Skyweb Express Passing Through the Doldrums

Skyweb Express is passing through the doldrums, currently in 9th place. The rankings are not especially meaningful because they show absolute distance to the finish and not necessarily who is in the best position to win. Nevertheless, Craig seems to have worked himself into a good position. 

Quoting Jan: “My experience racing the Zero against various prototype boats in the Bermuda race was that the Zero could just motor away higher and faster than any other mini in drifting or very bouncy conditions. And that's what Craig has now... 

Barring any new weather info which is hard for him to get onboard, our strategy was for him to cross the equator around 29.5-30˚W. This is historically the best waypoint to deal with the doldrums and places him just east of rhumb line. 

The game now is to get south at all costs. The first to touch the SE trades will just motor away.” 

You can keep tracking Skyweb Express from the Mini Transat 2009 website. 

One Week Into Leg 2...

And Skyweb Express has reached the Cape Verde Islands. According to the race rules, they must pass between Santo Antao (to the West) and Maio (to the East), but finding the best route through the islands will still be a navigational challenge. After passing through the Cape Verdes, Skyweb Express will head toward the doldrums, then sail on to Salvador de Bahia, leaving the next mark - the Island of Fernando de Noronha -to starboard. 

I don’t have any news from Craig. According to race rules, he is not allowed any form of “outside assistance” and so can't carry a satellite phone and had to relinquish his cel phone before leaving. He relays his position and reports any problems twice daily to one of the accompanying boats by VHF radio. You can check the official Mini Transat race site’s English page for updates and follow him either by clicking on the map below “Suivi Cartographique” or by going directly to: http://tracking.transat650.org/carte.  

So far, Craig seems to be sailing a conservative race, so I’m guessing that he is probably eating tolerably well and sleeping a little bit. For those who are curious, here is what he has to in his daily food packets: 1 bag of freeze-dried food; 2 bags each of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate; one pouch of milk powder and 2 little packets of sugar; nuts; chewy candy; 2 cliff bars; 2 granola bars; freeze-dried fruit; olive oil; Gatorade; and of course chocolate. Most of the food is American because Americans do processed and freeze-dried foods well. (Did you know, for instance, that you can’t get Quaker instant oatmeal packets in either France, Spain, or Italy?) But the chocolate is French. I bought it all in the Monoprix in La Rochelle – 35 big bars of dark chocolate – and carried it back to our apartment in a garbage bag because it was the only shopping bag that I had at the time. 

-posted by Carolyn

An Update from Madeira

It has been 2 weeks now since I broke the boat in a collision with a whale, which resulted in a long and frustrating first leg. Today, I just put the finishing touches on the repairs to Skyweb Express. I’m lucky that Laurent was here from France to fix some damage to Mini 552 and was also able do the glass work on my boat. The rudders are back on and I’m planning to go on a test sail in the next few days. Thanks to everyone who helped with the repairs. It is good to be back in racing condition. 

Funchal is an interesting place and I wish that I had more time to explore Madiera.  

I hope to get some rest now and to spend some time preparing the navigation for the second leg, which starts on Saturday. This leg is a whole new race and I plan to go out and sail fast and try to move on up the standings.  

I’ve been looking at the weather for Leg 2. The trade winds are not currently here and it looks as if we will be affected by a big low off of Madiera to the west providing SW winds which means that we will be going upwind until south of the Canaries. There is talk around the docks about this current weather pattern and I am sure many boats are going to rapidly load some more food and maybe not dump as much water after the start. The leg could and probably will be maybe 3 – 5 days longer. 

Skyweb Express Arrives in Funchal

I am happy to report that Craig has arrived safely in Funchal, Madeira, well within the required time period.  He finished 46th of 47 series boats, passing one boat in his class and almost halving the distance that was between him and the rest of the fleet when he left Porto. 

Francisco Lobato Arrives in Funchal...

Which means that Craig has until Thursday at 14 hr 48 (French time) to cross the finish line. I don't know about you, but I'm cheering him on... 

Skyweb Express Sails Again

After 20 hours in Porto, Portugal repairing the damage to Skyweb Express, Craig is back on the water. His challenge now is to make it to Funchal, Madeira within 5 days of the arrival of the lead boat.

If all is as forecasted, a bit of a dead zone should be heading his way so his progress will probably be slow for the next few days. A NNWesterly should fill in again on Monday and Tuesday, which should carry him to Funchal.  

Francisco Lobato, the current leader in the series boat class, is now about 90 miles from the Funchal and, although in a bit of a dead zone himself, expected to arrive later today. That gives Craig 5 days to sail the 500+ miles to the finish.

An Update

It wasn't play in the rudder fittings. It was a whale. And the collision pulled the rudder from the hull, so that there was a fist-sized hole in the boat.  

Craig sailed at an angle that would minimize the amount of water leaking in and is now in Porto, Portugal. He is currently attempting to make the necessary repairs.  Time is critical, because he will need to make it to Madeira before the time limit of 5 days after the arrival of the lead boat.

Rudder Problems

If you've been following Craig's progress, you have probably noticed that he slowed down and dropped from mid-fleet to close to the bottom of the series boats' rankings. You have also probably noticed that, while all the other boats are sailing east, he is sailing west and appears to be heading towards Porto, Portugal. 

I don't know exactly is going on, but Craig reported play in his rudder fittings, resulting in a minor leak. He told the support boat that he planned to repair them while under sail, then to continue on his previous course. 

Jan and Kurt have some guesses of what might be happening: 

His backing plates in the hull through which the rudders are bolted are small and the bolts for the gudgeons may have wittled out their holes. This is hardly surprising given the beating they must have taken on the leg so far. He has materials for a repair on board and it sounds as if he is planning to fix the problem, but it might take a while and it will definitely cost him time on this leg.  

If he is attempting to fix the problem, he is likely on his current course (beam reaching) so that the pressure is off of the bad rudder, and so that the boat is stable during repairs and he can work back under the cockpit without danger of accidental jibe. 

Hopefully he is rested, because he will need more energy and creativity for this challenge than "just" sailing the boat.

The 2009 Mini Transat start

I'm back from La Rochelle where I saw the start of the 2009 Mini Transat. 

The sun was shining and the wind was about 15 knots from the north-east. It was a perfect day to be out on the water. And it was an interesting start: about a quarter of the fleet, including some of the favourites to win the race, rounded a safety buoy instead of the mark. Most returned, but some did not and will likely incur a time penalty for it. I'm guessing that Craig rounded the mark correctly because when we saw him, he was in front of a few boats that should be much faster than him.  

The first leg to Madeira is predicted to be an exclusively down-wind race in up to 30 knots of breeze, conditions that are optimal for the Pogo2 series boats. Skyweb Express is a Zero, which means that Craig will have to work harder to stay with the fleet. Craig's plan was to sleep as much as possible in the Bay of Biscay so that he would be alert for rounding Finisterre (where they were expecting gusts of 40 knots) and for tackling the shipping lanes. He was hoping to lose as little time as possible in the first leg so that he could be more competitive in the second leg, where conditions might be more favourable for a Zero. 

You can track Craig on the official Mini Transat website by clicking on the map under "Suivi Cartographique".

-posted by Carolyn

4 days to the start of the Transat...

All 84 boats are in the basin at La Rochelle, France, and the docks are alive with activity. The excitement is palpable. Today the "race village" (a street fair of sorts) opened to the public and the first bus-loads of tourists stopped by to look at the boats. There are an impressive number of journalists wandering the docks and several groups of schoolchildren have stopped by to see the Minis and ask the skippers questions.

The holders for the trackers were also put on the boats today, and the trackers should be turned on sometime in the next few days. Look for them on the official Mini Transat website

The tension is equally palpable. Some skippers and "preparateurs" are making a few frantic, last-minute repairs and the race officials have spent the past few days wandering the docks, performing safety checks. As of yesterday afternoon, Craig has completed all of the required checks and paperwork and can now start concentrating on putting Skyweb Express in order, making a few minor adjustments, and working on navigation. Thanks especially to Andy who flew out from Florida to help with the preparations, and to Jeff for breaking into our house to retrieve some required documents.

-posted by Carolyn

21 days to the start of the Transat...

It’s 21 days until the start of the Transat and I have been in Lorient for a week, getting Skyweb Express ready. I had a few long days at the AOS boatyard, cleaning the boat, wet sanding the rudders and keel, fairing the keel joint, repairing leaking rudder fittings and so on. It took a little while to get Skyweb in the water because the crane at AOS was broken. On Friday, they brought in a temporary replacement crane and Skyweb Express finally touched ocean again.

The new sails have arrived and are on board and tomorrow I plan to test the autopilots and sail across the bay to pick up my new charts of the Atlantic from a store on the other side.

It’s been great to be in the AOS boatyards in Lorient again. Groupama, Bank Populaire, and Foncia all have bases here so I’ve been able to see the boats getting worked on. Still, I hope to sail down to La Rochelle in the next few days and join all of the other Minis that are beginning to gather there.

Craig Horsfield and Skyweb Express qualify for the 2009 Charente-Maritime/Bahia Transat 6,50

Craig crossed the finish line of the Mini Pavois in 9th place overall. Despite the altered course, the Pavois is still counted as an 800-mile race giving Craig more than enough miles to qualify for the 2009 Charente-Maritime/Bahia Mini Transat. 

New Finish Line for the Mini Pavois

Because of an ugly-looking depression, predicted to move in on Thursday night and Friday morning, the Mini Pavois race organisers have decided to move the finish line to the mark at Les Birvideaux, between the Islands of Belle-Ile and Groix.

 

And the second leg of the 2009 Mini Pavois is...

Course "B", a 430 mile course from Gijon to Karek Greis, around the Basse Pérennès in the northwest Glénan archipelago, around La Jument in the southwest Glénan archipelago, on to Les Birvideaux, then to a mark at the entrance of Petruis d'Antioche, with the finish line at the Minimes buoy just outside of La Rochelle. According to the Mini Pavois rankings, Skyweb Express is currently in 2nd place among the series boats in what looks like very light and variable conditions.

Leg 2 of the Mini Pavois starts on Monday

The second leg of the Mini Pavois will begin on Monday, May 11th at 2 PM. The weather forecasts are varying, and so the race committee has 4 possible courses from Gijon back to La Rochelle and will announce the final course tomorrow at the skippers meeting. 

If the original course is followed, the second leg will take the fleet 520 miles through what is being described as an “inter-island slalom”. The leg begins with a 256 mile crossing of the Bay of Biscay to Les Birvideaux Islands off the Brittany Coast. From Les Birvideaux, the fleet will sail 31 miles to the Lower Mares in the Glénan archipelago. Leaving the islands to starboard, they will sail 4 miles back north to the Lower Pérennès. The last mark of the northern section of the course is Karek Greis, 6 miles away. Next comes a 164 mile run, passing by the islands of Brittany, the Vendée and Charente to the BXA just west of the Gironde estuary. From there it is another 30.5 miles to the mark at the entrance of Peruis d’Antioch, then another 21 miles to the finish line, just west of La Rochelle. 

You can track Craig and Skyweb Express on the Mini Pavois race tracker.

The Mini Pavois starts May 6th

The Mini Pavois begins on Wednesday, May 6th at 2 PM and Craig on Skyweb Express will be at the start line with 51 other sailors. The 800 mile, single-handed race will be in two legs, with the first leg taking the sailors 300 miles from La Rochelle, France, across the Bay of Biscay to Gijon, Spain. In the second leg, they will sail 500 miles from Gijon back to La Rochelle by way of the South Brittany Coast. It will likely be a slow start, with light and variable winds of 1 - 10 knots from the north. During the night, the wind should shift to the north east, averaging 7-10 knots, but should drop again by Thursday.

You can track Skyweb Express on the Mini Pavois blog site in French or in English.

Skyweb Express finishes the Pornichet Select 16th in class

The Pornichet Select lived up to its reputation of being a very hard race. I had been told beforehand that the Select was hard, that I should be careful, and that I should remember that the major goal was the Transit. But there is nothing like experiencing it to really understand. 

The Select started in nice weather and the fleet was very fast, pushing all the time. I was just managing to stay with the lead bunch while trying to be conservative and to not break anything. It started to get a lot harder in the south end when the west wind picked up for the 100 NM upwind leg to Isle of Cru. All night, I flew off waves and every time that I came crashing down the boat and mast would shake very badly. I'm not sure how I got home in one piece. As you can tell by the number of boats that didn't finish, many didn't.  

This race is all about stamina. You need to be able to manage your time and strength, knowing that it is 3 days of full-on sailing. The inshore course keeps you very close to the shore and there are a lot of rocks. Throw in ships, fishing boats, and 79 minis, and you have a navigational nightmare requiring a lot of focus.

Very early on Monday morning was a pivotal moment in the race for me. I was sailing at night in driving rain, putting in the 3rd reef, with the autopilot steering the boat to a set wind angle. Somehow, the autopilot suddenly misread the wind data. The boat tacked, the jib stuck on the baby stay, the main sail stuck in the runners, and the mini was on it its side going sideways. That one small failure led to a 30 minute battle to get the boat back up and on course again.

It also means that I now need to spend some time fixing the boat. The jib was ripped and is currently getting repaired, the wind instruments are broken, and there are some minor problems like broken battery lashings.I also injured my left hand quite badly. It is currently not usable and the doctor's instructions are to keep it clean and dry. It was interesting to see the French medical system - cheap at 22 Euros for an appointment and some repair work cleaning, closing, and dressing the wound.

Right now, I am physically dead-tired and very sore. But I learned a lot.

And I finished, which means that I am now only 200 NM from qualifying for the Transat. The next race is the Mini Pavois. It's 800 Miles, which is more than enough to qualify me but I'll have to see if my hand has healed enough in time. The race starts on Wednesday, so I'll be sailing down to La Rochelle no later than Friday.

The race track from my logger is: Pornichet Select

April 26th Pornichet Select Update

The first night of the Pornichet Select was passed under clear, starry skies with a westerly breeze of 10-12 knots. The fleet reached Les Birvideaux then settled in for a long spinnaker run towards Port Bourgenay to the south. They are now sailing toward the Island of Groix in 15-20 knot winds and, if the winds hold, the first boats should be back in Pornichet on Monday afternoon.

The Pornichet Select is living up to its reputation as a difficult and challenging race. Nine boats have abandoned so far due to collisions, or broken rudders or autopilots. Rounding the buoy at Port Bourgenay, Craig was 22nd of 39 Series boats, about 1 1/2 hours behind the leader.

April 24th update from Pornichet, France

The Pornichet Select starts tomorrow - 300 nautical miles of solo sailing along the Brittany coast. We don't have tracking devices for this race, but we will be radioing in our positions every day so check the Pornichet Select blog site for any updates.

 

 

 

From Lorient, France

Sitting in Charles de Gaulle airport, waiting for the next flight to Brest, it already seemed as if my week back in Seattle was a long long time ago. I had some quick organising and a bit of time in the office, which now seems unreal. It feels like I'm in some sort of a time warp. 

I drove from the airport in Brest to Lorient. Lorient is an interesting town with an unusual mixture of old and new. Skyweb Express is currently at AOS, which is right beside a World War II German submarine base. The Germans really tried to make the place bomb-proof. The building has a huge concrete roof and walls that are 10 feet thick - the scale is almost unreal. There are racing boats everywhere. Roxy Open 60 is in the shed behind where we launched and the huge new French Tri is in the yard behind the Minis. There are Figaros and Minis all over the place. AOS is very well organized and they launched Skyweb Express and put her mast in as if they knew exactly how to handle these boats. All very impressive.

I'm setting out for Pornichet as soon as everything is in order. It is 70 miles down the coast and I need to be there by Wednesday, April 22nd to confirm my registration and go through safety checks before the start of the Pornichet Select. The Pornichet Select is a 300 nautical mile course, mostly inshore, starting on April 25th. After that, I'll sail down to La Rochelle for the start of the Mini Pavois on May 6th. It is sure to be a hectic few weeks.

 

Skyweb Express finishes 3rd in class, 6th overall in the Mini Med 2009

Skyweb Express found the podium in its first European Classe Mini event. Coming through the brutal doublehanded race with no major breakdowns, Craig and Kurt Hoehne, his crew for the race, finished third among the Series boats and sixth overall.

The 500 mile double-handed race began on Sunday, March 29th from L’Escala, Spain, one day late: the race committee decided to postpone it due to severe weather conditions. The "Tormontana" wind was in force for the start, and the fleet had an extremely fast 150 mile run to the Menorca. Skyweb Express made big gains during the night, jibing on two shifts and pushing under a medium-sized spinnaker. There was more fast running en route to Majorca. The wind picked up again for the beat along the west side of Ibiza. At times Skyweb Express was down to a triple-reefed main and solent. The late afternoon finish in Sitges was in light winds and rain.

Completion of the race moves Craig's Mini Transat endeavor much closer to realization, delivering 500 of the 1000 miles of European racing he needs to qualify for entry into September's Mini Transat.

Some great pictures of the Mini Med...

including some of Skyweb Express, were posted on Flikr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfredfarre/sets/72157615997824089/

One day before the start of the Mini Med

We are currently in L'Escala, Spain with less than 24 hours to go until the start of the Mini Med. The mast is in, and we sailed the boat for the first time this afternoon.  There are a few minor adjustments to make tonight  and more that we should be doing but that will have to wait until before the next race.  Looking around the marina, it seems as if all of the boats are also being worked on. All together, we aren't in bad shape. 

It looks like a heavy start for the first 24 hours with winds from the north of up to maybe 40 knots.  We'll have to go out carefully and try to ride it out and not break anything.

Kurt is out getting the last of the food and water, while I study the weather and wait for the skippers meeting in an hour.

If you want to follow us, the race tracker is: http://live.adventuretracking.com/129

Skyweb Express arrives in Spain

I just got back from Spain, leaving the mini unloaded and at the 1st race venue, although not quite ready to sail.

I started the trip with a weekend in the UK to get ISAF “safety at sea” training. In Europe, this is taken very seriously and is a requirement for all Cat 2 and higher races, but there is little opportunity to get this training in the U.S. The course at Stormforce in Southampton was very interesting and I think that it is probably a good requirement. It makes you to think about a lot of safety situations ahead of time - for instance, it turns out it is quite difficult to get into a liferaft from the water once all your gear is soaking wet. Geoff and Karen were very kind and welcoming and let me stay with them in London. It made my short stay in the UK much easier.

Early Monday morning, I flew on to Barcelona to get “Skyweb Express” released from customs and reassembled. I met Andy Abel there - he kindly agreed to come to Spain and was a great asset. Not only does he speak Spanish, but he knows the area and showed me the lay of the land, which will certainly help in a few weeks time when I’m getting ready to race the Mini Med in L’Escala.

The first few days of getting the boat released were stressful. There seemed to be no end of problems although Jose Antonio, the customs broker, did a great job. No one in the Customs Office seemed to know how to deal with this container. They kept saying, “this is unusual.” When asked why said, “we can’t see the boat.” We asked why couldn’t just look inside. They told us that, because the container was on the truck, it was against the rules. In the end we managed to get them to look inside. When they did, they said, “yip. Looks like a boat” and we moved on to the next problem. There was a lot of resistance, but everyone wanted the truck on its way and, in the end, it was.

Indena, the current builder of Zeros unloaded our container in L’Escala. They were all over the job and we had the boat out of the container and on the trailer with the keel back in, in under 2 hours. Andy and I then put it all back together and moved it to the port, where we had arranged storage. We did not manage to get the mast up as the wind was blowing a full on gale, so this will be my first project before the Mini Med.

The Mini Med will be our first race- 500 miles from L’Escala. Kurt is going to sail it with me, stopping off in Southampton for the mandatory ISAF training. I need to decide if I will go to Italy after the Mini Med or whether I’ll head straight to France for the Atlantic races. It’s all about completing the 1000 NM before the other DCQ boats. But it’s exciting – Skyweb Express is in Europe and the Mini season is almost underway. If you have free time and want to help out and experience the European Mini scene, contact me and come over to France. There are some delivery trips and races that I’ll need crew for. I’m sure that I’ll be very happy for your help.

Skyweb Express Shipped to Barcelona arriving, February 6th

It is amazing how quickly time goes by. Two years ago, when the Mini arrived in Seattle, it seemed like a very long road before the 2009 Transat. Now, 2009 has arrived and the boat has left Seattle for Barcelona on a container ship.

CSR did a great job getting Skyweb Express painted, fixed up, and loaded in the container for shipping. They were kind enough to work around my changing schedule and to endure a 40 foot container blocking their yard. IQSolar provided me with some of their new solar panels. Their panels have worked brilliantly for me so far, so it is good to have backups.

APL will then truck Skyweb Express to L’Escala where Andy Abel and I will put her back together. Once she is all sorted out, we are going to move her from Spain to France. The plan is to base ourselves in Lorient, on the Brittany coast, where we will be closer to the starting points for many of the Atlantic Basin races.

Although there is still a lot to do, Skyweb Express is well on her way and I am very lucky to have the support of so many people to keep this all on schedule.

The list of 2009 Mini Transat entries came out and we have been approved for DCQ. There are 8 boats approved for 6 DCQ slots, which means that I have to be one of the first 6 DCQ-approved boats to finish the 1000 mile solo qualification sail and 1000 miles of racing in the European Mini circuit. My 1000 mile solo qualification sail is completed, though, so I am starting the season out a little bit ahead of the some of the others. The next step is to get into the events that will give me at least 1000 racing miles.

Skyweb Express Wins 2008 West Coast Mini Race

"Skyweb Express" (USA 655) crossed the finish line in front of the Golden Gate Yacht Club at approximately 1915 PST, where Craig and Tom were greeted by the enthusiastic shouts of the West Coast Race ground crew. They were under main alone due to an "incident" an hour before while under autopilot giving an update via cell phone. It sounds as though the autopilot decided not to cooperate at which point the boat wiped out and some "gill netting" took place with the spinnaker. They got the mess straightened out but have decided to take it easy and cruise in to the finish line. Rounding the breakwater, the team brought the boat alongside the guest dock at the St. Francis Yacht Club. The crew looked terrific but were eager to get a shower and a hot meal, and so were whisked inside the St. Francis by the shore team after putting the boat to bed for the night.

July 14 Report from Skyweb Express

Craig Horsfield and Tom Alexander, on 'Skyweb Express', phoned in at 0830 PST with their daily report. Sailing was terrific overnight, with sustained speeds of 10-16 knots for several hours. However, cloud cover gradually came in rendering visibility 'pitch black' and after a near collision with a pod of whales, necessitating drastic avoidance maneuvers, the boys decided to throttle back to white sail reaching for the remainder of the night. Craig also shed light on the issue with the spinnaker halyard reported a couple days ago. Craig had to go up the rig to mount an external block to re-feed the repaired halyard after the feeder line was lost through the mast. He indicated that having his weight aloft was not fast. 'Skyweb Express' reported her position as 40.42.15N / 126.46.6W off Cape Mendocino, steering course 130 (M) on port gybe in 15 knots of breeze from the north. Craig believes they can hold this line all the way to the entrance to San Francisco Bay.

July 12th Update

During this morning's Sat Phone check Guy received the following update from Craig and Tom aboard "Skyweb Express" (Zero USA 655):

"As of 08:50 PST this morning "Skyweb Express" is at 46.14.97N / 126.25.55W, sailing in approximately 20 knots of breeze with boat speed ranging from 8 to 14 knots. They have one reef in the main and are flying their reaching kite. Conditions are excellent as they travel south, about 20 miles or so outside the rhumbline course to San Francisco. They report minor wear-and-tear but nothing of concern and no problems overnight.

They send their regards to their friends and supporters at Skyweb Express."

2008 West Coast Mini Race Starts July 9th

Being an offshore sailor means spending a lot of time sitting on the shore, studying the GRIBS. On Friday July 4th, the day before the official start of the 2008 West Coast Mini race the GRIBs looked bad, predicting 40 knots winds - gusting to 50 knots -along the Oregon & California Coast.

Prudently, the race organizers postponed the race. A few days later, when conditions had not improved, the race was changed to a 250 mile course, double-handed, from Victoria, around the La Perouse weather buoy and back to Victoria.

Tom Alexander would sail with Craig on Skyweb Express and Andy Abel flew in from Florida to sail with Adrian Blunt on Antidote. But by Wednesday July 9th, the day before new start date, the GRIBs were showing calmer weather along the West Coast and plans were once again changed - the 2008 West Coast Mini Race would be a double-handed race from Victoria to San Francisco.

Skyweb Express spent the first day pounding up the Straits of Juan de Fuca in 30 knots of wind. By Friday morning, the conditions had lightened and they slowly passed Clallam Bay to the entrance of the Straits. Under full main and gennaker, they headed southwest to get a few more miles offshore, where conditions are expected to be perfect - 10 to 20 knots from the northwest, 1-3 foot seas. You can track Skyweb Express progress on iboattrack.com

West Coast Mini Race 2008.

Seems like it always comes done to the wire before events. On Tuesday I will deliver the boat to Victoria for the West Coast Mini Race. This is the first official mini race on the US West Coast. The start is Saturday July 5th and the first leg will finish in San Francisco. It looks like the summer weather pattern is slowly starting to develop here in the NW and should make for a good race if it holds up. iBoat are providing the race trackers so you can follow the race at http://www.iboattrack.com/racetracking.html and also on our site. Special Thanks to Hans Spiller for his support of the Mini program and Craig Horsfield Racing.

Last few weeks have seen large improvements in the boat. New rudders seem to have made a vast improvement in boat handling and the new electronics and running rigging should allow us to have a good run down the coast.

Spring 2008 races are underway.

The spring sailing season has started here on the West Coast in some rather unpleasant weather. Last week's race to Smith Island saw us sailing through hail and snow and rain, with a only a few tantalizing glimpses of sunshine. Still, it is good to be sailing again after a long winter of working on the boat. Some tracks of recent races, as recorded by my new (home-built) data logger:

Center sound 1
Center sound 2
Center sound 3
Smith Island

1000 Mile Solo Qualification Course Completed 08/05/07, Class Mini has accepted the qualification 11/01/07

I set off from Seattle early in the morning, two days later than anticipated due to some last minute problems. I got off to a slow start, beating out of Puget Sound, but once I passed Port Townsend and was heading into the Straights the weather started ratcheting it up quickly. I found myself sailing upwind in 25 – 30 knots with very short, steep chop and a thick fog rolling in. Throughout one very long, trying night, I was beating in the Straights with limited room, dodging commercial traffic. During the night, I got stuck in something – probably a crab pot. With a lee shore about a mile away, I pulled off a couple of quick gybes and managed to get free, later to find out that the keel box was leaking. In the morning, I also discovered that the rig was bending badly on the second reef and needed to be retuned.

Turning south in the Pacific, the weather looked good with a light westerly for a day or so and then a south westerly which quickly veered back to the northwest. With the wind from the northwest, I started moving to flying sails. I had a problem with the autopilot going a little crazy, resulting in 2 sails in the water. While I tried to retrieve the sails, the boat went out of control and I ended up stuck under a life line as my life jacket inflated.By the fourth day, the wind had changed to 20 knots from the NW and, with a small spinnaker and one reef, I started to move on. But not for long. The weather began to build more and more and for the next 2 days I was in winds upward of 40 knots at times. With just a storm jib, the boat had some incredible surfs but also got knocked down a few times. Jan Brant and Andy Able were very helpful with their advice on how to set the boat up for these conditions. Amazingly, we never lost the solar panel despite the big waves breaking over us.

As night fell, I decided to take the precaution of calling the US Coast Guard to let them know my course and position. They were great, tracking my progress for most of the night and keeping in contact with Kurt and Carolyn on the shore side.

After the wind and seas abated, I had some great sailing down the coast with the spinnakers flying as well as frustrating calms. Entering the Santa Barbara Channel I was surprised by the number of oil rigs. At 11 pm, 25 miles from the marina, the wind died. It was a long, slow finish. I picked up a bit of wind early in the morning and arrived at the marina around noon. Thanks to some great help by Evan, Rich, Gill, Matthew, Teresa, and John, the boat was broken down and on the trailer in good time. Now back in Seattle, the winter will be spent making repairs and adjustments so that she is ready for the next sailing season. Many thanks to our supporters Chris IQSolar, Kurt for all the weather and late night calls. Andy Abel, Jan Brandt, Kathy and Carolyn. You all made it happen.

Solo Qualification Under Way!

Early on the morning of Wednesday, July 25th, Craig left for his 1000-mile qualifying passage, one of the many requirements that must be met to gain entry in the 2009 Mini Transat. His course will take him from Seattle, through Admiralty Inlet past Port Townsend, through the Straits of Juan De Fuca, then around Cape Flattery to the Pacific Ocean. Once in the Pacific, he will sail south, down the coast, passing several waypoints before reaching Santa Barbara, California.

Craig managed to persevere through an exceptionally rough night in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 25 knot headwinds and big seas battered him all night as he tacked near the shore and dodged commercial traffic. Despite a couple of (repairable) breakdowns and catching something on the keel for some time, Craig managed to get out of the Strait midday on Thursday. Today, Friday, he’s making good progress toward his next waypoint off the coast. Winds are expected to lighten and back to the south for a short time before becoming more favorable later on.

To track his progress, go to: iboat track

And if you have any words of encouragement, please send them to kurt@mistychula.net or carolyn_hutcheon@hotmail.com and we’ll be sure to relay them along.

Headed to France for Mini Fastnet (12th June 2007)

There has been a lot of action in the mini fleet lately. In the first American mini race, eight boats lined up and started the Bermuda 1-2 from Newport to Bermuda and back.

The Europe Circuit is in full swing and the Mini Fastnet will be starting next week. On Tuesday I am headed to Douarnenez in France to sail it with Andy Abel in his boat Series Zero 670. You can follow our track and position online at iboattracker.com

Over the last 2 months I have been sailing and working on preparing the boat. Thanks to Kurt, Tom, Jeff, Doug and Carolyn for all the help in planning, purchasing and time sailing with me. We have made a lot of progress: electrical, instruments, and autopilot are now all functioning. Most of the equipment is installed. Erik Bentzen has been a great help with solving problems and suggesting ways in which we can improve performance. I am slowly realizing that solo sailing isn’t really “single-handed” - without the support and help of others this could not be a reality.

Rapid is almost ready for the 1000 mile qualifier. The last few sailing trips have been dialing in the autopilot. More sails have arrived - we just added a Genniker and a Maxi (Grand Spi) Spinnaker to the boat.

The current qualifier plan is to leave Seattle for Santa Barbara in mid-July. Class Mini has been sent a proposal and we are waiting for it to be accepted.

IQSolar have come on and made custom panels for us to help power the mini in this challenge, Kathryn of KamGear providing time and sewing help to get all the Canvas work sorted

We are in the Mini Fastnet

Andy Abel and I are entered in the Mini Fastnet June 16th. Andy is currently in Spain finishing up the new Zero, Phoenix Racing. This is a good opportunity for us to pool our resources and knowledge to help get both boats and skippers in top form.

Center Sound Race (11th March 2007)

There are new photos in the photos section taken during the CYC Center Sound Race. Kurt Hoehne and I entered the mini to get in some local racing as we prepare the boat for the 1000 Mile qualifier in Late July. The race started off Meadow Point and went to the south end of Whidbey Island and back. We started in P7 with boats like the Olson 30 and Hobie 33. It was a down wind start in a slowly-building southerly. Just before the turn, the wind increased and we got a feel for what these boats are like with down wind boat speeds of +11knts. Had a small problem at the rounding and then started the 14 mile upwind leg. The tide was ebbing strongly. Staying close to the east shore to minimize the current, we made our way back with 1 reef in the main and solent. We finished our first race, but now have a longer list of improvements / changes to make to improve performance and ease of sailing.

Current Seattle News (4th Feb 2007)

Currently the boat is at CSR Marine getting some much needed work to get her in top racing trim. I am using this time to sort out equipment, catch up on work, and do all the planning needed to keep the project going. I have made many small changes already to improve ease of sailing and improve performance.

The progress has been slowed by very unseasonable Seattle weather, from huge wind storms to snow and ice. The latest round of cold weather has resulted in Rapid having at least 1 more week in the yard. It was just as well I tied the boat down to the trailer in the last storm that left us without power for 4 days. A trimaran blew off its trailer and landed on a Rocket 22 causing extensive damage.

March is just around the corner and Kurt and I will be entering the CYC center sound series: three +/- 30 mile races here in Puget Sound. This is a good time for wind and it will help me put the boat through its paces.

Andy Abel from Phoenix Racing and I have been collaborating on information and boat setup he will be headed back to Spain in the next few weeks to setup his new boat for the 2007 season. I will be joining him in France for the Mini Fastnet in June we will be going all out for a good finish as we will both have experience in the Zero.

Rapid is finally sailing (10th Dec 2006).

After various delays, the boat is out sailing. Not that the local weather has helped- snow storms and gales slowed us down. The boat is sailing quite well out of the gate. Kurt and Bev joined me for the initial sail, as I still do not have AP or instruments on the boat. On the initial sail, the rig setup had a little too much rake and mast bend which affected the mainsail shape and balance. We shortened the forestay and tightened the lower diaganals and intermediate shrouds and now she is very well balanced. I am amazed at how well she can sail - you can leave the helm without problems and there is no problem holding track. This is very encouraging. There is still a long road forward of changes and upgrades that will need to be made to get every thing sorted out perfectly. Small issue but they are adding up. For example today we noticed that you can not open the escape hatch as it hits the rudder bar that connects the rudders. I'll need to shave a little of the bar and shim up the attachment point. I will provide all this information back to MOS in a hope that they can make the required changes in the yard.

The last sail was in about 20knts of southerly, the first time we've had enough wind to test if we have enough rig tension and what she is like off the wind. We turned downwind and hoisted. 30 seconds later Rapid rounded up and lay on her side. I managed to tangle the spin sheet around my boot and we could not ease. Quick recovery and we were off planing downwind. Going quite fast and before long we had to turn around and head home, as Doug had to get back. The mini claimed first blood as the stantion sliced open Doug's hand. It turns out that the stantions at the top where it is flattened and the tube welded on is very sharp and the inside is beveled creating a sharp edge on the outside. In the long run I will machine new tubes and weld these on in place of the stock. Short term pvc tube and some rigging tape (maybe it was a good thing it was a hand not a sail, just kidding. I guess that it's time to get some bandages on the boat as we had blood all over the deck).

MiniMax 2006,
partnered with Elaine Chua

My mini sailing started with the MiniMax.

I arrived in Port Camargue in France a few days early to get in some sailing and get used to the boat. I would be sailing with Elaine Chua on Feng 650.

The race started in some good breeze of about 12 knots. We had to do a triangle in the bay before we could head out on the main course. We got a conservative start but this being a 250 mile leg we had plenty time to get back in it. 51 boats started the course and the inshore triangle. Working a few shifts on the first leg we were getting back in the pack. On the downwind legs it became clear these boats like to sail hotter angles to keep the speed up. Completing the inshore leg we headed out along the cost to for the Island of Porquerolles about 130 miles down the track.

No sooner had we settled in on the rumbline for Cape Sicie did the VHF light up in French telling us we had missed a mark in the course. Because there was enough water, we had sailed inside a navigational mark, but the rules required us to honour these marks. Many boats had done the same and there were to be some time penalties for these infractions. We turned back and sailed on the correct side losing about 2 miles on the fleet. Now back on course we had ground to make up. We where tight reaching with genoa up and no overtaking lanes in sight. We tried to stay close. We had been advised to stay out of the Bay at Marseille after about 8 pm since the wind there starts to die, so as we fell into night we decided to stand more offshore. At the same time the wind started to veer and we could possibly go to a Code Zero or our large Asymmetric Spinnaker (Grand Spi) that is rather flat and so better for reaching. The wind had lightened and the true wind angle allowed us to carry the Big Spin all night at about 70° apparent. Most the other boats could only carry Code Zero (or Genniker as the French call them.) All night, in about 6 knots of wind, we held 6 knots boat speed. Sometimes we would get a puff and we would accelerate to 8 ­ 9 knots. We knew we were making gains on the fleet but were also further out to sea off the rumbline. There was a lot of shipping around Marseille so we had to make sure to stand clear of all the traffic. Turns out when you are tired and it is 4 am it’s hard to keep track of all the ships and to sail the boat fast. I was worried that when we had to gybe back in the morning for the Cape Sicie we would be behind. In the early morning the wind started to drop and lift allowing us to make the gybe. There was a thick haze that cut down visibility so we could only see two other mini’s close to us at this point. We had no idea at where Feng was placed. At the 6am radio positions in French we managed to catch a few of the key boats’ positions. We had managed to pass at least half of the series fleet in the night. Staying offshore had proven to be a good move. Still very light winds and about 50 mile to go to Island of Porquerolles before we could turn south to Corsica. As night set in, the wind veered into the west allowing everyone to fly their spinnakers. With no deep running spinnaker, we sailed higher all night for our best VMG. In the morning we had made good progress south but where about 8 miles further off shore resulting in a horrible gybe back into Corsica. We kept sailing south until about noon. With more wind and a shift we made the gybe for the finish 15 miles away. It would take us about 6 hours to make it into the bay in light conditions and then a further 3 hours just to get to the finish. It was a very frustrating finish with very little wind – at times we were almost there but going backwards without wind. On the positive side, the bars where still open and we could get a cold beer and some food. On this leg, lots of dolphins and whales had made their presence known.

Corsica seems like a great place. Everyone is very relaxed and all. The town of Ajaccio is surrounded by high hills which is what had made our approach to the finish complicated. We spent 2 days here relaxing before the restart. We didn’t have to do very much to the boat to be ready so had time to relax and walk around. Next time, I need to have a camera with me. The start of leg 2 was pushed forward by about 6 hours in an attempt for us to get passed some bad weather that was forming up the coast. In the end we would have a slow sail and the committee would finish the race half way for us to avoid a building gale.

Feng had a better start on Leg 2 and we were able to sail the middle course for the first mile before some lanes opened up and we could work on the favoured right side. We managed to get some good shifts and the long 6 mile beat up out of the bay proved very good for us. We left the bay in about 10th place, very close to all the top proto boats. We were in a great position and everyone was up on the wind, heading up the course with no passing lanes. This would hold until nightfall when the wind would start back into the west and allow us to put up some spinnakers. Night brought some very changing weather. Some big shifts and some thunder clouds mixed it up a bit. We kept changing sails and gybing to stay on the rumbline and a little west, as was our plan. Most of the fleet was doing this and we were in close proximity. Little did we know we were going to meet up with he small high pressure cell we were trying to avoid. Most the fleet got parked with no wind in the early morning for about 6 hours. A few boats had escaped in the East and would beat everyone to the finish by more than 10 hours. The wind came back from the NW and started to build. We should have switched to a headsail and gone more in to the west, but stayed on the spinnaker as we were making for the waypoint. The wind would later go more north and freshen, helping the boats that had put in the west early. We made it into the bay at about 7pm with a fresh NW wind, thinking we had 2 hours to the finish but once we got in a mile, we just stopped. A long evening of trying to move in zero wind followed. At about 11pm we managed to get some shore breeze and start making it to the finish. Trying to find a small buoy in the dark is very interesting even if you have the general GPS location. In the end the race official at the finish directed us in on the VHF and a flashlight. 8 hour to travel the last 5 miles - that was frustrating.

These boats are fun to sail, fast off the wind and easily driven. They don’t like wind in the 2 - 4 knot range and are also not great upwind, but everything else they seem to take in their pace. It is hard going upwind in a chop - the boat is short and falls off every wave, pounding a bit. It was better to put the weight forward in the boat and to put the bow down to maintain some momentum. It is very important to stack the boat - and that means everything, even the coffee cup - to the high side, making work for every gybe and tack. When close to the finish and at starts we would have it all packed in the center so that we could tack and play shifts, but once out and on long tacks, say 30min or longer, we’d move everything, gaining about 0.5 knots for sure. The boat is light on the helm, but it is important to balance the sail plan. It is easy to stall the rudders and round up in a gust. Quick mainsheet and traveller is needed when the breeze is up. The Series boats are quick and a well sailed boat can give some of the hot carbon prototypes a run for the money.

I will need to be able to understand more French when I get back again, important as all position reporting and briefings are in French. Mini sailors are a very close knit set of people and all happy to help.

Andy Able had the other Zero in the race and made for interesting comparison.
For more info on Elaine Chua and Feng

The Mini is almost here!

After various delays, the boat is in the container and on its way! Due to arive late October in Seattle.

Hull 20, Mini 655

Zero hull 20, Mini 655 is starting to become a reality. After many delays the boat is now funded and getting built. Currently it will have to wait for 21 to be finished as she is headed for California in the same container.