Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Race fleet reaches halfway point

by Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Race media on 10 Apr 2009 Half the Fort Lauderdale to Charleston Race fleet has passed the halfway point, with less than 200 miles to go. The fleet leaders have averaged over 12 knots for the past two hours, and the nine behind are still within 50 miles of each other, with Santarella, Affinity, and Primal Scream apparently within visual or radar contact with one another close behind Teamwork.

Of special note, Jim Edwards, sailing on Santarella, has been this way once before -- forty one years ago on the first inaugural race, sailing with Dr. Dean Woolsey in his Columbia 40 Circe in 1968. Dean's son Chris is carrying the family tradition, navigating for John Evans' Jasmine, currently on the west edge of the pack closest to the rhumb line.

On April 8th the fleet started on time, two clean starts, and marched off on a very close reach in 8-10 knots and relatively flat water.

The Gulf Stream was already pretty far west with the lumpy buffaloes running only a few miles offshore and the start line showing a few knots of north-running. In the IRC start, Vanquish stayed clear and stared well down the line with speed and some of their own breeze to get an early jump. Rosebud sliced through 40- and 50-footers lees after starting a few seconds late and blazing a trail a bit farther offshore. In PHRF, conservative starts were the key, producing a pretty grouped parade that began to thin itself out within 10 or 15 minutes of the start. Tracking is up and running, even showing air temperature, which could be amusing for folks home in their warm beds thinking of their buddies on the rail slogging through the Stream. By the time the race committee boats got back to the dock, the wind had already clocked a bit left and built up to around 12-15.

It was a slow night for the racers heading up the coast. After the first 100 miles, early morning position repots show the bulk of the fleet grouped within 30 miles of each other off the coast of Melbourne, with Rosebud and Vanquish legging out a bit 50 miles ahead or so near Daytona. At posting time, the two 65's were averaging around 12 knots over the ground, and the rest of the fleet about 9.5. Nearby, on-shore winds were reading 2 to 6 knots out of the west, though offshore stations were reporting stronger flows. With the boats only about 20 miles offshore and the speed differential between STP-65s and a CSY 44 ketch only about 3 knots, we're guessing the Gulf Stream's moving sidewalk is in full rip.

More at http://www.fortlauderdalecharlestonrace.org/