On a mooring in Newport Harbor, an unusual luxury. I have a busted anchor windlass. This device sits on the bow, and hauls up the 200' of chain and 45lb anchor. I've been considering throwing out the spare Danforth anchor on a nylon rode (there's 150' which is plenty in this 18' water) but there is a storm coming in tonight with predictions that gusts will hit 30 knts. If there's any problem with the anchor, I'd be unable to pull it up against the force of the wind on the boat. So on the mooring, and will sleep peacefully.
Have now sailed 330nm this season, including Hyannis - Edgartown - Nantucket - Woods Hole - Newport in the last week. Have had excellent company too: Henry Ritchie, Greg Larson, Kady Tremaine, and this weekend my good - and oldest - friend Patrick Nihan and his girlfriend.
After seeing Newport empty just a few weeks ago, it's now packed: there is hardly any room in the anchorage, and there are all sorts of interesting boats. Newport has a long nautical past, is home to the New York Yacht Club (strangely), and has hosted the America's Cup several times (although not recently!). But I suspect the main reason there's so much fantastic hardware here is that it's tax free for boats!
There are boats here and arriving for the HSH Nordbank blue race. It's a pretty substantial race: Newport to Hamburg or about 3600nm, and the more so when you consider many of these boats have sailed here to race back! There's a raft of striking Swans, including at least one 90 footer. It starts on 16 June. The boat expected to win is American, it's called Rambler, and it's a 90' hard-core Reichel/Pugh design racer owned by the CEO of United Technologies. Not sure if he sails very often. Aussie readers may know it as Rambler was formerly raced in Sydney as Shockwave, with an NZL registration. There are also boats here for the mini-Transat, and the new Puma Racing Team sailed in today in their Volvo 70 (it's actually ABN AMRO 2 from the last race while their new boat is built). It looks great: bright red, and were all the joins are - think hull to deck, and the coach house - it's been painted to look like stitching on a shoe. The skipper is American Ken Read, the same guy racing Rambler to Hamburg.
The photos above are of two boats outside Edgartown (nothing under 100' here), my trying hard to look cool, and two 12 Meters - Weatherly and Columbia - sailing in Narragansett Bay yesterday.
America's Cup update: GO NEW ZEALAND!
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