The 2013 Bermuda 1-2
June 8, 2013
Hello friends-
It is the morning of the start of the Bermuda 1-2 and the remains of tropical storm Andrea seem to have passed Newport and the torrential rains have finally stopped. Yesterday was a really lousy day to be doing final preparations and the rain just came harder as the day went along. Anyway, GryphonSolo2 is ready to go and we will give it our best shot. The forecast is for a decent breeze today as we head off the coast but tomorrow looks very "light and variable" in weather-speak so it could be slow going until we get to a new breeze on Monday. The Gulf Stream will, as always, play a large factor in the race as it is a large river of current running directly across our rhumb line path, so the Gulf Stream point of entry and the point of exit are important navigational choices for each boat.
The fleet of some 22 boats is a bit smaller than usual and there was heavy last-minute attrition on our Class 40 group, as three boats were unable to make the start as planned. That leaves GS2 as the only Class 40 in the race, which is a bit of a bummer for sure, but we will race on handicap against the fleet rather than boat-for-boat as we did in the Atlantic Cup regatta we just finished.
So, I am about to get on a call with my weather and Gulf Stream experts for some last-minute advice, but will be reporting regularly from sea over the next three days.
Thanks for tuning in-
Cheers
Joe
