Mahina Kai - Day 2 Marion to Bermuda – Over the edge

Wind SW 12.8kts Seas 1-2ft

Mahina Kai - Day 2 Marion to Bermuda – Over the edge

While the first half-day of the race is characterized by the activity of the start, the second day is about leaving the continental shelf behind, and arriving at the gulf steam current.

As the race moves along, the pack spreads out.  During night watch, we leave one nearby boat behind, and a USNA sailboat which has been shadowing our course within sight, changes heading to pass behind us, turns off AIS, and within an hour is gone from sight.  Nothing else in sight now, and it may stay that way until the final hours of the arrival in Bermuda.

There is a boat race in the Western US, from Port Townsend WA to Ketchikan AK, which ran a couple of weeks ago.  It apparently is open to vessels of all sorts without an engine, and I saw kayakers, catamarans with oars, human-powered craft, and many others on TV coverage.  The race distance is similar to MBR, but it is a near-shore race, with support services along the way and ports that a boater can pull into in case of trouble.   Being a near-shore race, it seems to me that you never are forced to say farewell, cut the apron strings, and head into the abyss.  One of the racers said: “To reach Ketchikan you have to build your own little victory, every hour of every day.” 

Those are true words no matter what the challenge.  In offshore racing, once you are in the big blue ocean, you need to be your own problem solver and build those little victories.  There are two “on your own” moments in this race.  The first is when, late in day 2, the depth gauge flips from around 200-300 feet over the continental shelf, to “no reading”.  When I write that in the log, I always think of a final scene from the “Titanic” movie, and it’s a long way down!  The second is when, at the end of day 2, the boat enters the gulf stream.  When the prevailing winds and the prevailing seas meet the gulf stream current it creates a cacophony of sea state.  Pilot-friends talk about the Yaw, Pitch, and Roll of an aircraft, and you get all of those in the gulf stream seas as these weather forces meet.

 

Dinner of Tortellini soup with Shepard’s pie, and the Cookie of the day: “fair winds” Clouds

#SVMahinaKai #MBR2017

Mahina Kai - Day 1 – Marion to Bermuda – Settle In

Wind SW 18kts Seas 4-6ft

Mahina Kai - Day 1 – Marion to Bermuda – Settle In

The day of the race is partly spent recovering from the crew dinner/party the night before, partly making final preparations for the race, and come 12:00: the start! 

The race committee is always helpful with specific directions for race completion (see IG photo).  We appreciate all their hard work to setup and manage the race.

There are multiple size/weight classes at the start, so it takes about an hour to get all boats across the line and into the race.  Friday was a lively sailing day in Buzzards Bay, and there was plenty of opportunity for strategizing how to best set-up to exit the bay.

We are lucky to have Cathyann as a pastry chef on our shore crew.  She supplies each Mahina Kai race crew with the “cookie of the day”.  Day 1 cookie is cute lemon sailboats, and the package contained the message “Settle in”.  These were preceded by a dinner of pulled pork sandwiches & cole slaw.

Once the excitement and drama of the start is over, settling in is exactly what we do, preparing the next four days.  It is said that MBR is three-races in one… the Buzzards Bay leg, crossing the Gulfstream current, and the Bermuda approach.  A storm moving north Thursday night gave us good wind with clear skies for the start.  The Gulfstream crossing will include its own weather mysteries, but we anticipate the final leg with some trepidation.  Not because of heavy weather, but because of a forecast for quiet winds.  The meteorologist told us to “bring a deck of cards”.

#SVMahinaKai #MBR2017

Missing Blogs

Sorry race fans, we learned upon landing in Bermuda that our daily Blog posts did not properly upload to our Blogger page (although you may have seen them copied to the Marion-Bermuda race website).  

We will post them now!

#SVMahinaKai #MBR2017

Countdown 1 days til start Marion-Bermuda 2017 - Crew Dinner

Countdown 1 day until start Marion-Bermuda 2017 – Crew Dinner

The crew assembled in Marion, and supplies are being shipped in from around New England (specifically the Cookie of the Day, which had to be couriered from Marblehead), in preparation for the race tomorrow.

Part of the crew stowed gear and supplies into all the nooks and crannies of the boat, while others attended the weather briefing and skipper’s meeting to receive final details of the race and latest updates on Atlantic weather.  There have been some positive and negative indications in the prior weeks… a gale is exiting the area on Friday which should provide some good winds in Buzzard’s Bay for the start… there are some counter-productive currents in our path on the other side of the Gulf Stream which one forecaster described as a “nemesis” for this race… and finally a dual-high pressure area around Bermuda will produce calm in the later half of the race.  These conditions may favor lighter boats that can perform better in lower winds.

Tonight, Beverly Yacht Club hosted the crew dinner with BBQ and all the fixin’s.  Goslings is on hand with rum drinks to prepare us for the tastes of the island.  It was a great time to meet new and old friends, and the other boat crews.  It is especially nice to spend time with our shore crew and families who have provided so much time and energy to help us prepare for this adventure – we love you!

#SVMahinaKai #MBR2017