Sailing the Olympic Flame

Ahoy! The problem with cold weather is that it’s no good for working on pesky boat projects.

The problem with warm weather is that it’s also no good for boat projects. I’d much rather just go sailing. Thank goodness it’s starting to get warm again…

In today’s letter:

• The Adventures of Belem: Historic ship & the Olympic flame.

• Race Updates: Frigid in the Atlantic & Balmy in Bermuda

• Sailing Snippets: From Rhode Island to Cape Horn, Wind Transport Orders, Waterline Powerline, & Titanic II.

The Adventures of Belem

The historic French sailing ship transporting the Olympic Flame from Greece.

On Saturday, the 128-year-old French sailing ship Belem left Greece carrying the newly lit Olympic flame. After 12 days at sea, she will enter the port of Marseille, accompanied by a parade of a thousand ships. But the Olympic ceremony is only the latest of her many adventures.

Belem was originally built in 1896 as a merchant ship to transport rum and cocoa from the Caribbean and Brazil. The next century would be packed with narrow escapes from disaster and refits for royalty.

In 1902, while anchored off Saint Pierre in Martinique, she survived the volcanic eruption that killed 29,000 people and wiped out the town. In 1923 Belem escaped an earthquake in Yokohama, Japan that leveled much of the city. By that time, she had long ago stopped commercial voyages.

The Duke of Winchester Hugh Grosvenor refitted Belem into a luxury yacht in 1914 and sold her to Arthur Guinness (of brewer fame) in 1921. She was then converted into a merchant marine training vessel in the 1950s after being purchased by Venitian Count Vittorio Cini.

After almost a century at sea, the French wanted her back, and a local savings bank raised the funds to repurchase her. Belem returned to her home port in Brittany in 1979 and has been managed by a non-profit ever since.

After bringing the Olympic flame to Marseille, she will visit five French ports in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Race Updates

Frigin in the Atlantic & balmy in Bermuda.

The TRANSAT CIC: The single-handed, trans-Atlantic solo race is well underway. Skippers arebattling heavy seas, frigid temperatures, and of course technical difficulties, breakages, and a dismasting. Race leaders have passed the halfway mark with less than 1,600 miles to go, and are now speeding downwind towards New York. They are currently navigating a low-pressure system with 30-knot winds. Finish times could be as early as Monday.

SailGP: May 4-5 kicks off the North American Leg of the race in Bermuda. Follow the race or get tickets here. For those not lucky enough to be in Bermuda this week (that includes us sigh), we’ll have a full debrief next week.

Sailing Snippets

The best clicks, clicks, and clips from the week we couldn’t fit anywhere else.

From Rhode Island to Cape Horn: ‘Round the Cape and through the Drake, the author takes us on the sail of a lifetime. From trading for scallops among icebergs to “contemplating the absurdity of being alive”, this is a must-read of the week, brought to you by Field Mag.

Wind Transport Orders: TransOceanic Wind Transport will soon launch its first two wind-powered shipping vessels and just ordered another 6. The TOWT ships under construction are 1,000 ton vessels, whereas current sailing cargo ships are only 35 tons. The company plans to have 500 ships by 2050.

Waterline, Powerline: A catamaran’s mast hit a powerline this week near Dauphin Island, Alabama, knocking out power for much of the island. So yeah, new fear unlocked. Everyone is fine and the island has power again.

Titanic II: In what seems like dubious judgment, an Australian billionaire plans on rebuilding an exact replica of the Titanic, with a maiden voyage set for 2027.

That’s it for today, stay safe out there and we’ll ketch ya next week folks.