Gryphon Solo Duo Takes Line Honors in B1-2
Clawed Through the Gulf Stream and Outpaced the Fleet
June 26, 2007
Joe Harris and Dobbs Davis worked hard for their line honors in the double-handed leg of the Bermuda 1-2. They drove Gryphon Solo across the finish line at marker R2 off of Newport at 23:41:30 on Monday night. Their unofficial elapse time from the Friday start from St George's Bermuda was 82 hrs 41 min 30 seconds. By Tuesday morning, they were still standing 1st in class and 1st in fleet on the iboattrack leader board.
When Gryphon Solo finished, the next closest boat was Wildeyes sailed by Michael Millard and Jim Fauci. They were almost 200 miles southeast of Newport and going about 6kts. At the 06:15 Tuesday morning Wildeyes was 163 miles from the finish and averaging about 5kts.
In a call to his shore crew after they finished, Harris said, "We were lucky to get through the Gulf Stream and keep a steady breeze all the way to the finish. We scratched and kicked and clawed our way through the stream in light air and emerged on the north side with a nice southwesterly breeze allowing us to make 10 knots toward Newport."
"The wind was pretty steady," Harris said. "It came from the WSW over the remaining 250 miles just as predicted and we were tight reaching and putting some distance on the competition."
"This was a great introduction for me to doublehanded sailing," Crewmate Dobbs Davis said, "and I couldn't have had a better mentor than Joe. Despite some trying conditions, we had a great time sailing together. I think his knowledge and experience will make him a potent force in his future races on Gryphon Solo."
Joe set a course record for the solo leg of the event earlier this month. His elapse time sailing south was 62:37 from his start on June 9th. The old Bermuda 1-2 solo course record of 66:57 was set in 2005 by Kip Stone aboard the Open 50 Artforms. The un-official record for leg 2 of 70:14 set by Artforms in 2005 remains unbeaten.
The big red boat will be berthed at the Newport Shipyard and the leaking rudderpost and other breaks and damage will be repaired. Marblehead to Halifax, a 360-mile cold-water race, is next on Gryphon Solo's schedule.
The race starts from Marblehead on July 8th.
View pictures from the start of Leg #2: http://www.gryphonsolo.com/page/1011/822/
You can get more information at http://www.gryphonsolo.com/page or at http://www.bermuda1-2.org/ and follow the race on iBoatTrack at http://charthorizon.com/races/2007_newport_bermuda2/htdocs/. Portimao Global Ocean Race ("PGOR")
The 2007 Bermuda One-Two is organized by Goat Island Yacht Club, Ltd. and Newport (RI) Yacht Club, with support from the Rhode Island State Yachting Committee, the City of Newport, RI and the Town of St. George's, Bermuda. St. George's Dinghy & Sports Club is the host club in Bermuda.
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"I'm sailing over 3,000 miles to and from Bermuda this summer," Harris quipped, "and based on my experience, no two passages will be the same. The Gulf Stream and the Atlantic are full of surprises. Then I'm off again on July 9th from Marblehead to Halifax Nova Scotia, sailing in colder water, the powerful tides found in the Bay of Fundy and equally tricky currents around Halifax. I'm looking forward to another summer of great offshore racing.
"Going to Charleston for the C2B was important for me this year," Harris commented. "Charleston will be the last stop before the finish in the 2008-09 PGOR, with the race visiting the South Carolina in the spring of 2009.
Gryphon Solo is supported by sponsorship from Iridium, Doyle Sailmakers, Awlgrip/Interlux, New England Rope and Alpine Air Food and is actively seeking title sponsorship and partners in this amazing race.
The full story of Joe Harris' campaign and sponsorship opportunities for the Portimao Global Ocean Race is at www.gryphonsolo.com .
About Gryphon Solo
Joe Harris' big red Open 50 is built entirely of lightweight carbon fiber and uses a hydraulically operated canting keel for added stability. The boat has twin daggerboards and twin rudders to provide added "lift" to windward. The combination of massive sail area, stability and light construction gives the boat tremendous power and acceleration. Gryphon Solo is a modern racing machine, capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots while remaining stable and under control.
The yacht carries the latest high-tech electronics and communications equipment, allowing the skipper to not only sail competitively, but also to stay in touch with sailors, sponsors and the media from anywhere on earth.
The Future...
Future plans for Joe and his Open 50 include the 2008 Newport Bermuda Race, and the 2008/09 Portimao Global Ocean Race (www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com) a solo, 'round the world race starting in Portimao, Portugal with stops in South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Charleston South Carolina and the finishing back in Portimao.
The Gryphon Solo Global Ocean Classroom will be a unique opportunity to reach young children with the great story of this adventure and the waters round the world. The Global Ocean Classroom curriculum will be available to schools and individual students and their parents for the September to June 2008-09 academic year, and will follow Harris and a courageous fleet of solo sailors as they battle the elements, their competitors and themselves over 30,000 miles of open ocean.
This will be an animated global adventure that will see students caught up in a unique learning experience as the adventure unfolds before their very eyes. They'll enjoy tracking the PGOR fleet daily via the Internet visiting faraway places once touched by the legendary Captain Joshua Slocum, the first sailor in history to complete a solo circumnavigation, over 100 years ago
Joe and Team GS are actively seeking sponsorship for this sailing adventure, complemented by a branded education program as well as a post-race speaking and promotional tour.
For information about Joe Harris and the Gryphon Solo program and sponsorship opportunities go to www.gryphonsolo.com.
