I'm going on an international diesel hybrid race (OK... tall ship race)

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Who

Darin, how fast does it go with the iron jib and how much of that is Fleuve current?

Under motor power in still water, it'll go about 6 knots without pushing the 250 hp Cat 6-cyl diesel too hard.

We saw a max speed of 12 kts over the bottom on an outgoing tide approaching Quebec City. Up river, away from tidal effects, the current is more like 1-3 kts.

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Am I wrong in thinking that there are a bunch of locks between Lake Ontario and the mouth of the St. Laurence? I grew up not that far away, and seem to recall a school field trip to watch the ships going through the locks...

You remember right. Going downbound, the last lock is at Montreal. It's a pretty cool experience locking through, particularly when we don't have to wait for the freighters (they've got priority). We were pretty lucky this time - only had to hang around for one ship.



There are a few lift bridges as well (above pic). Rush hour traffic in Montreal had to cool its heels as we went through around 8 AM Tuesday).

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

The opportunity didn't present itself ;P

Martin had several opportunities to shove me in the Bassin Louise! (Glad he doesn't pay attention to Ben.) Instead we met up with the rest of the crew at a cafe, had some good conversation & got caught up on what I've missed while we've been traveling. (Oh - and thanks again for the beverages & special synth wheel bearing grease - got to love industrial connections.)

The actual trip here yesterday was another hot, sunny day spent motoring. The crew project: hammock building (and testing)!



Another pic: Gisele sent us this one of our day 1 departure in the fog...



Right now we're just waiting for the arrival of another crew member before heading out again. The bad news: we'll likely be out of range of pilferable wireless signals for 5 days.

The good news: the wind, she blows!

[MetroMPG]

Well, the wind, she blew. So last Thursday, the 5 lower sails went up right after we left Quebec City, the engine was shut down and we finally enjoyed some good sailing. A few hours later, the wind, she veered pretty much on the nose, and we got in some practice lowering sails!

Back on 24 hour rotating watches, the days tend to bleed together. "What day is this?" is a common question when someone needs to know for some reason or other.

... Learned to find a new constellation (Taurus) somewhere after Tadoussac.
... Spotted wind farms on shore
... fishing villages
... phosphorescence in the waves
... beluga & humpback whales
... plenty of porpoises
... and watched one fat seal watching us go past as he bobbed in the water not too far away.



In the dark we left the Gaspe Peninsula behind, the famous Perce Rock's silhouette looming and disappearing in the mist like a passing ship.

Then the wind she blew again - the weakened remnants of hurricane Hanna at this point - so we put up sails in the rain for a good run down to PEI.



Above: the boat's new "fisherman" sail (highest up) - a successful sea trial.

We're currently tied up in Summerside, along with 2 other boats so far (Pride of Balitimore, and Papa2 out of Lunenburg). We're expecting two more tomorrow. The race around the island starts Thursday noon.

--

And Janet sent us this link with some good pictures of the "Mist in the mist", leaving Ivy Lea: Picasa Web Albums - Janet - The Mist Leav...

[Tango Charlie]

We're all green with envy, here, Darin. Green with envy.
Thanks for letting us be virtual tag-alongs...
And good luck in the race!

[Sugar Pie]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Well, the wind, she blew. So last Thursday, the 5 lower sails went up right after we left Quebec City, the engine was shut down and we finally enjoyed some good sailing. A few hours later, the wind, she veered pretty much on the nose, and we got in some practice lowering sails!

Back on 24 hour rotating watches, the days tend to bleed together. "What day is this?" is a common question when someone needs to know for some reason or other.

... Learned to find a new constellation (Taurus) somewhere after Tadoussac.
... Spotted wind farms on shore
... fishing villages
... phosphorescence in the waves
... beluga & humpback whales
... plenty of porpoises
... and watched one fat seal watching us go past as he bobbed in the water not too far away.



In the dark we left the Gaspe Peninsula behind, the famous Perce Rock's silhouette looming and disappearing in the mist like a passing ship.

Then the wind she blew again - the weakened remnants of hurricane Hanna at this point - so we put up sails in the rain for a good run down to PEI.



Above: the boat's new "fisherman" sail (highest up) - a successful sea trial.

We're currently tied up in Summerside, along with 2 other boats so far (Pride of Balitimore, and Papa2 out of Lunenburg). We're expecting two more tomorrow. The race around the island starts Thursday noon.

--

And Janet sent us this link with some good pictures of the "Mist in the mist", leaving Ivy Lea: Picasa Web Albums - Janet - The Mist Leav...

Heard you raced on a shark after your arrival PEI. All the best in the race we will be thinking of you and the crew.

[Daox]

Sounds amazing Darin. Thanks for keeping us in the loop. Good luck with the race!

[dcb]

So Darin, are you going to jump in the water and remove the prop before the race?

[MetroMPG]

Hi Sugar Pie - thanks! Yes, Sandy & I literally jumped on a Shark as it was heading out past the Mist for the local club race (only 3 boats out - phrf style).

dcb... If only that were an option. (Also, I'm embarassed to say the thought didn't occur...)

Our boat is apparently the slowest in the fleet, judging by the handicaps assigned to each to level the playing field. The time correction factors are:

0.7872 Spirit of Bermuda
0.7491 Virginia
0.7184 Papa 1
0.6986 Pride of Baltimore
0.6267 Mist of Avalon

... with Spirit of Bermuda being theoretically the fastest. Multiply a boat's TCF by its actual elapsed race time and you get its corrected time. So if Bermuda finishes in 36 hours (28.3 hrs corrected time), the Mist of Avalon would have a statistical tie by finishing in 45.2 hours actual.

They used a formula based on measurements provided by each skipper: sail area, waterline length, displacement, max speed in still water.

So, the fleet's all here, the crew is aboard and the skippers' meeting is under way. The starting gun is at noon.

[MetroMPG]

Race morning preparations, left to right: Spirit of Bermuda, Virginia, Papa 1, Mist of Avalon, Pride of Baltimore

[dcb]

Extremely cool!! Like TC said, Green with Envy Best of luck, we'll be rooting for the avalon!!