Wednesday June 9
Tuesday we wet sanded the hull, polished the bottom and even got the rig up. It was a little tricky as the crane we used to launch the boat was also the crane we used to put the rig up with. This meant that the mast had to be lifted below the center of gravity as the hook was only about 14 feet off the deck! We got it done though!
We’re meeting lots of interesting people and learning buckets of local knowledge for the tides, eddies and local navigation hazards. This would include the local fishing nets and the air force targets in the water!
Today (Wednesday) is safety inspection day, rig tuning and possibly sailing and then more local knowledge stuff.
Diane
Monday June 7
Paul, I and the boat arrived in Annapolis all safe and sound. The boat is at the Eastport Yacht Club. Tuesday it is wetsanding, polishing, launching and rigging. Wednesday is the safety inspection.
In the meantime we’ve been to the best crab shack in Annapolis and absolutely stuffed ourselves with crab and beer! It’s late so I’m going to turn in and get ready for lots of work tomorrow.
You can see the boat on the spot tracker in the EastportYC yard.
Have a great night everyone!
Diane
Sunday June 6
What an amazing ride! The Susan Hood started at 2000 (8pm Friday evening) and finished at 1130 (11:30am Saturday morning) ! The winds were fantastic and almost screamed us all the way around the race course.
After starting at PCYC the fleet headed south west to the Burlington Weather Mark. As we got closer to Burlington the wind lightened up. The code 0 was up and worked well. One mile from the mark we couldn’t see the lights. For anyone who has gone around the Burlington weather mark you know it’s difficult to see when back lit by the street lights, but usually when you get to within a mile of it you can pick it out in the dark. Then certainly within half a mile it looms at you like a big oil rig or spidery looking thing. Friday night the weather mark had no lights on at all. We drifted up to it in the dark blind. All of a sudden we were right beside it. Thank goodness the GPS is very accurate! Then, as we came around the breeze followed us and we were able to leg out on everyone who was stuck at the mark.
The breeze backed, the asymmetrical kite went up and we were off like a rocket ship! On the way to Niagara R2 we saw 15.3 knots of boat speed! Credit where credit is due, Nick my double handed partner had the best sustained speeds, but I hit the top speed!
The rest of the race was fantastic. It was a great test of the gear for the Bermuda Ocean Race and pushing the boat around in the dark for the first time. We’re really ready!
I’ll keep you all posted on Monday’s drive to Annapolis.
Diane
Friday June 4
The Susan Hood race starts tonight at 8pm. It’s going to be a great test of everything we have planned for the Bermuda Ocean Race. I’ll have the laptop and the satelite phone onboard and we’re going to try doing a blog as well! Follow along with the spot tracker on the boat.
After the Susan Hood, we’ll bring the boat to the skipper’s meeting for the LOSHRS QCYC race and then zip back over to ABYC for Sailpast. Then pack up the boat that night and head out for Annapolis!
It’s going to be a great ride!
Diane
PS: The other test is of Tim, who is helping with the updates while I’m racing, both on this blog and the facebook page. Thanks Tim!
June 3, 2010
Last day to get stuff done for the Susan Hood on Friday night and then Annapolis Sunday night! The list is getting shorter, but it’s going to be a full day! Have you tried the spot tracker? Click on the link on the home page and follow our track for the Susan Hood. If I can get the Sat Phone working, we should be able to do blogs from the race! Then we’re all set to go to Annapolis for the Bermuda Ocean Race
Diane 🙂
June 1, 2010
Announcing our latest and greatest sponsor! Lori Mason’s Chandlery is One Girl’s Ocean Challenge’s official Chandlery. Lori’s definately got what you need when you’re in the west end of the city! She has great prices and really knows her stuff. Thanks Lori for coming onboard and being part of this great team!
June 1, 2010
6 more sleeps and we’re off to Annapolis for the Bermuda Ocean Race!
Last night we were out with the WOW program doing some racing mentoring. Too bad there wasn’t any wind. It was great meeting Cathy, Julie and Carol and having you ladies out on the mini with me. Thanks to Lori Mason at Mason’s Chandlery for setting this up! Lori’s really got a good thing going in supporting growth and training and mentoring for her Women on the Water program.
Diane
May 27, 2010
It’s the final ten days before we drive to Annapolis for the Bermuda Ocean Race. Don’t forget to check out the spot tracker so you can follow us during the race and during my 1000nm qualifying run home!
Diane
May 24, 2010
We had a great day sailing. Joe and Blair came out from Broad Reach and saw the basics of how to launch, rig and sail a Mini. It went great! Click on the spot tracker link and you can see our track for the afternoon!
Diane
We’re going out today with the Broad Reach Team. This will be their first time on the boat. I’ll try to remember to bring the camera!
Diane
