Hello from Active House

Foggy! Foggy! Foggy! After staring into the fog for a while, a person starts to visualize shapes and movements, very spooky. I’m sure it’s very similar to snow blindness where there are no contrasts that the eye can distinguish colors and shapes. During last night, the fog was so thick I could not see the windex at the top of the mast, just a glow in the night from the mast head navigation light up top. We will probably have another few days of fog until we are clear of the Grand Banks.

The Grand Banks used to be a hive of fishing activity with hundreds of fishing boats catching cod and other fish. Now there are no fishing boats, legal ones anyway, and the only activity out here is the Hibernia oil field and fishermen from other countries not concerned about the ban on fishing. I think there is a great lesson to be learned about the oceans and how humans can affect the fishing grounds by studying the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. It probably took a million years for the cod fish to reach the population it did on the Grand Banks, but it only took a few hundred to totally destroy the fishery. I don’t think I, or my children, will be around to see a productive fishery out here anytime in the future.

It’s great racing, we are all so close now and the speed gate is coming up. I have to make sure I have lots of rest for the race through the gate as I know everyone will be pushing hard.

All for now from Active House.

Take Care

Derek

Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges today announced that a number of training sessions with Derek Hatfield on the ECO 60 Spirit of Canada will be offered to individuals during the summer of 2011. Fresh from the VELUX 5 Oceans Singlehanded around the world race Derek needs to stay in good shape and keep the boat working and he has set a rigorous training schedule for future solo racing events. Individuals will be able to experience a full blown Open 60 first hand in open ocean conditions during five days of adventure sailing between Halifax and Bermuda.

Individuals can expect to learn about aspects of preparing for shorthanded cruising and racing including the setup of the boat and deck layout, nutrition, sleep patterns, weather analysis, safety at sea, shorthanded sail selection, medical emergency procedures, navigation and communications and is appropriate for individuals of all levels of sailing skills and experience. Participants will also be given special edition Spirit of Canada technical T-shirts and caps.

For further information regarding booking an offshore training session on Spirit of Canada, please contact Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges at:
info@spiritofcanada.net or call 902-531-2532.

Full day and half day sailing sessions on the ECO 60 Spirit of Canada are also available in Halifax and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia contact us for more details.

Hello from Active House

Welcome to Canada! I’m exactly 98 miles from our house in Mahone Bay and I can almost smell the BBQ. Of course it’s cold and very foggy outside but I don’t mind, it’s just nice to be close. We will be sailing along the coast of Nova Scotia and then Newfoundland before heading out over the Grand Banks and across to France.

All is well on board and I am all set for the run across the Atlantic.

Take Care

Derek

Hello from Active House

It’s a beautiful warm spring day here on the North Atlantic, with bright and clear blue skies. It certainly feels like home is near as I am about 250 miles from the coast of Canada and I am tempted to turn left and visit home. The first few days of each leg are the most difficult ones. This leg was no exception with the first night full of thunder storms and squalls. At one point Active House was laid flat in monsoon rains and 45 knots of wind. All I could do was hand steer the boat sideways and hope that none of the rigging failed as the boat laid on it’s side and steadied itself. It has taken me until now on day three to dry out the boat and my clothing.

I completely missed my opportunity to utilize the gulf stream as I found myself too far east after the storms the first night. Now I have some ground to make up to get back to the front. I think being in port for the long stopovers is possibly the hardest part of this race as it takes two or three days at the beginning of each leg to get the racing motivation back. This leg was especially difficult as I’m leaving home once again and sailing away.

I was rewarded this morning by a visit from a family of dolphins; a mother and here young one put on a great display, swimming perfectly beside each other as if connected and even jumping out of the water three times just beside he boat. The young one seemed to have a big smile. My mood is always improved when the dolphins come by for a visit.

Take Care

Derek