Last week was the Newport to Bermuda Ocean Race - held every other year. As with 2006, this year I sailed on
Family Affair - a Tartan '41 - though this was my first year as the boat's Navigator. Because the 635 mile race traverses the Gulf Stream, this race presents all kinds of strategic options (complexities) with respect to ocean currents.
Not only is the core of the Gulf stream sliding along at 3 - 4 knots in a northeasterly flow, it spins off warm and cold eddies that spin in clockwise and counterclockwise rotations respectively. Given that our boat speed is in the 6 - 8 knot range, a current of 3 knots over 80 miles can play a huge role in how many miles our boat can cover in a day.
It is a complex picture that gets even more confused when you factor in the current and projected wind forecasts. The boat can only sail at certain angles to the wind, and over a four day period, forecasts of expected wind speed and direction are key components to plotting an optimal course. Virtually no one travels straight down the rhumb line (163 degrees from Newport to Bermuda), but rather each boat chooses its own course and strategy (as well as a backup strategy, and even a fall back strategy) because while the current is somewhat predictable, the wind forecasts are rarely perfect.
Halfway through the race - the boats were spread out over a few hundred square miles of ocean:
We took a route that was west of the rhumb line, like the purple line for the boat
Lindy, but not nearly as far west. Our intent was to pick up the favorable current from a warm eddy north west of the Gulf Stream,and ride that down to a good point from crossing the Stream. We had fairly good sailing, with strong winds that kept us sailing hard on the wind.
When the winds picked up and were blowing opposite the currents in the Gulf Stream it made for "confused seas" - as in big waves coming from a variety of different directions.
Here we are looking up at the waves:
The combination of the strong breeze and confused ocean state made for a very wet ride. The Gulf Stream conditions managed to expose every leak in the deck hatches. Since we were taking waves over the bow every few seconds, the crew was pretty soaked too - which made for a very damp and wet cabin. We weren't alone in in this predicament -- lots of previously bone dry boats reported new deck leaks and wet cabins in this year's race. Fortunately the water was warm (about 85 degrees) so it wasn't too bad up on deck -- but it did get pretty ripe down below since the cabin was buttoned up as tight as we could get it.
When we sailed out of the warm water currents after a couple days of banging and slamming around in the seas, it was pretty nice to settle into the more typical ocean swells. The last day was a
perfect sailing day, we were able to crack off a few degrees, with twenty know winds and clear skies. We made great time down the homestretch, which was just as well because the head had broken the earlier night so we were all on liquid diets and in a hurry to get to shore. As evening fell on the fourth day, we could just make out make out Bermuda on the horizon, and we all kept our noses into the breeze waiting to catch the smell of oleander.
Family Affair pounded across the finish line at St. Georges at about 1:00am and then we worked our way down through the reefs to Hamilton Harbor where a breakfast of Dark 'n Stormy's awaited us. We finished about 27th out of 150 boats, and 9th in our 16 boat division. Not as well as we had hoped, but this race draws excellent, well-prepared competitors, so not altogether bad either.
