Steve Besse, captain and owner of Après, a 22-year-old J120 sailboat, never picked up his trophy for finishing first in his class, and 19th out of 144 overall in the 50th Newport to Bermuda Race. Having planned his departure date months earlier, Steve sailed from Bermuda on Saturday morning, June 23, before the awards ceremony. It was left to someone else to pick up his trophy, but he had already had his prize: a victory of seamanship.
In addition to Steve, of Vineyard Haven and Guilford, Conn., the crew of five included Steve’s son Seth, who was the electronics expert aboard; Geoffrey Gibson of West Tisbury, navigator; Tyler Gibson, his son, just back from Nicaragua for the race; Fraser Novakowski, a lifelong friend of Seth’s, originally from Martha’s Vineyard but now living in California; and Adam Hayes, a local Island contractor. The race was 635 miles long, and Après finished at 1:47 am on Wednesday morning, after 103 hours at sea. Although Steve was captain, he emphasized that it was very much a team effort, the crew compensating at times for his weaknesses and vice versa. Communication was clear, direct, and salty.
Preparations began in the fall for the June 23 start. The first step was to remove everything from Après, and examine her from stem to stern. There were a few surprises — not the good kind. Steve and his crew did most of the work themselves, except where specialized equipment was required.
Every entrant receives 17 pages of safety requirements that cover everything from the tension of lifelines to the type of life vests. There were rigging adjustments as well as structural remedies to attend to. Finally, piece by piece, essentials only were replaced aboard. (Unfortunately, some essential items, such as a can opener, spatula, serving spoon, and teakettle never reappeared, complicating food preparation on the voyage. The French press was lost overboard the first day.) All six had to attend Safety at Sea seminars that included jumping in swimming pools with life jackets on which sometimes failed to inflate, hardly confidence-inspiring. Other drills involved man overboard, abandoning ship, and reefing and steering with no rudder. Plus, everything heavy had to be lashed down, secured, and accounted for.
There is a heavy electronics component in sailing these days that makes races such as this one much safer: One example among many is that assuming the life jacket does actually inflate, some immediately send signals that not only alert sailors for miles around but also show the wearer’s location in the water. After a few delays and glitches that made for unwelcome anxiety, on Memorial Day an inspector who was vacationing on the Cape was able to travel to Falmouth to inspect Après and pass her for the race.
On the night before the start, the forecast was grim — so dire, in fact, that a total of 40 boats opted to withdraw. In Newport, Bill Nye was moored next to Après on his boat Corrina, a two-time Bermuda Race winner. Based on Nye’s experience, and Internet research, the decision was made to make the start and then to assess the situation in 36 hours. The race began at 3 pm on Friday, with 18 classes starting 10 minutes apart, the last boats leaving at 6:10 pm.
The storm, while serious, wasn’t as powerful as feared, and Après continued on, with an unusual strategic shift in course: Rather than stick to the rhumb line (the direct course to the destination), Après went east early, and then west of the clockwise-spinning storm. This maneuver allowed the slower wind-speed side of the storm to pass to the northeast. Later they crossed back again to the east. Winds in the midst of the squall reached 35 to 40 knots, but the rest of the time wind speed was around 20. Except when it wasn’t.
Twice the wind died for several hours; the first time was after the first morning, and the second was a tantalizing 50 miles from the finish. According to Steve, the only option in that situation is to point the boat in the desired direction and hope. Eventually the boat drifts out of the hole, or the wind fills in, or both, and off you go. Which they did, maintaining their lead despite others catching up with them during the lull.
The crew operated two- or three-man watches: three men when conditions were dicey and one might go overboard, and two when it was calmer. Each normal watch was three hours, so that each man could have six hours off. Steve discovered to his dismay that he couldn’t read the instruments well enough after dark, so his watchmate, Adam Hayes, had to do the lion’s share of night sailing on their watch. Adam characterized the trip as one of the greatest experiences of his life.
After a few days of recuperating, Steve and some of the crew cast off for home. When he arrived in Vineyard Haven, he refilled his fuel tank to replace what he had used on the return voyage: 23 gallons for around 1,270 miles. Good mileage.
“It was and always is truly an honor to be part of the crew for Stephen Besse on Après,” Adam Hayes said of the experience.