A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post entitled “I’m Fine” in response to some friends who were wondering how I was doing. I wanted to reassure people that I wasn’t hiding and feeling sorry for myself.

But I didn’t hit publish. Maybe I knew that it was a bit of lie to myself.

This week has been hard. Watching the news coming out of La Rochelle, I kept thinking, I should be at that briefing or I should be hauling water jugs down the dock, or I should be… I have been downloading GRIBs all week as well, thinking about this first leg across Biscay and wondering what the discussion on the dock is.

Yup, my head has been in France for the past week as my friends prepare for one of the biggest challenges of their lives. I wish I was there to help them through it. I wish I was there stressing about weather and boat preparations and all the other thousands of concerns you have preparing for a race.

But I’m not there, and you know what? I’m OK with that.

This morning Gabe woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I opted to let Al sleep in a bit and got little G up so we could have some quiet time this morning. In the dark of the morning we played some soft music and thought about what to eat for breakfast. We curled up in the big chair in my office, Gabe with a warm bottle of milk and I with a big mug of coffee, and we quietly flipped through a photography book.

It is these kinds of things that I think about on the boat when things suck. This is the happy place that I go to when things are so uncomfortable, bashing into waves, cold, hungry and wondering why people go to sea.

But the phone beeps and I am notified via twitter that the boats are headed out of the harbour. The contrasting juxtaposition of the two lives couldn’t be more prominent right now. So it is easier to say “I’m fine”, then to explain that my mind is in two continents at once. Focused on the pleasures and pains of both land and sea.

But I would like to say something to all of you.

WATCH THIS RACE. This race is amazing. The people are amazing. The boats are amazing. Watch this race if you enjoy stories of people overcoming great obstacles. Watch this race If you enjoy watching regular Joes doing the incredible. The sailors that are headed out of the harbour this morning have beat the shit out of themselves for at least two years to arrive at this place. There has been so much blood, sweat and tears shed from each and everyone of them to be on that start line.

I know that watching a little dot slowly cross the screen is hardly exciting, but the drama is real. The wind (or lack thereof) is real. The waves are real. The stress of not knowing where you are in the fleet is real. The media will not cover his race. You won’t hear about it on the news. But what these people have accomplished already is amazing, so please, please, please watch this race and send positive vibes to the sailors. It WILL be brutally hard.

OFFICIAL RACE SITE

I didn’t want to jinx anything by writing a post until now, but things are starting to come together so I thought I would risk it…

The Classe Mini’s decision on my miles for the Pornichet Select was quite even handed and fair I think. They have said, that if I finish one more single-handed race, then I will be able to count the miles for both races and thus will have my qualifying miles for the Transat. This means that I will be sailing one extra race in France this time round, the MAP which starts on the 9th is a 220nm race in La mer d’Iroise.

Logistically this has been a bit of a challenge… I arrive in Lorient on the 7th and the MAP starts on the 9th. So I needed to find someone to deliver the boat from Lorient to Douarenez. The good folks at Classe Mini found me a very qualified delivery skipper (merci, merci, merci Sandrine!!!) and the boat should arrive in Douarenez ahead of me. I will sort out some business in Lorient and then high tail it to Douarenez to get through the security inspections, and get the boat ready to race.

Following the MAP, I will then start preparing for the Mini Fastnet which starts on the 18th. This is a big race for me, as it will have the fleet of 150-160(!) minis sailing into the Irish Sea round fastnet rock and back. The weather can be a bit rough up there, and the shipping traffic can be very, very busy. My co-skipper for the event, Samuel Dufou,r has done a bunch of mini sailing, so I will have good company for the race.

I’ve gotta say, the roller coaster of the last month has been tough. One day it looks impossible to get it all done and the next, opportunities arise that make it all seem possible. It’s seems it’s always like that in single-handed sailing…

I’m extremely happy to have this second chance at qualifying, but there are no words to explain how hard it is to leave my little family alone again. This is probably the biggest hardship to overcome for all of this sailing that I am doing.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy, but I will try and keep the updates coming, both on the blog and facebook. Hope you will follow along on this roller coaster of a ride…

Good News came from France this week.

I received word from the Classe Mini that my 1000nm qualification was approved by the committee. This is great news as I have the paper to prove that I am now halfway through my Mini Transat qualifications!

The boat is once again at Boat Services Kingston and I am starting to get my head wrapped around the work list for the spring. On the list: Bottom paint, splicing and replacing some running rigging as well as changing some block positions. Nothing major luckily.

John Clark and Andy Soper have my sails at the Kingston Sail Loft for a check up and some tweaks. I’m so grateful for their ongoing support.

The schedule for next season seems to be coming together and I think we are going to have an interesting year. More on this soon.

Ola!

Sorry for the small pause in communicaitons from me over the last couple of days. I’ve been recouperating…

Since arriving in Miami I’ve been enjoying the good life ashore and trying to eat and sleep as much as possible. I must admit to feeling pretty beat up (you’ll see why in a minute) and I am really enjoying the couple days I’ve had over the weekend to recover. But this is all over tomorrow as we haul the boat and get her ready for the road again.

The leg from the Bahamas Bank to Miami was luckily not quite as ominous as Greg made it out to be. Crossing the Gulf Stream is never comfortable, but it wasn’t that bad even with 20-25 knots NE wind. (Which luckily diminished to 15-18 knots as I approached the US coast. The harbour was busy with commercial traffic outside and hords of pleasure boaters once I got inside the harbour.

In the early evening I had a terrible sleeping accident. I was trying to catch a 20 minute cat knap in the quarterbirth and had the step/ nav seat around my shoulder height. As I fell asleep, I must have been holding myself in place, because when I finally succumbed I slid across the bench and hit the leeward side of the cabin hard jarring me awake and bouncing my head off a bulkhead. Just another day of life inside the washing machine…

Ann Marie and Ray were waiting for me at Shake a Leg and after getting tied up and getting a couple of ice cold bottles of water into me, I spoke to a group of kids that were at shake a leg for the day and had some questions for me. The kids were super and it was an excellent way to be reintroduced to people again.

It’s been a nice couple of days as I nurse my wounds and clean up the boat. Having a couple of days to shift my head space has been good for me. Shake a leg is the perfect place to do this, as the community is so supportive and they know what it’s like to be up against a challenge.

As soon as I get back to Kingston I will get all of the photos and video up so you get the first hand experience. I always find it fun to go through all of this after a trip.

I wanted to send out a huge thank you to everyone who has sent messages of support and congratulations over the past few days. It’s been a very rewarding experience for me personally, but as always I am just the guy on the boat. the vast majority of the work is done back on the hard and as usual my team mates deserve more for cudos then me. I get to be the guy on the boat!

More when I get back to Kingston!

n

Friday, February 27, 2009
Dateline: Miami - Shake-a-leg Yacht Club

After 9 days at sea alone in a 21 foot boat Nathan has completed his 1000 mile qualifying sail for the MiniTransat race.

This is the message from minimus race central…

“It is 15:42 and Nathan just called from his cell phone…he is within 15 minutes of arriving at the dock where he understands the folks at Shake-a-Leg have arranged a little welcoming thing for him.

I’m sure we all wish we could be on the dock to catch his lines!!!!”

We all congratulate Nathan on this huge accomplishment.

Here are a couple of posts. One is from Greg von Rossem and the other from Alison Fraser and John Curtis minimus team central.

Some of the toughest sailing of Nathan’s ocean sailing career awaits…

Nathan has approximately 131 nm to the finish of his 1000 nm, circumnavigation of the Bahamas.

I spoke with him early this morning discussing his final approach to Miami. He was in good spirits, and was well rested, looking forward to the final and perhaps the most challenging stage of this leg, IE Gulf Stream.

It has been blowing NE for days which means that the waves have been piling against themselves in the steady 2-4 knt current, like standing rapids. The crossing will be difficult as the waves will be short in length and steep in height, with no pattern.

He is well aware of what lies ahead and has taken the necessary precautions of strapping everything down, above and below decks. He sees the sense of accomplishment waiting for him at the other side.

With the forecast winds predicting 10-15 knots from the NE/E he should be able to maintain his current speed of 6 knts throughout which will inevitably increase once he is in the Stream. His ETA will be approximately 21 hrs, which should bring him into Miami around 1400hrs on Friday.

Let’s wish him well!

Greg

Second post

Nathan ventured onto the Great Bahama Bank last night and is gearing up to cross the Gulf Stream in the next day or so. Yesterday, knowing that the conditions would take a great deal of mental and physical strength, Nathan inhaled a big freeze-dried meal and put a bag of trail mix close at hand. He experienced choppy waves and strong winds last night and these, coupled with a 2-3 knot current directly from behind, made it very difficult to steer. These conditions also make it challenging to sail based on apparent wind angle. Nathan still has lots of food and water on board and is in good spirits. He is understandably feeling tired and is looking forward to a good nights sleep, one in which he doesn’t have to be tending to sails, lines and autohelms.

click on the link below to check his most recent position report
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=23.5035,-78.6509&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

From MST 680

Here’s a forecast for Nathan’s return North. The question is how fast will the Gulf Stream elevator carry the Boys and Girls of Canada back to Miami?

Wednesday
Northeast winds around 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. Slight chance of showers.
Wednesday Night
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet near shore and up to 4 to 6 feet in the Gulf Stream. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop. Slight chance of showers.
Thursday
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas.
Thursday Night
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Near shore…seas 2 to 4 feet subsiding to 2 feet or less. In the Gulf Stream…seas 3 to 5 feet. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop.
Friday
East winds 10 to 15 knots becoming 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 feet or less near shore and up to 2 to 4 feet in the Gulf Stream. Intracoastal waters a moderate chop.

Next leg a big one for Nathan and the Boys and Girls Club of Canada

Nathan rounded his third waypoint last night around 9:00pm and progressed slowly overnight. This morning he had 17-18 kts on the beam and boat speed was consistently between 7-8 kts, with the occasional surge 10 kts when riding a swell.

He is in great spirits but is looking forward to returning home to Kingston to see everyone and share his stories.

“Caz”, the man who took Nathan and the boat to Miami in early January called last night to see how Nathan was doing and when he would be in. Caz has a boat to deliver to Montreal and will be leaving Miami on Friday and offered to drive Nathan back to save him a little money. Caz would then bring the boat back to Nathan in the next few weeks when his schedule permitted. Although the timing is unlikely to work out, it was an incredibly generous and thoughtful offer…just another example of the enormous support that Nathan has received!

Many of you will have received an email yesterday that appeared to be from Nathan, encouraging you to support a company. Rest assured, Nathan did not send this email and we are working to find out the source of the email and put a stop to it. Thank you for your patience.

here is the latest position report
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=21.5037,-74.7516&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

John Curtis
Sport Law - Mediation - Conflict Coaching
613.328.4015

“Nathan has passed his first way-point, Hole in the Wall. He reports that yesterday was a beautiful day of ocean sailing with clear skies and winds between 18 and 25 knots. Now that he is so far off-shore boat traffic is limited to cruise ships which Nathan has nicknamed “floating disco balls”. These are much easier to see than the freighters he encountered at the beginning of his journey.

While making sandwiches yesterday Nathan had an unexpected visitor; a flying fish jumped on board. Preferring his peanut butter, Nathan tossed it back into the ocean. While at the helm during the night he was actually hit in the head by another of these flying fish! It too was promptly returned to the ocean.

The wind is light this morning, only 4 knots, and the next way-point is 181 miles away. ”

Nathan’s Position this morning.

Nathan left Shake-a-Leg Marina yesterday around 4:00 pm with a wonderful send-off. KYC friends Melodie and John were on hand to push Nathan off the dock and take pictures, as were a group of school children who were very interested in Nathan’s adventure. Before leaving, Nathan spent some time answering the students’ questions. As Nathan did his final preparations, the students left for their next activity, swimming. Nathan didn’t realize it at the time, but the students were headed out to a sand bar that he would sail past as he left the harbour. As he sailed by, the students shouted “Good Luck Nathan, you can do it!”. Nathan’s sails were filled by these positive words of encouragement from the young voices long before the wind filled in.

The port of Miami was very busy yesterday afternoon and last night with five container (freighter) ships and their accompanying tugs, making it necessary for Nathan to pay close attention to where everyone was and in which direction they were headed. This is something that can be particularly challenging at night.

As of 6:00 Thursday morning, Nathan had been unable to have his first cup of coffee yet. The six foot swells made turning on the “stove” challenging. The wind was blowing 20kts and he turned the corner towards Hole in the Wall, his first ocean way-point overnight.

All systems are working well and Nathan is looking forward to a good day of sailing ahead.

Here is Nathan’s latest position. Click on it to see him on google maps. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.849,-79.8952&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1