David's Diary: Monday, September 16, 2002

Brindisi, Italy With A New Speed Record

After two days in Bari on the east coast of Italy, we decided to check the weather first thing this morning. We got up at 6:00 AM and looked out. The wind was blowing in the right direction to take us down the coast to Brindisi. We got up, organized the boat, and pushed off. For the last two nights the Australian sailboats Truant II and Magic Carpet were behind us and as we pulled away from the dock we could see them ahead of us. Magic Carpet, being a catamaran, pulled ahead, but for most of the morning we kept up with Truant II.

Dragonsinger Doing Nine and a Half Knots

In the afternoon we were broad reaching in twenty knots of wind. Jocelyn kept pushing us to keep all the sail up and make Dragonsinger go faster, even if we were just on the edge of keeping control. A little later Karalee was helming when the kids started calling out the speed over the ground from our GPS. We reached eight knots, then eight and a half, then nine. Karalee kept the boat in the groove and we set a new speed record of nine and a half knots (with a little help from some current) just as we approached Brindisi. With everyone exhilarated, we motored into the huge harbour of Brindisi until we found a spot on the quay in the inner harbour. We had spent more than nine hours on the water enjoying our sail from Bari to Brindisi.