As the BVI Fleet heads to the starting line, the Portsmouth fleet continues to wait.
“It’s disappointing,” said Ian Clarke, skipper of Zoom, “but then that’s ocean sailing. Sometimes it pays to be patient.”
“There’s a named storm out there!” said one other crewmember. “I’m sure our insurance wouldn’t be too thrilled with us leaving either.”
So now we wait. Unfortunately, we may be waiting a while. Sub-Tropical storm ‘Ana’ – the earliest named storm to make landfall in the US in over 65 years, according to WRI’s Jeremy Davis – is the main concern, but not the only concern. As a new weather system moves in from the west, it will essentially gobble up the remnants and Ana and send them off to the northeast. However, it’s a slow-moving process. And as the new front that forms from the collision of these two systems, there are forecast gale-force winds from the SW offshore of Cape Hatteras and right on the rhumb line to Bermuda. While it’s still too early to tell, the forecast for now looks pretty grim until at least Wednesday.
Yesterday afternoon during the weather and Gulf Stream briefing in town at Roger Brown’s, surprise guest Mario Vittone, a former USCG rescue swimmer, turned up to talk about offshore safety.
“Sailors forget where they’re going,” said Mario. “If you’re not prepared to be in the water, by yourself, with a means of communicating to your would-be rescuers, you’re not fully prepared.”
Mario discussed protective clothing to wear on watch, how to properly outfit your PFD, how to plan for emergencies with proper checklists and more, all in his humorous but serious style.
To hear more of Mario Vittone, listen to him on ‘59º North,” Andy Schell’s podcast about sailing.
Click here to read Mario's feature article 'Expect the Unexpected Offshore.'
As we were discussing what to do about Ana with the Portsmouth fleet, one ARC Europe entry was dealing with it in real-life. Blue Pearl, a Catalina 40 set to join the fleet in Bermuda, had set out from Charleston, SC on Tuesday before the storm developed. It basically formed right on top of them. By Thursday, they’d torn their mainsail and decided to turn back. It was a tense 24 hours as we hadn’t heard much from the boat, so it was a relief this morning when we received news that they’d made it safely back to Charleston, happy to be back at the dock.
For the time being, the fleet will sit tight. Zoom is planning to head out of the marina and anchor out north of town for a bit, while White Wave III, as of Saturday morning, had already left the marina to explore the Elizabeth River and surrounding area. The fleet will regroup on Monday morning for another weather update, with a new scheduled start for midday Tuesday, May 12.