My French sailing seasons have soon ended. It has been a great season with some surprisingly good results and above all, I have accomplished all my objectives for the 2010 season.
The time has soon come to head off on my 1000Nm qualifier.
My very good friend Dan was recently interwied by Solent radio about his Transat 2011 campain. (29,45 minuts in to the program) With some luck we might see him over here in Sweden for some multihull sailing in the future...
I am now sitting in the harbour resturant La Bass and feeling pleased with what I achived. I have worked 30 hours nonstop and I am nearly ready to leave for Douarnenez at 2pm tomorrow (right tide then). Unfortanetly I have not have had time to put the branding on the boat but rest of the things on the list has been done,
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belif, it was the epoch of incredulty, it was the season of light, it was the season of darknes, it wasthe spring of hope, it was the winter of despar.
Next race for SWE772 will be Mini Fastnet
Spectacular, adventurous, extreme,dangerous and WHY??? Mini Transat. A sailing race across the Atlantic ocean with boats that are maximum 6 and a half meter long. The ±4000 miles long sail race from France to the stopover in the Canaries and then to the Carib or now to Brazil is one of the hardest solo ocean races around. Lonely in a little boat with ample space and very limited time to sleep.
The goal of the race is simple; sail as fast as you can across the Atlantic in a boat who is smaller then 6.50 meter.
The English 'spirit' has changed over the years into the French 'élan'. They overtook the organization of the race and the class organization. They are always keen to sail the unpossible.
How does it feel to cross the ocean in a tiny, fast sailing, over canvassed boat in a month ? Totally alone, nobody to talk to, to blame or to help you.
Living;
On a six-and-a-half-metre boat, only the essential are fitted in, this allows survival of the sailor for more than four weeks at sea. With about 100 liters fresh water in tanks, 35 kilos food, an auto-inflatable, all the safety material and the sails, there is very little living space. Skippers of a Mini6.50 must displace a good part of this in order to balance the boat position, this is called
stacking.
Sleeping is a problem, spending more than ten hours a day at the helm, in dampness and hazardous comfort, the solo-voyager must manage at best the waking/sleeping rhythms. Rest intervals must be extremely short but sleeping is still a tall order: the boat impacts waves constantly breaking on the deck, wetting everything, while under deck the noise is earsplitting. The choice of food and the organization of rest times are key-factors. Each skipper devotes at least two hours a day to eating, tactics and shipping forecast.
You never really stretch out in rest, so your body is always in tension. Very tiring. A good sleep is extreamly rare.
Sailing.
The chance that the boat is whipped out (knocked down) or that you are wiped overboard like nearly 10% sailors, (based on 2005 figures) is always in the back of your mind. Your will meet and conquer your mental barriers.
SWE772 main sponsor Grpms is now proud sponsor of the new Sunseeker 40Mtr Luxury yacht aswell.
GRPMS is delighted to announce a supply agreement with Chomarat , leader in innovative and special reinforcements. Under the agreement, GRPMS will become Chomarat's product range distributor, in both the UK & Eire. GRPMS has unrivalled experience in the composite distribution market through its experienced sales team and network of distribution centers. The addition of Chomarat's global expertise and its wide range of products, including special solutions for closed mold processes such as Roviflow®or Rovicore®, will further strengthen GRPMS portfolio of composite products.
Staale Jordan who was one of the speakers on Grpms shorthand forum last month has been selected for the award as the sailor of 2009 in Norway. Well done!
The preparation of the boat going forward but it is still quite a lot to do before the first race Demi Cle. This did not stop me from going for a short blast for a few days ago whish was really nice as it was now many months since I was out last time. The things left to do on the boat are now primarily security stuff so I’m not too worried. One thing which is little more concerning is that I have found two small cracks on the rudders. It seems that it is just in the gelcoat so I have to monitor them closely alternative if time allows sort them out before the race. I will be down again next Saturday with Woody (GBR 500) who will be sailing with me during the Demi Cle. Hopefully we will get out for some training before the start as we don’t have sailed together before. The facilities at AOS in Lorient where SWE772 is based are fantastic. Many of the Mini and Figaro sailors have this place as their base, entering this old German submarinebase from the 2nd world war is in some ways like stepping back in time as the bomb marks from the British bombing during the war still are very visible. In the middle of all this this ruins one can find big teams like Groupama.
Grpms start distribut Kovax Time Saving Abrasives. Kovax is a producer and supplier of innovative and time saving abrasives for the yacht building, automotive, painting and woodworking industry.
Important advantages
As a result of many years of development Ursuit has brought to the market a new dry suit collection that fulfills the requirements of deep-sea-sailing and those of costal classes. The Gemino Operative suit is especially suitable for the Transat 6.50 extreme sailing environment where your life depends on keeping dry and warm whilst still having the ease of movement.
I am pleasant surprised how much media tension we have had in the last couple of days. Below you will find few new links.
NACIRA 650 production will be build from now on by the boatyard FR Nautisme from Lorient (France). The n°8 is beeing finished over there at the moment and will be launched begining of March in Lorient
Grpms are pleased to announce the forthcoming launch of their new webshop on the 5th of March.
http://www.tools4grp.se/
Customers will benefit from a number of advantages:
- Purchase 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
- Exclusive promotions
- Easy navigation
- View product recommendations
- New products introduced on a regular basis
- Product prices can be checked online
