July 8th
On Tuesday the Halifax harbour front got very busy with the start of the biennial Route Halifax Saint Pierre race off Sackville Landing. 18 yachts crossed the start line on their way to France; that’s France as in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, a French homeland some 25km off the Newfoundland coast. With passports safely tucked away, racers cleared the Halifax harbour and headed North along the Nova Scotia coast for the 350 miles crossing.
The Race Is On!
The 7th edition of the Route Halifax Saint-Pierre Ocean Race got underway today in the Halifax Harbour under grey skies and very little wind. The start of the 350nm race takes the crews upwind to the first mark where they have already turned and SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE holds the lead on the fleet. After leaving Halifax Harbour the crews will cross the Cabot Straits and navigate between the French Islands of St. Pierre & Miquelon just off of Newfoundland to the finish.
Derek has competed in two other editions of this race with both the Open 40 Spirit of Canada in the inaugural race and the Open 60 Spirit of Canada in the 2010 edition; taking line honours each time.
This time the crew aboard the Volvo 60 is made up of sailors from Nova Scotia and Ontario all hoping to succeed in being the first boat to arrive in St. Pierre.
Bon Vent!
Follow all the progress by using the Yellowbrick tracker: http://yb.tl/halifax2014
Read more about the race HERE…
Line Honours for Spirit of Adventure
First in Saint Pierre was none other than Derek Hatfield and his crew on the Volvo 60 with a race time just less than 38 hours. More details, including the race tracker at http://routehalifaxsaintpierre.com/.
More Racing…
The LO300/600
Two major offshore events this week-end on the Great Lakes; first the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge will see a mix of 110 racers tackle the 300 mile and 200 mile courses on Lake Ontario. In addition, for the first time this year, 13 yachts have signed up for the new lake Ontario 600 race that will have racers test themselves in two complete LO300; that’s right, twice around the course. To make matters more interesting, six of those yachts will be raced single-handed! Race start is Saturday, July 12th at PCYC; all details to help you follow the race at the official website.
The Bayview Mackinac
A little further to the West and about the same, racers in the Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac race will be milling about the start area waiting for their start gun; 40 high performance yachts will have their sight on the longer Cove Island Course, while 180 boats, including a large contingent of cruising vessels, will negotiate the shorter Shore Course towards Mackinac Island where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan join together. http://www.bycmack.com/ for the race tracker.
The Clipper Round the World
In other offshore news, the Clipper Round the World Race fleet is departing the Netherlands today en route to London in Race 16, the final leg of the Clipper 13-14 race. Henri Lloyd, led by Canadian skipper Eric Holden, has already claimed victory in the event with the final race to spare; they will be crowned in London upon their arrival. Eric and his crew have posted five wins and nine podium finishes in the past 15 races; quite an achievement! Congratulations Eric!
Sailing With Devious, 2014 