Blog Roxy

My solo “Kaiwi channel” crossing, from Molokai to Oahu : 32 miles.



 

Last week this time, Saturday evening and shortly after sunset, Dan  
and I are cozy bundled up in our tent, accompanied by a full moon  
while camping out on Molokai. Previously that morning, we take the  
7.05am flight from Maui to Molokai, where Mike Holmes, my boat escort  
skipper, picks us up. (Mike also escorted me on the Pailolo channel  
last April from Maui - Molokai)






We fly over, because Campbell took my board on his boat from Maui.  
(Cheers, mate!) How nice to hop on a plane with only some camping  
gear! The entire day on Molokai is awesome! From ‘talk story’ with  
Mike in the harbor, shop groceries in town, taste Molokai-brewed  
coffee, to catch up with fellow-paddlers and friends while enjoying  
the beautiful beaches, our play - and campground.





I feel a vacation feeling with a twist. The beauty, the crisp colors  
and just being on a different island makes relaxed and happy. All I  
need to do is chill, hydrate and eat.  As the day moves on though, I  
feel excitement mixed with some nerves as I am going to paddle 32  
miles –solo for the first time- at 8 o’clock the following morning. My  
initial goal is to cross the finish line; a humble approach, knowing +  
a little worried as I dealt with a ‘set back’, a lack of training due  
to injury and surgery in June. On the other hand, I really want to do  
well and my competitive juices start flowing. I know I have my ‘diesel  
distance power’ plus the mindset to get me through tough moments.  
Talking to Mike helps a lot, as he has a competitive mindset with a  
background in canoe racing. Most of all; he knows this channel and  
enjoys being out there. Dan and I are both stoked to have Mike as my  
escort captain.






At 5.25 the 25th of July, I wake up by noise of the ‘lay down  
paddlers’. They are packing up their tents as they will start their  
crossing at 7.30 am, half an hour before the Stand Up’s. The full moon  
has this golden yellow glow and is about to sink in the ocean. What a  
great way to start the day! Dan orders that he is in charge of packing  
up camp. He likes me to eat, relax and join the paddlers for the  
prayer (‘puli’ in Hawaiian). Like previous years, I stand in a large  
circle (about 150 participants) and hold hands while having my eyes  
closed. I can’t help but smirk and slightly agree with a comment I  
hear, that actually ‘this’ is already worthwhile being here. The  
‘puli’ is a very special; a ‘chicken skin’ moment! Here we are; all  
united from different parts of the world with similar lifestyles, our  
drive and passion to compete and/or accomplish the 32mile “Kaiwi”  
channel crossing. I hear how the minister asks God to guide our  
escorts and us with safety across the channel. He also asks God to  
give us strength and give us the courage to paddle as fast as we can.  
Amen.

 



It is all about teamwork out here. I am very aware and appreciative of  
it.

  


The last few miles are waiting with a strong headwind! Auch! My speed  
decreases fast and I need to take every stroke ‘out of my toes’ to  
keep moving. The finish is slowly moving closer to me. I see how  
another solo girl Candice, strong paddler from Oahu, overtakes me.  
This is frustrating, but there is nothing I can do to change it as I  
give it all I have. I hear Honora and Ekolu cheer me on while the  
speaker ‘dude’ is calling my name… Mark Raaphorst yells “Go Holland!”  
I feel a huge relieve: “I did it!” Dan swims towards me after I cross  
the finish line and tells me I can let go of that paddle now. Once on  
land, I am stoked to find familiar faces. It’s a happy ‘camp’ with  
satisfied paddlers – eating and hanging out. Starboard teammates Zane  
and Conor, Reid from Stand Up Paddle magazine, Campbell, Jeremy, Phil  
and Ian (the Kiwi crew) all congratulate me. Ozzie Fiona is there and  
takes a few pics (happy to have these memories, Fi!). Gerry Lopez (who  
I met briefly the previous day) congratulates me and tells me I need  
some flowers. Saying that, he takes of one of his own lays and puts  
them around my neck. I am honored and take it all in.





Turns out; I end up 4th overall of the women in 6 hours and 40  
minutes. I am happy with the result (with a little voice in my mind  
saying that 3rd would have been fun and not to far away).



The award ceremony and dinner take place at the outrigger canoe just  
outside of Waikiki. It is ‘the legendary canoe club’ The Duke himself  
used to paddle and surf. A lot of the paddling and surfing history has  
been created right here! When we walk out to meet up with friends for  
a celebration drink in Waikiki, Dan makes me check out the people who  
are on the ‘wall of fame’ at the canoe club. Guess who’s there amongst  
all the other legends? Our skipper, Mike!

Onboard of the Belem...

Hello all!

I am just back from a great weekend in St Nazaire with ROXY and the Roxy Boys, taking part in the festivities at the start of the Solidaire du Chocolate double-handed transat race for the Class 40s.

We went out sailing - great weather, albeit a bit light wind - both days with some great guests. We also got a personal guided tour of the great square rigger the "Belem" who was there to celebrate the race too (she was originally a chocolate-carrying ship!)

Personally it is an emotional weekend, as this was my last sail on board Roxy as she is now up for sale and I have no more opportuities to sail her. I spent a little moment alone at the chart table remembering all the great times I have had sailing Roxy and I hope she will find a new skipper very soon....

I can't be too sad though as my time with Roxy was AMAZING and now I am already skippering my new "machine" ARTEMIS and thoroughly enjoying it! The Transat Jacques Vabre Race is coming up too quickly. Tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday are our last official training days before finishing the last race preparations....

More news from training ASAP as long as I'm not too tired to tap on my keyboard!

S x

Samantha's update

I am writing this whilst eating my porridge this morning! We are off out training again at Port La Foret. Yesterday was a great day with 20+ knots of wind, and 5 boats. Our objective of the day was to improve our boatspeed and to work on taking and shaking reefs (not particularly simple on Artemis!) We had a terrible start because our VHF wasn't working and we missed the timing, but we managed to stay with the group and work hard on our objectives.

A reach, then a beat, then an hour's break to shoot helicopter images for the TJV, then we got back within the fleet for the end of the run and the reach home.

Boatspeed is getting better and we're slowly getting a better feeling for what Artemis likes and what makes her go fast.

With 20+ knots of wind, it was pretty wet - especially reaching home with boatspeed 19-20 knots all the time! Quite a long day too, and very tired at the end!

Better go - need to be at the briefing at 09.30!

Sam x

Samantha Davies : Training continues.....

This week we did a little training run with BT and Safran. We set off on Wednesday morning with BT from Port La Foret, reaching towards Quiberon - a good speed test in 15 knots of wind. Then, at Quiberon we rolled genoas and waited for Safran. Then once the three boats were together we headed offshore in the building North Easterly breeze - under spinnaker. It was a fun leg sailing into the dusk! At night-fall we got "buzzed" by the 24F search and rescue Falcon from Lann-bihoue! We all had a chat and they did a couple of fly-bys!

Then we dropped spinnakers - a good exercise in 30 knots of wind - and headed upwind towards Ushant. It was a tough night with 25-30 knots of wind, but great training.

As dawn broke we turned around and "hooned" back towards Penmarch, blast reaching with BT only a few boat-lengths away from us! We struggle for boatspeed in these reaching conditions, and so we have our work cut-out for the next few weeks to try to make Artemis perform better. We are in the best place for that though, as the official squad training begins next week in Port La Foret!

So, now I hurt all over (Artemis is a lot harder to sail (physically) than Roxy) and Sidney and I are working on the debriefing from the 36 hours!

Better go - I'm off to Vannes today to visit the photo exhibitions!

S x

News from Samantha Davis

Whilst six of the IMOCA fleet are fighting out the Istanbul Europa Race, Sidney, I and the Artemis team have been moving base!

Artemis Ocean Racing is now happily tied up in the IMOCA 60 pool in Port La Foret, and Gringo, Gareth, Erwan and Zac are attacking the never-ending job-list and weight-loss plan!

Sidney and I set off from Ocean Village over a week ago, double-handed on AOR to deliver her down to France – our base for the next two months. Our delivery trip was a training run, and the qualifier for the Transat Jacques Vabre. We went over to Le Havre to use the first part of the trip as a practice for the start of the TJV - heading out of the channel and into the Bay of Biscay as we will do in November. We timed that part well – just as the remnants of Hurricane Bill came pounding up the Channel! So we literally “crash tested” AOR off huge waves upwind in 35 knot winds which was a good test for us and the boat! The last part of the trip was a little calmer and enabled us to test some downwind sails, notably spinnakers (our weak point being VMG running, we are working very hard to improve every aspect of performance here!)

We arrived (qualified!) in Port La Foret on Thursday evening, in time for a nice Pizza in La Yole! Then after a big clean and rinse on Friday, a well-earned weekend off!

This week we have done one sail to test out more changes, then the rest of the week is dedicated to JOBS!! Sidney and I have got some good physical training in (I got to test out my new road bike! Running this morning, weight training on Friday morning….) and Sidney is managing to do some more physio on his damaged leg.

More news and photos soon – sorry about the lack of news from on-board but we had a little hiccup with our sat-phone during our qualifier (it’s on the job-list now!!)

S x

News from AOR by Sam Davies

Hello all from a grey and murky english channel!

Artemis is crashing along upwind on Port tack, I have just come off watch 

and Sidney and Gareth are on deck, trimming and driving. We can see 4 other 

boats off our leeward quarter, but the visibility is not too good.

We are well fed, thanks to James's pasta salad, and we've managed a bit of 

rest, despite the non-stop manouvering since the start. Everyone is pretty 

tired as it is full-on in these fickle conditions, but the atmosphere on 

board is fun and constructive.

We were really proud of our start and leading the fleet out of the Solent 

with BT. The Artemis crew did great work there!!

Lucky (my lucky duck) and Foxy (his girlfirend - a Flamingo) are stowed-away 

on board, and they are nice and dry and comfortable. I had to hide them as I 

wasn't sure the boys would let me bring them (we have been really strict 

with the weight on board for this race!) Now I am just worried they might 

get kidnapped and subjected to torture if anyone finds them. I have noticed, 

however, that a third "mascot" has joined my two friends, but so far no-one 

has owned up to the little fluffy toy!

Now, the waves are getting bigger and I am going to find a sail bag to try 

to wedge myself into to have an hour's sleep, before the next weather 

info.....

Bonne nuit!

Sam and the Artemis boys!

www.roxysailing.com

Ben Skinner joins Olympic Athletes to launch The BLUE Mile – Race for the Environment

Professional Surfer Ben Skinner today joined Stand-up Paddle Board champion John Hibbard, Olympic Medallists and World Record holding athletes on Plymouth’s (UK) historical Mayflower Steps as Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of The London 2012 Olympic Organising Committee fired the starting canon to one of the UK’s most important races to date, the race for our oceans and environment.

As surfers and athletes including Beijing Olympic Medallist Windsurfer Bryony Shaw, 2009 Vendee Globe yachtswoman Sam Davies and World Record holding Freediver Sara Campbell converged on the water, it was announced that Plymouth (UK) has been selected as the host city of the inaugural BLUE Mile – Race for the Environment which next year will see thousands of participants across all ages, sports and abilities take to the water to complete one mile in, on or next to a BLUE environment in an incredible ‘race for the environment’.

The BLUE Mile, which will take place in the Summer of 2010, will see surfers, swimmers, sailors, rowers, paddle-boarders and other sports-people take part in a event that aims to encourage young people to get actively involved with sport and the environment.  The event will see Plymouth's Hoe transformed with the creation of the city's first natural sand beach to host a series of beach games to sit alongside a BLUE village which will include impressive experiential learning and activity zones.

To be on the Aviva boat is like to be on a fairground ride !!!

Hello earthlings!

Out here our world is tipped over at 30 degrees, and jumps around like a fairground ride. Not really so much fun as yesterday and a bit slower, but luckily in about 8 hours things should speed up! Living in this bumpy world is quite tricky! Eating is a high-risk manoeuvre, as you end up wearing half of what you prepared, re-decorating the boat with a quarter, and only the last quarter actually goes where originally intended. Going for a pee is equally amusing, but I will spare you from the description and leave that to the imagination - luckily we are all friends!

My body aches all over and I need more sleep. That is the same for everyone on board, as we are giving all we can to keep Aviva at 110% and break this record. Morale is high, despite the exhaustion, the team is getting more and more solid and we are motivated to work together to maximise our performance.
That's all for now as I need to sleep for an hour!

Sam

the lovely first 24hours of record breaking on Aviva of Sam Davis !!!

It is funny to be living on board a different boat after so many miles travelled alone on my Roxy boat, but the change is nice and it is great to learn how to get the most out of Aviva in this "sprint" around the British Isles. It is also nice to be sailing as part of an efficient team, and Dee seems very happy to share her boat with us! We have been working very hard since the start, as predicted the wind has changed non-stop, so we have been full-on with helming, trimming and sailchanges. We have had the whole sail wardrobe up (and down) several times already. The longest rest any one of us has managed is 45 minutes and my muscles are starting to ache from the physical effort.

At the moment, Dee is at the helm, Alex trimming and Miranda is snatching a ten-minute cat-nap whilst I hog the chart table. The wind is light and we are behind the record pace, but this is expected. We are making the most of this temporary respite as the wind is forecast to build over the next 24h to gale force and we will be running fast towards the Shetlands. The crew share the same habit of tea-drinking and the flapjacks today have been a great treat. We are all trying to decide the clothing call for the next 24h which could be wet and uncomfortable: fleeces, drysuit tops and ski-masks... A big hot meal is planned in the next few hours, I have decided that mine will be spaghetti bolognaise (freeze-dried of course!) Despite the continuous hard work to keep boatspeed maximum, we have managed to have a great gossip amongst girlfriends. The subjects of conversation, of course, stay confidential to the crew! There has been a fair amount of singing (not all in tune) and laughing going on!!! A little last thought to our fifth crew-member - Isabelle Joschke - who could not come this week as she is racing Synergy (her Figaro) in the Quiberon Solo. We miss her and we really hope that she has had a good first day on the water.

More news soon.....

Roxy sailing is back in water!!!!

After being revovated for 3 months, the Roxy Sailing is once again seaworthy! During the next days,  the team will adjust the tackle while Sam will train with Dee to break her own record around the British Islands.

More photos: