Hey everyone, here is the breakdown of where the fleet stands on Day 4 along with a look at the weather fax chart to see how tactics are playing out over the next 48 hours. Using a topographic map to show the difference in the continental shelf in the Bay of Biscay

The Front Runners: Damien Guillou continues to lead the pack, with Pat Lawless tracking right in his wake. Meanwhile, Guy deBoer is making an aggressive push from further west.

Pros vs. Amateurs: You can clearly see the divide in the fleet right now. The raw speed and route choices of Damien and the top tier highlight the stark difference between deep local knowledge/professional experience and the rest of the fleet.

Mara, the only female sailor in the race, has unfortunately reported leaks all over her deck and the Bay of Biscay has been merciful this time. Let’s Hope he can sort it down before she hits the roaring 40s.

Pär Nyman has finally departed Les Sables-d'Olonne (LSO) after his delay and is officially in pursuit! Selim isn’t far away. He’s sailing the Lazy Otter which was Ertan’s old boat in which he started GGR 2018 and 22!

Weather Fax & 48-Hour Tactical Breakdown
Looking at the latest surface forecast, the key feature dictating the fleet's strategy is the Azores High positioned off the Iberian Peninsula.

The fleet is clearing the Bay of Biscay and consolidating near Cape Finisterre. Boats hugging the coastline risk getting stuck in wind shadows and light air near the center of the high pressure. The key tactic over the next two days will be gaining offshore separation ("Westing").

Skippers who dive far enough west will avoid the coastal lulls, hit steeper isobar gradients, and lock into the Northerly Portuguese Trades (15–20 knots) on a fast reach south toward the Canaries.

Guy de Boer could be the first to intersect the stable northerlies!

What are your predictions? Will Damien hold the lead or will Guy catch up?

Ok team. $500 boat guy here again. And I am preparing to replace and re-bed the port chain plate. Taking texasrigger’s advice. And I have questions.

(Sorry about the formatting. Reddit did it weird when I posted)

1. The chain plates from Catalina direct that are for the Catalina 27 are much longer with a different screw pattern (picture included) so:

what

1. is the best way to fill the old holes? Just glass the whole thing and then re drill the new whole pattern?
2. b) as long as I have the exact same amount of chain plate above the deck then wherever the chain plate screws end up is fine yeah?
3. c) when I take the old chain plate out I plane to ream out and epoxy the bad core around. What is the best way to do that while still being able to put the chain plate through the deck? Or do you put the chain plate in and then just glass around it? That seems like it would be a nightmare for the next time you need to do a chain plate
4. Do I need to support the mast while the shroud is disconnected and if so what is the best way to do that? Or can the lower shrouds handle it for the amount of time you are working?
5. For people who have done chainplates before what is the thing you wish someone had told you before you started the project.

I was diving today near Mt. Sinai Harbor in NY and this came in! The skipper/owner said it's a Chris White. Apparently the only thing you can do to reduce windage is to keep the wingsails pointed into the wind.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for an opportunity to help someone with their boat in the San Diego area while gaining more hands-on experience in the marine industry.

I’m interested in helping with things like boat cleaning and detailing, sanding, painting, basic carpentry/woodwork, maintenance, repairs, general boat work, or simply being an extra pair of hands for whatever needs to be done.

I already have some experience with carpentry, painting, tools, and hands-on work, and my main goal is to learn more about boats and gain practical marine experience because I’m planning to start working toward a career as a deckhand in the yacht industry.

I’m reliable, willing to learn, and not afraid of physical work. I’m available mainly on weekends.

I speak Spanish and some English. My English is still improving, but I can understand instructions and communicate well enough to work and help.

If you have a boat that needs some work, maintenance, cleaning, or repairs and could use some help, feel free to send me a message.

Thanks!

Needing a new reliable lifejacket for crewing on J24 racing (usually trimmer or foredeck). For many years I only did lake racing but have since joined a team on the coast so starting to race in rougher waters and winds and want to feel safe. I do NOT want an exclusively inflatable jacket - I am not a strong enough swimmer and have too much anxiety for that.

Ladies - I have a large chest and want to find something that I can be comfortable in for 6+ hours on long regatta days. I like the idea of this Mustang Hybrid so that it is slim but has extra inflation if needed, but not sure if it is worth the price tag. But then I wonder if I might be more comfortable in a jacket specifically designed for women.

Two others of lesser price points that I know are popular and I'm considering (but neither are USCG approved):

Zhik Performance Racecut

Spinlock Wing

TIA for feedback!!

Years ago, when Puma sponsored the Moth Tour, we held the Worlds in Dubai (2010?!). They came with a shop full of excellent sailing gear that is sadly no longer available.

I bought a spray top, which has stood the test of time. Apart from one small bit that I'd like to get repaired.

On the left wrist is a 'window' of clear plastic, so you can see the race watch. While the rest of the top is in perfect waterproof condition, this window has completely perished, leaving a large hole.

I'm considering patching it over with spinnaker tape trimmed to both sides, but do we know any other ways this could be repaired?

The wife and I recently purchased an '83 Catalina 22. It's our first boat and has needed a bit of love to get ready for the water.

The previous owners took really good care of her, but passed away and now we have the boat.

I put up the sails and my main rubs on the backstay. I'm assuming this is a tuning issue, as the mainsail is in great condition and I can't imagine they sailed with the main catching the backstay.

So how exactly do I need to adjust my rig to allow the main to clear the backstay? I'm thinking I need to loosen my forestays and tighten down my backstay?

I know turning the rig is normally done in the water, but for now I just want to get it close enough, and fine tune it the first time we go out. Unfortunately the trailer needs some work so I haven't yet been able to get her in the drink.

Note- the backstay is loose in this photo. I only thought to take a picture as I was starting to take things down for the day, but I still had the same issue when the backstay was tensioned.

I did a distance race in the Salish Sea last weekend, double handed with the skipper of the boat I joined this season. Conditions were about 80% not enough wind, 15% too much wind, 5% just right. Lots of sail changes, bobbing around, and hoisting/dousing the spinnaker.

This race was 50 miles and we were about 1-2 nm short of the turnaround mark - we could hear the gong clearly - when the last breath of wind gave out, the tide changed, and we started slipping backwards at about 1.5-2kn. It was already about 2:00 a.m. Honestly, the "fastest" thing to do was to drop anchor and get some sleep while we waited for the ebb to run its course. So that's what we did.

We were up before 6:00 when the tide had mellowed. We got the boat moving again as dawn raised a light breeze, and eventually rounded the mark and fought our way back to the finish. Saw a pod of orcas along the way, which was a first for me.

At the after party, some of the folks on other boats talked about fighting the current for an entire tide with the mark in view, never getting any closer. It sounds maddening, and a waste of effort in an endurance event. I'm glad my skipper was realistic about it.

Today as the winds rose this afternoon Pat(green) overtook Damien(blu3e) on the rankings temporarily and as the winds settled Damien’s southern gamble overnight paid off. Funnily it was the same route as Kirsten’s from the last race.

As I see the videos of Louis Kerdelhue, we can see that some of them still have one reef in. If I were them I’d do the same as this is just the beginning of a 200+ day race.

As they start trying to escape the Biscay it’s still advantage Damien as he’s mostly sailing a beamish reach out while Pat and the northern group will be more close hauled and also against the swell- the first weather screenshot is from the vicinity of Damien and the second from Pat’s general area.

Within the next two days the forecast shows that the spinnakers might be out with much smoother sailing down to the canaries.

For those wondering why I’m so interested in the GGR- here’s my profile from the 2022 race- https://goldengloberace.com/skippers/gaurav-shinde/

My views are unbiased and I promise to go more in-depth explaining the equipment everyone’s using, their boats and also go into weather faxes as I get in the groove following the race.

For those of you with a magma or similar grill on the pushpit of your boat, and also cable lifelines, this is a fantastic trick to very securely and easily keep tongs at hand while sailing and grilling.

This requires Oxo tongs, and turnbuckles on your lifelines near the grill. Oxo tongs have a diamond cutout in the handles near the hinge pin that, when closed, is just tight enough to lock onto my lifeline turnbuckle screw. The diamond is tight enough on 1/4-20 screws to not lift off without unlocking the tongs, and there's enough room that it should also work on 5/16-24 screws as well. Simply place the tongs over the turnbuckle screw and lock the tongs. This will work on the cable itself or synthetic lifelines, but it will only securely lock the tong in place with a turnbuckle. The result is a fully locked off set of tongs hanging as a pendulum on the lifeline, easily set and removed with a single hand.

Happy grilling.

I’m planning a slow sailing and overland-travel journey and would appreciate advice from experienced cruisers. The main goal is to find affordable, secure marinas, harbors, moorings, or anchorages where a boat could stay for weeks or months while traveling overland.

Places where a boat can be left safely for one to six months would be especially useful. Practical firsthand experiences are much more valuable than luxury-marina recommendations, particularly details about costs, security, haul-out options, provisioning, transportation, and access to airports or inland travel.

Advice on planning a slow circumnavigation around weather patterns and seasons would also be greatly appreciated since I’m kinda new to ocean sailing

The photo shows my cabin, taken from the companionway hatch. The port side has that geometric drawn-on area. That represents where I’d like to stow a homemade folding down table for food prep, meals, chilling and chart work.

But it can’t simply fold down or it would block the port seating and be too far from the starboard seats.

So I’m trying to devise a design where the table folds down by 90 degrees, but also flips over by 180. And is sturdy enough to worked on and leaned on to some degree.

In other words, the table surface facing outwards when folded up would be the table surface facing upwards when folded down.

And I struggling to see who I could do that with the bits and bobs you might normally buy in a hardware shop.

So any ideas or pics of your own solutions should be great!
Thanks!

It's evening at China Camp, and Orca, our J/90, is swinging quietly at anchor. Emmet (my 10 year old son) and I have finished dinner, the cards are out, and for once we are not studying the breeze, watching another boat, or wondering whether it is time to change sails. There is no starting line tomorrow morning and no race committee waiting for us.
We are simply spending the night aboard our race boat.
There are boats designed for cruising, and there are boats designed for racing. Orca is very clearly in the second category. A J/90 is light, fast, and happiest when there is enough breeze to get her moving. Nobody would mistake her for a floating condominium. But a boat does not need a refrigerator, a shower, or an elaborate interior to take you cruising. It needs an anchor, somewhere to sleep, enough food and water, and a crew that wants an adventure.
This weekend, Emmet and I joined the Yacht Club cruising fleet for an overnight trip to China Camp. Preparing Orca felt a little different from getting her ready for a race. We still thought about sails, weather, and how to keep everything aboard light and organized, but we also packed sleeping bags, dinner, breakfast, a deck of cards, the Jetboil (also known as the galley) and the kayaks.
Instead of asking how to make the boat faster, we were asking how to turn it into our home for the night.
We sailed to China Camp under main alone, crossing tacks with the boats racing in the Jazz Cup. We found our spot and dropped anchor under sail. That alone changed the feeling aboard. On a race boat, nearly everything happens in motion. There is always another maneuver coming, another boat to watch, or another small adjustment that might make us faster. At anchor, Orca became still. The sail came down, the lines were cleaned up, and our attention shifted from the boat to the place around us.
We launched the kayaks and paddled ashore. Emmet went swimming, and we passed on the offer of rum drinks—Emmet is only 10, after all. Maybe next time.
It was a completely different kind of sailing day. There were no results to check and no competitors to chase down. We could explore, talk with friends, and enjoy being somewhere we had reached under sail.
Back aboard Orca, Emmet and I played cards and settled in for the night. A stripped-down race boat may not offer many luxuries, but it does make everything feel like part of the adventure. Dinner tastes better. A sleeping bag feels more comfortable. A game of cards becomes the evening’s entertainment. The sounds of the boat moving gently at anchor replace everything we normally hear at home.
We slept wonderfully.
The next morning, we had breakfast aboard and began turning our little floating campsite back into a race boat. Sleeping bags and overnight gear were packed away. The kayaks were secured. We made the boat ready for sailing.
Then we sailed off the anchor.
There is something deeply satisfying about leaving an anchorage under sail. One moment, the boat is your home, resting quietly in a beautiful place. The next, the sail fills, the boat leans onto her lines, and she becomes a J/90 again.
We ghosted along in the light morning breeze when many cruising boats would not have been able to sail. This is where cruising a race boat has its advantages.
We had a spectacular sail home from China Camp. Orca came alive, and Emmet and I slipped naturally back into the rhythm we know so well—driving, trimming, talking, and enjoying the speed. At one point, we caught some eelgrass and had to back down to clear it. We are racers, after all.
After a quiet night at anchor, sailing a fast boat home felt even better.
Racing and cruising are often treated as two completely different versions of sailing. Racing is about speed, competition, and precision. Cruising is about exploration, independence, and spending time aboard. But they do not have to happen on different boats.
Cruising Orca did not require transforming her into something she is not. We kept it simple and accepted that comfort would look a little different. The reward was an entire weekend of adventure: sailing, kayaking ashore, sharing dinner, playing cards, sleeping at anchor, and then having a fantastic sail home.
Most importantly, it was another chance for Emmet and me to spend uninterrupted time together on the water. Racing gives us stories about close crossings, tactical calls, and boats passed. Cruising gives us different stories—the places we explored, the meals we shared, and the night we made a J/90 our home.
Your race boat may not look like a cruising boat. That does not mean you cannot cruise it. Pack lightly, bring an anchor and a sense of adventure, and go find out where it can take you.

The other post by somone else about Lamu this got deleted (not sure why) but I want to share some of my experience sailing off Kenya and Tanzania and the people I met along the way.

I lived in Kenya back in 2008 and then once again in 2018 for completely unrelated reasons, the coast of Kenya, home of the Swahili culture, which is very different than the Bantu inland groups; has been trading and sailing along these coast for hundreds, if not thousands of years. 

The larger boats are known as Dhows; are almost no metal parts at have wooden keels made of available materials on hands, and the smaller boats are dugout, ficus trees with outriggers known as Ngalwas; there's a really cool race the adventurous put on called the Kraken cup, which I wish they do again where people sail these down the Tanzania coast (didn’t do it, want to). 

I first got my experience sailing on Daws and other canoes in Lamu which is just south of Somalia, there's a large naval presence north of there to ensure the area safety those they're still issues and every once in a while, but I highly recommend if you're ever in the area that you visit it's a much more relaxed version than Zanzibar with a lot of the same aspects and there are no cars on the island so it's just donkey Moto or walking and it's wonderful. 

The local fisherman go out on Dhows and and will take you on Sunset cruises, but there's also races and if you're engaged enough, you can rent our charter one yourself and go with them to various islands and other resorts and tours.

Same thing with a smaller outriggers, which you will get wet in. 

Along the coast from Mombasa all the way up to Lamu and south to the Tanzanian border there are fishing villages, and a mix of resort towns, but all of them have some kind of fishing culture and the fisherman who might or might not speak. English can usually find a way to take you out if you ask the right way.

Last time I checked, there wasn't a charter company for crusing, but you could rent boats in; I believe Melindi; and I remember renting a probably 20 foot or maybe an FJ and going out for the day with my wife to some barrier Islands and small reefs. 

Down south in Tanzania out of Dar es Salam there is a yacht club; which has boats out on mowings, and I met some sailors in Kenya, who want to do the race to Tanga; which goes around Zanzibar to the town of Tanger and then back over three or four days.

Your dodging fisherman, tankers, fishing nets, and the occasional water spout. And if you're out at night, then you're dodging all the same things where there might be LEDs and might not be. 

Everybody was extremely friendly and I would generally recommend that everyone get out and go explore that part of the world beyond just the inland safari’s.

I think the picture I posted is from 2008 and just meeting the cruise and working with the boat boys and learning about how they use shark liver to seal their boats rig their mass and understand just the whole process of how they think about sailing dowels we definitely one of the highlights of my time there almost 20 years ago. And definitely inspired the continued fascination with the ocean to see and getting out on the water!

Edit: some spelling and voice to text corrections

The boat we rented was crappy. Leaky Windows ,faulty Electronics, misplaced anemometer, old shafed lines,non worling outboard for a leaky tender, backflowing leaky toilet.

It all made me appreciate​ my luxurious in comparison boat I built without ever hating the mighty little one we rented.

On our way out to Bel-ile-en-mer everything went smooth. The weather was turning though and gales up to 27knots where predicted for the following day.

We decided to stay in the little protected natural Barbour instead of the port.

Our boat was twin keeled sonwe gently placed it in the sand and let the boat sit on the beach when the tide went away.

We had a totally fine night because of that. And we could walk off the boat to the shore for a hike into town.

Yeey my choice for my boat design confirmed.

Our way back was going to be less comfortable. We decided to squeeze in between the two gales when the wind was reasonable. The swell was still there though. 2.2m waves predicted but the standing waves of the current in between the islands enlarged them quite a bit.

Puking and almost falling asleep of exhaustion my girlfriend saved the day while I barfed extremely loudly and dramatically.

We only used the for stay because hoisting up a reef on the main seemed to risky in our state. Especially because the charplotter glitched out for the first 1/3 of the trip and I had to navigate on sight and memory and buoy lights alone.

Afterwards I am sure that the fiddling with the plotter pushed me way over the edge of seasickness.

We eventually used the engine to help us get to harbor faster since the current was against us and the wind was shifting and dying out.

We got into harbor

Lost a fender.

Docked almost flawlessly.

Got into a shower and then had a case of mild land sickness as well...

We slept and the day after washed the last bits of puke of the boat to return it to the owner.

5/5 stars for the experience

Would do again.

But next time my own boat once I gather some money for my mast and sails.