Day one on June 21 saw the race overcome by a mild, slow moving electrical storm that swelled over land during the start before spilling outwards, becalming the fleet during the early tactical decisions. New breeze carried us onwards towards Block Island and a series of decisions about new wind farms, which had been a source of much discussion leading up to the race. In addition to being an active construction site and an obstruction, the windmills have a massive wind shadow that’s best given a wide berth.
As night set in, we were treated to occasional views of the full strawberry moon, which was bright enough to backlight a spectacular cloudscape. In the small hours of the morning, the JV72 Proteus reported that they had dismasted in moderate conditions. Will Oxley, their navigator, confirmed that everyone was safe, and the rig was cut away before causing hull damage. They rerouted back to Newport under power.
Roy Disney’s Pyewacket took an early lead, staying a bit north of the rhumb line initially, followed by the fleet’s only catamaran, Paul Larsen’s 84-foot Allegra.
Though the sea state was increasing and the wind was expected to also increase and harden up, the route to the Gulf Stream was champagne conditions. We’d found a warm-core eddy that sling-shotted us forward with about a knot of current towards that telltale line of clouds demarcating the Stream, where the warm water creates a distinctive local climate and cloud pattern. We entered an hour or two after sunset with the fleet packed quite densely around us.
The sailing was active but not unmanageable through the night, and by 2 a.m., the sea state was characterized by large swells which caused the boat to skirt down the backs of the waves at slippery angles. Around 2:45 a.m., one such wave sent us careering into an unidentified object (whale lovers, rest assured, the noise it made was categorically not marine life). It was quickly clear that despite the seven engineers onboard and decades of experience, we were going to lose the boat. There was too much structural damage. Alliance’s 4,000+ gallons per hour of pumping capacity was keeping up just enough to buy time to make the necessary calls and gather our essentials.
The crews of J/121 Ceilidh and Archambault 40RC Banter diverted to the location of our mayday call. Within two hours of the initial impact, all nine crew members—Eric Irwin, Mary Martin, Sam Webster, Conor O’Neil, Julija O’Neil, Bill Kneller, Mary Schmitt, Eddie Doherty, and myself—were successfully transferred to Ceilidh. We continued on with them to Bermuda, where we arrived early Tuesday. We’ll write more about this incident in the coming weeks and months, but the exceptional seamanship of Ceilidh and all involved must be mentioned. We on Alliance are extraordinarily grateful to them.
Alliance wasn’t the only vessel abandoned in this year’s race. Robert Fye and Paul Cunningham’s Gunga Din, a Swedish Yachts 41, was abandoned just 80 miles from the finish line, also due to water ingress. All seven of their crew members were transferred to the Tartan 37 Desna. The cause of their water ingress has not yet been released publicly.
Carina, a McCurdy & Rhodes 48 skippered by Barrett Holby, took the victory in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division. Arriving just after 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Carina became the most-winning yacht in the race’s 118-year history with five victories (1970, 1982, 2010, 2012, 2024). Hound and Gentian rounded out the podium.
JV52 Summer Storm won the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division, followed by Pyewacket and Denali 3. The Hinckley 48 Northeast Wind took victory in the Finisterre Division, with Tramontana and Navicular close behind. Fearless, a Sunfast 3300, won the double-handed division, followed by Groupe 5 and Jane Says. The sole cat Allegra and the schooner Arabella each took first in a category of their own.
For more on this year’s race, visit bermudarace.com.
June 2024
