2002

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Ocean Planet Report
Ocean Planet Qualifier Update
Return delivery to Newport, RI USA
July 13, 2002

Pos: 32 01N, 34 30W@ 1252gmt.

Late yesterday we finally got south enough to get some nice NE wind. Today we are happily gliding along with our big kite at 10kts. It just might be some karma payback for a good deed yesterday as we were motoring out of the Azores high….

Several times a day while at sea you will see some junk in the water. It is always a little disheartening to think that some people will toss plastic into the water where it will float forever, or worse, choke a turtle or bird. There’s not much one can do, but yesterday we spotted a larger than normal pink spot a few hundred yards away and decided to investigate.

We discovered a big plastic fender with a bit of sea life growing on it. Supporting crew Edie Felix of Portland volunteered to fetch and clean it so I backed up slowly and she hoisted it up. Quite a little cosmopolitan society of creatures had attached themselves to it, tempting us to make a soup…..but we set the hordes of little crabs free and scraped off the barnacles. Nice fender! The wrong color for Ocean Planet, but hey, great price. Perhaps I can sell it in Newport to a nice mega yacht….;-)

Under the Doyle big top (our masthead spinnaker).

Bruce