Recovery

The insurance underwriters accepted my timeline for improvements. Long story short, we get to go.

We still have a lot to do on the boat that was not in the original plan, and this has really set me back on loading and stowing provisions. I have not come up with a way to mount the solar panels, so they may go as cargo, and I have not installed padeyes for the RIB dinghy,so it may stay behind. I have installed the davits, and I have a high quality inflatable foor dinghy to take. It stows more easily.

The weather is looking very cooperative for a Monday or Tuesday departure. If anyone in interested, take a look at http://www.passageweather.com/ . Look at the Newport to Bermuda weather charts. We are going to have a weak storm here, maybe 45 Kts, on Sunday. Once that clears through, the winds go West-North-West for days on end, with wind speeds from 10 to as much as 35 kts, but all behind the beam. Yeah!

Dana loaded the non-perishable provisions weeks ago. She is here and is loading the perishables this weekend. She be a fine wench, and saucy too. The crew, they be comin' to quay early to prepare the good ship, fine lads. Wow, pirate Tourette's; I did not expect that to set in for days. Arrghh.

Now I have to recover from this cold I have managed to catch. I think I can be ready for Monday.

Shifting focus from boat prep to weather

The boat is on schedule for Friday, but the weather says no.

Sunday there will be winds over 50 knots and sharp seas over 30 ft out near the Gulfstream, which is about where we would be. Thank God for modern weather prediction. I do not need to have that experience.

Monday looks like better wind speed and direction, but we will still have to wait for the waves to lie down. Monday morning they will still be 3 meters on the nose. Maybe later in the day they will space out a little and we can do some easting.

Paul says that if we head out into 3 meter seas, he will go onto an all ice cream diet and will refuse to sit downwind or downhill from any other crew!

ttyl

Walter

5:30 AM Jitters

It is 5:30 AM and I am awake again, wondering what sort of madness this trip is.

 

My anxiety level is pretty high these days. I am in the last week of preparations for the trip, and I feel pretty good about the state of the boat and crew. There are a few areas where the preparation is a little weak, but overall I think it is quite good. At a cocktail party last night, one experienced yachtsman commented that when he went, they were not nearly as prepared as we seemed to be. So where is the anxiety coming from?

 

One possible source is fear of the danger. Last weekend, we joined my cousin Barbara and her husband Walter for dinner in Niantic. Gathered around her table was a group of sailors, both recreational and professional that probably totaled 150+ years of experience in 5 persons. One of them, Peter, had gone to Bermuda in the 70s and encountered a storm with sustained winds over 100 knots. Peter told us that their boat had pitchpoled at night and partially flooded.

 

He painted the picture as follows: the boat went end-over-end and began to flood quickly because they forgot to latch a lazerette and it came open. The cook FREAKED out, and went into hysterics. The lights went out, then flickered back to dim, just like the German U-boat movies. When the boat slowly righted itself, there was knee deep water down below. He thought “So this is what it is like”. Then he checked on the helmsman who he thought was probably lost, but who wa still there at the wheel. He proceeded to tell me about all of the things that can go flying around and encouraged me to go on a campaign to prepare he boat for rollover.

 

I have done that to some extent. I put padeyes around the engine compartment and the stove to lash them down, and put small lines around all of the settee backs, so that they can be lashed shut. I have to add some padeyes in the cockpit.

 

Another possibility is fear of being away from home for that long, and fear of the financial implications of the trip. These are much more real. But Dana will be down 4 times, and I will be back at least once, so that probably isn’t it. As long as we don’;t suffer any major calamities, we can afford it, but it is a splurge.

 

And is it anxiety or just excitement? Is this feeling that much different from what you felt Christmas morning as a child, but felt with the sensibilities of an adult? Don’t tell the crew about this.

 

Whatever. I have a pair of davits to mount today.

 

No proof of luminescent jellies... sorry.

Just like their creator, the jellies refuse to give proof of their existence.

I went out last night and tried to capture them on the digital camera, and got nothing but inky blackness. (Maybe there were giant squid around?). I now have a movie with a black screen and a soundtrack of an outboard motor running in circles. It is pretty funny.

As the trip comes nearer, I am trying to get into the habit of blogging regularly, and I am testing the blogging and email update process. Please remember that you can unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions below.

The summer was not entirely wasted on preparations

The summer was not entirely spent on preparations, though sometimes it feels like it. When I look back, I realize that we got in a number of good trips that I want to capture to my blog.

A few weeks back we took a trip over to Cuttyhunk and ran into our friends TJ and Donna and their two very enjoyable children. In particular, it was good for me to have another 12 year old boy to play with. Mike is my new BFF.

The wind was dead, but we improvised a ski rope from the dinghy painter and a fish club, and did some wake surfing on one of my kite boards. We were especially proud of our rigging the improvised ski rope!

Here are a few pictures:

We haven't left yet, but the adventure has begun

It occurred to me recently that I am already cruising, for what is cruising except working on your boat in exotic locations?

Padanaram has been pretty exotic lately. No one knows why, but the harbor has been taken over by tiny bioluminescent jellies that are incredible on a moonless night. You first notice them when you motor your dinghy through the harbor and cross the thermocline at the jetty. All of a sudden, it is like someone put a light on you; the water all around you just lights up in a ghostly green glow. Anywhere the water is disturbed, the creatures light up. The dinghy’s wake is so bright that looking across it affects your night vision. The bow wave is like lava flow, but cooler.

I saw this one night and tried to describe the intensity to Dana, but words are such a poor substitute for the experience. So I dragged her out on the harbor a few nights ago after dinner to see for herself. I was anxious that she see a display as intense as I did, because it was unseasonably cold that night, with air temps in the 40s and being on the water, 100% humidity. I did not want to drag her out on that inhospitable night if the jellies were giving a poor performance.

At first it seemed like she would not get the show. The jellies were there, but not as numerous, and therefore not as bright. But when we cleared the jetty the water just lit up. Then the coolest thing of all: The big striper and blue fish were hanging out right at the point of the jetty, the way they always do. (They hang out in the cooler water looking for fingerlings that are swept out by the tide). The dinghy engine spooked them, and when they moved we could see a school of blue-green ghost fish darting away from our course, maybe 10 feet below the surface. The smaller pogue that swim just a foot or two below the surface would zig-zag away exercising their best evasive maneuvers, leaving a sparkling trail. It was like a fireworks show, but instead of the percussion soundtrack, there was just silence.

Way cool.

I may try to get pictures tonight since a picture is worth a thousand words, but I cannot imagine a picture or movie will capture the experience either.

ttyl

Caribbean Madness Preparations continue

We continue to prepare for the upcoming trip to the Caribbean. I am going to start using this group and blog for more frequent updates so if they are not of interest to you, my apologies. You can unsubscribe following the instructions below.

Here is a picture that was taken the weekend before last when sailing back from Cuttyhunk. We were over there hosting a very informal get-together and bonfire. My friend Ted came up with the idea and Dana and I brought over the smoker and smoked two whole pork shoulders. I think a good time was had by all 20-30 people who showed up.

One of the highlights of the evening was sitting around the remains of the bonfire around midnight. We took hot stones (and boy, some of the were HOT) and when they cooled enough to touch, we picked them up quckly so we did not burn our hands, and rested them on our stomachs. The layer of clothing was enough to protect us from the heat, but let a very pleasant warmth through. I thought Greg was going to offer a proposal of marriage to his rock. Mine felt like having a puppy sleeping on your belly. Dana got a little burned picking hers up but says it was worth it. It was a good evening.

There has been a lot of phosphorescence in the water. The last few moonless nights have been positively magical. If you put your hand in the water, it looks like your skin is glowing a light green color. The wake of the dinghy looks unreal; it is so bright it affects your night vision.

I appreciate the leaves turning here in New England even more knowing that I will be leaving for a season. I will miss the crisp cold mornings, and knowing that, it helps me appreciate those few I will have this year even more. It is like seeing things with fresh eyes even before taking a break from them.

Dana did the first cut at the provisioning list and bought a lot of non-perishables. I have nearly inventoried the spares and stuff that was on the boat, and added the new provisions.

23 days and counting down.

Walter and Dana