Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Bristol to Barrington

After a relaxing afternoon, delicious dinner at the DeWolf Tavern, and restful night in Bristol, we went ashore to the Herreshoff Museum this morning. Lots of beautiful old boats and maritime history there. Definitely worth the visit. While the Skipper checked out the America's Cup Hall of Fame, I walked into town to pick up a few provisions (and duck into a few shops) before heading back to Barrington. One more night of our cruise before jumping back on 95. We are hoping to get back to the Clam Shack for dinner -- if not dinner aboard watching the boat traffic on the river will be just fine.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Greetings from Narragansett Bay! The Skipper and I decided to take an extended weekend cruise before Freedom heads back to the Chesapeake Bay. Bad weather and traffic delayed our arrival in Barrington, RI until Friday morning. We spent the day readying the boat, launching the dinghy, and watching the river traffic. For dinner we motored over to Blount's Clam Shack for fresh off the boat Belly's.
Saturday morning we headed to Jamestown to pick up cousin Ann, 2 of her daughters and college roommate Sally for a day of sailing (and a chance to watch the 12 meters race.) The weather and company were perfect, but the water was choppy, and stomach's churned. Everyone seemed to feel better once we headed into calmer waters in Newport Harbor (and everyone agreed that the bag of potato chips was just what their stomachs needed)Johny Depp was rumored to be in Newport -- we were treated to a sighting.
Mother Nature provided us with a lazy Sunday -- too much fog to go anywhere -- so we read and relaxed on our mooring at Jamestown Yacht Club.
Today we are off to Bristol, RI and the Herreshoff Museum. Dinner with college sailing mate Dick and his wife Karen is planned.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

It is Written in the Stars

As an aside, the boat that crossed the finish line first, and perhaps will win the whole thing on corrected time, did so using Celestial Navigation. No electronics were involved -- and it was cloudy most of the race. A tip of that to the Crescendo crew!

Crossing The Finish Line

Freedom has crossed the Finish Line, at last! A long, often dreary and wet, race makes rounding the final mark especially sweet. Congratulations and Thank You to the whole crew.
Now, off to the island for a Rum Swizzle!

Great photos of the start (and hopefully the finish), including many of Freedom in the Class B category, can be found at www.marionbermuda.com. In addition, the Press release section provides a narrative of the race.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Photos, but no Finish Yet

Freedom is getting ever closer to Bermuda. The Skipper called this evening -- the crew was happy to see the sunrise this morning after days of rain and fog. They are hoping to cross the finish line late tomorrow. 13 boats have dropped out of the race so far (about 25% of the fleet) mostly due to weather concerns and some due to equipment failure. The most recent withdrawal was the lead boat, Bermuda's Big Bear, due to a torn mainsail.
Meanwhile, you can see some great photos of the start at www.marionbermuda.com. Look for Freedom in the Class B Start group -- my favorite is photo #24, lots of action!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Way Out West

It looks like the crew of Freedom decided last night to take the western route through the Gulf Stream. A risk, perhaps, but it kept them from being swept east in the Stream. Hopefully favorable winds on the western side of the course will allow them to maintain their speed and gain on the rest of the fleet who seem to be heading into southerly winds at this point (Monday evening)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Word from the Skipper

Jun 21
11:06 EDT / 38.8877N 70.9951W
6.3 kts / SSW / 583.3 nm


The Skipper called this morning to test the Satellite phone. I missed the call but he reported that they seemed to be close to entering the Gulf Stream (the water temp must be rising). He also reported better winds, and therefore, better sailing. A Father's Day Gift from Mother Nature!

Here's hoping their western track will pay off in increased speed.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Follow Us

Checking out the Freedom Blogs from time to time? Then why not become a follower? It's free and it would help me figure out how many people are actually reading Freedom on the Bay and/or Freedom Fare Afloat. You will be asked to set up a Google account, but that is easy. And, you can opt to follow anonymously.

Your Mom probably told you to be your own person and not just be a Follower, but in this case it's okay!

Thanks!

Saturday Morning Update

Here is Freedom's position about daybreak Saturday morning.

Jun 20
05:07 EDT / 41.1766N 71.1376W
2.8 kts / SSW / 631.6 nm


Looks like the entire fleet is staying west of the rhumb line at this point, and everyone is plagued by light winds. There are much more technical definitions, but essentially, the Rhumb Line it the straight line from Marion to Bermuda. And yes, in this case it leads you directly to the Rum.

Follow the race, and get more information, at www.iboattrack.com and/or www.marionbermuda.com.

If you are stuck inside this weekend, due to rain, you can make your own chart and plot Freedom's progress!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Word From the Crew

This just in from Bryant (6pm-ish Friday):

Wind died
Sailing in the fog. Cary is cooking dinner.looks like no wind until
tomorrow. May be a chance to slither out.

The Crew

Wondering who is on the Freedom Crew? Here are a few photos as the crew readied the boat and themselves for the race. The photo above shows part of the crew riding the launch Friday morning.
Okay, this isn't a Race Crew member -- it's my friend Sally, Conversationalist and Clam Roll Consultant. Thanks for keeping me company and helping me find my cell phone, Sally, as I provisioned the boat!
Here are Andrew (the Navigator) and Chris(the Skipper's Brother)
Andrew striking a classic Navigator's pose.
Bryant, looking relaxed and ready.
Al, aka Doc, "Hey Al" and Bryant and A2's Dad.
The Skipper.

Unfortunately, crew members A2 and Jake did not arrive until after I snapped these photos. They round out a fun and experienced crew.

Go Freedom Go!

And They're Off (again)

Freedom is back on the Race Course today in the Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race. Rainy skies yet again for the noontime start. The Skipper checked in about 4:45PM before losing cell phone contact to report a "wild start" as all the boats in their class converged on the committee boat end of the starting line.
Boats from classes A,B, & C were within sight as they sailed past Perikese Island about 3/4 of the way down Buzzards Bay. Fog had set in. Seeadler, another CYCOP boat, was leeward of Freedom.
Follow Freedom as she races towards Bermuda on www.iboattrack.com

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Finish Line (at last)

Despite what you might be seeing on the A2N site, Freedom crossed the finish line about 9:45 AM this morning. Happy and relieved, the crew decided to bypass Newport and head straight to the mooring in Barrington. A few headed directly for the airport, but the remainder headed back to Newport by car for the All Hands on Deck Party, and the chance to blow off some steam -- well deserved, I'd say.

Many thanks to a great crew.

Now, it is time to get some rest and get ready for Marion-Bermuda. Follow along, staring on June 19th, at www.iboattrack.com.

Emotional Roller Coaster

At last, word from the crew. Andy wrote this just after 2AM under the title "Emotional Roller Coaster"
The shot of wind they were enjoying late yesterday seems to have fallen off, but things have picked up now. Here is their status as of 6:08Am:
Jun 09
06:08 EDT / 41.1138N 71.7283W
6.3 kts / ENE / 28.3 nm

15.6 miles from montauk light, 45.8 miles from Newport. Boat speed @ 3 knots. Hopefully the wind will fill and we can go inside Block Island with a favorable current, otherwise we'll have to take the long way around.
We've been out of cell phone range since around 4:30am on saturday. Since that time we've had moments of fantastic sailing and moments of tedious bobbing like a cork. Oh did I mention the fog? You could cut it with a knife.
The one constant is we're eating like kings!!
UFT (Tyler), Dave, Captain Cary and Carl are all in their bunks. CJ is at the helm, while Doc Al forages in the galley. I'm just happy to be able to communicate with the outside world.


Newport for lunch? Hopefully......

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Saturday Afternoon Update

Jun 06
13:18 EDT / 37.2081N 74.8483W
4.6 kts / ENE / 339.8 nm (from finish)

No crew updates since this morning -- our 'Communications Officer' must be off watch -- or busy with the business of racing. Looks like they are holding their own within the fleet and their class.

Moving Along

06:14 EDT / 36.9411N 75.5517W
5.4 kts / E / 362.2 nm from the finish

Out in the ocean now -- hopefully they will see some sun today.

Those boats way out front? Big guys, 90 footers, in a whole different class from Freedom. A marvel of engineering and teamwork. Some have 25-30 crew members, in matching uniforms, who do this for a living. Unlike the Freedom crew who do this for fun.

While You Were Sleeping

Sometime in the wee hours Andy wrote.....

We got thru the bridge tunnel around 2:15. Just dropped the spin about 30 minutes ago and we're reaching to chesapeake light. Dave and Tyler just went on watch. Cary's on deck (split watch). Al and CJ are coming off watch. Carl is camping at the Nav station, poor guy probably hasn't gotten more than a 30 min cat nap.

Friday, June 5, 2009


Oops- forgot to include this picture earlier -- the crew leaving Weems Creek on their way to the starting line
Post from Crew Member Andy Gillan

"We're off the Potomac @ 6:10.
63 miles from the bridge tunnel
Doing a steady 10 knots. Rain and hazy.
CB's driving w/ Doc poised for relief duty. Dave and UFT are in their bunks. Captain Cary is cooking dinner (beef stew!) Carl is naviguessing with his eyes closed ;-) while eating pretzel stickse"

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Shake Down Cruise

We had our shake down cruise last weekend -- party in Annapolis, raft up in the Rhode River, a race to St. Michaels, followed by a dock party. The oven didn't work, but the crew sure did during the race! Good friends, good fun all weekend long.
New sails this week -- yea!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

The cover came off today --Sailing season is here!

Welcome Aboard

Welcome to Freedom on the Bay -- designed to keep you 'afloat' of the voyages of the Sabre 45' Freedom. Home port is Georgetown, MD, but there is no staying tied to the dock for this vessel. Follow along as she cruises the Bay or races offshore. Welcome Aboard!