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 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.

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"

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!!