Day SIX!

Good morning!

I don't know if any of you have been watching the race tracking but if you have, I'm sure you've been wondering what was going on!! So have I! Yesterday afternoon as I watched the tracking - Wing really started losing ground and made some tight turns to the north (into the wind).

I just spoke with the crew and they have indeed had a crazy time the last 24 hours. The spinnaker halyard (that snapped 2 nights ago but was re-rigged) snapped again yesterday afternoon. Somehow during all of that, there was damage to the bowsprit (the very forward pole/point). Our connection this morning wasn't great so I don't have the whole story very clearly but Chad said 'it almost pulled the whole bowsprit off'. They had to pull into the wind for quite awhile and sit while they fixed everything. So- they've lost some ground to the 2 boats they were leading yesterday but are still poised for 5th place. Chad said they are battling winds right on their nose and so are tacking back and forth a bit to try and get a little more speed (on the progress board, that makes it look like they're going backwards).

Right now they are about 30 NM out of Bermuda. They are going about 7kts but having to tack back and forth a lot. I would still think that they will cross the finish line sometime this afternoon. Keep cheering!

Day FIVE

Just spoke with the crew after a reportedly wild night! They got up past 18 kts (!!!) and in the middle of the night, the spinnaker halyard snapped. They had to haul the spinnaker out of the water but as of 10am this morning had rigged a new halyard and were flying the spinnaker again. Everyone is feeling better and all are excited and happy.

They passed American Flyer at about 4am and have been pretty pumped up since then! They are well in 3rd place now. SO FUN! I talked to Dad this time and he sounded more excited than I've ever heard him. :)

Yesterday during the day a flying fish landed in the cockpit. They cleaned it and fried it up and had it for dinner last night. They reported that it was delicious!

They expect to be in Bermuda sometime in the middle of the night --- keep cheering for them!!!

Through the night

OK. I know I'm going to talk with them in an hour (and then convey that conversation)--- but the kids and I just checked the iboat site and Wing is in 3rd place!!! Nobody is really counting those 2 professional boats, so we'll just say they're in FIRST! My kids are so excited they are dancing around and screaming. You'd think we were there watching it live!!

They are neck and neck with 2 other boats --- especially American Flyer which they must be RIGHT next to. Makes for fun, exciting sailing! Check it out!

Day FOUR

Good morning!

Just got off a call with the crew and they are all well and happy. They were flying through the night, at one point sitting at about 14 kts! When I talked to them now they were going about 11. If you've been following the iboat website at all - you can tell! They really gained a lot of ground through the night and are now back and forth between 4th and 5th place. The first boat, Beau Geste, is already in Bermuda and the second (also a professional racing boat) is about half way between Wing and Bermuda. I would guess they'll be there today.

Everyone is fine - though both Allison and Chad have been pretty sick the last 24 hours (very rough seas, Curtis said). I asked Curtis about Hannah and he said - oh no, she's totally fine! (good for you, Hannah! :)

They asked me to tell everyone hello - and to convey that they are safe and having a great time!

Rebecca

Day THREE

Good morning!
I just got off the phone with the crew. We chatted through their SAT phone which seems to be working fine, just a little bit of a delay. They had a good bit of rain which downpoured during Curtis and Brooks' night shift but has tapered off now (10am EST). They were really moving through the night - getting up to about 10 kts. Just now when I spoke with them they were going about 9.5 -- which is quite fast! They picked up a few places during the night and are holding pretty steady in the middle of the pack.
Everyone is safe and happy and having a great time. Below is a picture mom sent while they still had cell coverage. Happy sailors!

Day TWO

Good morning!

I just talked to the crew and they've had a hard night- starting with really slow winds. The winds picked up through the night peaking at about 20 knots around midnight -- but right on their nose, which makes for really hard sailing.

They are right in the middle of the pack with the majority of other boats right there with them. One boat, the Kuan Yin, had an electrical fire in the night (Wing crew heard it on the radio) and after getting things under control had to turn back. The front runner is Beau Geste, which is about 3 times as far as anyone else! Chad said they are rated as being 3 times as fast, so they'd better deliver!

They are safe and happy, but ready for a wind shift!

--Rebecca

And they're off!

Hannah is doing such a great job keeping us land-bound folks in the loop! But, I did get one good shot (with my phone, so not TOO good) of Wing leaving the dock heading out for the start. Good luck guys! Be safe! We love you!
- Rebecca

Well, the race began at 2:55pm. It was delayed for a couple of hours and they even changed our starting place because the wind was so calm. It did not make much of a difference for us - for most of the afternoon we have had 5 knots of wind or less - many times going 0.0 knots. So, a slow start. But it is sunny and beautiful out here.

We have seen skates (rays) in the water and passed a couple of big container ships. And we had a great dinner - that is about the excitment for this afternoon.

Here are a couple of photos of the start. At noon we were all in a parade around Annapolis harbour. Kind of fun - even some people cheering and wishing us well. There is one boat in this race that is hoping to break the record for the race. It is the boat with the dragon on the hull. At this point (5 or 6 hours into the race) they are out of sight! Really fast - even in this very low wind.

T Bone

For all the Clifford fans, there is a boat in the race called T bone. They are in 3rd place. They have a picture of the T Bone and then t-shirts that have a picture also! You can go to iBoat to see where T Bone is!!

Day ONE

Hello!

The Wing crew has asked that I keep everyone posted on their progress during the race--- I suppose they had to do something to make me feel better for being left behind with the kiddos :)

The kids and I went up to see them off this morning. They were all in great spirits and ready to go - matching t-shirts and all! There is a cool tracking program on the race website. Right this minute it shows them right about middle of the pack. I think as long as they're not dead last, they'll be thrilled!

1. Go to http://www.bermudaoceanrace.com

a. Race Overview > iBoat (links to the race tracking website)

2. On the iBoat race site select the boat/s you want to monitor

a. For example select the sailboat WING to track our progress

Per the rules of the race, they have to check in with me each day - so I'll speak with someone on their Sat phone at some point every day. I'll send an email to let you all know they are safe and well!

--Rebecca

Diane Reid

At the Cotillian we met a lady named Diane Reid. She has a boat called the "One Girls Ocean Challenge". I got to go on it and it was pretty neat! She says she is going to be in a race from Frace to Brazil and she's going to do it alone. She was originally going to do the BOR alone but, you have to have at least two people on your crew.

Here is the crew (minus Curtis) at the Spring Cotillian for the Eastport Yacht Club, one of the sponsors of the race. We had dinner and heard some good music. It was fun to have this kick off. At the end all the crews were introduced and then we were sent off with Bagpipes!

It's Finally Here!

Today is the official BOR 2010 race! Today we will pick Curtis up and then we will take part in the parade of boats. After that they will start calling the the different groups. We are in the last group with all the BIG and FAST boats!! My dad thinks we should cut off the fastest one right at the start. But, after doing that we will probably not see them at all! We think that they will finish the race in about 3 days and it will probably take us 5!!!

Last night we talked about the weather. The people doing the briefing said that we will have a slow start (light wind) and a fast finish (stronger winds). We are all really excited.

Last night we saw a tiny, baby duck that was chirping. It was just swimming around the boat. It was really kind of sad. I wanted to keep it, but Dad said no. I hope it found its mom.

zzzz...

Since people were up for most of the night most of us have been mighty sleepy!!!

ZZZZZZ... ~Hannah

Water Taxi

We made it to Annapolis!!

We are currently in Annapolis, Maryland right now. We are docked very close to the starting line and should start tomorrow at around 1:00pm. Last night we got up to 11 knots and there was some rain that only lasted for about 10 minutes. We sailed all night long and got to Annapolis at around 5:30am. Also, I thought I'd let you all know that iBoat will start tomorrow at 1:00pm. (when the race starts)

Here are some pictures of Annapolis and us going on the water taxi. ~Hannah :)

Official iBoat Info.

Monitoring WING during the Bermuda Ocean Race (BOR)
During the BOR the iBoat website will be actively displaying positions of all the sailboats participating in the race.* Please have a look from time to time and see how WING is doing. WING is the name of our crew’s sailboat.

1. Go to http://www.bermudaoceanrace.com
2. Race Overview > iBoat (links to the race tracking website)
3. On the iBoat race site select the boat/s you want to monitor
4. For example select the sailboat WING to track our progress

*Note: This iBoat website should be updated with current race information after the start on Friday, June 11, 2010 at 13:00 East Coast.


BOR Call Availability Schedule:

We will be monitoring our satellite phone for incoming calls daily. Please feel free to give us a ring for a short chat. Outside of these times our satellite phone will be turned off.

1. Daily during the race, June 11-18
2. 10:00-12:00 East Coast
3. 18:00-20:00 East Coast
4. Daily while in Bermuda, June 18-20
5. 18:00-20:00 East Coast
6. Daily during our return sail, June 20-25
7. 10:00-12:00 East Coast
8. 18:00-20:00 East Coast


Calling our Satellite Phone:

1. Dial 011 8816 4145 8659
2. We will be monitoring incoming calls during times defined in our BOR Call Availability Schedule (above).
3. Please only leave voice mail messages if there is an emergency.


Sending Text Messages to our Satellite Phone
1. Go to http://messaging.iridium.com
2. Complete the phone number after To: 881641458659
3. Complete the Reply email:
4. Type Message (160 char max):
5. Click Send Message button
6. We will receive the messages during our BOR Call Availability Schedule. (above).