Newport Bermuda Race - Wind returns for GryphonSolo2

by Joe Harris on 24 Jun 2014 GryphonSolo2's Joe Harris updates on Sunday's action in the 2014 Newport Bermuda Race.

It has been a busy time since my last report while becalmed. The wind did indeed return this morning and we were off to the races again galloping towards the gulf stream.

Once we got to the north wall and entered the stream, the water temperature rose to about 83 degrees and both the wind and the sea state picked up.

We have been tied at the hip with our fellow Class 40 Pleiad Racing, but when the stronger breeze arrived GS2 kicked up her heels and smoked away.

We had a few blasts up to 30 and a lot of water over the deck but our passage through the Stream was only about four hours as we were going along at 10-17 knots and the Stream was only about 40 miles wide.

The current ran from west to east and we were headed South so we didn’t get much kick from it, but it was fun.

The strong Easterly winds continued for a while but then shut down, so we have been struggling for the last few hours and Pleiad seems to have returned from a six mile deficit, which is a bit depressing.

I am dining on a delicious Mountain House freeze-dried Beef Stroganoff and Rob and I have been trading off on deck and napping below. The boat is good and we are working hard for every tenth of a knot.

Looking forward to a Tuesday arrival in Bermuda but miles to go before we sleep.

Race Tracker available here

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