DOUBLE HANDED LEG NOTES

29 June 2000 - We had a wonderful awards at the Newport Yacht Club.  About 50 people showed up including those that had to turn back on the leg to Bermuda and past skippers that didn't even do the race.  It was wonderful to see all.  See the agenda notes for the "prize giving".

28 June 1330 - The final results are posted on the Results menu.

28 June 0343 - Nimros reported finish.  Last boat.  Can you believe this picture?  Nimros with the spinnaker flying!

27 June 2000 - Nimros called to say he is moving very slowly; not much wind. Expects to finish in the morning.

27 June 1707 - Serif reported finished, yea! And then there is only 1!

27 June 1058 - Windswept reported finished.

27 June 0927 - Halcyon reported finished.  Windswept reported expected to finish at noon.

27 June 0800 - Well the light air has fell upon the remaining four and they have slowed way down.  Hopefully they will see 10 kts today and get in here.

26 June 2000 - Nimros called to say he is in a SW breeze 14 kts.  He is doing 6 kts and doing well.  I think he and the others are headed for light winds.  Halcyon is projected to finish around 2am but suspect that is going to change to later.

26 June 1351 - Bent reported in finished.

26 June 1300 - Windswept emailed: "Strange race. When the smoke clears, it looks like we will have spent 5 days sailing the first half of the race and 2 days sailing the second half. My computer is predicting a finish at about 6:00 AM tomorrow morning, However, the WSW wind predicted by the NWS is now NNW and continuing to clock. See you tomorrow.

26 June 0827 - Island Girl reported finished ghosting across the line.

26 June 0558 - Aggressive reported finished with Island Girl about 2 hours behind.

25 June 2245 - Bluebird announced their finish!  1st in Class 4.

25 June 2000 - Bent called my cell phone while I was racing, helming by the way, to say he was doing fine although he had some engine problems earlier.  I didn't get all the details since I was racing!
Island Girl reported that they have been talking with Aggressive.  Island Girl expects to finish between 7 and 8 am tomorrow morning.
Nimros also called but the connection was lost before any information was passed.  Nimros is taking up the back of the fleet.
Windswept emailed: "I got to use my storm jib for the first time since I bouught it in 1998! Last night we had zero visibility rain squalls, WNW winds sustained at 28 Kts, gusting to 35, and a tall lumpy sea. All the port light caulking, etc. I did in Bermuda paid off as we were dry below decks. On deck, it was very wet, but the water was nearly 80 degrees, so it was almost pleasant, except for the roaring of the wind in the rigging. About 10:00 this morning, we replaced the storm jib with the #4. We are still stemming a significant adverse current, but appear to be nearly out of the stream. We are seeing the sun periodically and the sustained winds are down to the high teens. We are still hopeful of finishing on Thursday. We have had no contact with any B 1-2 boats. We seem to have been in the company of a couple of M-B race returnee's last night. they were pretty shaken up by the weather and didn't return our hail on VHF 16. I will check in at least once more before our arrival. A bit frustrated. We are doing 7.5 to 8 kts. through the water!"

25 June 1458 - Kontradiction reported finishing.

25 June 1045 - Dirigo reported finishing.

25 June 0913 - Upstart reported finishing.

25 June 0750 - Wildeyes called to say they finished.  Will have to go to a mooring because they can't get the main sail down.  The headboard is jammed up top.  They will show up afterwards.

25 June 0800 - Kontradiction reported that it is pretty nice out, seas 2-4 ft wind 20 kts and he was doing 6.8 kts.  He said he heard Upstart but when he tried to hail Upstart they didn't reply.  Actually I had the same situation; I could hear Upstart but Upstart couldn't hear me.

25 June 0700 - Wildeyes hailed us on VHF to say they were 1 hr from finishing and Upstart said they were 2.5 hours from the finish.  Looks like they have wind now to be able to get to the finish.  It was pretty dead here earlier.

24 June - The OSTAR Race Committee announced that past Bermuda One-Two skipper Jonathan Green on Jeroboam is the overall best in fleet boat on corrected time and finished 6th on elapsed time.  We knew Jonathan was good.  Congratulations from the Bermuda One-Two fleet.

24 June 2000 -Wildeyes reported that they had no contacts.  Wind 22 kts in fog and doing 8 kts.
Kontradiction also reported no contacts doing 7 kts.  Yesterday the engine would not start due to air in the lines so he had to hand steer all night.  He has since got the engine started and is doing fine.
Island Girl reported talking to Aggressive 8  miles back.  Both are through the Gulf Stream with SW winds at 22 kts.

24 June 1728 - Resolute finished.

24 June 1500 - Windswept emailed "Too rough to type. We have reached the halfway point. Getting ready for the GS. More later.

24 June 1049 - Kiwi Spirit reported that they finished.

24 June 0920 - Stanley on Kiwi Spirit called to say he is about 2 hours from finishing.  Called Customs 24 hr number but no one answered so he left a message.

24 June 0800 - Resolute reported foggy conditions with visibility less than one mile, Winds were 16-20 but have calmed down to 15 kts out of the SW, no big waves.  Looking to finish around 7pm today.

23 June 2000 - Resolute called.  They have been in sunshine since leaving the Gulf Stream.  Wind 12 kts at 245 degrees.  Doing 8kts.  Talked with Wildeyes at 2 pm on VHF as if they were close by but they were 50 miles away.
Wildeyes called reporting SW winds 10-12 kts.  Still in the Gulf Stream.  Sunshine. Said that they had talked with Resolute as if they were real close also.
Island Girl called that he hadn't talked to anyone.  Has a reef in the main with wind at 20 kts WSW.  Doing 6 kts thru the water, 7.4 over the ground.
Nimros called to say he actually had the spinnaker up.  He took a picture for me to see when he gets back in.  Wind SW at 5 kts.  Doing a whopping 2 kts.
Windswept emailed: "Things are finally improving. We have a nice NW breeze at about 12 kts. We are experiencing a significant adverse current where we expected to have a favorable one. We had a nice chat with Serif via SSB. Charles wanted me to tell you he expects to be to Newport in time for the awards. Other than the same general frustration with the light conditions, all is reported well aboard Serif.

23 June 1500 - All the boats seem to be moving now although Halcyon and Nimros are under 3 kts.  That was one hell of a hole for the slow boats of the fleet.

23 June 0800 - Kontradiction reported that he is moving nicely at 8 kts.  The wind is out of the NW at 22 kts, seas 4-6 feet and cloudy.  Hasn't heard from anyone; they are pretty spread out there.
Resolute called to say no contacts.  They are out of the Gulf Stream which was 5.5 kts taking them East.  They still have  2 kt current taking them East though. Wind is 291 8-11 kts, was 14-16 kts and raining in the Stream.  Slight to moderate seas.  Hoping for sunshine soon.
Windswept emailed: The oily flat calm continues. We managed to eke out about 15 miles on an errant 3 kt westerly last night, but now here we sit, sails down, rolling to a gentle ground swell. The rolling actually propels the boat forward at about 1/4 kt, but I can't get the autopilot to keep the course for long. I was unable to raise anyone during the 7:00 chat on either VHF or SSB. I know some are within range, but I suppose they don't feel the need to discuss the joys of being becalmed.

22 June 2000 - Resolute called.  They are moving!  Doing 8.9 kts in 13 kts of wind at225 degrees. In Gulf Stream.  No contact with anyone.
Wildeyes nice conditions, doing 6.7 kts wind 12 kts at 220 doing 305 degrees.  Flat and nice. Got wind 3 hours ago.  No contact with anyone.
Windswept emailed: "Panacea, Windswept, and Bent remain stuck in flypaper! We are in close formation and logged about thirty miles in the last 24 hours. The wind conditions have not improved. The maximum wind I have seen in the last 36 hours is 4 knots. The wind direction has just about boxed the compass. Hand steering is required most of the time to avoid being taken aback. I heard a faint broadcast from Serif at 19:00. I hailed back but got no response. The broadcast did not appear to be of an urgent nature. I have to get this vessel moving. That bottle of vintage rum is starting to rent space in my head!"
Upstart said they haven't been able to talk to anyone so they called us.  Fine conditions course of 328.  Wind 260 at kts.  Doing 5.8 kts.  Started getting wind around noon.
Dirigo emailed me three emails. Evidently they were from different times and they hadn't gone out till now. So here they are in who knows what order. "2100 hrs. POS N32 57.1 W064 59.2 COG 340 SOG 6.2 What a difference a week makes. If you recall we had plenty of wind on the way down to Bermuda, too much you could say. Now, we're struggling in winds below 10 knots. The forecast isn't too promising for our return trip this time. Light winds for the most part and a high pressure system just to the north east after the stream that will influence the course home.b
Buck has joined me for the return leg and we're trying to keep the boat rolling. We have a spinnaker up and for the better part of the day it was a struggle to get more than 3 knots of oat speed. I just looked at our SOG and we're up in the six knot range. Hold on to your hat. The plan is to go west as to the north east there's going to be a high pressure system with little or no wind. I'm going to shoot for a spot to cross the gulf stream about 30 miles west of the gulf stream. That should keep me out of the south bound flow of that meander that I shot for last week and hopefully keep me in wind. Hope everyone is following along and enjoying the race."
"POS N35 23.0 W067 13.3 COG 336 SOG 5.0 Smooth Seas Water Temp 77 It's a nice sail today. The wind is being a little more cooperative this evening after an afternoon of slow going. We're lucky to get 8 knots, but managing to keep the boat moving. We're moving along around the 5 knot range and I've even seen 6! The other night we heard a few boats talking but last night no one. We were glad to see a passing ship today. Just a lot of blue water to look at.You always wonder what the other guys are doing. A lot of boats are carrying AIS transponders these days. I only have a receiver and could see everyone that was near me, but as I said that all ended last night. It's always a guessing game.
The moon has risen, full and bright again. You wouldn't believe how bright it was last night. I had to keep my hat on to keep from getting a moon burn. Ha! Anyway, not much to report. We're on track towards our gulf stream way point. Let's hope the wind holds."
"2100 hrs. POS N32 57.1 W064 59.2 COG 340 SOG 6.2 What a difference a week makes. If you recall we had plenty of wind on the way down to Bermuda, too much you could say. Now, we're struggling in winds below 10 knots. The forecast isn't too promising for our return trip this time. Light winds for the most part and a high pressure system just to the north east after the stream that will influence the course home. Buck has joined me for the return leg and we're trying to keep the boat rolling. We have a spinnaker up and for the better part of the day it was a struggle to get more than 3 knots of boat speed. I just looked at our SOG and we're up in the six knot range. Hold on to your hat. The plan is to go west as to the north east there's going to be a high pressure system with little or no wind. I'm going to shoot for a spot to cross the gulf stream about 30 miles west of the gulf stream. That should keep me out of the south bound flow of that meander that I shot for last week and hopefully keep me in wind. Hope everyone is following along and enjoying the race."
Nimros called to say that he has had no wind for quite a while.

22 June 0800 - Wildeyes reported no contacts with nice breeze at 8 kts from 300.
Kontradiction said  that it is very nice with wind 10 kts from the West.  Boat speed 4.5 kts.  Michael said that he woke up this morning with no one around after being around a bunch of boats last night.  Two nights ago he heard a noise.  He jumped up on deck to find the boom floating at the mast.  The nut had backed off and the screw  fell out.  He said it took most of the morning to fix it using the boom vang and some halyards.  It wiped him out. But all is well now.
Windswept emailed: "It has been 12 hours since either my knot meter or my wind speed indicator read anything but 0.0. I am in sight of Panacea and have Bent's AIS signal about 6 miles to the west. Last night I spoke with Ray on Aggressive via VHF. They had caught and released a good sized marlin, and had just about finished devouring the tuna they caught earlier. I couldn't quite catch up for sushi! There seems to be a wind line approaching, so with a little help from above, we may be underway soon."

21 June 2000 - We didn't get reports from this morning due to a couple of screw ups.
Wildeyes said that they haven't heard from anyone.  5 kts of breeze "chugging along".
Upstart said that he had no radio communications from anyone also.  Wind 5.5 kts.
Island Girl, Brian,  said he heard from Aggressive, Kontradiction, Bluebird, and Windswept.  Aggressive is now reporting that he has caught 2 fish.  Take that Mirari!  Aggressive appears to be winning the fishing tourney!
Resolute, Scott, said they have 4kts at 300 and haven't heard from anyone either.

20 June 1830 - Windswept emailed: We are about 20 miles out. I am close convoy with Panacea and Bluebird. I have Island Girl on my port hip and Halcyon close astern. Nimros and Serif seem to have there own rally going. Kontradicition is about two miles ahead and to windward. The winds are light (5-10 kts) and a bit more westerly than forecast. It is beautiful sailing. What a difference from the trip out! My laptop is working well, but occasionally a big drip of warm WD-40 comes out on my shorts.

20 June 1400 - Ray Renaud on Aggressive reported he caught the first fish, a Tuna!  Eating it tonight.  Looks like serious competition for Mirari if they were here.

20 June 1200 - And they are off!  All 15 of them!  What a beautiful morning.  Started off with Eric and Buck stuck in their slip on the ground with the tide going out.  Took a while and with the help of a halyard being pulled to the fixed dock side they were able to get out.  That was the only excitement for the morning, thank you very much.  The wind kept shifting from WSW to SSW but they made it out of the Town Cut with no problems.  The fast ferry even arrived between classes; very accommodating.  They are being tracked in a separate tab by Yellowbrick again. Kiwi Spirit improved his start performance over Newport's start; he was only 1 minute late vice 1.5 minutes.  Must be his son Alan's doing!  Stanley will have to counteract that 30 seconds later during his watch. The Race Committee again had the use of Irvin Hayward's "The Admirial" (thanks).  The following people helped out on the boat: Irvin Hayward, Peter Cabral, Woopie Hayward, Audrey Pope, Jan Steyn and Pete Welsby & wives.

19 June 1800 - The weather brief and Skipper's Meeting were held this afternoon. All the dock fees have been paid and all have been through Customs successfully.  Nothing left but eat out tonight at Wahoo's.  Tomorrow we start back to Newport.  At the skipper's meeting a vote was taken for the new Skipper's Representative.  Unanimous vote for Tristan Mouligne.

18 June 1830 - The awards were held in the lounge of the Dinghy Club. About 40 people attended.  Commodore Lacey Jennings, Immediate Past Commodore Frank Jennings, Dinghy Club Event Chair Brian Oatley, Rear Commodore Patrick Lacey and Mayor of St. George's the Honorable Garth Rothwell were all present and participated.  The Honorable Garth Rothwell gave out the trophies.  Afterwards picture taking of the solo sailors was performed minus two; John Lubimir and Michael Schum.  Afterwards a Steak Fry was put on for us.  While we were eating Gosling representatives talked about Goslings and provided rum for tasting.  Tomorrow we start getting ready for departure.

18 June - Gulf Stream update from Frank Bohlen is posted now.

17 June - 28 of us pilled into a bus and a car and went to the Swizzle Inn for an evening of drinking and eating on the front top deck.  I think it is safe to say that all had a great time.  Patrick Paley joined us and took many pictures.