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We will be bringing news from the racers here, as we get it.

(If you have contact with the racers please email reports to: Dave)

Sorry, I did that. Did not mean to mislead, just thought it was ironic that the order we left St. Georges harbour was the same order as our finishs. There was a lot of sailing inbetween though.

This was such a great time. I know my family put up with this thinking "this will get it out of his system". Nothing could be further from the truth. Now I'm really hooked. Nothing like hauling ass in the total darkness after the moon sets, watching the dolphin's leave phosphorescent vortex's as they race alongside.

The highlight for me was definitely the last 30 hours, where we knew that we were behind Jan on ER Tape, but also knew that we had the right conditions developing for us to sprint past and regain the lead. We were constantly pushing the boat harder, and in the final 5 hours sustained an average speed of over 9 knots. For the final two hours our average speed was 10.5 kts, with a peak of 15.3 kt! I had a few moments at the helm where we were ripping along at 10 or 11 knots and I could see the waves start to set up ahead of me. It was like reaching the top of a rollercoaster, taking a breath and plunging in.

I know that these speeds are so inconsequential when compared to a TP 52 or Sled, but what made it so thrilling is the scale of the boat, and how very close to the water and waves we are when driving the boat.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the way to race distance races. Sure you can have your proper galley and enclosed head, and proper berths on your Bene 40.7, but that is really a handicrap distance rally; if you want real racing, these Mini's are the tits!

It's also great that there is so much diversity within the box rule class. Jan's boat is a much better performer in light air upwind. Ryan's is better in heavy air from beam reaching to further aft. Jesse has his weather, and Josephine is a weapon in light air downwind. Drew has an exceptional boat, but has not had time to work the bugs out and make her reliable enough to push it. The Zero is more of a real boat with a proper interior than any of the Proto's, and really could be a family boat sometimes, and a real offshore racer when that is what you want.

It may be though that the best thing about this growing class in the relationships between the people in the class. I had corresponded with Jan and Sam previously, but had really never met any of these people. It was great to see the group pull together to help each other get the boats ready, and to party with them after the racing was over. I know that we all party after the race with our big boat teams, but that can be exclusive. With only two on the team, you must include the other teams to make a party. Mini sailing has a real future in North America. I'm glad to be a part of this group.

For those of you waiting on the fringes waiting for Mini's to happen here, the wait is over. NAMT is actively selling Mini's in the US, Sam's boat is for sale, and so is Mini Red Dress. Ryan's boat will be for sale in another year or so, and I believe many of the competitors in this years B 1-2 will be willing to sell their boats as they look to upgrade into newer Proto's for the '09 Bermuda 1-2. There will be several shorthanded races this season on the east coast that will include Mini's, and there is a lot of talk about getting a class of Mini's out to Cali for the Cabo race. Both the St. Pete to Isla and Pensacola to Isla race's will welcome a Mini division, it's just up to you to get a boat and get it on the line.

RFOR First!

Just talked to Ryan (Briefly) they Crossed first, and they had actually extended their lead over ER Tape by the finish, possibly up to an hour!
ER hasn't crossed as of this posting.

He also said that the may have the fifth fastest ELAPSED time overall.

He and Clark had fun, and they are getting the boat cleaned up and are getting ready to help the other boats on arrival.

Great Job, Guys!

Hello,

Just heard from Ryan.  They had 4 minutes left on their sat phone and are no longer able to get online to receive position reports. 

Position as of 8:24edt

40.32N

70.52W

Going 7.5-8.5kts with the screacher.  They sound well and are having a great time racing against Jan Brandt #530.  It’s going to be a photo finish!!  We expect them in tonight and the last thing Ryan said was, “Look, after we clear customs, we want to have a burger and a pitcher of beer at the restaurant near the baseball diamond.”  I think they’re pushing pretty hard to get here before it closes!

Thanks for your support,

Katie

504-352-5007

PS If you are interested in purchasing additional sat phone minutes for the guys, please call contact me ASAP.

75 minutes $165

200 minutes $449

500 minutes $617

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

27 JUNE  0800 - Valkyrie reports 17 kts SSW with boat speed in high 7kts with 60 nm to go to finish. Flash of Beauty, ER Tape and Myrna Minkoff are in the vacinity.  Myrna Minkoff 1130 pm update should be on iboattrack.com.   ER Tape as are the rest of the fleet as they approach the mainland are getting very thick fog.  Today is Jan Brandt's 39th birthday!

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

• 26 JUNE  2000 -   Spirit of America called twice with a weak connection, no information.  ER Tape also called to say they are doing nicely.   We had another position report from Myrna Minkoff at 1100 today so he is doing fine.

At 4:30 edt we’re at,

N 38 47

W 68 22 minutes

We moved the transponder, but apparantly that didn't work.

Jan kind of made the great escape on us, but you must believe me there was nothing we could do to go west in those light conditions.  The boat would not do it, we tried.

West is best.

-R

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

• 25 JUNE  1830 - You may have noticed that we are not getting updates on iBoattrack.com for Myrna Minkoff, Ryan Finn.  Evidently his tracker is no longer functioning.  Just received an email indirectly from Ryan with a position report for 1100 today.  The iBoattrack.com website will be updated with this position. 

Ryan's tracker has not updated since 0400 on the 24th. He's lurking out there somewhere and when he breaks radio silence, watch out!

Positions out of Town Cut:

1. Ryan Finn, Clark Thompson
2. Jan Brandt and Frank Gazioch 
3. Jesse Rowse and crew
4. Jay Sharkey, Katie Healey
5. Drew Wood, Dean Wood
6. Sam Ausmus III and Denver
7. Katie Ambach, Tara Thomas

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

From the start in Bermuda

From "Wookie Racing"

June 22 1400 EDT Start of the Double Handed Leg to Newport.

Solo leg to Bermuda:

* Delayed Tracker Info

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

15 JUNE 2000 - Peter Bourke, Rubicon, called again.  Still in a wind hole along with Kate on Mini Red Dress.  Peter has been in contact with Kate via VHF and all is well. Hoping, wishfully, for wind.

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

Rubicon, Peter Bourke, called to say he has been in a wind hole the past 24 hours but is continuing on.  Peter said he had heard from Mini Red Dress but that she did not hear Peter.

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

• 15 JUNE 0830 - Jay Sharkey, Josephine, called to say he is starting his engine due to lack of wind and thus withdrawing.  He has been out of power for the past 3 days.  He expects to be in Bermuda around 1800 EDT.

Hey guys, Jan from ER Tape here. Thanks for all the support and interest. I have got to say, I had an absolute blast! What a way for the Mini Class to start in the US! These boats rock offshore! My Zero ran like a champ without any problems and took good care of me. I am waiting until the rest of the class is in, then I will take a couple of days off R&R with Holli and Syd before our "inport race" Sunday. It is going to be a good week in Bermuda before we do it all over again on the return leg. More updates once I "unfry" my brain.

Another dark and Stormy please...
Later, Jan

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

Sam Ausmus, Spirit of America, called.  He is about 34 nm from the finish with lighter winds than he was hoping for, 5 kts at 330.  He will be giving the local sail maker some business; ripped two spinnakers.

Ryan and Jan debrief.

Jay (Josephine) called me 9:00 pm Wednesday night to report he was approximately 130 nm out from Bermuda. He’s had a rough time going since early this week:  as reported earlier, he lost his jumper struts and so cannot fully hoist the main, so his speed has been seriously limited. In addition, he re-injured his shoulder (he was in a pretty bad bike accident earlier this year) when he got in the water to untangle Josephine from a fish trap, and he’s been fighting to keep his right ear dry because he blew his drum when he dove to clean the bottom of his boat before the race. To top it all off, both his autopilots are not functioning so he’s been hand-steering for the duration, and hasn’t had a wink of sleep. Needless to say, he’s exhausted, and is just trying to keep a straight course to St. George’s so he can finally get some rest. He said he expected to arrive in the wee hours of Friday but I see his speed has slipped to 2.4 knots, so we’ll have to see how things play out.

He has not been in touch with anyone. His first question to me was “Is Duncan there yet?” (He was extremely bummed to hear about your mast troubles, Duncan).

So, to anyone reading... please send Jay some positive energy throughout the day. He will certainly appreciate the good vibes!!! Suzanne.

13 Jun 07 1930 . Sam called today, he is doing well, except for a sore ass. Seems deck non-skid is not soft. He is about 100 miles from Bermuda and is being chased by squalls. If the next one has rain in it he will try to wash some clothes.  Then the Sat-phone connection was lost. Sail fast Sam!

That was a nice ride. Yesterday was all about just finishing so I didn't touch the tiller the whole day and caught up on sleep as recommended by Clark and Katie. Not too much to write about after the delivery up, but that was kind of the point. Just waiting for Jan to pull in to hand down the "easy button" and a drink. He's done a killer job.

Looking forward to the race back.

-Ryan

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

1015 eastern from Drew. He reports just taking it steady. Has power problems and has tuned of all his electrical drain, meters, nav, pilots etc and is hand steering. Reported 10 kts from about the north and a couple of hours of sleep last evening with the tiller tied off. He is looking to hook up the solar panels this morning and press on. He is taking the big view of the race, his boat and the program.

Call on Monday 0715 eastern changing his earlier communicated plan to return to Newport in favor of pressing on to Newport. He mentioned difficulties with his rig and there was also mention of electrical problems.

Hey!

Hello friends,

I beat him!  This time I’m really happy since now, I’ll be able to greet him at the dock.  Tara Thomas (Co-skipper #680) and I arrived in Bermuda today.  I arrived two hours earlier than she and I waited at the airport and had a few nice conversations with sailors picking up their crew.  They both were following the race and were excited to hear I was part of the RFOR team.  We took a taxi to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, where Olivia Barton (head sailing instructor-24yrs) met us and took us to our private island!  We’re staying in the cottage on White’s Island, which is directly across from the cruise ships in Hamilton.  The cottage is owned by the Bermuda Sailing Association and housing was our trade-off for working with the kids in the area.  Three other instructors are living there and the house is more like a dorm setting.  The island is absolutely fantastic!!  Huge green yard, grill, private beach and many different boats to sail.  We were on our way back to the main island (500 yards away) and her friend, Kevin, invited us to tie off to his 40’ glass bottom tour boat for a Rum Swizzle.  I’m now at the Bermuda Sailing Association office which is a 5 minute walk from the boat.  We are using a 15’ skiff to get back and forth to the house.  I can’t wait for the sailors to get here and we might not ever leave our private island! Wish our friends and family were here to share the fun– Katie  

from Ryan

Spent last night under full main and fractional spinnaker making good time and getting lots of sleep. This morning I was overtaken by several large rain showers. From the helm they didn't look too powerful and I just steered through them. Lazy I guess, but I didn't feel like dousing the kite and resetting it. Besides there were are a bunch of good miles under those things. It's kind of bizarre being under a squall with rain flattening the waves and it looking like things are calming down. Then you look at the instruments and the wind is up to 25 knots and boat speed is steadily above 12 knots! I guess a lot of what goes on out here is just in our head.

I'm just under 100 miles from the finish in Bermuda, jib reaching directly at the mark at about 7 knots. It appears I have a pretty good lead so it's just a matter of keeping the boat in one piece and pointed in the right direction. I'm racing Katie Triplett who is arriving by plane. I beat her to Newport, but this one may be harder.

-Ryan

From the Bermuda 1-2 Race site:

We heard from WAFI, Drew.  He is moving along.  Has power issues since no sun till today.  Slept some with the helm lashed.  Wind N @ 10 kts.

12 JUNE 0800 - ER Tape had a two hour stop getting the code 0 out of the water which wrapped it self around the keel; the guy line for his bow sprit broke.  He took his sails down, cleared the problem the took off again.  All is well. Jan reports finally seeing sunshine for the first time.
Reality had a change of course between 0230 and 0630 where he was heading NE at 2.4kts.  The last report at 0830 showed him heading south at 5 kts. Hopefully he was just hove to sleeping because he may have lost power; lack of sunshine to charge the batteries.
A number of boats report that there have been a quite a few squalls where the wind jumps up to 22 kts.  The front group report calm sees with about NW to SW breeze at about 13 kts.