MachBuster Pushes Kiwi Spirit for Line Honors
by Talbot Wilson
Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) BERMUDA, June 17, 2019: At 0730 ADT Monday morning Kiwi Spirit, the Line Honors leader of the Marion Bermuda fleet, was 125 nautical miles out from the finish. That’s a little more than 143 statute (land) miles.
Finishers are not expected for at least another 20 hours. Estimated time of arrival off St David’s Lighthouse is 0 ‘dark’ 0300 or so.
Kiwi Spirit, designed originally for Dr .Stanley Paris' single-handed circumnavigation, was sailing at 6.6 kts steering a course of 144º. She's sailed by a Riley family crew with 18-year old Jo Riley as the skipper.
Eugene Berardi’s MachBuster, a Little Harbor 70, has moved up into second place for line honors poised to strike some 20 nautical miles behind the leader. At 0730 she was doing 7.4 kts steering 158º. MachBuster will push the Riley's boat hard from behind as winds lighten on the leader as the day develops.
Leaders Approach Half-Way
by Talbot Wilson
Marion MA, June 16, 2019: The 2019 Marion Bermuda Race is shaping up to be a close line honors and handicap race for overall prizes. But with 300 or more miles to go and the Happy Valley/Parking Lot between the fleet and the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club’s finish line off St. David’s Lighthouse in Bermuda, a lot can happen. The leaders are closing in on the halfway point in the 645-mile race.
The leaders of all four Founders Division classes are sailing only by the stars and the 'Strawberry' full moon. The Marion Bermuda Race is the only US based offshore race that encourages celestial navigation. Boats that elect to use celestial only get a 3% credit on their adjusted elapsed time for the race.
Kiwi Spirit, the Riley Family’s Farr 63, is the scratch (fastest) boat in the fleet and still leads all boats for line honors. Sunday morning, she was 300 miles from Bermuda sailing on starboard tack at 8.6 kts steering a course of 139º. Winds were fresh from the southwest at around 15 kts.
Day 1- Bermuda, Here They Come
by Talbot Wilson
Marion MA, June 14, 2019: The fleet of 39 Marion Bermuda yachts is on its way to Bermuda. 38 of the boats are in the Founders Division and one is a Classic yacht. The first start between the classicsTabor Boy and Spirit of Bermuda set the pace with an aggressive move by Spirit running down the starting line, crossing close ahead of Tabor Boy.
But the maneuver didn’t pay off for the big black Bermuda Sloop. She ran the line in front of Tabor Boy clear ahead. Then when she got to the pin end of the line and hardened up into the wind, she actually sailed outside of the yellow pin, beyond the starting line.
Whoops! She did not start properly, but continued to sail the course southward on a beat out of Buzzards Bay.
Failure to cross the starting line means that Spirit of Bermuda did not start.
