maximum advantage of the winds and smoothly hit the timing of the start.

Class 40 Worlds at the Start

We started at the front of the pack, but quickly enough there was a general recall… meaning the line judge wasn’t able to see all the boats clearly, and so they restarted the race. On the second start, we were in an equally perfectly position with a clear lane for a fast start. We held our position and were the second boat around the first mark… working hard with winds in the high teens and low twenties. We went back and forth with the leaders the whole time, but ended up in fifth position just a boat length behind Mare – one of the race favorites, but all of the boats were very close in their finishes.

The second race was a long distance harbor race with 7 marks and about 25 miles to the finish. Again, we started strong and held onto a top position working our way up to third rounding the last mark. Confused by the translated sailing instructions, we misunderstood which mark would be used for the finish, and hoisted our A3 spinnaker, when we should have used our A4. With the boats as close as they were, this miscalculation cost us three positions, and so we ended up that race in sixth position.

Bodacious Dream in the Class 40 Worlds

Though we weren’t up front, our finishes were still quite respectable within the fleet of 17 boats.

It was a day of great sailing and of demanding performances under a variety of conditions. One leg across the harbor at 8 miles long went by so quickly, it was almost a shame. With Bodacious Dream skipping through French waters at speeds between 17 and 21 knots, it only took 20 some minutes!! All in all, it was a great thrill, and we are all very excited about racing again tomorrow.

Given this was our first time racing as a crew, and that we only had a couple of quick hour-long practices, we are confident we will continue to get better as the regatta continues. And I have to say, what a thoroughly great group of guys to sail with – happy, fun, energetic and excited to be taking part in a World Championship.

We’ll continue to try to bring you updates from the water as best we can. Until then… time for some much needed rest before the pre-dawn boat call tomorrow.

– Dave and the Bodacious Dream Crew

P.S. In addition to our own BoDream Facebook Page, the Class 40 Association has a Facebook page too, which while it is in French, looks like it will have lots of photos. We’ll pull the best ones… (i.e. the ones of BoDream anyway!) and post them on our FB page.

Class 40 Worlds: Day One Updates

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Mondial Class 40 World ChampionshipLa Rochelle, France where the Class 40 World Championships is 7 hours ahead of U.S. Central Time – so, as this is posted, it is 7:45 pm in France.

Below are the live messages sent during our night from Dave during Day One races.

Day One: Hour 4: Great first event. Tight group among the top five. We were fifth, but only one boat length behind Mare in fourth, and maybe five boat lengths total difference between second and fifth places. We’re feeling good!

Day One: Hour 9: Great second race. We were in good position for a podium finish, but we used the a3 spinnaker instead of  the a4, and lost three places. We are in sixth position at present,  but there are eighteen boats and we stay solid up front.  Tomorrow will be great.

BoDream News/ It’s Regatta Time!

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Well, here we go! Class 40 Worlds about to begin!

The boat’s as ready as she has ever been. We’ve got some new sails, and even a special new one – a light-wind Code Zero, at the encouragement of Matt Scharl and the guys at North Sails! We’ve got a great crew with a great attitude, so we’re really looking forward to some mighty good fun racing against some of the best sailors in the Class 40 world!

Today was another one filled with last minute scrambles, as we worked our way through the “scrutinizer’s” list and the sail declarations. (All sails must be approved for the Class.) We worked right up to the end of the day when the Skipper’s meeting was held – and of course, it was all in French, so we were a bit unmoored – but thanks to some English-speaking French folks and our old’ buddy, Google Translate, we got the basic info we need to be competitive out there.

 Dave wondering what they’re talking about.

I’m off for a quick night of sleep here, and at the same time I’m thinking how different this event is from our last few races. This one is a real “Regatta” – a multi-day series of races all pretty formally structured. There will likely be 10 races over 4 days, and it is the cumulation of all the scores that will determine the winners. This is very different than say the Normandy Channel Race, where there is one start and one finish and the winner takes all. In this regatta, you can conceivably win the entire event without winning a single individual race; consistency is what counts!

The other interesting difference is that it’s late at night; I’m tired and looking towards a 6:45 am start.. not unlike the other events.. but this one is different, in that we’ll be off the water by 6 in the evening, and so able to enjoy some fine French cuisine and a good night’s sleep before the next day’s races. This is in sharp contrast to the long distance races where meals are freeze-dried filler and rest is taken in an alternating combination of catnaps and Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Kisses!!

So, we plan on keeping you as informed as possible. Hard to say how well our communications will function until we’re on the water – but we’ll do our best to keep the BD website, as well as Facebook and Twitter updated. Hopefully, there will be lots of fun news to share over the next four days.

And thanks so much for rooting for us, and for following along with our racing!

– Dave and the whole Bodacious Dream Crew

BoDream News/ Chasing Sails & Ramping up to Worlds

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Hello Again!! Still in France!!

We’re getting ramped up here in La Rochelle for the Mondial Class 40 World Championships that begin this Wednesday. The crew arrived yesterday and Richard “Bicky” Bicknell has been here for a couple of days helping to organize the program for us. He, along with Bill Dalbreth have pulled this team together. Bicky has the North Sails Loft in Auckland, NZ and has, with the help of his team, made the sails for Bodacious Dream. Also on the team, we have Phillip Airey, Brett Elliot, Jerome DeVos and Oliver Scott-Mackie. Six from New Zealand, one from Holland and one American – an international team for sure!!

As could be expected, shipping hassles have plagued us once again. The shipper wanted 505 euros to make the last two hour trip from Bordeaux to La Rochelle with our battens! But thanks to years of integrating creative hauling techniques into my repertoire, I was able to skirt that hurdle. Using ingenuity and some “outside-the-boat” thinking, I lashed the bundle to the top of my small rental car and drove them back to La Rochelle. This slight diversion in Bordeaux was preceded by a few tours of some lovely chateaus and vineyards, so the time was well-spent. It’s a real treat wandering through chateaus that are four and five hundred years old and still producing wines from their estate grounds.

Alternative Shipping Techniques

Our shipping hassles were not over just yet. Last Monday was spent driving from Nantes south to Niort looking for the shipping company and our sails. They were to have arrived a week ago Friday in La Rochelle, but for some reason hadn’t yet shown up. What better person to trust to get them here but myself! The hour and a half drive to Nantes didn’t sound like a big deal.. only once I arrived, there was no terminal and I spent the next few hours finding an outlet for the shipping company, while the shippers, Peters and May tried to locate it as well. Long about noon, I found out the sails were in Niort, (when spoken in French, it sounds exactly like “New York” – so you can imagine the spike in my heart rate at initially hearing that!) Niort I soon learned, was another hour and a half back towards La Rochelle. After their lunch break ended though, we found out the sails were actually onboard a truck already in La Rochelle and scheduled to be delivered soon. A long day of chasing, but eventually the sails did arrive and we were able to mount them and head out of the harbor at 5:30 pm for a short hour look at them.

Tomorrow will be the typical scrutinizing program, and we’re hoping everything goes well. We got in a short practice on Sunday afternoon and another today. The challenge is that we only have two and a half hours of access to the La Rochelle harbor with the dramatic tide ranges I mentioned previously. Just enough time to set the main, do some testing of sails, maybe a mark rounding or two and head back in. Much like many regattas, we’ll start the first races strong, though not well-practiced and hope to get better over the course of the regatta!

We’re expecting some exciting racing from these top crews and boats that have gathered here. Mare, Comiris, Phoenix, Picoty and others are all here and we’re all looking forward to a great season finale of a regatta. Right now, the weather for the first day looks pretty windy with lighter winds predicted for the remainder of the week.

I’ll be trying to text updates from the boat, and get them up on Facebook as soon as possible, so you can follow our progress. If you aren’t yet on Facebook or Twitter, I guess now might be a good time to sign up.. don’t feel bad.. I’m new to them too!

You can also go to the site for the Mondial World Championships, but it’s in French and doesn’t have a translate button (unless you use the Chrome browser, I am told – but even then, the site content looks to be pretty minimal). They may also provide news on the Class 40 Web site – and we’ll let you know if they do.

Otherwise, take care and more very soon!

– Dave

BoDream News/ Preparing for the Race – 9.27.12

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Hello Everyone,

Wanted to send a short note to get you up-to-date on Bodacious Dream and the upcoming World Championship Regatta. I’ve been finishing up preparations of the boat for competing in the race that begins here in La Rochelle next Wednesday, October 3rd.

Last week, we hauled Bodacious Dream out of the water at the local yard to do a complete check and a wet-sanding of the bottom prior to the racing. This to make sure that the underbody is super smooth, reducing any drag and making us as quick through the water as possible.

Haul Out...

This week has been spent tacking new battens and sails that we first had to get through customs and into our hands. With the help of Adam from Peters and May shipping, it was far easier than the frantic time we had trying to get our spinnaker prior to the Normandy Channel Race.

My crew of 5 begins to gather this weekend, and we’ll get in some practice time on Sunday and Monday.  Some of these guys were involved in the launching and testing of Bodacious Dream in New Zealand, and so getting them reacquainted with the boat is job #1. During our practices, we’ll get to know the courses for the races, and try to get a feel for the local winds and currents – all of which will be crucial to our posting good results in the races to come.

The boats are starting to arrive in La Rochelle, and we’re all looking forward to some top-notch racing and very competitive action. I’ll be back with more in just a couple of days.

– Dave

 

BoDream News/ Under Lucky Stars – 9.17.12

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Hello Everyone!!

As I write this, Bodacious Dream is safely moored in La Rochelle, along the mid-western coast of France, halfway between Bordeaux and Nantes. I made the delivery here this past weekend to prepare for our upcoming race – The Mondial Class 40 World Championships – but more on that in a moment.

One of the unique things about many of the harbors in France is the dramatic range of tides that make them virtually inaccessible during low tides. In order to make this work, locks are installed which keep the water in the basin where the boats are, while the tide changes. Here in La Rochelle, the tide can be in excess of 10 feet, and so with tides ebbing and flowing (high and low) twice a day, the locks are only open twice a day.

La Rochelle Harbor at High Tide
La Rochelle at High Tide 

For this trip from Lorient to La Rochelle, that meant I could only get into the harbor at 3am or 3pm – and only for a two-hour window.

La Rochelle at Low Tide
La Rochelle at Low Tide 

Coming into a strange harbor on your own in the dark of night is not considered good practice, so I opted for the 3pm option.

Lorient to La Rochelle is about 140 miles. Class 40’s sail so easily that it’s not uncommon under pleasant conditions, to reach speeds of 9 or 10 knots. Friday’s weather offered a nice 15 knot breeze from behind for most of the day until evening, at which point the wind died down to nearly nothing. Upon completing my calculations, it became apparent that if I sailed the boat hard and motored when there was no wind, I’d get to La Rochelle just after the locks closed in the early morning, and would have to wait 12 hours for them to open again. With the forecast for a pleasant night and decent weather, I jumped at the chance to just sail in super relaxed mode.. a chance that doesn’t come along very often when you are in a race.

I left Lorient at noon on Friday and sailed with the A5 spinnaker, as I wanted to see that it had been repaired properly after being damaged during the QuebĂ©c-St. Malo race. The afternoon progressed quite nicely with the auto-pilot keeping us skipping along at 11 knots. Sunset came about 8pm, and with it the anticipated dying breeze. Typically, I’d work harder to keep the spinnaker flying and the speed up, but with so much time on my hands, I just rolled up the spinnaker and let the sails relax their way towards La Rochelle.

Through that very quiet evening and night, I had time to reflect on what an amazing journey this past year has been. Gliding along at little more than 4 knots of speed, I took in the canopy of stars, and gazed out the transom at the glowing phosphorescent trail from the rudders. From where I was, I could see the lights of the French coast twinkle on and off as I sailed by. Napping on occasion, snacking on some cheese and crackers, allowed me some time to relive memories of the past 12 months.

It was just about a year ago that I made my first trip to New Zealand to see work on the hull and deck of Bodacious Dream coming together. From there, sailing to Nelson on the South Island of NZ, to Auckland and onto the ship that brought Bo Dream to Ft. Lauderdale. Then up the coast to The Atlantic Cup Race in May and the great fun of winning the offshore leg. Then the delivery to QuebĂ©c City for the QuebĂ©c-St. Malo race, which took us up the beautiful St. Lawrence and across the Atlantic for this extended stay in France. The Normandy Channel Race followed, and now down to La Rochelle to compete for the World Championship. Any one of those events would be reason enough to consider oneself a most lucky person. Toss in all the wonderful people I’ve met along the way, and “lucky” just doesn’t seem to cover it. “Incredibly fortunate” is perhaps more accurate.

So, as I prep for the World Championships, my plan is to send out a few more updates – finishing the story of the QuebĂ©c-St. Malo race as well as more on the Normandy Channel Race. Stay tuned for those now past due updates.

Mondial Class 40 World ChampionshipAnd keep a look out for news on the Mondial World Championships that start October 3rd here in La Rochelle. The format here will be “course” racing. There will be a series of races each day and point totals will be added up at the end of the event on Saturday with the title of World Champion going to the lowest point total. First place gets 1 point, second 2, third 3….and so on. We’ll be up against some of the top talent in Europe in this event, so we (and my crew of 5 experienced New Zealanders!) look forward to some fun and exciting racing. The coverage won’t be like the tracking of the long distance races, but there will be updates on the Mondial website each day. (The site’s in French, so if you can figure it out, use your browser “translator.”) But we’ll also be providing updates on the BD website as well as on Facebook and Twitter, so that you can follow our progress that way as well.


And thank you all for being part this amazing adventure. Remember, life is a grand adventure, live it all, live it always!!

– Dave

BoDream News – 9.10.12

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Good Morning Everyone!!

Well, it’s morning here in Caen, France anyway. Not sure just when you are reading this, since we are all spread around the world these days!

The Normandy Channel Race finished this weekend here in Caen. It was quite a thrilling finish as the first two boats came within just a mile or so of each other at the end. The two young guys on Concise finished just ahead of the Grand Masters on Campagne de France. Everyone was jubilant with excitement. It was fun to be here to see them finish and to hear the stories… and as you might imagine, it was difficult too not to be out there finishing along with the others.

Sailing is an interesting sport. There is so much involved and disappointment is an everyday experience. Sometimes it comes from the wind or lack there of, sometimes from the currents or navigation and sometimes from some newly discovered Achilles heel in your program. But sooner or later, something disappointing is going to happen, and you must be willing to accept it and regain your balance.

Being around Caen for the finish, hearing the stories from friends on other boats and seeing the joy in their faces was good medicine to help offset my disappointment in retiring early from the race. And as with most medicines, the first few tastes are awful, but as the healing begins, new horizons open.

So, onto new horizons!!  At the moment, Bodacious Dream sits at the boatyard in Lorient among the giants of the sailing world: Open 60’s, Class 40’s, 28′ Figaros, 21′ Minis and even Banque Populaire… the 120-foot Trimaran that recently set a record sailing around the world. As Matt and I thought about it, Banque Populaire sailed around the world at an average speed of 19 knots!! That’s the top range speed for Bodacious Dream!! This is a machine to see, and not just in a picture, but to see in person. It’s truly amazing. Matt got some good shots of Bodacious Dream in the shadows of Banque Populaire, so we’ll see if we can’t get one on the website for you!

Soon, I’ll be driving back to Lorient with a car full of the gear we left here in Caen, so I can get settled back onto Bodacious Dream and look for a weather window in the next couple of days to sail to La Rochelle. That’s a trip of about 135 miles, and it will be our base for the upcoming Class 40 World Championships (in French only), in which Bodacious Dream is entered. This group of course races happens over four days, from October 3rd-6th. It’s totally different racing than what we’ve been doing lately – similar to the last portion of the Atlantic Cup. The competition is going to be very tough and exciting. We’re looking forward to an incredible week of sailing.

One of the positive things that came about from retiring from the Normandy Channel Race was that we were able to sail Bodacious Dream south towards La Rochelle, which has opened up my schedule by about a week. So, instead of looking at a week to sail my way to La Rochelle, I only have another day’s worth of sailing. I’m hoping this will allow me time to see some more of France, and maybe even sneak in a trip to Ireland for some Irish music.

So for now, I’ll pack up the car and head west. With Matt and I, there was barely enough room for the two of us, which is why we had to leave some of it in storage. Today, I hope once I get the car fully packed, there will be room still left for me to drive!!

Here’s a picture of the French Bodacious Dream mobile!! Typical of us Gypsy Sailors!

BD Dream Mobile

And that all said, it’s time to live the dream!!

– Dave & Matt

Normandy Channel – BD Update – Retired from Race

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Friends, followers and family,

As I write this, it’s about 08:00 on Wednesday morning, and we have just come to the point of Land’s End on the southwestern tip of England. As the sun rose up from the horizon, a beautiful and very fast tri-maran passed us as if we were standing still – and we were reaching at 13 knots of boat speed!

It has been a very difficult morning, as we came to this point because it was the point I had picked to make a decision as to whether or not to continue in the Normandy Channel Race. As you can see by our position, our ability to stay competitive in upwind conditions was made more difficult by a repair we had to make to our sail. We had done the best we could with it, and after hoping that the weather might cooperate or that there might be an adjustment to the course that would make the prospects of finishing more viable, I made the decision to retire from the race. I have to say, this has been one of the toughest decisions I’ve made in quite some time.

Adding to the decision, the weather and routing software we use suggests that the race, without considering adverse currents, would take us at least an additional six days to complete the course. There is also a high pressure ridge that will effectively eliminate any wind in the middle of the Celtic Sea, which is the water between Fastnet Rock and England. With the race rules as they are, and with only enough fuel to motor an additional 60 miles or so at the point of Land’s End, it made sense to sail while we have wind towards a French Port on the Northern Shore.

Matt and I sailed very hard and tried our very best to be competitive. We hope the best for our fellow competitors and that the wind gods will look kindly down upon them.

– Dave and Matt