Transat

That is Rich

Boston, Mass. USA -- American sailor
Rich Wilson flew across the finish line at 13:19 GMT
(9:19 a.m. US ET) on Tuesday completing the 2004
Transat solo transatlantic race in 15 days 00 hours 19
minutes and 40 seconds.

The Boston-born and bred skipper, who placed second in
the 50-foot multi-hull division behind Frenchman Eric
Bruneel, said that in all his many sea miles he has
never pushed his boat so hard.

Wilson reported 30- to 40-knot winds across the deck
all night long as the former Boston public school
teacher made his final push toward the finish and his
native city. Friends, family, media and many well
wishers filled the dock at Rowes Wharf to welcome him
home and celebrate his fighting his way back into the
race after starting 16 hours behind the competition
when his main halyard broke just two hours into the
race. Now, more than two weeks and 2800 miles later,
Wilson finished 23 hours behind the winner of the
50-foot multi-hull division, Frenchman Eric Bruneel,
who sailed his boat, Trilogic, impeccably.

"This race was more difficult that I had imagined,"
commented a tired and yet completely elated Wilson.
"But, even more than completing the race, I'm so very
proud of what we've accomplished with our interactive
education program surrounding this journey. It really
was all about exciting kids in ways that engage them
in new ways of learning, much more than it was about
the sailing."

Wilson is a true pioneer in the arena of educational
curriculum and he spent many hours during the 15 day
race, dog-tired at his computer, composing thoughtful
pieces for his skipper's log for the thousands of
students who were following his race.

"I had 11 newspapers publishing a series of stories
about my race as well as the educational content so I
had to focus. I wrote a lot of drafts to make sure the
work was good. To keep the students interested, I
would also radio a passing ship and ask the
Argentinian captain or whoever what he was carrying
for cargo to report to the students to maintain a
diverse story. I want to make learning more than about
dry textbooks but there were times when it was pretty
exhausting to keep it all going."

So, not only was Wilson screeching single-handedly
across the North Atlantic in extreme conditions trying
to focus on the race and staying safe, he also used
precious energy composing thoughtful text for
students.

"I have a feeling the other competitors were not doing
this and even though many people in sailing say they
have educational websites, I believe that what we are
doing is something that is completely different,"
Wilson said.

The sitesALIVE! Interactive education program designed
around Rich Wilson's Transat entry reached more than
500 kindergartens through 12th grade classrooms.
Through an educational web site that included daily
logs by Wilson during the race, commentary by an
impressive group of maritime, museum, and medical
experts, teacher's guides, and a weekly essay series
printed in 11 major newspapers throughout the Eastern
U.S., tens of thousands of children followed Wilson's
every move from his qualifying sail to completing the
2,800-mile race, all the while learning about
geography, marine sciences, weather, and much more.
Wilson also had the input of a team of scientists and
educators in a variety of fields who weighed in and
offered teachable moments throughout his race and
through his website.

"I am proud of what our team did and that our program
had an impact on a lot of people," Wilson said, whose
major sponsor was the Boston-based Tufts Health Plan.
Wilson is well known throughout the sailing world for
his record breaking round the world voyages. Last
year, he sailed with one crewmember from Hong Kong to
New York City through the Sunda Strait in under 73
days. Two years prior, he broke a clipper ship record
from New York to Melbourne, on a route that took him
around the Cape of Good Hope.

However, he said that this 2004 Transat, where he
pushed his Great American II farther than he ever
pushed her before, was a true test of sport.

"I look at it this way," said Wilson at the Boston
Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf. "There is only seven
minutes of action in a football game. We are out there
on the edge for 24 hours a day. You can't stop and you
can't take a time out. The people participating in
this race are super men and women in sport."

Another Boston-born American sailor finished on
Tuesday in first place in the Mono-50 class. Kip Stone
crossed the finish line American skipper, Kip Stone,
in his very first solo offshore race has won the Open
50 monohull class on board 'Artforms' - it is an
awesome performance for a sailor who until competing
in The Transat had not raced solo before. Stone
crossed the Boston Harbour finish line at 18:20:27 GMT
yesterday (15.6.04) evening in an elapsed time of 15
days, 5 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds at an average
speed of 7.66 knots. To compare, Stone has finished
ahead of four Open 60s still racing and only one day
slower than the Open 60s finishing in 6th, 7th and 8th
place, sailed by skippers who normally grace the
podiums of major solo events.

Stone was welcomed home by his family and employees
from his Maine T-shirt Company, Artforms, which he
grew into a successful company - successful enough to
fund his dream of racing solo in The Transat. Stone
launched his new Open 50 Artforms designed by Mervyn
Owen last September and then sailed her solo from New
Zealand to the UK which gave Stone the opportunity to
get to know Artforms inside out - obviously, this has
reaped big dividends.

"After sailing this boat literally the entire way from
New Zealand to the starting line in Plymouth, England
and then after 15 days racing across the North
Atlantic it was not until I rounded Cape Sable and got
into the Gulf of Maine and then saw the Boston skyline
that it all started to sink in," Stone said on
Tuesday.

In the early stages of The Transat, Kip Stone fought
for the lead with fellow New Englander Joe Harris on
board Wells Fargo-American Pioneer. Not more than 60
miles separated the two of them as they traded first
and second place. Finally, Stone got a grip of the
lead when on day ten, Harris seeing that he was losing
miles to Artforms, dived south in search of more wind.
Unfortunately, for Harris this did not pay in the way
he hoped and Stone went on to increase his lead day by
day until approaching the finish in Boston, he had
built up an incredible 260-mile lead.

In setting this pace, Stone has taken a good 13 hours
off the transatlantic race record of 15 days, 18
hours, 29 minutes set by 60ft multihull skipper,
Giovanni Soldini, in the 1996 race.

Bostonians are also looking forward to the arrival of
Joe Harris sometime this evening. Interestingly, one
of Harris' major sponsors, the law firm of Goulston
and Storrs, have their offices in full view of the
finish line so his mates are waiting patiently by the
windows for his arrival.

The event organizers from Cowes, England Offshore
Challenges Events headed up by the marketing genius
Mark Turner are still scanning the seas for the
remaining boats still due in to the city. By all
accounts, the organizers have done a brilliant job
giving the city a spectacular venue and monitoring the
race expertly to keep the sailors safe. For the most
part, despite the basic lack of exposure the city has
had to this type of sailboat racing, the first ever
single-handed Transat in Boston, which has been
dramatic and action-packed, is leaving a strong and
memorable impression on the region.

- Tack Johnson compiled this report from Boston for
SA. Photo on front page - Tom Cox InZones.