Joe Harris: Endings and beginnings

The 2022-23 Globe40 was an eight-leg doublehanded round the world race in Class40s. Seven teams were at the beginning in June from Tangier, Morocco with four teams completing the course in March at Lorient, France. American Joe Harris, who sailed with Roger Junet, files this report on May 19, 2023:

I am writing this note from the comfort of my home office, with the heel angle at zero, the temperature at 70-degrees, no waves crashing over the house, and a kitchen and bathroom close by. I am finding it quite pleasant!

It has already been about two months since Roger and I finished the Globe40 in Lorient, France on March 17 and I have been re-living the race on a daily basis as I have put together a multi-media presentation on PowerPoint. It was quite a project, as we sifted through over 2,000 photos and videos and made some difficult choices about what to include and how to best tell the story.

However, I have now given the presentation twice and it has been well-received, so if you have a group that would be interested, please email me at jharris@broadreachdev.com.

As some of you know, I sold GryphonSolo2 in France after finishing the Globe40. I had listed the boat with a broker during the race and it went under a Purchase and Sale contract while I was still racing and we agreed to have the boat surveyed and hopefully close on the sale after finishing in Lorient.

I bought GS2 new in 2011, so have owned her for 12 years and sailed her around the world twice. Selling her was not an easy decision as we are close friends, but the time was right. I was not excited to put her through what would be the third major refit, which she definitely needs after another 40,000 offshore miles. So, I wish the new owners well and hope the boat gives them the same great performance and reliability she gave me.

Resuming life at home has been really nice, re-uniting with family and friends, and I have an overall feeling of contentment with the simple pleasures. I am hiking in the woods every day with my dogs, which we all enjoy. My home office is a mess with papers and charts and gear all over the place, but I will get it sorted one day.

The one thing that is a bummer is that both of my elbows are very sore from turning the winches on the boat and have not gotten much better in the two months since I stopped sailing, so this prevents me from lifting weights and playing tennis, two things I enjoy and would like to pursue to improve my overall fitness. I’m going to an elbow doc soon!

As I am ‘boat-less’ for the first time in decades, I have made an arrangement with my Uncle Jan Rozendaal to use his Bridges Point 24 daysailer this summer. The ‘S/V Maya’ as she is known will go in the water in early June in Jamestown, RI and I can get my sailing fix cruising the waters between Newport and Block Island.

I have also committed to do the Marblehead to Halifax race in July with a friend in mid-July, so that should be good to go racing offshore again.

My next project is to write a book about my sailing adventures, so I am putting together an outline and will seek advice from a few experienced writers on the book’s composition. I am thinking it would be a memoir of both life and sailing and am working on the format. If anyone has experience in this field and/or publishing connections, please email me.

My co-skipper Roger Junet has been in Italy enjoying his family and hometown in the Alps, but I think he will return to Portland, ME in late June.

So all is well for Team GS2 post Globe40 and I look forward to catching up with those of you I have not yet re-connected with in person.

Race details – Entries – Tracker

Final Results:

The inaugural Globe40 was an eight leg round the world race for doublehanded Class40 teams. As all legs count toward the cumulative score, the longer distances more heavily weighted. Seven teams were ready to compete, but a Leg 1 start line collision eliminated The Globe En Solidaire with Eric and Léo Grosclaude (FRA) while the Moroccan team of Simon and Omar Bensenddik on IBN BATTOUTA retired before the Leg 2 start. Keel damage for Masa Suzuki Andrea Fantini on Milai during Leg 6 halted their campaign.

Start:
Tangier, Morocco – June 26

Stopovers:
Leg 2 start: Sao Vincente, Cape Verde Islands – July 17
Leg 3 start: Port Louis, Mauritius – September 11
Leg 4 start: Auckland, New Zealand – October 29
Leg 5 start: Papeete, French Polynesia – November 26
Leg 6 start: Ushuaia, Argentina – January 8
Leg 7 start: Recife, Brazil – February 5
Leg 8 start: St Georges, Grenada – February 24

Finish:
Lorient, France