1500hrs, June 14, 2013: Shindig had a fast start from Marion and carried a record pace for the first 24 hours of the 2013 Marion Bermuda Race. At 68 feet, Shindig was turning the 15-20 knot winds into a 12-knot pace. She was about 400 nautical miles out and just West of the 164º rhumb line blasting on a broad reach toward the finish at St David’s Lighthouse, Bermuda. From her 1315 start on Friday to the 1300 PM YellowBrick position report, Shindig had covered 250 miles give or take a few.
Shindig was the first boat to fly a spinnaker at the start. She was the fastest boat on the course by far leaving Buzzards Bay. They have a good shot at the line honors frcord for Marion to Bermuda, but that all depends on the winds South of the Gulf Stream and on the approach to the island.
Some weather models predict that a high pressure system will be centered around Bermuda on Sunday evening, some predict the wind will hold. The crew of cadets from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the former owner, Arthur Burke of Dartmouth, and the MMA coach Chuck Fontaine and a handful of experienced crew will push hard. But winning an ocean race depends a lot on smart choices and some good luck in the mix.
At the 15:00 EDT YellowBrick position update, Shindig was 375 miles out from Bermuda and she had averaged 13.3 knots for the previous hour. She was leading in Class A as well as the race for pure line honors.
The next closest boat to Bermuda was the Class A Lady B, John Madden’s Swan 62 from Newport RI. She was 430 nm out. Kismet was 3rd 344 miles out while the biggest entry, Spirit of Bermuda, had fallen back to 8th just 7 miles behind Kismet. There are many boats knotted in a small space of the large ocean.
Positions are updated every hour on the hour on the YellowBrick tracking map. Spectators at home or on mobile devices with the proper app can follow all the yachts in the Marion Bermuda Race on the YellowBrick tracker program sponsored by Kingman Yacht Center. Go to the Marion Bermuda web site— http://www.marionbermuda.com/ and click on the brick.
From the ship’s blog aboard Mahina Kai, the Oyster 54 in Class A, owned by Arthur Wayne Haubner of Salem NH… http://www.mahinakai.net/
Remarks of the day Saturday June 15th
If you ever have the opportunity to review the ship’s logs in the Nantucket Whaling museum you will have noticed the log entries all start with “Remarks of the Day” followed my somewhat minor observations. Things such as the Sun is shining, it’s a clear blue sky, the wind and seas are coming out of the west, we saw a couple of birds and if lucky we spotted a whale!
Aboard Mahina Kai, it is not much different. The sun is shining , the wind and waves are out of the west we saw a couple of birds, and two whales and a pod of dolphins.
Read about the race on their Blog—
About the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association
Since its inception in 1977, the biennial Marion Bermuda Race has been a premier 645 mile ocean race and sailing event which appeals to a broad range of cruising and racing enthusiasts. The spirit of the race is one focused on Family and Fun, and all yachts and crew are participating for the joy and pleasure of sailing, competition, and the camaraderie that accompanies such an offshore event. The Marion Bermuda Race encourages the development of blue water sailing skills on seaworthy yachts that can be handled safely offshore with limited crew. The Marion Bermuda Race is a 501(c)(3) organization and among other educational efforts, supports and encourages Youth Sailing programs. The Marion to Bermuda Race is organized and run entirely by hundreds of volunteering members of The Beverly Yacht Club (BYC), The Blue Water Sailing Club (BWSC) and The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) for the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association. 