Sailor seeks berth in prestigious race; Competitors must navigate from France to Brazil in biennial event
Brock Harrison
Local News - Friday, July 27, 2007 @ 00:00
The race may still be two years away, but to see the smile of anticipation on Nathan Baron's face, you'd think his transatlantic journey began tomorrow.
The 30-year-old Kingstonian has just embarked on a quest that, if all goes well, will have him lined up along with 85 other sailors just off the coast of France in two years' time, about to take off on a five-week solo mission across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Mini Transat is a single-handed (that means a one-person crew limit) yacht race from La Rochelle, France, to Salvador, Brazil, held every two years. The yachts used are called Open 6.5s, or "minis" for short, that can't exceed 6.5 metres (21 feet) in length. Unlike other off-shore yacht races where competitors can soup up their vessels for a competitive edge, minis must adhere to strict materials guidelines that essentially put every racer on equal footing.
Yesterday, Baron dropped his $62,000 mini, which he bought with raised and donated funds, into Lake Ontario for the first time. He will spend the remainder of this sailing season training in Kingston for the next Mini Transat, scheduled for September 2009.
For Baron, whose yacht-racing experience has been limited to vessels with crews of between eight and 10 people, the Mini Transat will be a whole new challenge.
"This time, I wanted to be the boss," said Baron, sitting on the boat's deck as it bobbed gently with the waves. "I wanted to drive." And drive he will. If Baron qualifies for the race, which is anything but a certainty, he'll be spending about four consecutive weeks by himself on board, with absolutely no help navigating from anyone.
Sea-to-land communication is not permitted aboard minis, unlike larger and more luxurious yachts that are equipped with satellite Internet access.
Racers, loathe to leave the helm, usually only sleep 20 minutes at a time, letting the auto-pilot navigate while they sneak below deck for a brief slumber.
"You never want to be asleep too long," he said. "A human can always navigate faster than a computer."
Before racers are admitted to compete in the Transat, they must finish a 1,000-nautical mile solo qualifier and have 1,000 nautical miles of mini racing to their credit.
If Baron manages to meet those conditions, he'll be admitted to the field of 86. The race begins on the west coast of France in a town called La Rochelle. The route begins southwest across the treacherous Bay of Biscay (between western France and northern Spain) and extends to the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. There, racers will fix their vessels, restock and begin the jaunt across the Atlantic to Brazil.
"The Bay of Biscay is a mean little piece of water," Baron said. "It's probably the most difficult part of the course."
Baron grew up sailing in Kingston, starting out, more or less, by accident. At age 10, Baron said he wandered down to the Kingston Yacht Club, approached the biggest boat he could find, and asked the owners if he could tag along.
"It was Heat Wave, the Springers' boat," Baron said, referring to one of Kingston's most notable families.
Since then, Baron has logged more than 10,000 nautical miles on the Great Lakes alone, garnering several achievements, including two top-10 finishes at the world championship.
Baron, a Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute grad and Ministry of Transportation employee, will soon begin in-shore training (done close to land) in the Kingston Harbour and move on to longer trips, about 400 km in length, by the end of the season.
He will spend the winter months fundraising. In the spring, he'll head to Bermuda for weeks of off-shore training. By next summer, Baron will be competing in events on Lake Superior and Lake Ontario. If all goes well, he will ship his boat to Europe in May 2009 in anticipation of the Mini Transat.
"[Other classes of] yacht racing have become like an arms race. If you spend more money, you have a better chance at winning," Baron said. "To me, this is a real showcase of sailing talent."