MARBLEHEAD TO HALIFAX OCEAN RACE

2009 Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race
Start at 1300 Sunday, July 5th - TRACK THE RACERS

Numerous Sail Changes and Dying Winds Challenged Skipper and Crew

MARBLEHEAD, Mass. (July 6, 2009) – Rambler, a 90- ft. Reichel Pugh was the first yacht to cross the finish line in the Marblehead To Halifax Ocean Race on July 7 at  07.22.38, finishing first in the IRC 1 class. A light air race from start to finish, Rambler averaged 10 knots of boat speed with the highest being 14 knots and the lowest being 2.5 knots.

“The key to our strategy was staying offshore,” said George David, owner and skipper. “Your perspective certainly changes when you are in a boat of our size as this enabled us to eat up the ocean miles. I have great admiration for the smaller boats that will likely be out there for a couple of days.

My hat is off to the Boston Yacht Club and Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron for their top notch organization at the start and finish.”

According to project manager Mick Harvey, “The lack of and frequently changing winds presented unique challenges; it was by no means an easy race. We used every sail we had, except of course the storm sails. Our size certainly helped us get through the light air. This race certainly lived up to its reputation as being a challenging tactical race.”

At this point, a total of seven yachts have withdrawn, some using the opportunity to cruise along the Maine coast.

Rambler at the start of the Marblehead to Halifax Race

Download the Weather briefing - (click here)

View photos from the start

PC1  (click here)

MH1 (click here)

PHR6 (click here)

PHR5 (click here)

PHR4 (click here)

PHR3 (click here)

PHR2 (cllick here)

PHR1 (click here)

IRC2 (click here)

IRC1 (click here)

Marblehead Interesting Facts 

Host club — Boston Yacht Club, Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron
First race — 1905
Distance — 670 kilometres (360 nautical miles)
Fastest crossing — 33 hours 29 minutes 57 seconds (Starlight Express, 1989)
2007 winner — Blue Yankee (43:04:56)
Number of 2009 entries — 102
Nova Scotia boats entered — 21
Start time — Sunday, 1 p.m. (Atlantic time) at Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead Harbour, Mass.

Visit the official site of the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race: www.marbleheadtohalifax.com

Chronicle Herald Article - Fri. Jul 3 - 4:46 AM
Crews, not weather, memorable for Boswell
Marblehead-to-Halifax race begins Sunday
By BRIAN FREEMAN Sports Reporter 

Andrew Boswell has had to contend with many of Mother Nature’s unpredictable quirks while sailing up the Atlantic coast in the Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race.

As the navigator aboard his boat, the soon-to-be eight-time veteran of the 670-kilometre (360-nautical-mile) race figures the simplest way to make plans is to check the forecast and then expect the unexpected.

"They never get the weather forecast right, or they certainly haven’t in the last 10 years," Boswell said with a chuckle earlier this week. "Whatever the forecast is, two hours into the race, it’s something different."

Since entering the biennial event for the first time in the late 1980s, the Bedford boat owner has dealt with everything from thick fog and dead calms to driving rains and ferocious winds.

"There’s certainly lots of stories about extreme weather conditions one way or another," he said.

"I think at the end of it, though, it comes down to being out there with a great crew and whether it’s the middle of the night in pouring rain or whether it’s a beautiful day and you’re cruising along, . . . when you think about the races that really stand out in your mind, it usually comes back to the (people) you’re out there with."

The Starfire, Boswell’s 10.5-metre Tartan Thomas boat, will be among 21 Nova Scotia entries setting sail Sunday from Marblehead just outside Boston on the trek to the finish line, which has been moved to a point near Fergusons Cove, well inside the mouth of Halifax Harbour from the previous finish at Chebucto Head.

Boswell, 44, drove to Boston this week to meet up with the Starfire, which had already been sailed to Marblehead by a group that included his wife Kim.

As of Wednesday, 98 boats were registered for the race, organized by the Boston Yacht Club and the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax.

"Considering the challenges presented by the economy, we are honoured by the high turnout," Charlie Garrard, the Boston club’s vice-commodore and the chairman of the race, said in a release this week.

"These are certainly different times, but we are finding that this year, participants are using the race as a time to spend with family, friends and to de-stress."

The swiftest boats will probably reach Halifax early Tuesday morning, while others sail in as late as Thursday. Boswell said his boat, which finished fourth in the PHR-3 (Performance Handicap Racing) division two years ago, should arrive later Tuesday in ideal conditions.

Blue Yankee, an R/P 66 out of Stamford, Conn., was the 2007 winner with a time of 43:04:56 but was not registered to defend its title.

The course record for fastest crossing is 33 hours 29 minutes 57 seconds, set 20 years ago by the Starlight Express, a Santa Cruz 70. Moira MacDonald, a communications director with the race, said that standard could be broken this year with the addition of the 27-metre Rambler, which has broken speed records throughout the international race circuit.

In an interview the night before he left, Boswell said it’s not practical for him and his five crewmates to measure their performance against the larger boats, like Destination Fox Harb’r, doughnut mogul Ron Joyce’s custom-built 40-metre sloop, the largest yacht in the international racing class.

"You have to get so many things right if you’re going to get lucky and do well in a race," he said. "So you really try to focus in within your own class where the boats are more like your own."

Two watch captains will be responsible for piloting the Starfire, while Boswell acts as navigator on the course, which is essentially made up of two legs: roughly 445 kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Sable Island, then 225 kilometres up the southwestern coast of Nova Scotia.

"In this race there’s really only one key tactical decision and that is when you hit the southern point of Nova Scotia, a point called Brazil Rock, you tend to get exposed to some significant currents," he said.

"Those currents can help you or they can hinder you. Depending on when and how you get there, you have to make some tactical decisions, but otherwise it’s a pretty straightforward race."

Sunday’s start will mark the 33rd Marblehead race, which began in 1905 as an informal competition but evolved into a pre-eminent North Atlantic ocean race that’s run every two years.

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One of the longest running ocean races in North America, the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race was started in 1905 as a friendly competition between yachts sailing between Marblehead, MA and Halifax. The race was run sporadically until 1939, when the Boston Yacht Club (third oldest yacht club in the United States) teamed forces with the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (the oldest yacht club in North America) and formalized the biennial event. Since that time, the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race has run continuously, alternating with the Newport Bermuda Race, as the pre-eminent North Atlantic Ocean Race.

Over 20 perpetual trophies are awarded, recognizing special accomplishments such as team challenges, the fastest double-handed yacht, and the fastest all-women’s yacht, in addition to division and class winners.

For more information, follow the link to the official site of the Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race.