2019 Bermuda One-Two Log Entries

6/30/19

Bluebird arrived safely to Newport last Wednesday evening (6/26), docked before dark. In this race of attrition, we were the only finishers in Class 4- so, not surprisingly, we were first in our class, first in combined time for race 1 and 2, and I believe winner of the team trophy with Roger Shepley on Seriana of Blue Hill.  We missed the awards celebration last night.

Jan met me in Newport and we had a nice sail back,  leaving  Friday morning and arriving in Rockland today. It is good to be home. The garden is very lush, and I am looking forward to a salad! And, actually looking forward to going to work this week! I will post a more detailed race report eventually.

Fair winds to all, Gust 

6/25/19

Good Morning! Our news today is that, last night, our starter shorted out. This means that we can’t start the engine, charge the batteries or use the autopilot.  But, we can still steal, sail and navigate. Our intention (and indeed our only option) is to continue sailing to Newport, which is still 170 miles or so away. Once there, we will be able to get the starter fixed and then return to Maine, hopefully in time for work next week!

All is otherwise well and we are keeping our spirits up. A little wind would be nice too!

Cheers to all, Gust and John

6/24/19

All is well on Bluebird. We are sailing West in light winds, making 3-4 K. We hope for a wind shift to the East this evening that will allow us to track to Newport. The event of the day was curried goat stew from Bermuda, for lunch. It was delicious! Radio contact with Flying Turtle- all ok with them.

6/23/19

Very nice breeze NW this AM, flatter water, much more comfortable. We are still heading East because of a strong current pushing us that way. Once we are past it, we will take a jog to the West. We are feeling much better, eating and staying hydrated. Good chats with Dirigo, Flying Turtle and Zip last night.

6/22/19

Hanging in there! Winds moderating into 20’s, seas still quite big and lumpy. Clew of solent has blown out, we are making way with staysail. Heard Wild Goose II, Dirigo and Zip on radio.

6/21/19

We have been dealing with rough conditions and seasickness but all otherwise ok. Staysail and double reef. Winds starting to drop.

6/19/19

Greetings! We have had a very nice rest in Bermuda and are eager to start our return trip to Newport. Co-captain John Priestley is here and if feels great to have his energy and support.

On Leg 1, Bluebird ended up 2nd in Class, and 4th in fleet.  We have 1 hour to make up against our class leader, Corvus in the combined time category.

Bluebird is in excellent shape at this point, and our satellite communicator is functioning.

The weather is looking very challenging. We will start with Southwesterlies in the 20 K range, reaching (this is very good); unfortunately, by Saturday, the winds are expected to clock to the NW and increase to the 30-35 K range, “on the nose”, and most likely just as we are entering the Gulf Stream (this is not at all good). We will prepare for the worse but hope that the predictions are no so bad.

As before, you will be able to follow us on the tracker from bermuda1-2.org; and also I will try to post updates on the website.

6/16/19

Some Thoughts on Father’s Day in Bermuda

We read a lot about toxic masculinity, bullying, and aggressiveness in men these days, both in sports and in life in general. I am grateful to be able to participate in an event like the Bermuda 1-2, and to be able to compete hard, while still feeling support, encouragement and respect from my fellow sailors. We all know that we are there for each other, and need to rely on each other’s help not just in emergencies, but sometimes just to get through the watch. Competition, not as in beating someone, but   as in pushing oneself to one’s limit, is a good thing.

This Father’s Day, I want to honor all of us Fathers, but in particular mine, “Steamboat Steve” Stringos, who taught me how to sail, but more importantly, how to win and lose with integrity. We will celebrate his 95th Birthday this August!

6/15/19

Environmental Notes

While it is difficult to draw conclusions based on single trips several years apart, there was a consensus amongst the sailors that we were seeing an increase in the amount of Sargassum weed encountered after the Gulf Stream. Sargassum is a floating seaweed that grows in large mats, found primarily in the Sargassum Sea, the center of the North Atlantic Gyre. Bermuda is at the Western edge of the Sea, which extends all of the way to the Azores.

Sailboats can go through the mats of weed, but boats with large appendages, such as the Class 40s, find that it can foul their keels and rudders. With warming ocean temperatures, amounts of Sargassum have apparently increased, to the point that many beaches in Mexico, the Caribbean, and even Florida, become foul and unusable. On the other hand, the weed mats support a lot of life- baby sea turtles hide in eat, American and European Eels are born and mature in the mats; the round eels travel to our Maine Rivers, where they are known as elvers. If they survive getting caught by fishermen and predators, they travel thousands of miles back to the Sargasso Sea to mature and mate.

The North Atlantic Gyre is also the home of the “great garbage patch” of floating plastic. Since I was sailing at the very edge of the Sea, influenced by the strong currents of the Gulf Stream, I thankfully did not see any of this. Unfortunately, the Sargassum mats apparently trap degrading micro plastics, with unknown effects to the environment (but I think we can assume they are not good for anything!).

Other unusual notes for this trip - usually, I see lots of Portuguese Man O’ War jellyfish cruising along the surface. Not one. The delightful flying fish were common and active, with multiple bodies on deck every morning (I still have not tried them for breakfast). Otherwise, no marine life of any kind (porpoises, whales, sunfish) was sighted. The only bird life noted were Wilson’s Storm Petrels in the Gulf Stream, and iridescent Bermuda Longtails just outside of Bermuda. Hopefully, this will change on the way back.

6/14/19

Greeting to all! A quick update/race report:

The race began with a nice spinnaker run out of Narragansett Bay in a dying NE breeze - the last time we would go downwind! It was very spectacular. A fleet of Optimist Prams was having a regatta nearby, so there was quite a crowd on the water.The 3 Morris Justines, Bluebird, Corvus and Gryphon jostled each other to get ahead.  Bluebird and Corvus ended up next to each other, Bluebird with an asymmetrical spinnaker, Corvus charging along with a large Code 0 on her bowsprit. All of a sudden, Corvus veered off and fell behind - she had broken her bowsprit.

At that point, out of Narraganset Bay, the wind came up from the SE, making it a tight reach/beat towards the Gulf Stream and Bermuda. At first conditions were moderate, but the wind gradually built into the 20 K range, with building waves, causing lots of pounding. This was not at all severe, but uncomfortable and hard on the boats. It certainly contributed to the various damages that caused boats to turn around - autopilot failures, rigging problems, rudder problems. The race in general fairly quickly exposes the boat’s and the skipper’s weaknesses. Bluebird, mainly because of having years of resolving various problems, did very well with no issues (credit to Bill Cowan at Ocean Pursuits).

We did well with the Gulf Stream entrance and exit, gaining lots of ground with the positive currents.

After the Stream, I didn’t do very well figuring out the currents. I became confused and distracted in my navigation, and did not notice the wind shifting, allowing Bluebird to turn gradually into the NE (away from Bermuda), as the autopilot followed the wind shift. Eventually, I realized what happened and sorted it out, but lost some hours in the process before getting back on course. At this point, my iridium go! sat phone was not charging, so I couldn’t send messages, get weather or position updates - I did have occasional VHF radio contact with Gryphon, who was not too far away at times.

Eventually, the wind shifted as expected to the SW, giving us a smooth sail straight to Bermuda and the finish line.

Some general comments:

Many of the skippers comment on the emotional ups and downs of being by yourself for 4-5 days. Your go through elation when you feel you are sailing well, despair when you think that you are stuck in a bad eddy that everyone else has somehow avoided, energized when the sun or moon rises, very low energy/apathy at other times, unrelated to the general fatigue that one feels most of the time. Just moving about on the boat, going from handhold to handhold, when conditions are rough, requires lots of concentration/focus. It is hard staying disciplined about always being harnessed to the boat - they become hot and uncomfortable, and it is much easier to move about quickly without dragging a tether, but in a moment of inattention, you could slip overboard - so the tether/harness stays on.

Sleeping, eating, watch keeping:

I basically lost my appetite and didn’t eat much for the duration. Lots of juice, a few small snacks, a few freeze-dried meals and sandwiches. The bouncy conditions were not conducive to cooking. The last night before arriving, I had my feast: a can of Boston baked beans with 2 hot dogs - I can tell you, they were delicious!

Coffee and alcohol:

I lose any desire for either offshore. The coffee I think actually disrupts ones ability to fall asleep quickly, and of course any alcohol would be totally disruptive.

Sleep:

Overnight, if not needing to change sails or otherwise do something, I lay down in my bunk for 20-30 minute shifts. When the alarm timer goes off, I check my instruments (boat speed, course, wind speed, etc), then pop up topsides to check the sails and to see if there are any ships about. Then, back to the bunk for another 20-30 minutes. When the sun comes up, your body just seems to wake up again.

What does one do all day long?  

The sailing and planning actually just seems to take up all of one’s energy. I did not listen to music or podcasts.  I don’t even think about the NEWS (and of course, nothing had changed once I reconnected to the news cycle on shore). Lots of thoughts/memories come up out of the subconscious. It is an interesting experience, a mental “stretch”.

OK, enough of that! Jan is here, and we will enjoy Bermuda until the start of the return race next Thursday, this time with the great luxury of having John aboard! A very different experience.

Cheers to all, Gust

6/13/19

0931 EST Bluebird finish.

6/11/19

2000 EST

Gryphon emailed "I saw and heard from Bluebird today. He confirmed that I am still broadcasting AIS which was a pleasant surprise. No one else from our class was in contact. I am doing ok without my electronics."

6/3/19

Spent the day beating into 25K Southwesterlies in Buzzards Bay, but am safely tied up now.  The boat had a good shakedown and I have my sea legs.
Off for a shower!

Love, Gust

6/1/19

Departed Rockland 1600 yesterday in SW winds around 5 K, motor-sailing.  I had no particular plan, but at Sunset found myself off of Criehaven, the last fishing outpost  on Penobscot Bay.  Cold, damp and still finding my sea legs, I decided to pull in for the night.  Great decision!  Warm, dry rested and fed, I’m of now for the Cape Cod Canal, hopefully arriving tomorrow AM.  Reaching now in SE winds 5-8 K, Monhegan is off to the West.  Skies are overcast, promising fog and rain.

5/29/19

BLUEBIRD SAILING ADVENTURES