Introducing Swift – Class40 hull number 206.
Swift is debuting now in Round Ireland 2024.
Track Swift’s progress during the race.
Kite has a friend
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Author Archives: kite144racing
It’s not like the brochure
It’s better, in a way…
The first afternoon and evening were rather sporty and even unpleasant at times. We had winds mostly around 30, but with long stretches in the upper 30s and saw a max of 46. With the ebb tide initially, the seas were a mess.
Leaving the Solent, we escaped out of the north channel at Hurst castle and are glad we did. It seems there was a fair bit of carnage near the needles. Thereafter, we favored staying inside some of the bays for a bit of sea state shelter. By the early morning hours, conditions were more civilized and Sunday brought some recovery as we beat upwind to Land’s End. We passed inside Longships lighthouse in a messy sea and, cruelly, not enough wind. It was a beautiful sight all around, however.
Sunday night saw building wind as an occluded front passed over us full of rain squalls and the anticipated wind shift to the north. With the new wind, we had 22-30kts much of the night on a close reach. In those conditions, Kite is no match for the new scows which are 2-3 kts faster. It was a fun night nonetheless and spectacular to see the sky getting light to the north at 3 a.m.
We are looking forward to lunching today at the Fastnet cafe!
50th Fastnet Race off to a good start
After nearly 24 hours, Kite has held its own, currently in 10th place. The blustery conditions have favored Kite against the scows, which should benefit and pull away as the conditions change to downwind later in the race. All is well on board.
The RORC has posted a video of the start: Start of the 50th Rolex Fastnet Race. During the Clas40 sequence, you can see Kite in the mix. Look for sail number USA 144.
June 6 Update
It was a glorious day of sailing today on Kite. We had a clear rounding of Tuskar in the company of Black Mamba (154) and BHB (152).
Then, the descent down the Celtic sea was a day we sailors dream of. Blue skies, downwind, fast at times, and lots of wildlife. Puffins, Murres, Manx Shearwaters, gannets, and razorbills, just to name a few. Then, this evening, I heard squeaking down below and went on deck to investigate only to be greeted by a dolphin. Perhaps the dolphin wanted me to come on deck?
All of this in the company of other class 40s and not too far out of touch with the newer scows.
It was a day to lock away and treasure in the future. We will savor these moments when bashing back to the finish in the coming days.
See you all soon.
Knee Deep in the Normandy Channel Race once again
Well, it was an intense 30 hours with the lively breeze at the start and the fresh channel crossing. The Mach 3s are not known for their dry comfort, and Kite did not disappoint.
The Solent passage was uneventful with a kind following current. Monday offered glorious spinnaker conditions albeit requiring constant attention. These are the days we dream of as sailors. At least until the wind disappears as it did just before Land’s End. We now find ourselves trying mightily to keep up with Black Mamba in 2 kts of wind and as much current at times. The Longships lighthouse was ghostly lurking in the shadows as we passed nearby trying to hide from the current.
So far, we are happy to have seen many fulmars, kittiwakes, and gannets. We are looking forward to a more spirited climb of the Irish Sea.
29th!
Kite took 29th place in the 2022 Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe. Greg’s elapsed time for the 3542 nautical miles race from Saint Malo to Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe, is 19 days 7 hours 41 minutes and 50 seconds.
Land Ho!
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Saturday, November 26
Today I had my first daytime rain in a long time as there are squalls meandering around and providing some nice wind. They are not too menacing. I am really ready to arrive. The food and drink onboard has lost its allure. I had the same chicken curry that I had on Thanksgiving, and it wasn’t the same. I’m actually really not often hungry, but eat because I know rationally it is necessary for energy. I had a nice chat this evening with Pierre on Legallais. That makes two radio chats in one day. 235nm to go to tete a l’anglais. See everyone soon!
Close Encounters
This morning, I had a really close pass with Flo, the Rhum multi sailed by Philippe Poupon. We had a nice chat and actually saw each other wave. He is the first person I have seen since November 9.
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend
Happy belated Thanksgiving! All is well onboard Kite. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with friends and family, perhaps with lots of turkey and pie. Chicken curry featured as the Thanksgiving meal here. Pies will wait until December. Thank you all for your support and good wishes.
Spinnaker woes have been keeping me busy. I spent most of Thanksgiving sewing the salvageable spinnaker back together. Unfortunately, the spinnaker repair from Wednesday to Friday didn’t hold long. The tear was directly across the main load of the sail, and I simply didn’t have the right materials on board any longer. I was able to get the sail down and stowed away and we are back running under our code 5 fractional reaching sail at about 3-4 knots slower than our targets. Now it is a game of grinding away the miles and gybing when there are shifts that make the angles slightly better. I am definitely looking forward to being in Guadeloupe!
KITE USA 144 