Finally..

Thursday morning brought attempt #3 at our delivery of the Grand Surprise from Camargue to Marseille.

The breeze was out of the east, ranging between 15 and 35 knots, with a couple of squalls blowing through with heavy rain and gusts up to 45kts. The seas were about 3 to 4 meters, having built after several days of a steady SE breeze. We left the marina in Camargue at about 930am, under full main and our big headsail. After only an hour or so of sailing, the breeze built and we went to the first reef, and soon afterwards, the second. When the first squall line was approaching while we were off the the Rhone River (which marked the approximate halfway point in our journey), we decided to change to our Solent jib. This was a smart decision, as the breeze quickly picked up to 45kts, with heavy rain. After more squalls and a consistently building breeze, we finally arrived in Marseille at about 10pm.

Today was our first time sailing the Grand Surprise, and we learned a great many things about how to sail the boat. We are eager to get back to work tomorrow morning, and with a Mistral forecasted for Friday, we should be able to apply the things we learned today to our practice tomorrow and on Saturday, before the regatta starts on Sunday.

Pictures and videos from our first five days will be uploaded tomorrow, so please stay tuned.


Bonsoir,

Team URI/USA