Morgan Buffum, great contributor to Newport Bermuda Race class victory.

A little bit late in coming (to say the least!) but thought I’d post a little thanks and tribute to my nephew Morgan Buffum.

Preparing for a Newport Bermuda Race is tough.  There are safety requirements to double and triple check.  Logistics of crew transportation and lodging to coordinate.  Meals to cook, buy, transport and load.  There are just 1,000 little details to attend so that when it finally come time to start the race you can be focused on the 635 miles ahead.  In many ways the competition starts long before the actual start.  Those who are prepared and have all of their i’s dotted and t’s crossed are already winning the race before the starting gun goes off.  And so, with that said a crew member who can assist in the burdens of preparation is an invaluable crew member.  For Honahlee’s 2014 class win in the Newport Bermuda Race (www.bermudarace.com) Morgan Buffum was a priceless crew member.  When the boat needed to be sailed through the night from Larchmont to Newport, Morgan Buffum was there for me.  We had a great time on the delivery, but it was also a chore.  Morgan was jovial and easy going and made it fun.  And, he recruited a good friend, Bennett Capozzi, to help out!  When we finally made it to the dock at Newport Yachting Center it was a relief, but there was still work to do.  Bennett had to hit the road to get back to Harvard and do a little studying, but Morgan was more than willing to stay for hours and help clean up the boat so that things were in order when the racing crew arrived.  Yes, Morgan Buffum , the invaluable crew member was not a part of the crew that sailed the boat to Bermuda but he was an integral part of the crew that made the victory happen!

Morgan, thank you!  It was great to spend that time with you…and now, like any good uncle is duty-bound to do I shall embarass you with pictures (:  But seriously, great to see the young man you have become!

Morgan BuffumMorgan BuffumMorgan Buffum

 

One thing leads to the next…

So one thing leads to the next.  Honahlee’s great performance in the 2014 season has led me to the “painful” decision of not racing her in the 2016 Newport Bermuda race.  It would be great to be out there again but she will be in a better place… the Caribbean (:  That’s the bad news (:  The good news is that I will most likely be aboard “Warrior Won” an XP44.  The program has already begun in earnest and I may post a few things here to help me in future Bermuda pursuits.  I don’t want to spend too much time worrying about what goes where…more so just want to make a record of stuff…  like this from the IRC website found here: http://www.ircrating.org/introduction/jargon-translated  We are trying to figure out what the optimal sprit length is (within reason) to make the boat fast(er), safe and competitive.  Can’t order sails without knowing how long the sprit should be.  Seeing some “funny” things in some others’ ratings and just trying to figure out what to believe.  Unfortunately Warrior not measured yet so we are a little in the dark on some things.

IRC Rating Jargon definitions

Done, finished and back home safely…

Sure I would have liked to have been able to update this blog from the middle of the ocean…or at least from Bermuda….but the reality of the intensity of the race and the intensity of the celebration on just arriving safely in Bermuda let alone winning is a lot to overcome to focus on such a “lower” priority as posting some stuff on the internet.  In the next week or so I will try and post some pictures and other good stuff from our EPIC win…as well as our FABULOUS ride home.

Happy July 4th!

Here is a proof of a great photo from Billy Black and a PDF of the other proofs we can choose from for high quality reproductions.  Billy is one of the best most hardworking and dedicated marine photographers out there!  Billy Black Proofs

Honahlee Start NB 2014