And They Are Off

We had a busy few days making final preparations: provisioning, more provisioning, gathering boat parts, and still more boat parts. We also stocked up on prescription medications that are readily available to sailors here but not in Canada.

In between, we practiced our Man Overboard (MOB) recovery procedure. Since we’ll be sailing predominantly downwind (hopefully with the parasail most of the time), the preferred method is to quickly drop the sails and motor back to retrieve the person. After a few rehearsals, we managed to complete the process efficiently.

Today, Sunday, November 24th, we set off around 11:45 a.m. and headed to the start line—along with 100 other boats! The objective was to cross the line under sail, as fast as possible, without crossing early and incurring a penalty.

With Timour on the bow, timing our approach, me at the helm, and the rest of the crew managing sails and keeping a sharp lookout for other boats, we had an almost perfect start.

We set off with a full main and the Code Zero, which was the ideal sail combination for the conditions. This choice allowed us to maintain a strong position, keeping company with larger and faster boats. As the wind shifted, we went through a rapid sequence of sail changes: from Code Zero to gennaker, then to parasail, then to engines, and finally to main and jib—all in the space of just four hours. Having an offshore racer on board certainly keeps things fast-paced, with more frequent and efficient sail changes than we might otherwise have done—a definite advantage! Rudy, David, Byron and I are working hard to keep up!!

As the sun sets we were rewarded with a spectacular sunset with many sailboats on the horizon.

We are ready for our first night watch and there are lots of boats out here. The rinks are 2.5 nautical miles.