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OceanPlanet News - 2008
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| Best wishes to all of my friends, and also the many friends of OceanPlanet. I came in from the snow in Maine to record
this little Xmas ditty for you... enjoy! |
| Back in 2002, racing solo around the world was still an unrealized dream for me and OceanPlanet. We had yet to even qualify for the Around Alone, and the Vendee Globe was over two years away. The 1000 mile upwind slog from Panama was the first truly hard test for the boat, so I was glad to have the solid crew for the trip. That cast was Greg Nelson (2000 Singlehanded Transpac winner), George Luna (former jockey and racing horse trainer), and longtime OP supporter Serge Martial. When the seas smoothed out, spirits soared and we made the best of it... ;-) |
| Yes, this report is a few days late...so if you
were wondering, it was a great trip to Antigua! Even with a couple
days of motoring we made the trip in under five days. This was the
final leg of our "Caribbean Run" and now the boat will settle in for our
upcoming Caribbean
Tour |
| We are now finally entering the west Atlantic Tradewinds, After a day and a half of slow motorsailing from Bermuda. Very nice to have the engine off and moving at 9+ kts after crawling at 6kts under power! However the light patch of high pressure did make it easy to putter our way eastward for a nice reaching angle for the rest of the trip. |
| By the time you get this update, we should be on our way from Bermuda to Antigua on Leg 2 of the Caribbean Run. Conditions aren't predicted to be very fast, however at least should not be too rough. For all of you that have been asking: if the weather models hold up we'll be far away from Hurricane Paloma, so don't worry about that! Thanks for the concern...;-) |
| We arrived in Bermuda early
yesterday morning (Nov 1), cleared customs in St. George's and then motored to
Hamilton and the RBYC at the other end of the island. A few hours after we
were at the dock, the next boats from the NARC Rally arrived in St. George's.
They started two days ahead of us! They were beat up pretty good in the rough weather,
thankfully all were ok. |
| As of 9am ET, we have 215 nautical miles to go to the northwest corner of Bermuda. Then there will be a few hours of the usual checking in and customs routine at St. George's Harbour. |
| After a scary night at the dock here in Newport, we will be heading out for Bermuda in a
few hours. The center of a large low-pressure system passed almost
directly over Rhode Island last evening, and the following SW winds were over
40kts. Even in the harbor!
watching the lines and wildly bucking docks, reminding me of a even scarier
night in Key West a few years ago! |
| Today is our scheduled departure from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda along with the NARC Rally... well, almost. |
| Once again we're in the usual mad rush preparing for an ocean trip. Four years
ago it was the torrid preparation for the
Vendee Globe, which is a much more
serious endeavor than our upcoming Caribbean run. So I guess I shouldn't
complain! Check out the new look! |
| If you want to sail a revamped Open 60 to the Caribbean, now
is your chance! But you'd better hurry… |
| - OceanPlanet is getting a flashy new topsides paint job to go along with her new white bottom paint! This is in addtion to a refaired keel, bulb, and rudder. Very nice.
I can't show you the new color yet...but we are taking votes and comments on Sailing Anarchy. |
| OceanPlanet is looking good! With our new E-Paint EP-ZO-HP racing bottom paint and newly faired keel & bulb, the boat will be faster than ever. Robinhood Marine Center, Dennis Greenwood, and myself have been working hard to stay on schedule. Thanks to all those who have come by to say hi or pitch in! If you haven't been by yet...don't be so shy… ;-) |
| After more than a year in storage, out of the water...OceanPlanet is inside the shop at Robinhood Marine Center getting repairs and repainting! If all goes to plan, she will be ready in only a few weeks. |
| The bad news: If you were thinking of signing up for February's rigging seminars at the Maine Advanced Technology Center (MATC), you're too late. The classes filled up so fast, we had to add a 2nd set of the two-day seminars, and then those filled up too! |
| You may have been wondering what I've been up to, it's a long story...
too long for this update! However, you will see more OceanPlanet news soon. |
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