Marblehead Race on ESPN Fall 2011!!!!

Dear David Mitchell,

Thank you for registering for the 2011 Marblehead to Halifax race. Preparations are well underway at both the BYC and RNSYS and we are confident we will put on a world class race.

Thomson Reuters is aboard as a major sponsor of the 2011 Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race. The core of their sponsorship will be the filming of the race by none other than Gary Jobson. The film has already been slotted with ESPN Classic for the Fall of 2011 - with a preview at BYC. It will be a one hour adventure film featuring 2011's major East Coast races - The Annapolis to Newport Race and then Marblehead to Halifax. We will place high-definition cameramen on four selected yachts and Gary will edit and narrate a great piece. Gary will sail aboard Gus Carlson’s “Aurora”, which will be the Thomson Reuters sponsored entry in the race. This effort will elevate the race in the eyes of the worldwide sailing community for the coming decade.

This year, we continue with a “Fleet Building” committee that will be working to maximize participation. We would like to ask for your help in making this another memorable race. If you could take a few moments to think of anyone you know that may be considering participation we would appreciate hearing from you. A name, boat name or email would be much appreciated.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either of us.

Thank you, we look forward to having NOMAD on the starting line!

Jamie Oland Peter Barnet
Race Chair RNSYS Race Chair BYC
jso10@ns.sympatico.ca peterb@promosis.com

Tickets for Events at MHOR

I have purchased wrist bands for the crew as well as Deana and Heather.

Wristbands grant access for each wearer to many social events and meals. They are a great value. The details are:

At the BYC
2 Continental Breakfasts
1 Hot Sailor's Breakfast Sunday
Friday night BBQ dinner
3 Drink Tickets for Friday night


At the RNSYS
1 Continental Breakfast
2 Hot Breakfasts
BBQ Dinner Thursday evening
2 Beer tickets

MHOR Schedule of Travel & Events

Friday, July 1 - Dave, Simon and Eddy leave St. John's for Boston via Port au Basques
Saturday, July 2 - Arrive Boston late in evening
Sunday, July 3 to Wednesday July 6 - Work on boat, test sails, etc.
Thursday, July 7 - Sail boat from Weymouth to Marblehead
Friday, July 8 - Deana, Heather, Kirk and Mark arrives in AM. Crew continue with boat prep.
Saturday, July 9 - Man overboard practice drills with entire crew, more test sails, final boat provisioning.
Sunday, July 10 - Race starts, Deana and Heather leaves MA toward Halifax via outlet shopping!
Thursday, July 14 - Race Party at RNSYS
Friday, July 15 - Remove racing sails from boat and provision for sail to St. John's
Saturday, July 16 - Dave and Eddy Depart NS for NL along with crew from MA, Kirk, Heather, Simon drive truck home via Port au Basque. Deana and Mark will fly home from NS.

Crew Member Certified!!

Eddy Howard completed the Offshore Survival Training this week in Halifax. This is required for any Category 2 or higher ORC Race.

We have two crew members now certified, need one more to meet race requirements. I am planning to do this training as well in June before the race.

Crew Items for MHOR

As for gear everybody needs to have:

Passports
Life vest inflatable
Extra CO2 cartridge and arming mechanism
Safety harness and lanyard
Whistle (pealess)
Strobe light for lifevest
Foul weather gear
Deck boots
Deck shoes
Layered clothing
Wool hat
Ball cap
Bellaclava
Leather palm gloves
Pocket knife or multitool
Flashlight (small LED)
Strap on Headlamp (LED)
Plastic water bottle
Any medications you need
Extra prescription glasses if required
Sunglasses

For sleeping we will have to "hot rack" so each person will need a twin size bed sheet, one fleece blanket and a pillow slip. Pillows will be on the boat. Also personal consumables ie. towel and facecloth.

Each crew member will be limited to one medium size duffle bag as we will be restricted on space. If you decide to come to NL on NOMAD you could send a second bag with the girls in pick up and get it in Halifax, but one bag will likely do it.

I will provision the boat with food, drink and snacks so no need to worry about that. I will also provide toiletries and have a very well stocked first aid kit as well.

ISAF Personal Survival Training

Survival Systems Training in Halifax is the only approved provider of the ISAF Offshore Personal Survival Training required for our participation in MHOR. The one day course is being offered on June 10th at a cost of $345.00.

Marblehead to Halifax or Bust

This article was submitted to The Telegram by Rick Barnes.