Racing boats of the giant variety

It rained again on Saturday but the day was brightened considerably for us by Ami and Bob, the OCC port officers for this area. We enjoyed a nice time with them over brunch with nautical tales exchanged - one of theirs was horrific, but this is not the place to relate the details...important thing is they survived!

An early start from Stonington on Sunday 20 May was needed if we were to see anything of the Volvo racing boats taking part in leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race, starting from Newport - some 35nm east of Stonington. After heavy rain during the night, thick fog blanketed the area. Had we not had a purpose to our planned passage, we might well have stayed put but with RADAR and AIS, and a forecast of SW winds we decided to face up to the challenge. It paid off as Newport Harbour was reached by 12:30 but as mentioned before, sailing in fog is extremely tiring so we were a little wilted by the time we arrived. At times there was less than a quarter mile visibility.

The race started at 14:00. Every boat owner in the vicinity, not to mention a couple of ferries, seemed to be on the water to watch the event, and this energised Follyfin’s crew. Helmsman had to be constantly ‘on the ball’ to make sure no accidents occurred. Indeed, the race marshalls faced a big challenge just making sure none of the spectators strayed into the race course, let alone shifting the starting line buoys several times to take account of the changing weather conditions. Follyfin has never faced such a crowd before so it was somewhat disconcerting for her crew, especially after the tiring passage to get there. 

Below are two photos of our plotter taken about an hour apart. All the little triangles are other boats near Follyfin, shown as the bigger black boat icon. The ones outlined in red are deemed to be at collision risk with Follyfin!

It was worth it though. Luckily the fog cleared in time so we had a grandstand view (albeit occasionally blocked) of the seven competitors  - very large racing maxi yachts with massive colourful sails. The racers first sailed North up the east passage and under Newport bridge, turned and then tacked back down Narragansett Bay and out into Rhode Island Sound, thus passing us spectators twice. 

Next stop for them is Cardiff, UK - 3300nm in about 8 days time, so that’s an average of 17kn. Now that is travelling - Follyfin is lucky to average over 5kn, on a good day 5.5kn and maximum this season is 5.7. But as everyone knows, we are not racers...

This blog post is being composed as we motor sail from Newport into,Buzzards Bay towards Woods Hole on Cape Cod. Glorious sunshine today with a favourable but gentle wind - what a contrast to yesterday. It’s even quite warm for a change. [Kevin - if you are reading this, you made a good call to join us in July rather than May!] Plan to anchor overnight and then head through the Cape Cod Canal tomorrow, all being well.

Blogger’s note

Text above is now outdated...poor internet connection between then and now meant this post could not be uploaded promptly. In the meantime Follyfin has travelled up Buzzards Bay, anchoring overnight twice in Hadley Harbour and Onset Bay, has today traversed the Cape Cod Canal and is now safely moored on a buoy in Scituate. Excellent WiFi and showers provided courtesy of the very friendly Satuit Boat. Tomorrow, Thursday 24th May, we sail into Boston harbour, our final destination for this leg of the journey to Maine - until July.