High Stakes On The High Seas In Yacht Race
As of the mid-afternoon position update today [May 24], it was evident the lead boat in the Charleston Bermuda race — the Hofford-Ford team on board the Shipman 63 “Tucana” – was making a move to distance itself from race rival “Spirit of Juno” [pictured], the OnDeck Farr 65 under charter to the self-acclaimed “world’s greatest sailor,” comedian Stephen Colbert.
The host of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” and his crewmates have hounded “Tucana” for the majority of the race, staying within six miles of them much of that time, but the situation began to shift after noon today.
On board ‘”Tucana”, it’s likely that the two most avid racing sailors among the crew — Michael Miller and Dan Valoppe (both of Charleston) – are constantly trimming the sails and squeezing every ounce of performance they can out of this all-carbon-fiber machine.
Mr. Miller is a professional sailor who once campaigned for the Olympics, and Mr. Valoppe is a professional yacht delivery captain. Together, they possess significant expertise in optimising sailing performance. As of the most recent position reports from Yellowbrick, ‘Tucana’ was nearly 15 miles ahead of her rival, and moving almost two knots faster.
Back on shore in Charleston, David Browder has been watching the fleet’s progress very closely. Mr. Browder, who founded this race in 1997 along with his friend Rick Hennigar, said earlier today: “It’s been very interesting to watch. They’re all right there together. I fully expect ‘Juno’ to make a move and sail past ‘Tucana’ any time now.
“She’s capable of doing that, and should be able to pass. But because of the boats’ relatively close positions, I think it’s all going to be decided by the handicap ratings.”
Mr. Browder explained that once the handicaps were factored in, it’s likely that ‘ Tucana’ would win the Racing Division honors.
“Unless we see something dramatic happen with the weather, and that doesn’t look very likely given the forecasts we’re seeing, I suspect ‘Tucana’ will correct out ahead of ‘Juno’,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Zinchenko and his crew on board the other Shipman 63 in the race, “Yanosha”, have begun to make a move as well. Mr. Zinchenko crossed the starting line in third place on Saturday and since that time has been engaged in a tight contest with the other OnDeck Farr 65, the “Spirit of Minerva”.
But over the past three hours, Mr. Zinchenko and his crew of OnDeck clients have begun to edge away from the Farr.
Farther back in the fleet, as of the 3:00 p.m. position update, Bernie Schapiro’s Beneteau 411 “Pied-a-Mer” was sailing almost within sight of Rob Turkewitz’s Cherubini 44 “First Light”.
In a ship-to-shore call via sat phone, Mr. Schapiro said he had seen Mr. Turkewitz’s boat on the horizon earlier in the day. He described the sailing conditions as “lovely. We’ve got 8.5 knots of wind right out of the East. There’s not a cloud in the sky and just a little rolling swell. We’re moving along at almost 6.5 knots, maybe five miles from the mid-way point to Bermuda, so we’re getting there.”
Mr. Schapiro said that his boat had been on starboard tack ever since leaving the Charleston Harbour jetties. He added that his navigator, John Watkins, was in the process of adjusting the boat’s course to steer back closer to the rhumbline, some four miles south of “Pied-a-Mer’s” 3:00 p.m position.
Meanwhile, sources at the race’s official weather service — Weather Routing, Inc. — indicated that the southwest winds would stay strong throughout the night, but begin to weaken by midday on Wednesday. That’s not good news for the heavier boats in the fleet. Look for “Yanosha” and “Tucana” to continue making gains
