The Call

Many of you know that SA has been a longtime supporter of Bruce Schwab and his Ocean Planet single handed efforts. We like what Bruce is all about, admire his determination and truly want to see him have success. This report comes from a new supporter to Bruce's efforts, and helps give some perspective of what the program is about. - Ed.

I had the pleasure of meeting Bruce Schwab this past weekend, and working with him for two days on the magnificent Tom Wylie designed, wood, foam, carbon fiber and epoxy Open 60, Ocean Planet.

Having completed the 2002/2003 Around Alone (incidentally, the first boat with an unstayed mast to do so), Bruce is taking the hard earned lessons and is working his way through every system on board, making modifications to each. Experience has shown room for improvement, and this preparation is crucial for his next mission; to be the first American solo sailor to officially finish the punishing Vendee Globe, a planet girdling, non stop test of endurance and will, disguised as a race.

The boat is crouched in a heated building donated to the cause by Phineas Sprague's Portland Yacht Service in Portland, Maine. 'Phin' Sprague is an interesting guy in his own right, a circumnavigator (in a schooner) now currently
alternating between his boatyard and sailing warmer waters in his new 65 foot Alden schooner the yard recently finished building out.

When Bruce and Ocean Planet arrived in Portland the local paper ran a nice article on their adventures; from that and the Internet a grass roots pool of helpers has emerged. They find their way to the shed and get put to work. On
Saturday night I was fed a wonderful home cooked meal by Denise Preisser, who has offers a spare bedroom to out of town helpers like myself. Denise has also also learned to use a 3/8" ratchet, and removed the hundreds of nuts
holding winches, line stoppers and cleats to the deck, and learned the best balance of heat and scraper needed to remove old sponsor decals from the hull in preparation for painting and new ones.

I worked along side a guy named Rich Stevenson, who has driven a half an hour from his home on a couple of weekends to help out and plans on a few more. Together we created about 5 gallons of epoxy dust as we removed stringers, reduced the profile on some knees and scoured away graceful epoxy fillets that Bruce assured me had the approval of Tom Wylie for revision. Even at rest, on blocks, her keel off, Ocean Planet looks like she is ready to leap off the next wave. She sticks out approximately 5 feet beyond the door and a temporary enclosure adds to the illusion of bursting at the seams.

Bruce is ruthlessly pursuing a program to try and lighten the boat by 500 lbs, working an average of 10 hours a day, then doing phone calls and e-mail all night in an effort to raise donations or make connections for sponsorship.

The synergy of the Internet and the sites that promoted him generated the thousands of small donations which enabled Ocean Planet make it through Around Alone. He's hoping most of those same people will dig a little deeper and help get through this next challenge. Having spent the weekend with him, I think he is a pretty interesting guy, it's definitely cool to see someone working hard at the "dream", and with such passion. Sailing Anarchy has archived all of Bruce's earlier
messages leading up to Around Alone, I found them fascinating last year.

Help is welcome, and many of the supplier sponsors will support him again, but many of the hundreds of necessary spares and gear can only be procured with a boatload of cash. The media and communication equipment
requirements alone for the Vendee are tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention sails, hiring a 'real' shore team, new hardware, etc.

If you can spare some cash, please click on the link to go to Bruce's site and send it on its way. If you happen to know a CEO or someone in the marketing department of a company that might like the exposure the huge spectacle the Vendee Globe offers...(something 300,000 people come to the start of the race in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, millions follow the race on the Internet, and Bruce is ONLY AMERICAN entered!) Bruce needs a Title Sponsor! You can contact him at bruce@bruceschwab.com.

-Jonathon