Category Archives: Email Newsletters

BoDream Digest/ Solo-Crossing the Atlantic – Week 1

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We are now sailing west of the Cape Verde Islands, some ten days into our first single-handed Trans-Atlantic crossing. In the interest of not filling your in-boxes with too many updates, I’ve decided to send along a kind of weekly “digest” – including some links to longer posts that I made, and that might be of interest to you, especially if you have not been following our oceanic “exploits” on the Bodacious Dream Facebook Page … where our status is frequently updated.

So, if we are going to summarize … we best start at the beginning.

Week 1/ Day 1 … Bodacious Dream and I departed Calais, Portugal mid-afternoon on Friday, December 7th and pulled into large seas amid churning waves left over from an earlier storm that we had to wait out. The winds soon weakened, raising thoughts of the need for more fuel to keep the engine going for extended periods. That first day we did about 170 miles, though BoDream can easily do 250, if the winds and directions are good.

Ode to a Kitchen TimerDay 2 … found us again mired in slow winds, motoring towards the Portuguese island of Madeira. In the meantime, I shared on the Blog and Facebook how I go about keeping time out here, as well as my personal secrets for solo “sleeping,” which included an “Ode to the Kitchen Timer”… You can READ that post HERE!>

Day 3 … saw the slow winds continue – but when darkness fell, a great stillness descended as well, with the waves growing calm and the water reflecting the stars … making it difficult to tell where the sky ended and the water began. This is a phenomenon I remember happening on the Great Lakes in the spring, when the warm air doesn’t come down quite far enough to touch the cold water … so you have enough wind to sail, but the reflections of the sky, clouds and stars are perfectly clear. They call it “sailing through the heavens.” That is exactly what I saw here, and though I was motoring, and not sailing … it was still an awesome experience.

Day 4 … looked to include an overnight stay in Madeira, but that plan was quickly scrapped because of the need to head south quickly in hopes of outrunning a high-pressure system. Getting to the trade winds is what we were there to do, and those fresh winds were ready to push us there.

Over the course of the week, and with the help of our onshore team, we’ve been able to daily post Google Earth/Ocean images of our position, as well as our key speed markers.

BD along the coast of Africa

Day 5 … made for a beautiful day of sailing wherein we met up with those fabled trade winds. With the A3 (the “asymmetrical spinnaker”) up and full, the boat turned lively and gave us a lot of lift. It was exciting to finally have enough wind to “fly the chute” and overpower the waves. It was easy to imagine how ancient sailors must have felt blessed by the presence of such winds, and then sadly abandoned by the gods when those winds disappeared. Thankfully, BoDream has a fine new engine – so I am spared the labor of the oars.

Day 6 … found us sailing well, a couple hundred miles off the coast of Africa. However, in an attempt to get some sleep that night, something both embarrassing and funny happened, that the journalist in me felt obliged to recount … READ that post HERE!>

A Gloucester DoryDay 7 … had us still moving along quite nicely in brisk northeast trade winds, finally traveling in a “somewhat” southwesterly direction. Nothing like sailing at good speed across legendary waters to bring up memories of what it was that led you to such a moment. In so doing, I recalled the indelible influence that the story of one Henry Blackburn, a Gloucester, Massachusetts fisherman in the 1880’s had on me as a boy … READ that post HERE!>

Week 2 … As the new week dawns, we are still moving well, and finally more westerly – though not always in the exact direction that we want to be moving. Sure, we know where it is we WANT to go … but instead of being able to go there in a straight line, the winds demand that you first go to the left and then to the right, and then back to the left – and so on. Crows don’t have this problem – sailing vessels do. It can be a bit frustrating sometimes … but what can you do … this is the Ocean and Mother Earth is in charge, that’s for sure. Me, I’m just trying to accurately read the winds and make the chocolate last.

As this update is being sent, we are in the process of reviewing upcoming weather and wind projections, and so determining our course for the foreseeable future. We’ll keep you posted.

To stay up-to-date with our more frequent reports from the water – the easiest route is to go directly to our Bodacious Dream Facebook Page and if you have not already done so, to LIKE us there. That way you will be able to see (in your Facebook “newsfeed”) our updates (both short and long) as they happen!

I want to once again thank you all for the support you have shown me and our Bodacious Dream this past year. It means a great deal to me. In closing then – from both of us, winging our way to the equator – I want to wish you all a great and peaceful holiday season!

– Dave

@ (+19.1100 – 29.4500)
Wind Speed: 18 to 20 knots
Boat Speed: 9 to 11 knots
COG (course over ground) 245 degrees

 

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/ 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/ 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

 

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.

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/ 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