Summary

What a great way to celebrate my birthday! Rhapsody had solid wind out of the North and Northeast for the entire delivery. We departed Newport at 9:30am with winds 22 kts at the start of the trip so we just raised the main with 1 reef. We were doing hull speed the whole way. After rounding Point Judith, we raised the #3 jib to help balance the helm. Speed to the way points was up to 8.8 kts with the current helping. As the wind reduced speed we changed from the #3 to larger #1 jib and took out the reef in the main. Boat speed was almost always better than 5.5 kts. with wind off the beam the entire time.

Ted, Vic and Bill rotated crew work throughout the day and night. There was plenty of food and we cooked a hot meal of beef stew along the way. We reached CPYC at 1am and proceeded with the million candlepower light held by Vic on the bow to light the approach and identify the channel markers. Ted read the GPS course and Bill on the helm.

Vic captured the various light houses along the way and documented it on his web site. Click on the "View Full Results" link above to see some more photos.

We tied up stern to so the rudder could be removed. The new rudder resonated above 7.2 kts. IdaSailor marine said to round off one of the trailing edges to break up the flow that was causing the resonance. Once we arrived, we found the gate at the head of the dock padlocked, so we stayed on the boat until it was unlocked in the morning. The weather was a record low, and we were sleeping in full foul weather gear to stay warm

In the morning, we made hot coffee and used the warm showers at the club house. Cindy picked us up at 10:30am for the ride back in the car.