Blue Book of Boats

Delicate Balance Crew all ready for the Vic Maui 2010 race

Grahame Shannon and Bill Trant from Delicate Balance

Family and Well wishers at the dock

The count down begins, only 10 more days to go before the start of the  Vic-Maui Race of 2010.

Life is hectic and tense these days with all the last minute preparations and race practices.  How do you carry enough food for 5 big men with in a tiny 40 footer, with no refrigeration.  To make things complicated, one crew has a gluten allergy, and the captain is lactose intolerant.

The route:  2308 nautical miles – the longest offshore sailing race off the west coast of North America.

As seen on the map, there will be days and days where the boat would plainly be in the middle of nowhere. To understand the race and join in the anticipation, here is a video clip of a downwind sail from a competing boat on the Vic-Maui 2008 race.

Here I am trying to make sense of the numbers relating to the Vic Maui Race.

I see that Strum – Riptide 50 was the winner of the Vic Maui 2008 race. A 50 footer, built out of carbon fiber and weighing at about the same weight at Delicate Balance. On one video clip, it is shown doing 17 knots steadily.

On this next video clip, see Strum doing 24.8 knots during a perfect squall.

So, how does Delicate Balance compare?
Delicate Balance for its size and weight, is expected to average 7 knots per hour, and 14 days to finish (at its best)……