Just as the sun was starting to wane into the western sky Joe Harris and the crew aboard Wells Fargo - American Pioneer slipped quietly into Plymouth on the south coast of England. It was a slightly subdued end to fairly raucous passage across the Atlantic. "The final 100 miles were a bit slow," Joe reported in an email shortly after arriving. "We rounded Bishop Rock at the southern tip of the Scilly Isles early Sunday morning, but the wind died and we had to sail in light headwinds to get to Plymouth. We finally arrived at 19:00 local time, well rested and ready for a big dinner and a good nights sleep on a boat that was not bouncing about." The trip took 13 days at an average speed of 9.6 knots. Now, with this delivery to England behind him, Joe is changing focus to concentrate on the real task at hand; The Transat, one of sailings oldest and toughest solo ocean races.
There is no better place on the planet to prepare for a long ocean voyage than England. It's an area steeped in yacht racing history and many famous, (and some infamous) voyages have set sail from the very harbor where Wells Fargo - American Pioneer is currently docked. It's also an area where Joe's dad Woody Harris spent many pleasurable years racing and his father was clearly on Joe's mind as he sailed along the south coast of Great Britain. "I am reminded as we sail into British waters of my father, Woody Harris", Joe wrote. "He participated in three Admirals' Cup regattas and three Fastnet races, all raced in these waters. In 1959 he sailed aboard the famous yawl 慍arina' owned by Richard Nye. The fleet experienced very rough conditions during the race and of a fleet of 50 boats that started, only 12 finished. 慍arina', a well-found yacht built in the wood plank-on-frame style of the day, launched off one wave and after being airborne for a few seconds crashed down on her starboard side, cracking a half dozen oak ribs and causing the boat to start leaking at an alarming rate. The crew bailed furiously for the next day and a half until they finally crossed the finish line, when Richard Nye said, 慜k boys, we've finished, let her sink.' " Being good seaman they did not let the boat sink, but this story, along with a plethora of other sailing stories, some real, some imagined, is what makes England such a great place to set off from. "The Transat fleet will be following in the wake of some real sailing pioneers," Joe said. "I just can't wait to get out there by myself and start racing back to Boston."
Alongside Wells Fargo - American Pioneer is the brand new Open 50 Artforms skippered by Maine native Kip Stone. Kip recently sailed his boat from New Zealand to Plymouth as part of his training for The Transat. "Artforms looks really fast," Joe said. "It is a lot skinnier than Wells Fargo - American Pioneer and has these huge dagger-boards that will enable it to sail very well to windward. I think I am going to have my work cut out trying to keep up with Kip." Also in the marina is Steve Fossett's Cheyenne, fresh from a recent non-stop record setting circumnavigation. "Cheyenne is really impressive; it dwarfs everything else here," Joe said. The 120-foot catamaran Cheyenne set a new circumnavigation record of 58 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds smashing a full five days off the old record. For now Joe will return to the US leaving Brian Harris and his erstwhile assistant Laurent to work their way through the to-do list to prepare the boat for a tough race back across the Atlantic. The Transat starts in just under three weeks.
- Brian Hancock (great.circle@verizon.net)
