In March of 2008, Didier Lapierrep on the S/V Boundless wrote:"...We used Jenifer and Dane's services last year (2007) in May for a passage to Bermuda. The charts and routing information were excellent. We had a push from the stream almost half way to Bermuda..... "
In March of 2008, Darlene Forte wrote:
"I want to thank you for your informative and interesting talk at the Tartan and West River Club symposium. Everyone really enjoyed it! You had such fun stories to share with us, what an interesting business..."
Justin Christou on the 122 foot yacht Atlantide stated in November of 2007 that
"Jenifer's Ocean routing was "spot on" for our trip through the Gulfstream from St. Martin to Newport. The crew said I was crazy making all those course changes, but in the end we followed Jenifer's waypoints and significantly increased our speed through the stream and the eddies"
Joe Harris in the 2007 Bermuda One-Two Race said," .....your (Jenifer Clark) Gulfstream forecast and Dane's weather were right-on, so well done to
you guys and thanks for your important part in my breaking the course record."In the 2007 Charleston to Bermuda Race....Scott Jones said
"We won our division and came in second overall - thanks for the weather and gulfstream data - you are the best!"
Comments in April 2007 ............
"Jenifer, your information was spot on and made a significant difference -- Thanks again. First in class in Regatta Al Sol Del Sol April 2007. Navigator Sunset.
Rick Higger
Comments in June 2006 about Newport to Bermuda . . .
" I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and your husband for the current and weather
information for this years Newport Race. We found it to be invaluable. As a result we finished third in class.
A great time was had by all. We will certainly enlist your services next year for the Marion-Bermuda Race."
- Dan Biemesderfer "Shearwater"
"We are very pleased with our 4th place finish. It would not have been possible without your expert guidance.We took the western route and absolutely nailed the big CE." Jeff Ohstrom Mezza LunaDirk Johnson, navigator of Bella Mente in the 2006 newport to bermuda yacht race says " you did an awesome job as usual.The cold eddy gave us 5.5 knots of speed over a long period of time. See you again in 2 years!"
Brook Streit, navigator of Salty Goose:"Jennifer, I just wanted to thank you and your daughter for putting in the extra effort to make me a chart the morning of the start. I ended up going west and your predictions were spot on. "
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I was downloading grib files of the stream the whole time and was very disappointed in their inaccuracy. I also heard other boats who were using routing software say the same thing. We found your projections to be
much more accurate so we didn't let the "toys" get in the way of good judgment. Thanks again for a great forecast.
Jon Somes, navigator Sagitta
Again, you are a genius.. We were 1 in class on BREEZING UP in the 2006 Newport to Bermuda race. Your charts were excellent! - David Pratt
Janet Riesman on Intrepid in the 2006 Newport to Bermuda Sailboat Race said, ..." Your advice was invaluable and exceeded all our expectations... the big cold eddy gave us a huge push."
On June 12, 2006 Larry Bowyer wrote about the "regata al sol del sol" . . .
"We came in second in our class and 4th in Division. .... The Gulfstream analysis was right on and was very helpful in our navigation. The boats that went to the east did well, while those going to the west were towards the back of the fleet."In June of 2006, Michael McGrenra wrote . . . .
We really appreciated your assistance and strategizing. Your daily forecasts were succinct and accurate; we found them easy to interpret. The waypoints guiding us through currents resulted in favorable speeds often 1.5K better over ground. We would use your services again and recommend you without reservation.
In May 2006, John Bonds wrote:
Moneypenny Position Report Sat 1345 edt:
Spectacular night of sailing last night preceding frontal passage. Cruising kite works great & we made great time yesterday. Jenifer Clark's gulfstream forecasts were perfectly accurate.
60 nm offshore Currituck, VA, North of Cape Hatteras .....
In December of 2005, Dan Ellis wrote....."I just wanted to say thank you so much for your services. You nailed the weather and ocean route info.... we did great, had no surprises. I'm a big fan of your service and I will strongly recommend it to other passage-makers. Thanks again."
From Mark Scheffer, s/v Restless- June 23, 2005Jenifer, followed your route very closely for the marion to bermuda. We were amazed as your water temps and currents were dead on. We had trouble getting out of Buzzard's Bay against a strong southwesterly and tide, as our boat does not do really well into the wind (shoal keel). We recovered from 11th in our class to ending up 5th, to a great extent due to the Gulf Stream routing. . . . . Look forward to hearing from you and again, thanks for the great data - we'll plan on using your services every time. Thanks. Mark Scheffer
From Trawler Cruiser's David and Christine Saul.. June 10, 2005
We arrived safely, and on time, in St. Gerorges Bermuda... Dane, your
beautiful high was right on schedule, and we had beautiful weather all
the way...thanks for organizating that for us! Jenifer, your waypoints
were wonderful: at one time, at our normal cruising speed of 10kts, we
reached a top speed of 13.4kts!!!! I thank the two of you for
contributing to the fun, excitment,enjoyment, and SAFETY, of this trip from Norfolk to Bermuda.Comments from Dan Trammell attending a 2005 Seminar....
I have done eight Bermuda races and have been in many of your briefings. I am racing with the Naval Academy on their Bermuda races on even years. The race in 2004 was the one that impressed me most. When we left Newport the GS was just starting to develop a meander which you said would migrate 7 miles a day to the East. We plotted that and hit it right on and picked up a 5.5 knot push... We had a 30 mile lead on our class when we exited the GS and won our class.
Matt Wachowicz in the 2005 Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Racesaid....“Wanted to drop you a quick note of thanks for your analysis of the gulfcurrents for the Race. We broke the course record by almost 25%,finishing in just under 10 hours 30 min and the owner and crew could not bemore happy. Your info was very helpful, and it did a great job of helpingme put together the big picture for the rest of the guys. So thanksfor the hard work, I appreciate it!”Bob Dehvaen in the 2004 Caribbean 1500 said...“Thanks Jenifer and Dane for the great Ocean and Weather Support,your excellent routing helped us finish first in the 1500 by over 100 miles.”Tim Glynn, with a three man crew, recently made the passage from Montauk, NY to Red Hook, St. Thomas in 8 days 21 hours. He stated:Jennifer Clarke, the Gulf stream lady did routing for us that put us into the stream and lifted us east at 12 knots over the ground. This was invaluable intelligence as well as her husband, Dane's, advice on the weather. The advice on currents south of Bermuda was also a help and changed the way I think about that body of water. There's a lot more going on out there than an eastern set. I would never go without this information again.
In a July 2003 press release from Alden Yachts titled "Ariel, Alden Yachts 44, takes 'Second in Class' in Marion to Bermuda Race," the following credit was given to Jenifer's expertise:
One of the most significant factors for any Bermuda race is the crossing of the Gulf Stream. Part strategy and part luck, how a yacht fares when crossing can easily make the difference in the race. “We relied on several sources of information leading up to the race, then made our plan and stuck to it,” stated Anderson. “One of our sources was Jennifer Clark, a renowned Gulf Stream expert who provides a 'seminar' prior to the race. She was dead-on with her prediction, though we ultimately planned our crossing from an aggregate of all our sources. If we had stuck with Jennifer’s assessment, we could have finished even better!”
Recent feedback from competitors in the 2002 Newport to Bermuda yacht race:
Dear Jenifer, I wanted to thank you for the excellent effort and help you offered to Zaraffa. It appears that Zaraffa has won the St David's Lighthouse trophy and we couldn't have done it without your help. Your analysis appeared to be spot on. Thanks and let's do it again! - Dirk Johnson (of Little Harbor Yacht Brokers)
Dear Jenifer: Congratulations on your prediction of the Gulf Stream . It was PERFECT. Thank you!
- Dr. Eduardo A. Salvati, MABUHAY
Here's what other satisfied customers have said:
Ryan Finn, navigator Kativa and winner of the Charleston to Bermuda race:
"The ocean current and weather forecasts were essential in our winning!"David Szabo of Fugro GEOS, an international oceanographic consulting company wrote:
"...We have recently had the opportunity to compare your charts to a set of proprietary measured current data we collected over a one year period in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Since we were recording data within subsurface moored instruments recovered only every few months, this was a completely blind test of your real-time charts to measurements. Basically we are extremely impressed. Your charts decisively depicted the features causing the periods of strong upper layer currents we measured. We are not sure how you do it but want to congratulate you on making a fine contribution to real-time oceanography."
Juan Vila, navigator of the Chessie Whitbread Team, wrote an email saying:" Thanks again for the analysis for leg 5. They really helped us through the Brazilian Current. We went on the eastern side of the warm eddies with favorable currents, while other boats further west had 2-3 knots of current against!! This helped us come from 7th place in the leg to 3rd place in this leg..."
Paul Marcoux, President of Corinthian Sailors, said:"Your presentation to our group of Corinthian Sailors was outstanding! The participants indicated that it was the most informative and enjoyable Corinthian-sponsored event they have experienced in some time."
Ron Corbin, on Yacht "Still Crazy" won first in his class in the Charleston to Bermuda race and attributed it to the superb routing package Jenifer Clark prepared for him.
David Anderson, from the Daytona to Charleston Race 2000 wrote:"Jenifer, thanks very much for the package of information...We used it and got second place out of 24 starters .. most of the boats that followed the rhumb line were very slow. Viva la stream"
Ed Adams wrote:"Great job on the Bermuda Race currents this year. Our current set/drift numbers seemed to match your predictions for the entire 600 miles. Keep up the good work!"
David Mooberry's quote regarding the 2000 Annapolis to Bermuda yacht race:"with your help, we won the Annapolis-Bermuda race!"
This comment came from John Storck, referring to the Newport to Bermuda race:"By the way, the current information was the best I have ever gotten in any Bermuda race!"
Hector Miranda wrote:"I have used your services in the past and was incredibly impressed by your routing and the resulting speed with which I got to Bermuda."
Mark Wright, Captain of Tara Rose sent this praise:"Thanks to your weather and ocean routing info, we decided to delay our trip and avoided life-threatening conditions from a storm that produced 50 kt winds and 20 ft seas!"
Robb Worthington sailing on the Tara Rose used Jenifer's service for ocean and weather routing from Savannah, GA, to Bermuda. He wrote:"Well we made it successfully. The chart you provided was invaluable. The flow was right where you said it would be. Also Dane's forecast was spot on. We made 186 miles the first 24 hrs, a feat unmatched by my friend in his Wahquiez 38 in all of his Pacific cruising, undoubtedly due to the use of the stream. Due to wind direction and an error on my part we cut a couple of corners but basically followed your routing all the way. We were both quite impressed with the service and would like to show it around to friends."
Bob Armstrong, Tripp Tease (Tripp 33) wrote:Hi Jenifer: It was a pleasure to meet with you in St. Petersburg before the start of the St Pete-Isla Mujeres race. Your information, analysis, and charts were a huge benefit to us in formulating our race plan for the race. We were the 4th boat to finish overall and corrected to 4th place in the spinnaker division . . . we did very well using your analysis of the stream. Thanks again for the routing, which I also used for the return trip which we completed in 58 1/2 hours. I look forward to working with you in the future.