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Captain's LogSeptember 23, 2001Hello All,Well the day arrived for the launch. It was a low key affair as BTC Velocity was lowered into the water on Thursday 13th September. It was not the week for celebrations after the attack on the US; however, it was a significant day in the life cycle of an Around Alone campaign. First and most importantly, she floated beautifully on her lines. Friday 14th September saw the mast being lowered into the yacht with a 500 yard motor to her berth at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. Since then........ well its been all go..... the list endless, it seemed of jobs both big and small to complete. We managed to find time on Sunday 16th September for a little Australia Dock ' Barbie ' , where among other things an informal christening ceremony was held. A little Goslings Black Seal Rum was poured on the bow and all the people in Australia who have helped to build BTC Velocity and be so kind to me were thanked. We also managed to save enough Black Seal to go with the Barritts Ginger Beer ( all carried from Bermuda ) for a round of Dark & Stormies. felt like I was back in Bermuda !!!!! On Friday 21st September we went out for our first sail. This date also happens to be exactly one year before the start of the Around Alone race. The sails are huge. In 13 kts of apparent wind ( what is felt in combination with the actual wind speed and boats forward velocity ) we were doing 8.2 kts. This was not by any means a ' race ' sail; rather, a cruise to check that all was well and in tune. Actually we needed to reduce sail by putting in the first reef and filling the 1650 lbs water ballast tanks, but there were still a few plumbing jobs outstanding!!! Wow did she feel powerful. This boat is going to fly yet felt very stable. It was a little too breezy on Saturday 22nd September to exit the marina and calibrate the instruments so the ' office team ' of Allyacht Spars ( builders of BTC Velocity ) came down to the dock to continue working on the diminishing list of to do's . With a draft of 10' 4" BTC Velocity can only leave the dock during a 4 hour period each day. Not a problem when ocean racing however. The Marine Electronics technician, John Sterling, spent most of Saturday explaining the complicated yet robust Electronics and Electrical systems. Software systems and Autopilots all functioning well. More sailing is planned for Monday 24th September with the delivery to Sydney scheduled for Wednesday 26th. This 450 mile passage with the builder Jon Sayer, will be a good handover of the yacht to me, as I ' wean ' myself from the experts and take full responsibility for this awesome sailing machine. |