Finally

‎4 days, 9-1/2 hours from Guilford, CT. to St. George, Bermuda and 5 days, 2-1/2 hours back, totally 1,314 nm's round trip. 
With the exception of a few squalls, a torn main sail and a broken alternator belt the trip was relatively uneventful.  We were delayed 1 day departing Guilford due to a cold front passing through the area and had a 3 day delay departing St. George due to hurricane Debby but Commanders did an excellent job of routing us around the weather and crossing the Gulf Stream in both directions.  The wind averaged 15-20 kts from the NW on the southbound leg and 15-20 kts from the SW on the northbound leg so we were pretty much on a very comfortable beam to broad reach in both directions.  All in all it was a very pleasurable trip and an experience of a lifetime. The boat and crew performed flawlessly.

Guilford, CT. to St. George, Bermuda   
6/14 Day 1 143 nm                                                  

6/15 Day 2 165                                                                                         

6/16 Day 3 150                                                         

6/17 Day 4 150                                                         

6/18 Day 5   57                                                          

Totally       665 nm.                                                        

St. George, Bermuda to Guilford, CT. 
6/30 Day 1  114
7/1   Day 2  142
7/2   Day 3    96
7/3   Day 4  122

7/4   Day 5  135
7/5   Day 6    40
Totally        649 nm. 

 

Almost here

All of the training has been completed.  Nine months of preparation.  The boat is provisioned and the crew is ready to go.  One more telephone confernece on Wednesday night with the crews of the Mai Toi and Ithaka to review the weather forecast and Gulf Stream routing.  The departure date is set for Wednesday June 13th. All we need now is a good weather window. You can follow our location and progress at : http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0scfFlnVrvRr2j1Srv8lG9NoR58zLeSSv.

Training & preparation for Bermuda

In addition to conducting a series of telephone conferences to coordinate plans and review the Gulf Stream  routing with the crew from Ithaka we have also set-up a tenative training schedule as follows in preparation for the trip to Bermuda:

May 19th & 20th- Safety precautions, MOB, storm tactics & spinnaker (on the water)
June 2nd & 3rd- Operating procedures, emergency preparations, Bermuda & U.S. Customs & Immigration procedures.
June 9th & 10th- Review navigation, route & waypoints, weather, prepare & provision boat.

Each crew member will receive onboard training and instruction on each of the above procedures onboard the Mai Toi and  familiarize themselves with the location and operation of all the safety equipment and procedures onboard.

New crew member

New crew member for the return trip from Bermuda. Dr. Chris Dixon, 53 years old, Surgeon.
Captains license with Sailing and Towing endorsements. Off shore experience to/from Maine and Nantucket.

U.S. Sailing certified Safety-At-Sea Seminar

Attended Safety-At-Sea Seminar with crew members at the N.Y. Yacht Club, Saturday March 24th 8:45 am to 4:15 pm in preparation for the trip to Bermuda. 
Agenda:
8:45 Introduction
9:00 Giving and receiving assistance
9:30 Boat & crew preparations for Bermuda
10:30 Safety equipment
11:15 Life raft & abandon ship
12:30 Crew health & medical assistance
1:15 Weather forecasting
2:00 Heavy weather sailing: Preparation & tactics
2:45 Storm sail & drogues
3:00 Damage control
3:30 Search & rescue
4:15 Questions, answers and concluding remarks

On the hard

My friend Capt. Bob and myself left Guilford, CT to bring the Mai Toi to Mamaroneck, N.Y. for winter storage in anticipation of beating a Nor'easter on 10/29 but the weather forecaster's mis-calculated  the start of the storm and after only an hour into our trip the winds began to pick up to 25 knots, the seas increased to 5 feet, the temperture dropped to freezing and it began to snow, visibility became zero.  We had no choice but to push on through the storm. We maintained radio contact with a barge leaving New Haven bound for N.Y.C. and the Ferry P.T. Barum leaving Bridgeport and kept an eye on them on radar. Capt. Bob's wife Marilyn and Keila met us as we arrived Norwalk Cove Marina around 3:30 pm and helped us tie-up along the fuel dock to wait out the rest of the storm. The next morning was still windy but beautiful and the rest of the trip to Mamaroneck was uneventful. We arrived around 1:30 pm and the girls were waiting there to assist us with tying up and unloading the boat .
The Mai Toi was hauled on 11/2, winterized and is on the hard at McMichaels Yacht Yard in Mamaroneck, NY.  Tartan will complete some remaining warranty work and McMichaels will attend to the work order list  and install a Reverse Osmosis System in preparation for Bermuda and the Caribbean in 2012.  

Bermuda 2012

Preparations have already begun for the 2012 Greenport, N.Y. to Bermuda Cruising Rally in June http://bermudacruisingrally.com/.  Crew selection, inventorying equipment & gear, acquiring appropriate charts and documenting procedures as well as arranging to haul and prepare the boat during the off season. Check back periodically for updates and important links.