| At sea. The Open 50 Artforms and Kip Stone heading for St Malo and the Route de Rhum start |
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| Friday, 29 September 2006 | |
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Kip Stone: The delivery to St. Malo and to the start of the 2006 Route du Rhum is shaping up to be a challenge in more ways than one. We were set to depart ten days ago when Hurricane Helene made an appearance to the south then swirled up the middle of the Atlantic chasing her close cousins Florence and Gordon, effectively blocking our route. After so much planning and hard work, that was a bit of a frustration. But messing with hurricanes is a low priority on my list of things to do, so making the decision to stay tied to the dock was easy. Ryan Finn and I put the spare time to good use, first taking a break from the boat for a few days after nearly a month of hard work, then jumping back on board to polish off the projects that weren’t quite complete. During that time, I was pleased to be invited into Francis Carlier’s third grade classroom at L’Ecole du Française du Maine in Freeport and the next day I gave the students a tour of the boat. It was great fun, and by the time the morning was over there were more than a few ready to hop on board to carry on their education at sea. Now, I’m 60 nautical miles off Cape Breton Island heading towards the south coast of Newfoundland on a breeze that’s had me zipping along at 12-15 knots under full main and spinnaker for most of the day. I’m counting on the breeze to back just a little more over the next few hours so that the next gybe will have me ducking Cape Race on the Avalon Peninsula by this time tomorrow. Then, I’ll spend a day working my way across the Grand Banks then out into open ocean. Ryan joined me for the shakedown sail from Portland to Halifax where I dropped him off to do the crossing on my own. The safety director for the Route du Rhum requires solo qualifications to remain current, and since I haven’t sailed the boat on my own yet this season, the next ten days are my chance to dust off the cobwebs and satisfy the rule. After my first day at sea, I’ve slipped back into the polyphasic sleep pattern that’s so important in order to manage the boat efficiently around the clock, and hour-by-hour I’m becoming re-acquainted with the subtle motions of the boat that are the clues to unlocking its potential on the race course. So, all is well as I make my way to France. A special thank you to Jeff Pritchard in Halifax who met us on the dock, looked after our every need while we were there, and who once again has made Nova Scotia feel like home away from home. Thank you, too, to the members for the Dartmouth Yacht Club for their gracious welcome and for their continuing interest in my adventures and to Alan and Michael Cyr for their help on and off the dock. An extra special thanks to Michael’s mom for sending me back out to sea with homemade cookies and pastry – very highly appreciated! Thanks to our friends at Brewer’s South Freeport Marina and Portland Yacht Services for their assistance in seeing us off from the Casco Bay. Finally, thank you to Ryan Finn for all the hard work he’s done to make Artforms fast and safe and for his contagious enthusiasm for the sport of solo offshore sailing. Noon Position: 44 51.3’N 060 10.7’W. Speed: 12-15 kts. Course: 090M. Conditions: NNW 15-18, clear. St. Malo: 2,333nm http://www.ksopen50.com |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 29 September 2006 ) |
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