Bump's World

HALIFAX

It was June, 1978. The occasion? Marblehead, EYC Lambert Ocean Race. I’m headed to the starting line off of Marblehead. Me, my yellow C&C 25 "Banana Split", my crew: Rick, Rob, and wife number one. The name of the boat should have been "Clueless".

This was my first ocean race. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or where we were going. I was not even sure what we would do all night. I had never even sailed at night before, assuming we were going to sail all night.

I figured they would not send us into a dangerous situation and I could probably follow the other boats. I had no GPS or even Loran. I was not sure my charts covered the area of the race. If the other boats could do it, I could do it. That was my plan. I lost site of the last boat I had seen right after dark.

Somehow, we sailed the course, about 125 miles. We did not do very well, but we finished and survived. We did sort of sail through the night, even with the spinnaker. I survived my first ocean race. It was a great experience.

Times change, but having fun on the water does not. The challenges of ocean racing are a great life experience. Nothing can explain the exhilaration of being out in the ocean in the middle of the night working to keep your boat going as fast as possible and in the right direction.

This year the Boston Yacht Club and Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron are proud to run the 36th biennial Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race. This race will start off of the coast of Marblehead on July 5th. Racing starts at noon. About 360 miles later it will finish at Halifax, Canada.

The race committee has added 2 short legs after the start to provide some shore side and spectator boat viewing. The crews will, depending on wind direction, be putting up spinnakers and doing sail changes which can be entertaining. This is a chance to see up close some spectacular ocean racing yachts in action.

Marblehead is a great town that time of year, with all of the revolutionary war history, the 4th of July celebration will be in full swing with huge fireworks, harbor
illumination, and Festival of Arts celebrations. The Marblehead Militia will be marching around town dragging their cannon and firing their muskets. There is ongoing music at Crocker Park. There is no better place to be on the 4th of July.

I strongly encourage boat owners who would like to try their hand at a real ocean race, to enter the Marblehead-to-Halifax Race. It is extremely well organized and the Boston Yacht Club will do whatever it takes to accommodate the boats and crews.

Doing a race like this does take preparation and some experience. If you have interest, I’m sure that comes with questions. I am on the committee to run this race and I will get you what information you need and help with arrangements.

For more information, you can visit the Marblehead-to-Halifax Race web site at: http://www.marbleheadtohalifax.com/page/the_race

This ocean race will be a life experience that should not be missed. I can tell you all my stories, but you should be making stories of your own.

Please mail comments to me at Bump@newwaveyachts.com
Bump Wilcox