Bermuda Race

The 90' R/P Rambler shattered the previous record of the Newport Bermuda Race by 14 hours.
Finishing first across the line in 39 hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds after the Newport start.
Bella Mente was second.
The 67' Tanton's Circus Maximus, back in 1978 finished first over the line in 105 hours; 9 hours and 9 minutes.
The race that year, was the slowest in Bermuda race history. A combination of an almost total lack of wind and sailing it all to weather, let a skipper to say " I felt as if I was racing the seaweed, and at one time, the seaweed was winning".
The same Summer, C-M went on to break the Marblehead to Halifax record held since 1939.

Circus Maximus. Start of the 1978 Bermuda race.

North-West Passage.

Three years ago today, my two children embarked on an epic journey near the Top of the World to conquer the NW. Passage. Leaving Newport on the 16th. of June 2009, the voyage took five months, ending in Seattle. The vessel was a 57' Nordhavn.
Thanks to modern communication, the trip is the object of a long film documentary and will be released soon. I'll keep you posted.
Chauncey, since has crossed the Atlantic on a J60 and is completing his MBA.
Dominique is involved with the racing program of the new 72' "Bella Mente". The boat is sailing in the 2012 Bermuda Race, which started yesterday.

                                                            The Good Ship "Began"
                                                                http://www.bravingit.com/

Lunacy ex StarCruiser.

The wonderful exploit of the 16 year old Jessica Watson going around the world solo; more recently, the Laura Dekker story, and so many others reminds me of  my own desire at their age to do the same. Of course, it never happened.  But the next best thing is to have many Tanton's designed boats to make the  trip of a life time. One of them is the StarCruiser. Now named Lunacy, the owner of a few years is Charles Doane, an editor for Sail Magazine. I found interesting his own blog, by the many different segments of articles and the fact that Charles really knows about boats!
www.wavetrain.net/the-lunacy-report

A little side story:

The boat was built in Canada. On an inspection trip, while the boat was being built, I arrived at the Canadian border coming from New-York State. The Custom Officer asked me what I had in this copper tube looking like a bazooka in the back of the car. I said " A roll of plans for a boat I am having built in Kingston, Ontario and that I am the yacht architect. Looking suspiciously at the large scale drawings, he raised his voice with authority  to say: " How come for a boat build in Canada the boat building company is not using  a Canadian Architect? " Of course, I had no answer to this question, nor would I know how to give an explanation about International Trade to a Custom Officer who should know better. He added: " You have to leave the drawings here, you can pick them on your way back."

Dumbfounded silence followed. I was on my way.
Fortunately, I had sent a set of the plans by regular mail and they where at the Metal Craft facility when I arrived. You never know about boats!