Looking through the entrant list in the Bermuda 1-2, I see some folk we met at the New England Solo/Twin last year. Aggressive (C&C 35-2), Relentless (Beneteau 1st 36.7), Choucas (Jeanneau SF 36), Ariana (Cardinal 46), Kontradiction (C&C 110 SD), Palangi (Catalina 36), Josephine (Open 6.5 Mini) and DragonJ (J/120). We also know the racer on Toothface (Akilaria Class 40). So many boats to track. So many folk to wish well.
June 2009 Archives
While all this baby stuff has been going on, Norman has been sailing up the eastern US coast with a passagemaking class. Gladie, being spot on as usual, got us a SPOT tracking device as a wedding present. This device can send messages with lat/long coordinates, when there is satellite availability. When Norman is away, he can turn SPOT on and set it to Track mode, which then sends updates of their position every 10 minutes or so.
The trip started at Morehead City, NC and will end at Brewer's Sakonnet Marina in Portsmouth, RI.
N 34.7162 W 76.705, departed 7:19am June 20th, Morehead City NC
N 41 37.98 W 71 13.17, Brewer's Sakonnet Marina, Portsmouth, RI
I can track their position visually on the SPOT web page for his device. Nice :)
To see what the conditions might be at any given location, I go to NOAA National Data Buoy Center, where they have links to all the buoys that collect data. So for example, on June 21 at around 10:30am ET, they were off Virginia Beach. The NOAA buoy located there has a link, which gives me the current conditions. Barometric pressure steady, winds and wave direction. Winds were out of the WNW, around 18kts gusting to 20kts. From their course since then, I can see that they are heading out further toward the edge of the continental shelf. The buoy further offshore has winds of about 15kts, and barometric pressure rising, which usually means weather improving. Since they are heading northeast, they are on a beam reach, which shouldn't be too rough a ride. Seas are 3 ft.
The weather site I like the best is Wunderground. The map of the fronts in the northeast, animated, shows some really crazy close-together isobars just east and south of their position. The weather system they are in now shows some serious squall activity north of their position. So it might be a busy day aboard.
The return leg of the Bermuda 1-2 is also going on right now. I wonder if any of the racers will cross Norm's track. The racers are also having to navigate crossing the gulf stream, with its strong currents, and this very breezy low that is to Norm's right. We have a friend doing the return leg on Toothface, and he is sending out email updates pretty regularly. You can track the boats in the return leg at iBoatTrack. Toothface position is here.
We're all looking forward to everyone's safe return to Newport later this week.
The trip started at Morehead City, NC and will end at Brewer's Sakonnet Marina in Portsmouth, RI.
N 34.7162 W 76.705, departed 7:19am June 20th, Morehead City NC
N 41 37.98 W 71 13.17, Brewer's Sakonnet Marina, Portsmouth, RI
I can track their position visually on the SPOT web page for his device. Nice :)
To see what the conditions might be at any given location, I go to NOAA National Data Buoy Center, where they have links to all the buoys that collect data. So for example, on June 21 at around 10:30am ET, they were off Virginia Beach. The NOAA buoy located there has a link, which gives me the current conditions. Barometric pressure steady, winds and wave direction. Winds were out of the WNW, around 18kts gusting to 20kts. From their course since then, I can see that they are heading out further toward the edge of the continental shelf. The buoy further offshore has winds of about 15kts, and barometric pressure rising, which usually means weather improving. Since they are heading northeast, they are on a beam reach, which shouldn't be too rough a ride. Seas are 3 ft.
The weather site I like the best is Wunderground. The map of the fronts in the northeast, animated, shows some really crazy close-together isobars just east and south of their position. The weather system they are in now shows some serious squall activity north of their position. So it might be a busy day aboard.
The return leg of the Bermuda 1-2 is also going on right now. I wonder if any of the racers will cross Norm's track. The racers are also having to navigate crossing the gulf stream, with its strong currents, and this very breezy low that is to Norm's right. We have a friend doing the return leg on Toothface, and he is sending out email updates pretty regularly. You can track the boats in the return leg at iBoatTrack. Toothface position is here.
We're all looking forward to everyone's safe return to Newport later this week.
So in this realm, not a Skipper, but now a Grandma!
Yesterday evening, 9:34pm, June 18th, we welcomed Baby Boy Z into the world, 7lbs 9oz, 21 inches. Mother, Dad and Baby Z are all doing fine. The two new grandmas were present for the birth, and are ecstatic. Of course Z is the best-looking baby around.
