Let the Season Begin....

The 2010 Sailing Season is well underway. After 2 months onshore for some powder and paint, Freedom in back in the water and competing in her second day race of the year today. It is a great way to work out the kinks (and figure out how to set the spinnaker) and have a little fun. Bermuda Race paperwork was submitted yesterday -- 5 weeks and counting. Time to start thinking about provisioning.. Check out FreedomFareAfloat.blogspot.com to see what's cooking in the galley!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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)