Sad news... Lady Be is retiring from ARC 2009
Lady Be
Jurgen Dobbelaer
Mon 11 May 2009 20:44
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32:48.33N 77:16.79W
No matter how much effort you put in the
preparation of an Atlantic crossing (and we all put in a 120%), some things just
force you to give up on a plan well made.
And so it is with a deep sadness that I announce to
you that Lady Be will no longer be a contender in the ARC 2009.
It all started off brilliantly.
We set course to Bermuda on the 8th and
weather conditions were excellent.
A 15 knot SSE wind in combination with the Gulf
Stream took us on an almost dubble digit speed (and we weren't even
trying) straight to our destination.
We were escorted by 3-4 dolphins (of which we
have excellent video footage) that seemed to be enjoying the ride just as much
as us.
At over a 100 miles out, things started to go
wrong.
The rudder post started to syphon in water and we
didn't notice that it was filling up the transom bilges.
When we heeled a little bit more under a favorable
20-25 knot wind, the water suddenly washed up the floorboards.
After removing all the stowage we concluded that
the seepage through the rudder post was controlable, but nevertherless I made
the decision to head back to Charleston (perhaps the was a too conservative
decision, but I'd rather be safe than sorry).
We put in a reef on the main and just when we wer
set to let out the sail again, it split all the way above the reef (did we put
too much pressure on the boom vang ?).
No we had to head back into the once favorable
Gulf stream, that is now working against us at 4 knots.
With a close hauled headsail and on motor we could
make only 3 knots SOG, so it took us 30+ hours on a beat to get
back to Charleston.
During this tack one of the crew members got
troubled by a bad knee.
With all the listed improvements to be made, and
the reduced capacity of the crew... it is with utmost regret that we have to
give up on the crossing.
We herbey which to than you for all your support,
and as a farewel I hereby add some of the latest pictures.
To be continued...
    Haute-cuisining in a Force-9 stove
 A tired and somewhat disapointed crew after a 30+
hour (hard) beat motoring back into Charleston.
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