Category Archives: Bermuda

Sailing to and from Bermuda

October 17th Newsletter: Annapolis Show Update, Brokerage Yachts, Jonmeri meeting this Friday delayed 2 weeks.

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Although the first fall rapidly intensifying low is passing over us, with winds gusts to 55 knots, we have been blessed with amazing weather, including another lovely weekend coming up!     Glad to see several of the Mystic boats going out.  Block Island is just as lovely now as in the summer, with no shortage of low priced slips!!

We were hoping to preview the Jonmeri 40 this friday to members, but decided it was prudent to wait till she was launched in about 2 weeks.  Just getting on board up the ladder is not for everyone.   Big changes with the Jonmeri, the cockpit modifications are close to done and she now has a single 14′ long cockpit with a walk thru transom.  The new Yanmar diesel has arrived, new sails and B&G electronics ordered, teak decks are off, etc.   For sure we will be taking her south just after Thanksgiving, with an earliest departure date on November 29th, eta to Bermuda on Dec 5-6th, eta to St Thomas Dec 12-14th.  We plan on leaving the Jonmeri in the Caribbean for the foreseeable future, so members will be able to use her down there from Dec through June. Our new date for the preview / dinner is November 1st from 6-8pm.  

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May 4th Newsletter: Valanta Arrives in Bermuda

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Martin van Breems, Ally Whelehan (the SSC marketing director) and Scott Whelehan (Ally’s Dad) had a super fast and enjoyable passage from St Thomas to Bermuda.  We turned the motor off 30 minutes after leaving the dock in Red Hook, and never turned it back on till the last 24 hours, when we closed in on the center of the Bermuda High with very light air.  We had 4 great days of sailing, averaging 160-180 miles a day.

The second leg looks less pleasant, with a series of lows or cold fronts and considerably winds on the nose.  Monday to Tuesday shows winds in the 35 knot range.   Weds looks like the best day to cross the Gulf Stream, before the next cold front bears down on Thursday.   Your can track the progress of Valanta here, note that we are using the Spare InReach;
InReach Link

Valanta in St George after the first leg of the passage North from St Thomas.
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Bermuda Race Finale

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Nothing like a warm shower after 5 days to make you feel like a new man!

As you may know, we missed out on 3rd place by a few minutes. The crew worked extremely hard and sailed what I thought was a near perfect race. I likewise put a huge amount of effort into this race.

The race started out with lovely conditions racing out of Newport. Of course, the forecast was ominous, but improving, and about 30% of the fleet did not start, including such well prepared boats as the 2 Navy entries. With lighter winds on the west side of the course and better currents, the path we took was mapped out well in advance. We had an excellent start – and were on our way.

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