Tag Archive for: Ken Johnson

ORC World Regatta

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The Offshore Racing Council was the governing organization for the world offshore regatta in Cres, Croatia. There is not an ORC governing body in the USA so the ORC regattas had never had a USA built boat with a USA flag in their regattas. In Spring of 2010 the Grateful Red was measured by an ORC measurer at Port Napoleon – qualifying the Grateful Red for the ORC worlds in Cres. We had a worldwide crew of Wendell, Ken and Charlie from the USA and team Holland of Leneke, Jeroen and Clarissa from the Netherlands, Trouble…no wind at the regatta. In the 80 mile offshore overnight race the TP52 racing machines with professional crews averaged less than two knots. The Grateful Red had sterring linkage issues and did not participate in the overnight. Team Holland lead by Jeroen and Clarissa, had a part fabricated on site and repaired the linkage. The Grateful Red raced the last day, only regatta day with winds over five knots, and beat a few boats. Success!

Dubrovnik to Cres, Croatia

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In Dubrovnik the crew jumped from three to seven with the addition of Raouf and daughter Michelle, and Alastair with daughter Isabella. Michelle and Isabella were both exciting six year old school mates in Prague with dads that were ready to sail the Dalmatian coast. Can’t tell you how much fun this crew had going from island to Island with Raouf always looking for the best harbor restaurant for dinner, wine and cigars, while Charlie was the leader of the crew for 2015. Captain Ken took on the responsibility of morning sail lessons for the girls, with a sailing test at Cres (and if Isabella and Michelle didn’t pass the final exam in Cres, two more weeks on Grateful Red). Charlie and Alastair were top foredeck crew; one only had to think spinnaker and the chute was flying! Ten days of a terrific crew.

Naples, Italy to Dubrovnik, Croatia

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Charlie, Ken’s nephew joined Ken & Kristine for his 10 week summer job as the Grateful Red Mediterranean crew. He arrived late to Naples, took the Italian train to the boats harbor. The sail from Naples followed the route of the Odyssey. past the island of the Sirens, where Odysseus was tied to the mast to hear the Sirens and his crew let the counter winds out of the bag. The Grateful Red visited volcanic islands where the six-headed monster Scylla lived and the volcano still spews lava into the sea. Through the Straits of Messina, home of the whirlpool that sucked in Odysseus’s ship, followed by the long, boring sail along the bottom of the Italian boot with only interruptions being a few visits by the Italian coast guard (war in Libya was on going with NATO bombers flying overhead and the coast guard looking for boats full of Libyans fleeing to Italy). After a couple of high wind storms and hours of no wind motoring, the crew of three arrived in Dubrovnik.