By Carol McCracken
Do you want to get away? Leave the cold weather and bailout battle in Washington for a while? Well, you can do that if you have a big chunk of bills you can part with. It’ll cost you, but perhaps a cruise aboard the OceanPlanet this month is just what you need!
For some, the name OceanPlanet may sound familiar. Four years ago this September, this racing machine left the docks of Portland Yacht Services for southern France to compete in the grueling 26,000 mile racing marathon that ended the following February. It’s Skipper was Bruce Schwab (no relation to the investment house). The Vendee Globe is known as the ultimate sailing test. It had long been Schwab’s goal “to finish with a respectable placement in the Vendee Globe.” He did that. He finished 9th out of the fifteen sailors who completed the race. Moreover, Schwab, at the helm of his rugged Open 60, was the first American to single-handily finish the Vendee Globe.
His accomplishments were all the more remarkable because he was the only “non-sponsored” sailor in the race. Schwab had no corporate sponsor unlike his competitors. L. L. Bean turned him down as did other potential sponsors in the area. All this made his fundraising efforts all the more crucial. Along the way, the appealing Schwab and his guitar picking pushed him into the limelight and made him a folk hero in the sailing world and elsewhere.
Following a recent shore-side refit because of damage suffered to the Open 60 in 2006, at the Robinhood Marine Center, in Georgetown, Skipper Schwab left for a warmer climate and sunny skies in the Caribbean aboard his 10 year old OceanPlanet. If you hurry, you may be able to join the Skipper for a “fast and fun trip” out of Antigua to nearby islands for only $500. per person/day with a minimum of four people.
Hurry – this special offer expires in mid-February! It didn’t say whether or not the guitar picking entertainment is included, though. www.bruceschwab.com