Starry, Starry Night

A middle of the night post from the Skipper:

3:00 am ghosting along at 4.5 on a very close reach. Beautiful night full of stars. Grey Ghost is 1.8 miles ahead. Should catch them in about an hour and a good view at dawn. Actaea is between us.

Wind is getting lighter as expected. Dawn will be light air but it should then build through the day.

Speedboat and Puma rolled us at sunset going 16 to our 8.25. Puma was 3 boat lengths away and went by so fast I barely got my camera out in time.

Dinner casserole was just the right size. Starting at 3:50 has everyone a little off but settling into watches quickly.

Back to navigating. Need to keep us west of rhumb line until the stream.

Grey Ghost is owned by our good friend Phil Parrish, pictured above. He has three generations on board, Phil, his son Ted and his son Austin. Actaea is owned by fellow Corinthian and CCA member Mike Cone. Both keep their boats on the Sassafras River. We are cheering on all Chesapeake Bay boats!

Speed Boat seems to be living up to her name. Puma, aka Il Mostro, raced around the world in between the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race and this year's race.

I'll be posting a race food menu on www.FreedomFareAfloat. blogspot,com later today or tomorrow.

And They're Off

The Newport Bermuda Ocean Yacht Race began today under sunny skies. Shortly after their 4PM start, the Skipper sent this message:

Had a great start and very good speed. First to red bell off Newport to bear off toward Bermuda

GO FREEDOM GO!!!

Moored in Jamestown

Freedom arrived safely in Jamestown about 10AM. She is moored at the Conanicut Yacht Club -- her home for the week while last minute boat prep is completed.

The days leading up to a major race like this means long hours for the local boat mechanics. Many entries have traveled a good distance just to get to the starting line, and consequently things happen : bolts come loose, batteries die, systems fail, or in the case of Freedom: Mufflers Leak.
Mechanics will be on and off of boats from sunup to sundown (and later) all over the Narragansett Bay area from now until minutes before the start on Friday. The race would not happen without them.

Nearing Newport.. But not Without a Story to Tell...

The Latest from the Skipper....

Saturday June 12, 2:38 AMEntering long Island Sound with Montauk Poiint to port and Block Island to Starboard. Should enter Newport Harbor at sunrise,.

Not much wind so mostly motoring. No storms either so we'll take it. Had some excitement Thursday night about 50 miles off Atlantic City. During my routine inspection I lifted the floorboard to find a great deal of water. The bilge pump would not start so we immediately manned both manual pumps while frantcly searching for the source. All through hulls were sound. Once pumped out it stayed very dry. The bilge pump worked fine once the breaker was turned on. After repeated inspections we found water coming from the engine. The muffler has developed a leak. Thanks to the Sat Phone we have a mechanic lined up gor Monday morning.

Heading North

Late Day word from the Skipper: Safe Travels, Freedom!


We just started our cruise/rally at R2 off Cape May.Under power at 7.5 knots..seems kind of wierd. We do not want to forget our mission is to get the boat to Newport in one piece for the Bermuda Race. Water is flat and weather is clear so we are off. Mechanical systems working and downloading satelite weather software whenever we have a connection. Somebody found the America's Cup replay on TV during dinner. Go figure. Looking for the Phillies game and loving this coastal cruising.

Saw a pod of about 15 dolphin on the Bay side of Cape May. They were headed in while we were headed out. (sounds like a good Springsteen song)

Catching the Tide

The Skipper, Doc, Z-man, Juan Valdez and Andy got up early to catch the morning tide as they head north. Here is the morning report:

We left the dock at 5:25. Slack current down the river and a flood tide up the Bay is helping us at over 1.0 kts so we are motoring at 9.3 kts. We are in the canal just past Schaefers. Planning to stop for fuel at Summit North before exiting canal. Looks like a light air ride with the wind on the nose after we turn the corner at Cape May.

Bringin' Home the Silver

We had a fun time on the Bay last weekend participating in the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia's Spring Cruise. Thursday night found us at the Annapolis Yacht Club for registration and a light dinner/heavy hors d'oeuvres. After a good night's rest at Kurt and Dona's we boarded Freedom and set out for the Fun Race. The political theme had us choosing sides to sit on (Dems vs. Repubs)and overthrowing the Skipper. Not much wind, but lots of laughs. We anchored in th Magothy, visited among the fleet and got ready for a day of racing on Saturday. Another calm day, but Al, Donna, Kurt, and Dona (our Bermuda return crew) kept it interesting, and we placed third in our class. Another evening of visiting among the fleet in Whitehall Bay. Sunday brought more wind, some frustration and a first place finish! After much needed showers we headed to dinner at the AYC via Kurt and Dona's boat -- tough on the hair, but what a treat -- that's living!