As predicted late Sunday, the ‘line honor’ leaders hit the wall Monday afternoon. According to the YellowBrick tracker they now seem to be sailing on the wind, on a long port tack to Bermuda.

The ‘handicap’ leaders are the smaller boats that have kept the old, reaching breeze longer and made their time on the other boats in their class. Integrity, the Navy 44 Mk II STC (NA22) skippered by Mario Avila, leads his Class B and appears to be one of the best on corrected time in the whole fleet. Other class leaders are Gardner Grant’s J120 Alibi in Class A and David Caso’s perennial winner Silhouette in Class C. Classic Division entry Spirit of Bermuda, a heavy 112 footer, suffers in these light conditions. She’s slogging along at 3-4 knots vmg at 74º. Her heading is less than perpendicular to the rhumb line in that report. Spirit was 122 miles from home.

At 15:00 EDT Monday afternoon, Shindig seems to have found a fairly steady southeasterly breeze. The Andrews 68 was about 9 miles west of the original 164º rhumb line to Bermuda sailing 159º 57miles from the finish. Lady B, a Swan 62, was in a similar breeze 22 miles off the rhumb line some 72.5 miles out steering 168º. Both boats are doing between 6 and 7 knots so they should reach the island in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. It is still a battle for line honors between Shindig and Lady B although Shindig holds the inside edge. The outcome will depend on which way the wind blows… and how much.

Southerly winds 5-10 knots should persist around Bermuda until Tuesday night. Pressure should then build from the West as a low moves off the mid-Atlantic coast and squeezes the high back to the southeast. This should give the boats in the back of the pack a nice boost to their finishes.

Spectators at home or on mobile devices with the proper app can follow all the yachts in the Marion Bermuda Race on the YellowBrick tracker program sponsored by Kingman Yacht Center. Positions are updated every hour on the hour on the YellowBrick tracking map. Go to the Marion Bermuda web site— http://www.marionbermuda.com/ and click on the brick.

© SpectrumPhoto/Fran Grenon

1600hrs ADT/1500 EDT, June 16, 2013: Little has changed in the race for line honors on the 2^nd full day of racing in the 2013 Marion Bermuda Race. It is just wait and see… and enjoy the pink beaches and the bright Bermuda sunshine or a round of golf while you’re at it. Today, the Bermuda fitted dinghies are match racing in Mangrove Bay. Monday is a Bermuda holiday— Hero’s Day— and they have fleet races there, too. Many of the Race officials from the US are traveling to Bermuda today.

At 1600hrs Sunday in Bermuda, the Yellowbrick tracking site reported that the closest boat to Bermuda was Shindig, Mass Maritime’s Andrews 68 that has led from the start. She was 161 nm out and doing 6.9 knots for the previous hour, well below the record pace she had carried for the first 48 hours. Shindig may finish Monday afternoon while the volunteers and guests are having cocktails at St David’s Lighthouse overlooking the finish line.

Shindig would have to finish before 10:13:45 Monday EDT/ 11:13:45 ADT to break the record. The furthest racer was Regulus, a Class C Hinckley SW 51CB, 357 miles North west of Bermuda. She is skippered by Emmett Harty from Stonington CT.

Early wind in the Bermuda ocean races often dangles race records like a time carrot in front of the bows of the big boats. But the record is very elusive. When the top of the course has pressure and speed, the system that is producing the wind is already moving out into the North Atlantic.

A high pressure expands from the West and the South of the original windy area. A ‘parking lot’ grows right in the middle of the last 100 miles of the course. Racers call it the “happy Valley. A boat would have to average over 9 knots to break the current record from Marion.

Boats behind Shindig are moving faster now compared to the leader, still carrying the pressure. On corrected time at this stage, two boats have moved ahead of Shindig in Class A. Alibi stands first and Lady B has moved up to 2^rd. This trend should continue through Sunday evening until they, too, find their parking place.

Integrity, a Navy 44 skippered by Mario Avila of the USNA, leads Class B. Roust, a Sea Sprite 34 (the smallest boat in the fleet) leads Class C on corrected time. Roust’s Skipper is Ian Gumprecht from Oyster Bay NY. George Cubbon’s Alice Kay from Bermuda has moved up to 2^nd in that class.

The second nearest boat to Bermuda was the Class A Lady B, John Madden’s Swan 62 from Newport RI. She was 214 nm out. Kismet was 3^rd 253 miles out while the local Bermuda favorite, Spirit of Bermuda, had fallen back to 9^th. On YellowBrick boats look like they are piled on top of each other. It is a close race with many more miles to go.

Positions are updated every hour on the hour on the YellowBrick tracking map. Spectators at home or on mobile devices with the proper app can follow all the yachts in the Marion Bermuda Race on the YellowBrick tracker program sponsored by Kingman Yacht Center. Go to the Marion Bermuda web site— http://www.marionbermuda.com/ and click on the brick.

About the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association

Since its inception in 1977, the biennial Marion Bermuda Race has been a premier 645 mile ocean race and sailing event which appeals to a broad range of cruising and racing enthusiasts.  The spirit of the race is one focused on Family and Fun, and all yachts and crew are participating for the joy and pleasure of sailing, competition, and the camaraderie that accompanies such an offshore event.  The Marion Bermuda Race encourages the development of blue water sailing skills on seaworthy yachts that can be handled safely offshore with limited crew.  The Marion Bermuda Race is a 501(c)(3) organization and among other educational efforts, supports and encourages Youth Sailing programs.  The Marion to Bermuda Race is organized and run entirely by hundreds of volunteering members of The Beverly Yacht Club (BYC), The Blue Water Sailing Club (BWSC) and The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) for the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association. 

Last year was a dud, but this year will be a blast.

Marion will have a fireworks display on Saturday, July 6, at dusk on Silvershell Beach.

Thanks to the work of a dedicated Fireworks Committee, led by Marion Recreation Director Jody Dickerson and Co-Chairman Donna Hemphill, the group raised just over $40,000. Other Committee members who worked all year on the effort include Wendy Carrou, Christine Santoni, Wanderer publisher Paul Lopes, and Suzanne and Gary Taylor.

“We’re thrilled,” Hemphill said. “If it weren’t for the generous people of Marion, this wouldn’t be happening.”

The Committee is working out the remaining details on the cost of fire and police involvement, as well as toilet rentals and the sound system.

The town put out bid specifications, and three companies requested the information, but only one bid came through. Atlas PyroVision Productions bid $29,000 for the fireworks and the barge that holds them.

“The contract states that the display will be 20 to 25 minutes long,” said Town Administrator Paul Dawson.

Atlas PyroVision Productions of Jaffrey, N.H., is the largest fireworks display company in New England, specializing in state of the art computer-designed and electronically fired displays for cities, towns, parks and recs, professional and college sporting events, amusement and water parks, weddings, civic, corporate and private celebrations.

“People missed the fireworks last year,” Hemphill said. “It’s a time to gather with friends and family to have a celebration of our nation’s independence and enjoy the fireworks together.”

The Committee is still accepting donations, which will help offset the 2013 expenses and any monies left over will start the kitty for the 2014 fireworks display. Checks can be made out to Marion Fireworks Committee and sent to the Town House at 2 Spring Street, Marion, MA, 02738.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

1500hrs, June 14, 2013: Shindig had a fast start from Marion and carried a record pace for the first 24 hours of the 2013 Marion Bermuda Race. At 68 feet, Shindig was turning the 15-20 knot winds into a 12-knot pace. She was about 400 nautical miles out and just West of the 164º rhumb line blasting on a broad reach toward the finish at St David’s Lighthouse, Bermuda. From her 1315 start on Friday to the 1300 PM YellowBrick position report, Shindig had covered 250 miles give or take a few.

Shindig was the first boat to fly a spinnaker at the start. She was the fastest boat on the course by far leaving Buzzards Bay. They have a good shot at the line honors frcord for Marion to Bermuda, but that all depends on the winds South of the Gulf Stream and on the approach to the island.

Some weather models predict that a high pressure system will be centered around Bermuda on Sunday evening, some predict the wind will hold.  The crew of cadets from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the former owner, Arthur Burke of Dartmouth, and the MMA coach Chuck Fontaine and a handful of experienced crew will push hard. But winning an ocean race depends a lot on smart choices and some good luck in the mix.

At the 15:00 EDT YellowBrick position update, Shindig was 375 miles out from Bermuda and she had averaged 13.3 knots for the previous hour. She was leading in Class A as well as the race for pure line honors.

The next closest boat to Bermuda was the Class A Lady B, John Madden’s Swan 62 from Newport RI. She was 430 nm out. Kismet was 3^rd 344 miles out while the biggest entry, Spirit of Bermuda, had fallen back to 8th just 7 miles behind Kismet. There are many boats knotted in a small space of the large ocean.

Positions are updated every hour on the hour on the YellowBrick tracking map. Spectators at home or on mobile devices with the proper app can follow all the yachts in the Marion Bermuda Race on the YellowBrick tracker program sponsored by Kingman Yacht Center. Go to the Marion Bermuda web site— http://www.marionbermuda.com/ and click on the brick.

From the ship’s blog aboard Mahina Kai, the Oyster 54 in Class A, owned by Arthur Wayne Haubner of Salem NH… http://www.mahinakai.net/

Remarks of the day Saturday June 15th

If you ever have the opportunity to review the ship’s logs in the Nantucket Whaling museum you will have noticed the log entries all start with “Remarks of the Day” followed my somewhat minor observations. Things such as the Sun is shining, it’s a clear blue sky, the wind and seas are coming out of the west, we saw a couple of birds and if lucky we spotted a whale!

Aboard Mahina Kai, it is not much different. The sun is shining , the wind and waves are out of the west we saw a couple of birds, and two whales and a pod of dolphins.

Read about the race on their Blog—

About the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association

Since its inception in 1977, the biennial Marion Bermuda Race has been a premier 645 mile ocean race and sailing event which appeals to a broad range of cruising and racing enthusiasts.  The spirit of the race is one focused on Family and Fun, and all yachts and crew are participating for the joy and pleasure of sailing, competition, and the camaraderie that accompanies such an offshore event.  The Marion Bermuda Race encourages the development of blue water sailing skills on seaworthy yachts that can be handled safely offshore with limited crew.  The Marion Bermuda Race is a 501(c)(3) organization and among other educational efforts, supports and encourages Youth Sailing programs.  The Marion to Bermuda Race is organized and run entirely by hundreds of volunteering members of The Beverly Yacht Club (BYC), The Blue Water Sailing Club (BWSC) and The Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) for the Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race Association. 

You have to hand it to the seventh-graders who opt out of Old Rochester Regional Junior High School’s Survival Week: They don’t just sit around twiddling their thumbs.

ORRJS science teacher Kathy Gauvin heads up the school’s Selected Courses Offered for Personal Enrichment program, which serves as the alternative for students who don’t sign up for Survival. Though Survival is rightfully legendary for the challenge it sets forth for students – fending for themselves far away from the societal conveniences they’re accustomed to – SCOPE’s goals are also admirable.

“We want them out of their comfort zone, but we also want them to have some fun,” Gauvin said. “We’re aiming for some diversity in the events during the week, from trust- and team-building exercises to taking them to places they might have never been before.”

During SCOPE 2013 this past week, students visited Sky Zone in Providence, the YMCA ropes course, the Mattapoisett Land Trust for hiking and other activities, and Fort Phoenix. They also went bowling.

“That’s why I did SCOPE,” said seventh-grader Hannah Farias during Wednesday’s hike. “There are more things to do. There’s one day of hiking and being in the woods instead of a week. I can handle that.”

Classmate Kimmy Rigby agreed.

“It was muddy and gross, but it ended up being really fun,” she said. “I liked seeing another part of Mattapoisett.”

Gauvin, with the help of other ORRJS faculty, guided the scores of students through a scavenger hunt, a “human knot,” and other physical and mental obstacles.

“Some of them are friends, and others haven’t spent much time together,” Gauvin said. “You really see not only character and self-esteem being built up, but also friendships.”

Gauvin said that some kids at first feel the stigma of not participating in Survival, but most of them overcome it by week’s end.

“We rate it on how happy they are, and engaged,” she said. “The kids are having a blast. As long as they’re having fun and learning things outside of the classroom, the program is a success.”

By Shawn Badgley