Stu Bru Boat Co. Goes Abroad

BVI

2009-04-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

We have been down here for some time now. Since the end of the Rolex just hanging out working on the boat and doing some cool cruising. Here are some of the best shots from the last few week. Topher Kristen Matt and Erica arrive today so there should be some more to come before we head to Bermuda on the 26th!

I found this Conk right outside the Bitter End right where Jeremy told me to look!

When i took this picture Pete was giving me a hard time because he is also so rich with sunsets documenting them has gotten old. Its a tough life.

Aboard the nerve center of the Gravatron at the Easter festival!

There's O'Malley looking at the fish

Pete there is'nt a girl or a shark behind me.

Sweet hair!

Its been a while.

2009-04-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hey! I know its been a while but lots has happened and I think its time to fill you all in. When I left you after the second Atlantic crossing I also left Barra to my mother and father in Antigua. I went skiing. They spent some time cruising in Antigua and then headed north with the Marshall's and Prescotts to Simpson Bay in St Marten. After twelve powder days at Mad River and Sugarloaf and a short trip to London to see Charlotte I returned to the boat in St Marten with Mike Berg. There he and I hauled her out and went to work putting a fast racing bottom on her. After about five days she was feeling pretty smooth and we were pretty red. But all in all it came out great! While in St Marten we raced in the St Marten Heineken Regatta with Jim Taylor, RJ Bouchard, Kirsten Barton, Mike Berg, John White, Tom Reed, Bill Shenton, Bobby Martin, Bruce MacNeil, Chase Marshal. It was a wonderful crew and even with only one day of practice we went out to the Commodores Cup on Thursday morning feeling confident and at the very least excited. With a schedule of two mile windward leewards we were a little scared that this wasn't Barra's expertise but we worked hard and with a lot of luck pulled off a third place overall behind two well sailed boats Lazy Dog and Mad IV. Going into the Heineken regatta itself we were very nervous now. But we came out on the first day into 30kts of wind and big northerly swell and aside from a late call for a peel to the three (from yours truly) we did well! On the run down the east side of the island we did blow out both of our kites but at least it made for good spectating. If anyone has the video of our second blow out i would love to see it.

If you look closely you can see the bag for the three on the foredeck in that wave. John is behind the jib somewhere trying to finish the peel!

Saturday was rescheduled to be windward leewards and a little squeamish with a our kites in the big air we sailed tuff second day. Determined to improve on the final day of the event we came out and sailed a flawless final race up the same run where we had blown out our kites. After an exciting beat crossing tacks with five boats Avocation and Lazy Dog the most we pulled of a nice bare away set and the top mark and started the run for what we hoped would be more successful. All in all we had a great run and nice jib reach to the finish to take third overall. That night we celebrated with our favorite pizza and Damian Marley and the Whalen Whalers played till two or three!

Thanks to John white Chase Marshall and Mike Berg who stayed around after the regatta to help me with getting the boat back into cruising for so that seven of us could sail up to the BVI and hangout for the week. Ian Mitchel, Andrew Dunlop, Mike Berg, John White, Kelly Thomas and all left St Marten and headed for a week of cruising in the BVI. We had a wonderful crossing in 20+kts with only the jib up we were at the baths just after sunup! Many wonderful times where had by all! When the good times came to a slow end John and I started getting the boat ready for our second regatta. This time based of of Nanny Cay in the BVI Jeremy Small came down a few days early to help get the boat emptied out and race sails fitted. Jeremy was the brains behind a boom vang trim that was only a little nerve racking within a day of our big event the Rolex International Regatta held at the St Thomas Yacht Club.

For this even we had a different but also awesome crew. John stayed on the bow but had a new mast man in Jeremy, Neal and Fernando were our pit guys, Brian trimmed the kite I trimmed main and Brigham trimmed jib, Mike and my father both drove on different days, Richard was not only our mid bow and sewer guy but also a great navigator backing up Jack Slattery on tactics.

The first race of the event was a short but tight course around an island and through a few very tight passages. This turned out to be our worst score as an 8th. After that we really picked it up and on the second day of the regatta put of two bullets! We were leading into the last day and it was all up to us. The courses maybe didn't favor us so much but truth be told we could have sailed better on the last day. The J122 Lost Horizon that beat us deserved the win but watch out next year we will be after them. Memorable moments from this event came thick and juicy! One included a super tight spinnaker reach on a lee shore where we could not bare away to dose the spinnaker in trying to blow the halyard we lost the sheets and tack and quickly had a straight eighty foot flag off the top of our mast. the only way to solve the problem was to let it all go! The kite the halyard and the sheets all flew off the top of the mast and into water. Thank you to the nice man in the rib who retrieved our spinnaker and running gear and returned it to the yacht club.

Barra now has some scratches in her and has seen the race course. We hope to continue this trend this summer with some good racing in Newport and hopefully we can keep the good scores coming! Thanks so much to all the people involved in these two events and all the help we have received from folks this winter. Mike Berg did and amazing job as our shore logistics manager at the Heineken. My mother took over the task at the Rolex and made some amazing meals. John White whom i met on the dock in St Marten has helped me so much i cant even explain without him non of this would have been possible. Jeremy Small was a huge help during the Rolex keeping the boat up to speed. Every team member was incredibly important and I thank you all so much! The pic below was taken after one of the events and I think my dad kinda likes this buoy racing thing now! Without him obviously this never would have been possible.

The Crossing

2008-12-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

While in Lagos Chase and Eric where using the tender for exploration. Without a proper dingy anchor chance found the next best thing: Barra's Fortress. Which he now has a growing love for.

Ken McKinley our weather router from Locust Weather has done an excellent job routing us across the ocean twice and through numerous coastal passages. On day four or five his email described squally weather for the next few days. This is one of the twenty or thirty squals that we encountered ranging from a dark cloud that didnt change wind or weather to 41kts and stinging rain.
Eric and Jermemy enjoy one of the tropcal showers on the back bench.

After six days of nice wind and the spinnaker we sailed into a trough. With the breeze slowly dying and the sea state a little lumpy made waiting for wind a little painfull.

Even though the crew of Barra over the last few months has spent all their extra cash on food and plane tickets we are very rich in sunsets!

Bobby Martin enjoyed some of the trip. I think?

Another wonderful sunset with the 2A up.

Nice broom.

The southern crossing is completely different from the northern crossing. We not only enjoyed three Mahi-Mahi and five tuna but also standard clothing and night watch gear consisted of shorts and maybe a T shirt.

2008-11-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

Madeira and Porto Santo

2008-11-04T08:56:00.001-08:00

Lagos

2008-10-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

Barra Goes Abroad

Chase and I just got back from a weekend trip to Seville and Gibraltar. Seville had tons of exquisite tile work, and at one government building they had a series of tiled alcoves with benches in them representing most of the cities in Spain.

The Cathedral in Seville was massive, but we didn't get a chance to go inside, since the ticket lady wouldn't buy Chase's story that he had forgotten his student ID, so we just got to admire the exterior.

The next morning we caught a bus to La Linea, the Spanish town that's just over the border from Gibraltar. The Spanish countryside along the way was covered with windmills and orange trees, most of which weren't yet ripe. We had a lengthy debate at a bus station about what type of citrus fruit was growing on the trees, finally deciding that they were unripe oranges.

As we came around the last bend in the road and started descending toward Algeciras and Gibraltar, the rock came into view - it's pretty spectacular. The land all around it is super flat, ande then Gibraltar just rears up out of the sea.

We stayed at a hostel just across the street from Casemate's square, the landward terminus of main street. It wasn't nearly as ritzy as the hostel in Seville, but at least we got 2 pieces of toast with butter and tea for breakfast. We spent our first day in Gibraltar hiking the Rock. It's very steep, so even though it's not all that high, it takes a while to get up and down.

From the top of the Rock we could see Africa across the straits of Gibraltar, but it was a hazy day so we could just barely make out the shape of the mountains.

The Barbary Macacques on the rock are very used to human presence, and didn't seem to even take notice of us. They treated passing cars more as playground equipment than a threat.

Gibraltar itself was a strange mix of Spanish and English cultures - the police, phone booths, and signage was straight out of England, but almost everyone spoke both English and Spanish, and we heard people mixing the two a lot.

Gibraltar seemed to have almost an island atmosphere, despite the fact that the border was pretty low key. It definitely lived up to our expectations.

2008-10-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

Lagos

We're now in Lagos, Portugal. We hauled out last Wednesday and got the bottom painted, now we're back in the water at the Lagos Marina while Stu goes home for a few days. Lagos seems to be almost entirely populated by the British. The marina is full of liveaboards who are either wintering here or just live here, and the town's many bars are full of holidaymakers, even this late in the season.

We had a long, mostly uneventful motor (a brief episode with water pump belts notwithstanding) to Lagos from Porto, in wind speeds ranging from 0 to 0. We did pass the Russian sail training vessel Mir, powering the other direction in the lack of wind with her staysails set.

Leixoes, the marina for Porto, was weirdly hazy. The region is known for fog, but it was unlike any fog we'd seen before - low, hot, and clinging to the ground. Walking along the beach boardwalk from the harbor to the grocery store, we soon lost sight of the jetty walls in the haze.

To follow our journey, take a look at our GPS tracker at this website: http://charthorizon.com/m/cz/map?vessels=Barra&history=Bermuda_-_Ireland&v_scope=all

2008-10-10T03:11:00.000-07:00

Fall

It feels like Autumn in Baiona today. There's a hint of wood smoke in the air, A certain stillness. It's warm, but behind the warmth lurks the hazy threat of winter. The sun is low in the sky, even at noon, casting long, harsh shadows from the ramparts of the castle. It's beautiful weather, but it won't last long. It seems as if we're just keeping even with the advancing seasons as we head south for the winter.

2008-10-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Baiona

We've arrived in Baiona, at the southern end of the Rias of Northwest spain. The town is old, with lots of winding alleys, as well as a castle on the headland protecting the bay.

We spent the last few days exploring the various spanish rias, which were all beatiful, although more built up than we expected. Just offshore of the mouth of the Ria de Vigo, where Baiona is located, are two islands which form a beautiful backdrop to the city.

2008-10-03T01:04:00.000-07:00

1,2 Spanish Sailing

3,4 Ria de Cedeira

5,6 La Coruna

7 Camaret

8,9 Ile d'Ouessant

10,11 The French Getting it Done

Departure from Brittany; Hello Spain

2008-10-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Katie Auth and her friend Rachel, also a teacher in Brest this year, did not disapoint us. They were excellent tour guides even though they had only been in the city for a few days. After going out for some beers on Thursday night we headed down towards the town hall where we heard that many students gather on "the steps of liberty". This was an amazing sight to be seen - at least 1000 sudents were gathered enjoying the evening on the steps in front of the town hall. This group, mostly just relaxing with a few beverages, also took to racing recycling barrels with wheels and handles on the ground down the long sloped granite town square. The students were very friendly and long conversations kept us busy late into the night.

We made big plans with Katie and Rachel to cruise to Ile d'Ouessant that weekend. Because they had to work late Friday, we caught the morning tide from Brest to Camaret, just outside the narrow tidal channel that leads to Brest Harbor, where the girls were going to meet us by bus. Unfortunately French transportation doesn't always run on its published schedule, and when Katie and Rachel's bus left 15 minutes early, we had to come back to Brest the next morning to pick them up.

We made it to Ile d'Ouessant in the early afternoon, which left us plenty of time to go onshore and explore the westernmost island in France. The town of Lampaul looks out over the beautiful bay where we were anchored, and we watched the sun set before returning aboard. The next morning we had a beautiful sail in 15-20 knots of breeze back to Camaret, from whence, barring a brief misunderstanding with the French bus system, Katie and Rachel took their leave.

In addition to trash can racing, other notable French pastimes include pastries and sailing. Here are the top five reasons why French sailors get it done!
#5: Wonderfully ridiculous launching ramps. Three 200ft wide lauchning ramps were included in the 2000 slip marina at Oceanopolis Brest.
#4: Wednesday afternoon at 2pm the harbor was alive with every floating contraption imagineable, including Open 40s, canting keel minis, 29ers, Europe dinghys, lasers, windsurfers, and all kinds of unnamed vessels.
#3: They're not scared of light weight! Many of the boats in the marina were minis or open class boats that were used as racer cruisers.
#2: The Brittany coast is unforgiving - with twenty foot tides and strong westerly breeze, the rock infested harbors take the utmost care just to navigate.
#1: They dont work, they just sail!

After Katie and Rachel left, we spent a beautiful three days in Camaret, a small fishing and tourist town just to the west of Brest. Departing for La Coruna on Wednesday September 24th we happend to pass by three French frigates. While wondering what was going on the VHF radio started shouting to us in French. The English version of the message came quickly after, calming us now that we understood they were just conducting underwater demolition nearby. With a quick change of course we skirted the demolition area and headed off to La Coruna.

The weather for our passage was wonderful until we neared the North coast of Spain too early in the morning. Trying to slow down we continued at 7.3kts with half of our jib out. This night was made particularly interesting by the large spanish fishing fleet that was working off the coast. As the sun rose and the fishing vessels came into view rather than being simply blips on the radar and lights bobbing in the seas the wind died down and we were able to enjoy our arival in La Coruna.

After a few days unwinding from our journey and climbing the Tower of Hercules we headed East for an adventure to Cedeira. This is a small town in one of the most beautiful natrually protected Rias I have ever been. Upon our arival we decided we would postpone our return to La Coruna a day and spend some time exploring the area. The beach and the river were amazing. As we rode the tide up though the estuary in the raft we enjoyed the sun and calm high pressure. The town too was a relaxing place a little off the pace of the bigger city La Coruna.

With two nights and a day or relaxasion behind us we head back to La Coruna where my dad was flying in to meet us and join the boat for a week. With his arival we cleaned and prepared the boat along with trying to find some local knowlege about the crusing grounds to the south. A nice couple from the area invited me aboard their boat to show me where we should go. The older man spoke english and his wife was more than happy to have him translate for me. Her recommendations have proved helpful and their translation of rocks and reefs is a classic mix up. As he was explaining the entrance to harbor after harbor she would interject and make sure that I understood how many unmarked stones there were. "Be careful of the stones, Be careful of the stones" he insisted. The coast from along the north western section of Spain is called "the coast of death" for a reason - there are lots maybe tons of stones!

Good bye for now. We are off to the South!

2008-09-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Royal Cork Yacht club is the oldest yacht club in the world. Barra spent a total of three weeks at the club while I was home and Eric traveled around Ireland. When I arrived back on Barra I found Eric deeply entrenched in the local IRC fleet racing on a great X 334 named Ellia. Owned and skippered by one of the nicest people we have met in all our travels Ria Lyden. Eric trimmed spinnaker for her for two weekend events and two Thursday nights, the first of which Ellia took top honors and won a Heineken mini keg. Through Ria Rob and I were able to secure a ride on anther IRC yacht. We too were able to finish in the top three of our class and bring home a nice trophy. All this great hospitality and good harbor racing made the waiting for a weather window bearable. Thanks as well to Andrew Murray for playing his heart out in the semifinals of the U.S. Open against first seed Raphael Nadal to move on to the finals against Roger Federer. We all enjoyed a chance to relax in front of some great tennis!

After a deep low passed we hopped out of Cork and had a great fifteen hour sprint towards the Scilly Islands. As we approached the shipping channels of the English Channel, the large high pressure moving north from the Azores left us becalmed so we finished our trip with some smooth motoring. Arriving in Brest late on Saturday, Rob left early Sunday for New York Fashion Week and will be back on Wednesday when we will start our cruising in France.

Katie Auth greeted us on the dock in Brest for she is working here at the university teaching English. Hopefully she will be able to join us for the weekend as we head south along the coast setting ourselves up for a crossing to Spain. We have already met a few boats headed in that direction. Two class 40s are headed down to Spain with charter guests and then on to Madeira and the Canaries. They too will be participating in the ARC and hopefully we will see Jan and Felix in our travels later this year.

Thank You, Scotland

2008-08-18T09:33:00.001-07:00

Some of the best shots so far.

2008-08-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sites from Barra

This one was taken leaving St Georges Harbor early in our first morning of the Transatlantic.

This picture was taken as the sun set in a small Fjord on the west coast of Irland.
El was always taking pictures with someones camera I guess she found mine.

Fastnet rock was on the horizon for a long time before we came abeam of it.

It took rob about a million photos before he was able to snag this shot!

Travels

2008-08-11T08:11:00.001-07:00

We have since visited Scalaig, Isle of Rum, Arisaig, Tobermory and Ardfern. They have provided us with gorgeous scenery, beautiful sunsets, social interaction, a time to stretch the legs, and even window shop! We have taken a zillion photographs that I wish we could share. Our internet service is just too slow. Downloading one photo yesterday took 30 minutes, no joke, and then would not post! When we arrive in Bangor, I’ll try again.

Until then, it’s GRR…Green Right Return here!!

Isle of Barra

2008-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

We spent a delightful two days and three nights in Barra exploring the island, beaches and our heritage. We visited Kisimul Castle, the Hertitage Center, The MacNeil burial ground and various coves and harbours by cycle. For 6 hours, we pumped and pumped... up, down and all around the mountain sides. The scenery was spectacular and our understanding of the island more complete when back to the boat. After reprovisioning and 6 loads of laundry, we were off and running again.

We headed north in hopes of spending the night in Eriskay, a very small island just two miles by one. The island is known for an unusual breed of pony that carried peat and seaweed. The fishing village has just two visitor moorings and room for maybe one boat to anchor. Upon arrival, only one mooring was available but unfortunately it was too close to the rocks. After three attempts at anchoring, we left for Loch Bloisdale. The wind blew upwards of 25 knots all night. We were happy to be moored! Come morning, the wind continued at a rather strong pace but with the forecast predicting it to diminish, we left for the Isle of Skye and Loch Harport. There we happened upon a mooring provided by the Talisker Distillery. The sun set at 9:30, it began to drizzle and out came a rainbow. Most of us went into the PubGrubTub for refreshments after dinner...and when there wished we had let them cook instead.

Barra Bound

2008-07-30T14:11:00.001-07:00

There has been many a lasagna baked for various offshore ventures and I always wondered the reasoning for the repeated request. I questioned the sailors with, “Don’t you get tired of the same food, over and over again?” Now I understand! We said good-bye to Ireland at 4 am. I was up hours before wondering if in fact would we leave as the wind picked up and the rain pelted down. Another squall. So what’s new? It rains… or how aptly put by a young boy fishing on the pier just 12 hours earlier, “It always pisses here.” Thankfully though, the rain ended and the sun appeared just 4 hours from departure and now, somehow it's already dinner time. We are tired and hungry. The lasagna has been cooking for 2 hours and the aroma wafts through the cabin. The pan will soon be raided, ready or not!

Today is August 2. Today is Bruce’s father’s birthday. Soon we’ll sail in to Castlebay. As the name suggests, the bay has a castle in the middle of it, Kisimul Castle, the ancestral home of the MacNeil clan. How appropriate for us to be arriving today! Our delay was meant to be, I am sure, and wonder if Norman had something to do with itJ Bruce visited Barra in 1974 with his father. After graduating from college, they went on a two week golf tour of Scotland with a stop in Barra. Stuart graduated from college two months ago. Bruce’s great, great grandfather, Norman, was a sea captain who emigrated from Barra to Nova Scotia in 1802. There he purchased a barque named The Louisiana and sailed her around the world trading with the West Indies and various European ports. Is this sailing thing in the blood?
The Isle of Barra is small, approximately 4 miles wide by 8 miles long with a population of approximately 1300. It has sandy beaches, machair for grazing, small mountains and prehistoric ruins. The harbor was once a herring port. In the 1800's there were over 400 boats in the harbor and curing/packing facilites on shore. The castle burned down in the eighteenth century. An American and 45th chief restored the castle between 1938 and 1970. In 2000 it was leased to Historic Scotland for 1000 years. The island is accessible by ferry or airplane with the later arrival and departure times determined by the tide. Yes, it lands on the beach!

Dinner is ready. More later...

Greetings from Killybegs

2008-07-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

Don’t you love the name? Located on the north side of Donegal Bay, Killybegs is the most important fishing port in Ireland and home to a large fishmeal processing plant. Fishing here is done from November to April.
The fleet is quite impressive; brand new state-of-the-art vessels all lined up waiting for fall. The town reminds me of Gloucester yet when you look across the harbor, the landscape mimics Maine with capes adorned with dormers. Here there are trees and what a warming site as most of the country does not. In the south, grassy hills dotted with sheep and cows roll towards the ocean. Travel further north and mountains sprout up beside rocky barrens and sandy beaches. Grass grows everywhere in Ireland, even on the steep, rocky cliffs.

Today it’s blowing 25 to 30 knots in the harbor with predicted gale force winds offshore. We will stay here until the front blows through after which we will head straight to the Isle of Barra, an overnight leg, 20 hours we hope, and my first! Our belongings have been stored and we have been fitted for our harnesses. Elizabeth is making brownies for the trip. Food does wonders for the soul.

Over the past week, our foul weather gear came out of the closet for one quick shower. All other rain has been overnight. Since leaving Crookhaven, a full day’s sail from Kinsale and our first stop, the winds have been light from the southwest making it difficult to sail We are getting tired of our iron genoa. Yesterday the winds were in our face so we pounded for 6 hours, the most uncomfortable yet. I thought (as I had little time to even think about it) that it would be a hop, skip and a jump up the coastline of Ireland. I was wrong. We have averaged 8 hour days. For those of you who are geography buffs and would like to see where we have been, start at Kinsale in the south and follow the west coastline to Crookhaven, Lawrence Cove, Tralee, Little KIllary, Broadhaven Bay, and now Killybegs…or something like that…Am I missing a night? Guess that’s what vacation is all about…loosing track.

Our days consist of, in no particular order, reading, navigating, motoring, making repairs, cooking, cleaning, checking on internet availability, solving crosswords and Sudoku, sightseeing, sailing, doing laundry, motoring, baking, downloading weather reports, researching places to stay for the night, photographing Ireland, and talking with the friendliest and most hospitable people while in port. Yes, we have had a few political discussions as well and wonder what’s going on in the rest of the world, including South Bristol and Lincoln.

It’s often 7 pm or later when we are secured for the night. With dinner and sometimes a movie, at the moment we are watching the John Adams series, 11 p.m. comes quickly. Most of us are asleep before our heads hit the pillows! We have had to anchor only twice as visitor moorings seem to be most everywhere. That’s a luxury and makes for a more sound night’s sleep.

Again, we are ready! We refueled today, purchased some fish and fresh produce. The guys continue to tweak the rigging and make sure all is secure while we finish our business on the internet.

We think of all our friends and loved ones daily. We miss you and hope all is well with everyone. I wish we could send some pictures but the connection is too slow. If that changes, we will do so.

xoxo Linda, Bruce, Elizabeth, Heather and Stuart

On Our Way!

2008-07-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday began the first leg of our long awaited trip around the coastlines of Ireland and Scotland. Just before noon, we left the dock in Kinsale, refueled and sailed 7 hours covering 50 nautical miles to Crookhaven for the night. We were powered by a steady 20 knots of breeze and have enjoyed warm temperatures and sunshine. We couldn't ask for better weather!

Those of us who have not been cruising for sometime are becoming reacquainted with the operations of a sailboat, from what might seem to be the simple task of storing food to learning our way around the rigging.

Heather, Stuart and Elizabeth spent the evening at O'Sullivan's Pub, run by Dermott, third generation owner and manager. The crowd at O'Sullivans are British Open enthusiasts. A friendly barman pointed out the framed and autographed flag from the 18th hole of Padraig Harrington's 2007 Open victory. This year, they are hoping he will be equally as generous! Stuart spoke to a few local cruisers who had participated in Cork Racing Week, looking for some tips for Barra and her crew as we head north. Alas, none had ventured farther than Crookhaven so for now, we are blazing our own trail.

More from the next port!

Day 16: LAND HO! LAND HO!

2008-07-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Pat was the first one to spot it, after Sam pointed out the land clouds. He was standing naked in the cockpit, drying off in the sun from his tea-kettle shower. He bellowed it multiple times to the astonishment of the crew. Everyone scrambled out of the farthest corners of the ship to see if indeed El Capitan was telling the truth (he was wearing a towel by the time we made it up). It was only 3:15; we werenâ€™t expecting to see land until dinner. We forgot to take into account that Ireland has mountains. Sure enough, we could see the faint outline of a hill through the haze on the horizon. A few minutes later there was another one, and soon the horizon was scattered with what would show itself to be the very green Irish coast. It would be a few hours before we neared Fastnet Rock so we started the boat cleanup effort. First came the gathering of personal effects, followed by vacuuming everywhere and cleaning the head. As the sun got low enough to give everything a yellow glow, we came up on the long awaited lighthouse at Fastnet Rock. Watching it grow bigger we all sat in the cockpit grinning. Rob drove by hand. Sam, who will turn 60 in less than a month, has waited his whole life for this sight, and itâ€™s the first time for all but Pat. We took lots of photos. Photos of the rock. Photos of our crewmates. Photos of our crewmates in front of the rock. Not to worry, it is the best documented half hour of the last 16 days. Now, as a giant full moon has just risen off our starboard side and we continue on to Kinsale, we have fallen into familiar roles. Sam is bent over the salon table double checking the navigation and taking bearings off lights on the coast. Rob is cooking dinner, monitoring the casserole in the oven while chopping and cooking carrots, of which we have a seemingly endless supply. Stuart and Pat, having finished smoking their celebratory cigars, have raised the spinnaker and are playing it in 10 to 12 knots of wind instead of turning on the motor. I, El, am sitting at the nav station (with a little technical help from Rob) recapping the dayâ€™s events to send out to all of you. Itâ€™s warm down in the cabin. The bowls are ready for dinner. Weâ€™re heeling at 15 degrees to starboard. Bob Marley is playing. I just realized itâ€™s past 10:00â€¦ this scene usually takes place at around 6 or 7. The excitement must have set us back. We donâ€™t have many hours of darkness this far north. The sun rose this morning spectacularly just before 0400, the first real sunrise weâ€™ve had sinceâ€¦ when did the grey begin? It all runs together. At daylight we expect to be coming around into the Kinsale harbor, where we will be greeted by the entire MacNeil family. It has been a wonderful passage, and a pleasure to share with all of you.

Thanks for reading!

The Barra Crew

â€œI must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,To the gullâ€™s way and the whaleâ€™s way where the windâ€™s like a whetted knife,And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trickâ€™s over.â€ â€“ John Masefield

Day 15: Mexican Surfing and Bets

2008-07-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Mexican Day. It did not, in fact, involve any mariachi music or hat dances but it did manifest itself in our food: chicken quesadillas for lunch and beef and steak fajitas for dinner, greeted by shouting that at least resembled Spanish. The weather was like Maine in the fall with a crisp breeze, and according to the log, Stuart thought it was time to go back to school. Sam and Pat took advantage of the sun and got sights both in the morning and at noon. Upon advancing their lines of positions from morning to noon both calculations were very close to our actual position, fantastico! Late in the afternoon, with the wind gusting in the low 20â€™s and Pat at the helm, Stu flying the chute and Sam grinding for Stu, we were pegging the speedo above 10 knots frequently. The game was to get up speed going diagonally across the following seas and then bear off in the gusts to surge down the face of a steep swell. There was a fine point as to when you had enough speed and pressure to bear off before running the chance of broaching. We entertained ourselves for an hour and a half before dinner called, changing roles a couple of times. After 14 days at sea, we are easily entertained! The longer we are at sea, the more appealing movies become. Last night we watched the second half of The Last Waltz (started the night before), and today brought the Deep Sea episode of Planet Earth and Pull, a ski movie. We are quickly exhausting our book supply, trading with each other as soon as one is finished to begin the next. The baked goods keep coming, and every time we open the freezer we find more delicious treasures: mint brownies! Steak! Cookie dough! Sausage! With only a few days to go we only eat the best. Sam reports that we have now covered 2,422 Nautical Miles, with 250 to go. We all admire the chart in awe â€“ we didâ€¦ THAT? Hopefully Fastnet Rock will be in sight sometime tomorrow night and the competition is on for who will be the first to shout, â€œLAND HO!â€ If you are said winner, it is necessary to really bellow it out â€“ you bet your boots it will awaken any not on deck. Keep your fingers crossed for this occurrence in daylight. We are actually starting a betting pool as to the distance until it is spotted. Calculations are illegal, only mental ponderings are fair game.Ahoy to all our mateys at home, thanks for reading!

The Barra Crew

Day 13

2008-07-18T00:34:00.000-07:00

The sun exists! It did, anyway, for a few hours this afternoon. We were so excited after four days of fog that we all got on deck, took pictures, and put up some more sail to get cooking towards Ireland. Sam and his prodigy Captain Patrick even got some sun sights. The fog has filled in again to our dismay but is thinner than before so we are holding out hope. In the fog, we logged two consecutive 200 mile days and now have only about 500 nautical miles left in our voyage â€“ less than a Bermuda race! Even now, as the breeze has died down, we are still cruising at almost 8 knots. Stuart mused that Barra will reject her dock lines in Ireland and insist on continuing to sail, she loves it that much. The dolphins appear to be as curious about us as we are of them and consistently swim by to check us out, putting on a show of jumping or playing with their friends in the bow wave. The most spectacular at night, we follow their phosphorescent trails as they dart off and then weave back into the pod. The best show is witnessed when the dolphins coincide with our sailing through a school of fish- it looks like the paparazzi is underwater all around us with flashes of green. Even in the daylight, we canâ€™t get enough of the sea life. Patrick and Sam have spotted a new species of bird which we have yet to identify. This morning Stu yelled down, â€œYou have GOT to see this!â€ We all ran up on deck to see hundreds of dolphins and giant tuna thrashing up the water and jumping clear out of the waves into the air off the starboard bow.With a lack of other major events, the ship has turned into quite the library. The favorite book so far is David Sedarisâ€™ â€œDress Your Family in Corduroy and Denimâ€, read by half the crew. The salon/living room has become an increasingly social space and we really are turning into a family. Blogging has in fact become a daily highlight with input from all involved, (the Meet the Crew section was an especially social event). We are exploring the depths of our musical selection, from sea chanteys to bluegrass, and have been pleasantly surprised on all accounts. Any Irish-sounding jigs have marked popularity the nearer we draw to the land of the leprechauns. Recent culinary adventures (adding to Barraâ€™s festive air) include apple bread, tortilla pizzas, scrambled egg breakfasts, meat balls, and teriyaki stir-fry. Tonight we are cooking the much anticipated Linda Lasagna, and the excitement is tangible in everyoneâ€™s faces. Temperatures continue to drop and strategic layering is required for night watch in the fog. We are on to our second tub of hot chocolate, and hope the supply will hold out because it is consumed more often than water. Last night the boys declared the first movie night and watched a Clint Eastwood western. Peaking down the companionway at the three of them nestled in front of the TV it would be easy to forget they were on a boat at all instead of a friendâ€™s couch. On the docket for tonight, The Last Waltz. As we went down to just one freezer this afternoon, the DVD player has been deemed an appropriate use of the extra amp hours.Love to all at home, and pray for more sun! Thanks for reading and keep an eye on that horizon,The Barra Crew

Meet the Barra Crew

2008-07-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Captain Patrick is a Pisces and enjoys long walks on the beach with
attractive redheaded Irish girls named Molly (if you meet this
description, please contact him on the facebook.com). He also likes
a good whiskey or Guiness. Patrick can often be found aboard his
boat, Plumbelly, currently lying in Senegal. He is a carpenter by
trade and sometimes forgets he is sailing with other crewmembers and
can be found standing watch in the buff. Luckily, he is a gentleman
by nature and always gives fair warning with a shout down the
companionway. Patrick sports an Italian moustache of the finest
kind; he has a penchant for hip hop music and is an expert in exactly
what types of food need to be refrigerated vs. those that can stand
the heat. He is a super seaman and his bellowing voice brings sea
chanteys to life. Don’t try screwing him out of any money or you may
find him chained to your banister. We’re not kidding and neither is
he.

Rob is also a Pisces, what a coincidence. He enjoys pepperoni
pizza with feta and downloading weather charts on the computer,
keeping us connected to the world. Rob is especially skilled at
napping in the shade of his black Bowdoin sailing hat on the starboard
settee. Rob is Barra’s resident master of the culinary arts. He can
also dissect a problem with the same precision as he does the brains
of small rodents.Tall tales and Long-gitude are subjects which Rob
often ponders. Rob’s facewarmer is becoming more pervasive every
minute. By Wednesday he will be ready to hibernate with his fellow
polar bears.

Sam is the distinguished geezer of the group. He looks more
grizzled by the day, which according to Patrick means that he is
capable of killing a bear with just a knife and his teeth, or
sliding into the position of a Hollywood movie producer with only
the addition of his snazzy new sunglasses, no questions asked.
Sam is the keeper of the sextant and has been a sensei in Captain
Patrick’s celestial navigation skills. Sam enjoys counting and
whistling at the many birds which fly around Barra.  He is a master
of mental arithmetic, constantly calculating our estimated
time of arrival rivaling the veracity of a standard GPS unit.
He is also a connoisseur of the deliciously whole Parmalaid.
By far the most fashionable of the crew, Sam is often spotted
yachting in khaki pants and a wonderfully loved Brooks Brothers
button-down.

Stuart is the best (or hungriest) baker of the bunch. He knows
how to measure out two tablespoons of egg and four tablespoons
of water to reconstitute powdered eggs, mental math that only some
are fit for. Stuart’s activity has been observed to precisely
follow the glorious rhythm of a sine wave, the trough of which being
the moment he wakes up after dreaming that he lost the phone number
to Morris, and the high point being when he turns up the country
music at 5:30 pm. Stuart has read at least 4 books, plowing through
with intellectual grace and speed. Bos’n extraordinaire, he has been
tweaking and fine-tuning the boat from stem to stern and mast head to
keel bolt since the moment he stepped aboard.

Eleanor is the creative writer of the bunch, your faithful (in the
last 3 days)blogger. She enjoys journaling, camels, and silently
disagreeing with othercrewmembers until proven correct, when she
then shares her opinion, valiantly representing the female sex. Luckily,
she didn’t test the theory that her wisdom lies in her dreadlocks by
cutting them off just prior to departure from Bermuda. Despite attempts
to match the immense appetites of other crewmembers, El’s seemingly
little plates of food are  often finished off by one of the boys.  El
is especially good at over-analyzing her life and blog entries, and
giving candid interviews while on watch in the middle of the night.

Day 10

2008-07-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

Nothin’ Like a Good Wranglin’
As we write Barra is sliding down the swell at 13.4 kts. The quiver of sails has become more numerous. With a rolled up jib, staysail and three reefs in the main we are effortlessly moving towards Ireland. Rob and Stu are collaborating on a dinner of bangers and mash along with Wranglers coarse ground smoked beef franks, "best prepared pan fried, grilled, broiled, or microwaved." Luckily on this fine yacht we have all of these options available. Sam is courageously manning the cockpit where his Grunden’s Fisherman look is accented by his beard which has almost reached the length of his eyebrows. The sun is a rare occurrence here in the mid Atlantic, so much so that when Rob was on watch he would call down the hatch to alert Captain Patrick every time it peaked through the grey fog with an effort to get a sun sight. Unfortunately, in the rare 3 minutes of sun we could not see a distinct horizon and attempts were futile.
The morning started with DeLallah French toast, which in retrospect may have actually just been cinnamon toast with syrup. Who needs the French anyway? This afternoon, too grey and wet for on-deck gallivanting to hold any real appeal, we had a sewing circle of ditty bags, pockets, and reinforced lee cloths around the salon table, accompanied by some reading and leftover mac and cheese and chili for lunch. The hack saw even got some action with the first prototype of notched bowls that prevent silverware from taking flight as the boat rolls, patent pending. Watching waves crash over the deck is especially effective with the giant windows, and the mood is heightened when Sam sends out bird calls to the shearwaters. The humble Barra crew, clad uniformly in long johns, had a few breaks for excitement, including a huge sperm whale blowing its snot into the air less than two boat-lengths away, spotted by Sam.
Weather reports, besides being the most beautiful bit of imagery to grace the computer screen (we all may put in orders for posters), continue to improve and currently call for what we have coined the "Highway To Ireland". Rob took a break from his vivid read-alouds of The Odyssey to request that you do us a favor and knock on wood that this forecasting continues.
Be sure to track our progress on www.iboattrack.com, and thanks for reading! Hello and love to all of our family and friends at home.
The Barra Crew

This e-mail was delivered via satellite phone using GMN's XGate software.
Please be kind and keep your replies short.

Seamounts, Swordfish, and Spinnakers

2008-07-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today July 12, is day 9 of our voyage from Bermuda to Ireland. This afternoon we crossed the half-way mark, currently 1364 nautical miles from when we left St. George's Harbor. So far, we couldn't have asked for better weather, with mostly sun and a few scattered showers. We've had 2 or 3 cloudy days so far which have given us a chance to cool down and stop madly lathering on sunscreen to avoid getting burned. The wind hasn't always been in our favor and we have done a little bit of motoring but nothing to get upset about, we have yet to use up the first half of our fuel. The watermaker is running swimmingly, and today brought the second round of showering (now if only we could figure out how to moderate the temperature down from scalding, we'd running a regular Holiday Inn out here in the Atlantic). We have left the tropical land of warm evenings and have entered a world of long johns and foul weather gear on night watch. Yesterday we sailed over the Newfoundland Seamounts, which brought a whole variety of sea life our way, as well as some fishing boats which appeared out of the grey misty morning. At the 0800 watch change a call came through on the VHF from the fishing boat off our port beam, "Buenas Dias" the voice said. We got on the horn and said hello (El and Patrick piecing together the necessary Spanish to chat with the ship). They were from Spain and were catching Tiburon (shark), and swordfish. They gave us an update on a high pressure system to look out for, and before saying goodbye offered us some fish â€œpara comer, para comerâ€ â€“ to eat. We debated and voted. Eventually (at Sam's urging) we decided to err on the side of safety and politely decline, lest they turn out to be pirates instead of the friendly fishermen they sounded like. (Note, we didn't really think they were pirates, and don't consider pirates to be a high risk on this passage.) Other excitements of the day included sperm whales (spotted by Pat) and a huge pod of dolphins. While Patrick was calibrated the compass he inadvertently awoke a sleeping sperm whale. He woke up Stuart thinking it was a worthwhile sight, but after looking out the â€œliving roomâ€ windows Stu decided to crawl back into his cave and sleep. It was decided over dinner (turkey, peas, and rice) that the next interior decorating move could include the addition of a chandelier to the living room, per Sam's request. We have tentatively switched to a one-man watch schedule which is essentially the same as our previous two-man system except that if you are on watch and feel comfortable in your control of the boat and the safety of the situation, you can choose to let your watch mate sleep for 2 more hours. This is great because it allows for 8 hours of sleep between watches and has stepped up the personal responsibility and caution of all crewmembers. Watch last night was the type of glorious you read about in sappy sailing novels. The sky was grey and it was misting but the seas were calm, the breeze was steady at 12 to 15 knots, and there were intermittent patches of incredible stars. We sailed with a never-ending pod of dolphins jumping and playing around the boat, visible only by the phosphorescence around their bodies and in their trails. They looked like underwater torpedoes of green light crisscrossing off our bow. A becalmed drizzle this morning led to our first use of the DVD player, one episode of the BBC's Planet Earth over your choice of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate and fresh banana bread baked by Stu. This afternoon the wind has been up and down, and in an attempt to harness the breeze available we spent a full two hours rolling up the jib, dropping the main, setting the chute, setting the main, reefing the main, rolling out the jib, setting the spinnaker staysail, rolling up the jib, dropping the chute, dropping the spinnaker staysail, rolling out the jib, and finally breaking for lunch before poling out the jib on a wing. We have not fully succeeded in stabilizing the boat in our current seas but a little George Winston calmed everyone down and we're going to try out this setup for a few hours and see how it goes. The good news is the sail changes provided some excitement and exercise which was much needed given the amount of delicious food we have been eating. Linda's perfectly planned menu has treated us incredibly well. The only food given to the fish so far has been the unfrozen bread and lettuce. Hello to everyone at home and thank you for reading! Fair winds and following seas, The Barra Crew (This update has been brought to you by El)

Day 6 on the Atlantic

2008-07-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Ahoy Barra Trackers! I'm typing to the sound of water gurgling and swooshing by Barra's gleaming new hull! After a bit of motoring to get out of the Bermuda High, We've now been enjoying fair winds for the last 4 days. If you put this boat in first gear and take your foot off of the gas, she goes 6 Knots! We've pretty much been sailing with a double reefed main, and the jib rolled up to suit the 5-10 knot changes in wind speed that have been characteristic of the last few days. Two days ago we shook out the second reef and logged a 200 mile day sailing before a 15-18 knot breeze. The weather was spectacular, and Barra was filled with merry chatter among the crew. As Captain of the vessel I declared a "Crew Hygiene Day" and everybody showered in the cockpit in turn. Lately we've encountered a weak low pressure system that sprung up to our northeast and has tracked in front of us and is now slowly dissipating to our southeast. It has brought a wide variety of mild weather in a matter of just two days: clear skies with towering cumulonimbus clouds, a dramatic approaching cold front with thunder showers, grey skies and drizzle, low and patchy stratus clouds with sun peaking through, and now fog! Drastic decreases in water temperature have changed the climate from balmy to chilly almost instantaneously, and the swirling eddies have been a frequent topic of discussion. Funny happenings: Rob being shut in the forepeak locker while Stuart threw buckets of water on the hatch to see if it was leaking; Sam straddling the boom to attach the main Halyard and saying "Ride em' cowboy!"; El befriending an injured Petrol that found its way on to the boat in the middle of the night, and a shark eating our first fish as Stuart was hauling it into the boat! -Pat

350 miles out of Bermuda

2008-07-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

Blasting along!
We sailed very little yesterday with low winds (when sailing we had 4-5 knots of boat speed), motored through the night, and started sailing wing-on-wing this morning. We just barelly crossed in front of a squall line (jib rolled up and main single reefed) with winds sustained just down wind of the squall line around 25-30 knots. We have just now in the process of rolling out the jib as true winds have come down to 15 knots on average.
Our present course over ground is on average 70 degrees magnetic. Boat speed is around 7.4 knots and our speed over the ground is around 6.9 knots. True wind speed is currently reading 16.4 with a true angle of around 150.
Our present position is 36 degrees 18.9 N and 59 degrees 47.3 W.Just before we skirted the squall it was pretty amazing sailing this boat on auto pilot in 17 knots of breeze. The boat was pushing 10 knots coming down waves while Stu and I sat there reading our books! Amazing!

Bermuda Departure

2008-07-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be so long but we did arrive in Bermuda and actually have cleared through customs to leave for Ireland. Finally I have some time to write on the blog. We have had a wonderful stay in Bermuda including some great parties and lots of hard work to get the boat ready for the crossing. After many days working out of the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, we moved over to Dock Side where we were hauled out and able to put a fresh coat of paint on Barra's bottom before heading across. We have loaded her with food and feel she is ready for the trip. Wish us fair winds and good luck. Track us on: http://charthorizon.com/m/cz/map?vessels=Barra&history=Bermuda_-_Ireland&v_scope=recent This will give you and up-to-date position on where we are.

Thanks for following us.... The crew of Barra

2008-06-24T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, We are current 240 miles from Bermuda with a strong south-south westerly enabling us to go upwind almost straight at bermuda. Everyone is working hard and sleeping well to get us to bermuda as fast as possible. If everything holds up the way it is now, we expect to get into bermuda somtime between sunset tuesday and very early wednesday morning. Hope all is well back home, The crew of Barra

24 Hours After The Start

2008-06-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

To Friends and Family,
Hello from everyone on Barra. Everything is going great. We started the race yesterday with a moderate (12-16kt) south westerly breeze. After a couple of tacks to get out of Narraganset Bay we started on starboard tack, heading just low of a beat. Except for a brief tack in middle of the night, we've continued on starboard ever sense. Last night the sky was clear and the stars filled the sky until a bright moon arose. While the sky was nice the wind unfortunatley did come down quite a bit. This morning we were accompanied by a whale for about an hour. The wind is currently averaging around 8 kts and is still coming from around the southwest.
Position at 1345 EST: 39 degrees 12.6 N; 69 degrees 56.2 W
Cheers,
The crew of Barra

Race Start

2008-06-21T09:31:00.001-07:00

Newport Bermuda Race

2008-06-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

The day has finally come. Barra and crew are ready. They leave Jamestown, R. I this a.m. and head to Newport where they will join their class at the starting line. 215 boats make up the entire fleet! Log in to iboattrack.com to watch the action! GO BARRA and crew; Louis, Paul, Geoff, Tyler, Pete, Rob, Frank, Bobby, and Stuart! You have all worked so hard to make this day possible. Thank you, everyone, for making our dream become a reality with the start of the Newport Bermuda Race!

Newport

2008-06-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

It's Time to Relax.....

2008-05-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

as six of us gather down below to reflect on the day's launching. Our hearts are touched by the overwhelming gathering of friends, relatives and the Morris crew....

and by morning, more of us are still talking of how wonderful the previous day was and how exciting our next year will be with so many fabulous adventures ahead of us!

We were further blessed by another beautiful day in Maine, May 2, 2008. The wind calm now.......

increased to 13 -18 knots.....so out we went to see how Barra would respond. She peaked at 9.9 knots!

What a beauty!

The Launching of BARRA - May 1, 2008

2008-05-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

A Cozy Home

2008-04-27T17:20:00.001-07:00

First Sail

2008-04-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

I think my dad likes his new ride!

Today was our first sail! She goes quite well. We were able to get nine knots out of her on a broad reach. The mast tuning is coming along well although I believe that for the breeze we were in today we would prefer more cap shroud tension and a quarter or half inch more head stay. Today we ran into a main that was far to flat and a head stay that was sagging too much. My hunch is that with more cap shroud tension we would get the head stay sag out with using so much back stay which was bending the mast too much and flattening out the main. To do this the rigger said we would need to ease off on the D2s and we were unable with the time to get out a harness. So as we speak the rig is getting closer but not quite where we want her.

If you have been looking closely you may have noticed a list to port. This we have figured is just because of tankage that is not balanced. There is a large port side fuel tank which we did not know if it was full or not. Turns out its the only tank on the boat that is full and it has 94 gallons of fuel in it. That's around 667 lbs or more at 7.1lbs per gallon. After filling the starboard water tank the boat flattened out nicely.

Slowly Coming Together

2008-04-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

Barra's first sail was last Friday! Paul and Skip where up form Hall. Steve was on the boat from North Sails and I'm sure the boys from Morris did'nt miss it. All went well and I heard the the boat sails beautifully. The back stay was a little long and the vang needed some adjustment. Linda and Bruce were on the boat all weekend starting to get to know her. Soon Morris will be finishing up and we can start to load gear on.

Launched!

2008-04-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

On Monday Morris launched the first boat of the year with a whole new travel life setup. It was also the fist time Barra has felt the water. We were assured that this new lift had been tested because they launched the dock first.

Rig In!

2008-04-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

The rigs in!! She splashes in on Monday.

Things are happening fast

2008-04-02T11:03:00.001-07:00

The rig was supposed to go in today but with 30kt winds they are going to wait a day or two. Hall spars has done an amazing job with the rig and i am sure it will finish off Barra beautifully.

In the lift!

2008-04-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Its been a long wait but she is almost complete! Barra our new Morris 48, hull number 6, will be splashing into the cold waters of North East Harbor next week.