Sailor in Portland readies 60-foot sloop for solo, nonstop race around the globe

PORTLAND – The clock is ticking on preparations for a 43-year-old sailing enthusiast planning to sail a 60-foot sloop around the world alone.

Bruce Schwab’s boat, the Ocean Planet, will be lowered into the water next Wednesday for testing before November’s start of the Vende Globe Challenge, a solo race around the planet without stopping and without assistance.

“I’m a fanatic for preparation,” Schwab said. “The race is on right now. You just find out in the race who did the best job.”

Schwab, a California native, spent the winter in Portland retooling Ocean Planet, which he has taken around the world once before. The boat is stored on customized stands that provide clearance for the boat’s 15-foot keel.

A yachting rigger by trade, Schwab is no millionaire playing with an expensive toy. When people ask him the inevitable question about his surname, he replies, “It’s spelled like Charles, but without the money.”

Still scrambling for a title sponsor to help fund his attempt at becoming the first American to complete the race, Schwab has mortgaged his house and tapped his life savings to keep the project afloat. He recently paid a $21,000 deposit to race officials, guaranteeing his spot among the approximately 20 boats entered.

“Looking at this entirely from a financial sense, it looks extremely hopeless. But when you look at the boat you think, ‘Hell, we’re almost there,'” Schwab said.

Schwab sailed Ocean Planet, one of seven boats, to a fifth-place finish in the 2002-03 Around Alone race, a five-leg tour with stops along the way for rest and repairs. Thousands of schoolchildren followed his progress on the Internet.

With what time remains this year, Schwab is concentrating on preparing the boat, whose stern will proclaim his adopted home port.

“I’m really hoping with Portland, Maine, on the back, people will be really interested in it,” said Phin Sprague Jr., president of Portland Yacht Services, who invited Schwab to make Portland his base. “If Bruce does well, everybody’s going to be pretty excited.”

The record for solo circumnavigation is 93 days. Only one other American sailor has attempted the Vende Challenge, but was disqualified for receiving assistance after anchoring at Campbell Island, south of New Zealand.