Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Below you will find a new batch of photos from the passage to Gib from the Azores. As always is the case in a weblog, start at the bottom and work your way through the successive posts. Aside to the Mom: No, I did not go swimming where the ocean was close to four miles deep. 6:03:20 PM    comment []

In the rally fleet, as in all trawlering, there are a few women who drag their men into boating, many women who are dragged by their men into boating, and some women who are as enthusiastic about being out on the water as their men. In the latter category, Linda Wyman and daughter-in-law Stacy Wyman, joking around in their reprise of the signature scene from the film Titanic, are at the forefront. 5:58:56 PM    comment []

The Nordhavn 62 Grey Pearl is unusual in that it has two captains as owners Tina and Braun Jones are both licensed. Grey Pearl is the only yacht in the rally fleet to have Mr. and Mrs. as captains. 5:52:16 PM    comment []

Tina Jones and Jose Gutierrez find the 74-degree Atlantic Ocean refreshing--in a bracing sort of way. 5:47:48 PM    comment []

Bransom Bean, left, and Jon Ehly, my excellent shipmates aboard Goleen, provide their best impersonation of Laurel and Hardy in an ocean close to four miles deep. 5:43:12 PM    comment []

Jon Ehly dives off Goleen as we enjoy the obligatory mid-passage group swim between the Azores and Gibraltar. 5:39:57 PM    comment []

With one cook having Irish blood and the other, Latvian, every meal prepared aboard Goleen featured potatoes. Here, Chris Samuelson makes ready a tuna pie, alleging the olives are Irish, too. 5:36:26 PM    comment []

Look at how flat the ocean is! Jon Ehly enjoys an afternoon read on the flying bridge of the Nordhavn 57 Goleen. The fly bridge was a great place to relax, and I personally slept up there too. On the roughest night of Leg 3, spray finally drove me below. 5:21:57 PM    comment []

Mary Flanders aboard Egret and others in the small fleet were delighted when we zoomed out of nowhere to greet them off Sao Miguel, the largest of the nine islands that make up the Azores. 5:18:16 PM    comment []

When the five larger boats laying over in Ponta Delgado heard that the smaller fleet, which departed Horta two days after them, was passing by a few miles offshore, the rally go-girl, Linda Wyman (left) was the first to suggest we take tenders and race out to greet them. Chris Wyman drives while his wife, Stacy, revels in the roller-coaster ride upswell. 5:15:21 PM    comment []

Here is a well-travelled door prize! Bob Owens shows where the cooler he won as a door prize at West Marine Trawler Fest at Long Beach four years ago has lived on Que Linda--from Long Beach to Panama to Florida to Bermuda, Azores and Gibraltar, on it's only had to be tied down once. 5:09:00 PM    comment []

Like father, like son. Hal Wyman took his son Chris boating at an early age, just as his father did a generation earlier. Here, son watches father dock Que Linda! using a remote controller. 5:04:54 PM    comment []

SKYMATE STATEMENT TO THE PRESS ON NORDHAVN ATLANTIC RALLLY Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 23:13:56 -0400 Subject: Nordhavn Atlantic Rally From: Lynn Tandler Hello, Now that the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally is over and the journey successful, I am sure you will be reflecting on the excursion. Therefore, I am touching base to follow-up on the SkyMate press kit provided to all press associated with the Rally, and to provide SkyMate's perspective on the Rally. First and foremost, SkyMate thanks Pacific Asian Enterprises (PAE) and all the members of the Rally Committee for the opportunity to participate in this historical journey. SkyMate views the Rally as a success and has enjoyed working with PAE and the Rally Committee. SkyMate enjoyed meeting all the Rally participants, and reading the stories highlighting the adventures during the trip. The SkyMate system was mandatory equipment for all Rally participants primarily so the escort vessels could track the vessels participating in the Rally. Rally participants were offered the option of renting or purchasing the SkyMate equipment. For those interested in purchasing, SkyMate provided the hardware at discounted prices. Each participant was advised to have the SkyMate equipment professionally installed by an authorized SkyMate dealer and was provided a list of authorized SkyMate dealers. Each participant was advised to install their equipment in advance of the start of the Rally to become familiar with it before they were underway. Prior to the Rally, SkyMate held a seminar at Bahia Mar for all Rally participants to learn how to use their SkyMate. At Bahia Mar, SkyMate representatives boarded each vessel participating in the Rally to check the installation of the SkyMate equipment, fix any technical problems, answer any questions, and provide each vessel with a SkyMate User Guide and a laminated Quick Reference Guide with important information on the SkyMate system including contact information. When SkyMate representatives left Ft. Lauderdale several days before the start of the Rally, the SkyMate systems on all 18 vessels participating in the Rally were working properly and sending position reports. During the Rally, SkyMate was constantly monitoring each vessel's position reporting and messaging, and was trouble shooting any problems as soon as they appeared. SkyMate provided the position reports of all vessels in tabular form on SkyMate's website for press and family members to keep in touch. SkyMate was in touch with many of the participants by email. SkyMate even shipped one of the vessels a new SkyMate system to Bermuda when it was determined it was not reporting its position. SkyMate technical support was available 24 hours by email. The Rally participants who followed the SkyMate recommendations and who were interested in making use of the SkyMate services were able to do so with a minimal degree of support from SkyMate for installation and operations. According to SkyMate[base ']s records, three-quarters of the fleet made use of the SkyMate system for email, weather, and/or voice messaging during the Rally. On the other hand, many of those who installed SkyMate only as a requirement for the Rally did so just before departure, and did not have the same interest in learning how to use the SkyMate system. Not suprisingly, some of the Rally participants in this category did not have working SkyMate systems for much of the trip, and some of these vessel owners expressed their frustration to us and to the media. The vast majority of the issues with SkyMate operation were with vessels in the latter category who did not follow the guidelines. In conclusion, SkyMate successfully provided the positions of most of the Rally participants for each leg of the Rally. SkyMate allowed many participants to remain in touch with family and friends throughout the Rally for a very affordable cost. SkyMate also provided the press with data to use on their websites showing the positions of the Rally participants. Without SkyMate the positions of the vessels would not have been available. The SkyMate system offered each participant the ability to do email, obtain weather reports, automatically report their position, and have voice/fax messaging access. All these features with very little hardware at a very affordable price. If you have any questions I welcome hearing from you. For more information on the awards SkyMate has received, the trade shows SkyMate will be doing this fall, SkyMate press releases, testimonials, and the other projects SkyMate has been involved in, please visit the SkyMate website at www.skymate.com. Lynn Tandler Chief Operating Officer SkyMate Inc. 703-709-8798 4:54:01 PM    comment []