One Girls Ocean Challenge

Tuesday November 4, 2013

Tim again, with a quick update: The worst of the storm has blown through, with the wind forecast to drop later in the day to 15 knots with a few left over gusts. The fleet will depart Gijón for the 115 nm delivery to Puerto de Sada, at 1800h (noon Toronto) today (Tuesday). The wind is out of the west – on the nose again. Hopefully the seas will have a chance to calm down a bit.

The Race Committee is targeting Monday November 11th to restart the race. But wait… what are the wrinkles the RC is mooting? Stay Tuned!

Monday November 4, 2013

Diane is still in port in Gijón, Spain. With limited communications, it’s Tim blogging again from Diane’s eMails, competitors posts and the news from the Mini Transat web site.

Diane, remarkably dry in Gijón, Spain (click it for a larger image)

After hitting Diane with an eMailed crack about slipping out of her wet gear and into a dry martini, she replied: Love your comment about beer vs dry martini.  The wonderful thing about wearing a dry suit is that you are always very dry, but it´s not the nicest cocktail smell when you take it off.  I had a beer in my hand about 20 minutes after hitting the dock and then a plate of Octopus and potatoes and another beer within the hour at a local restaurant.  This place is awesome!

This picture cues a couple of shout outs: J. Coletes for posting it to the OGOC facebook page, as well to and their Canadian distributor , Diane’s supplier.   They came through with a truck load of equipment including some . All of Diane’s equipment worked and nothing broke while crossing Bay of Biscay. There is a lot of broken gear in Gijón, but none of it is Diane’s. I can only think “nothing beats reliability” while reading Richard Hewson’s description of crossing the Bay of Biscay:

The Raz was basically boiling with confuesd waves and sea, and it was pretty crazy…

By the evening of day two I had not seen another boat for about 24 hours, and had lost all radio contact with the support boats and rest of the fleet. I guessed I was either doing really well…

It was a very bumpy ride, and every time the [boat] fell off a wave, I was sure that there would be some damage, the impact was so extreme. Imagine crashing your car into a wall every two minutes for two days, that is what the it was like!

Five protos made it into Puerto de Sada (blue), one boat into Santander (yellow) and 69 into Gijón (anchor). You can interact with this “chart” or open it in a new window with the link at the bottom.

View OGOC: Gijon Pitstop in a larger map

With the race being abandoned, the transit across the Bay of Biscay does not count for anything. Regrettable for the leading boats – skippers who were doing well on the leg. The plan is to have the fleet regroup in Puerto de Sada. The fleet is awaiting a weather window for a 115 nm delivery sail from Gijón to Sada. Looks like Tuesday or Wednesday. Expect details will be announced later today.

The race committee mooted a Tuesday delivery arriving Wednesday and restarting the race on Thursday. Under that scenario, being one of the lead protos into Sada, enjoying Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare (even if just snoozing), does have its advantages. Then again, as the Mini Transat race will be restarting, the boats that had to bail after the Douarnenez start, are eligible to race. Stan Maslard, who retired shortly after the start, to fix a technical problem with his boat,  is currently trailering it to Sada. Trailering seems a whole lot easier on the boat, equipment and carcass than the crossing the fleet endured.

So… what do 69 single handed sailors, mostly french, who wash up en masse, on a spanish shore, with a change of warm layers for beneath their foul weather gear, but no street clothes, let alone hotel reservations do? They are very glad of the close links and good will between Douarnenez and Club Naval de Gijón, the responsiveness of the harbour master and the active support from the city of Gijón. Mini-Transat news (with some editing) reports:

It’s hard to imagine all the little annoyances caused by the impromptu stop. When the Mini-ists left for this first stage they had just a few essential changes of clothes for life at sea. What they had with them was simple and functional, but not ideally adapted to life ashore.

The stopover in Gijón raises some logistics, especially for those who were relying on their shore crew (often families) to have things organised for them in Lanzarote at the end of this first leg.

Working on the principal that we are never stronger than when we work together, the Mini-ists have taken over (with the generous agreement of the club) the premises of the Club Maritimo de Gijón and have unearthed some local gems. A sort of boarding house with dormitories has been requisitioned for the fleet. Competitors have come together in groups working together to purchases underwear, socks and other items of clothing where needed, toda en español. 

This curious new gang attracts some inquisitive glances in the streets of the Asturian port, but at least they are dry. And the local tapas bars are experiencing an unexpected windfall in early November.

Sailing is always an adventure. Personally, I’d rather forage for socks and underwear than endure the days of boat breaking pounding through each and every wave. C S Forester’s hero Diane Hornblower is alive & well and enjoying some tapas with her friend Horatio.

I’ll update things when I next hear from Diane or the Race Committee announces its delivery frobnostications.

November 1, 2013

Diane advises: I´m safe and sound with no issues here in Gijón, Spain. I´ve had a beer, coffee and eaten a local octopus dish that was very good.

There is one computer here that EVERYONE is using! I´ve managed to get two minutes on it. You´ve probably seen all the updates on the race website. We´ve got a meeting tonight at 5pm to find out what is happening with the race. Five protos made it to La Coruna, which was our original destination.

Part way through the race we were all told to head south to Spain to get protection from the land for the south west winds expected from the storm. I went south and my plan was to then head west to La Coruna (Sada Marina). Shortly after that it was announced that if we didn´t think we would make it to Sada by 9am this morning, that we were to head to Gijón. I figured I would get as close as 40 miles from Sada, but not all the way, so I turned and headed east to Gijón along with the rest of the fleet.

Now the fleet has a complicated situation. If we leave here we have 115 miles to get to Sada to rejoin the 5 protos for the next start. Or if the protos leave Sada and sail downwind here then we have to wait for them as well. Either way it is a complicated decision for the race committee to make. We will find out in half an hour what we are doing and I expect it will be posted on the race website.

For that matter, the rest of the fleet on route here hasn´t arrived yet. Katrina is in the back and still has 50 miles to go to get here and there is very little wind and a HUGE swell. I estimated the swell to be 4 metres and often less than 10 knots of wind.

There has also been a lot of damage to some boats which is a real shame. People have worked very hard to get to this start line and waited a long time at the dock for the start, just to suffer damage and have to turn back. OGOC is fine though, with the exception of needing a little sticky back that peeled off while reefing.

Fingers crossed for a better weather window!!!
Diane 😉

Update: 16ooh (11am Toronto): Diane is in port at Gijon, Spain after the race committee abandoned the first leg. The rest of the mini fleet is still arriving. No word from Diane directly. Expect a bevy, hot food, hot shower, a decent sleep and about three days of drying out will work wonders.

Friday November 1, 2013

The weather continues to be big part of the story. The forecast continues to deteriorate. So much so, the Race Committee has abandoned the first leg of the race.

The fleet has been instructed to make it to harbour. A few proto boats have made it to Sada. Many boats are proceeding to Gijon, Spain about 120 nm east of Sada. Gijón is closer for much of the fleet. More importantly by proceeding to Gijón, the Iberian Peninsula will provide some shelter from the worst of the coming weather.

Right now (0400 France, midnight Halloween Toronto) it does not look like Diane is in tough weather conditions. Winds south at 10 knots, likely with larger seas. Diane is 50nm north of Gijón. South winds. Once again, on the nose.

You can activate the wind overlay on the fleet tracker by clicking the icon of three arrows, at the right end of the upper control bar. There is a distance measurement tool – the ruler – also on the upper control bar.

The race committee will re-group after the fleet is safe. They’ll hatch a plan to get the race re-started. When details become available….

Safe deliverance Diane and the whole of the fleet.