November 6th, 2006
Baltimore,
MD
Alan's Log:
Joan's Log:We christened Moonstruck, appropriately enough under a full moon and celebrated with a pub crawl in Fells Point.
With many beers consumed at the Wharf Rat Pub and ending with regretably a few too many scotches at the Cat's Eye we staggered back to Moonstruck for a few hours sleep.
A great departure evening was had in Fells Point. Who would have guessed that the Wharf Rat had a three-for-one special on beer that night! This combined with the temptations of UK-style cask-conditioned Best Bitter led to some serious celebrating.
On a very cold Tuesday morning we let go the dock lines and slipped out of Henderson Wharf Marina out into the Chesapeake.
We made a brief stop at Annapolis to buy a sextant, and continued south into darkening skies and strong head winds. We knew ahead of time that we did not have a perfect forecast, a fast moving low was headed our way. Whose idea was it to stop at the Cat's Eye anyway?
A fast moving low almost guaranteed us good winds in its wake so we took the plunge and left early on Tuesday morning. It was difficult making headway against the wind and waves heading down the bay and we burned quite a bit of fuel maintaining 4-5kts over the ground.
By the time we were nearing Norfolk around 4:00 AM Wednesday, we were not happy! Colin and I shared a very intense, nerveracking 4 hour watch of 35 knot winds on the nose, huge waves breaking over the bow, almost no visiblity and lots of traffic. We were out into the Atlantic by about 6:00 AM into VERY unsettled seas, with a very unpleasant sideways rolling motion. Colin understandably was becoming more and more seasick the further we got out into the larger and more rolly waves. 15 to 20 feet. Colin had a visit from the diced carrot fairy and was quite quiet for a day or so. Fortunately it only lasted a couple of days and he was fine after that.
Things that go bump in the night
November 7th, 2006
Wednesday night was in
my estimation one long nightmare. Sleeping was impossible, the noise
inside the boat was horrible with everything rattling and rolling and banging
and crashing around, and the violent rolling of the boat. We slept in
little 10 minutes fits, I gave up trying to sleep in my bed and tried the
salon with no luck, due to major heart palpitations and the howling wind.
I finally made it through the night by going to my happy place, but it took
serious concentration to get there! November 8th, 2006
With Thursday morning came the good news was the low had passed over us and the wind had let up but the seas were huge! 30 feet - lovely. We crossed the Gulf Stream by the late afternoon. We had pushed hard to get through the gulf stream in favorable conditions. We would be able to let up once safely through. Seas were large but winds were low and the stream was rolly but manageable with confused seas.Moonstruck was completely in her element and loving it! She couldn't have been happier, I on the other hand was far from it. I tried to take my mind off the situation by cooking. Nothing much really, just ravoli, with sauted tomatoes, garlic, and zuchini. The pots and pans were flying and so were the F bombs, as I conked my head or banged my hip with each roll of the boat. The Captain and crew sat in miserable silence in the cockpit, and none too hungry either! Poor Colin smiled bravely, as he turned green in the face of another gourmet meal! Again we endured a sleepless, impossibly noisy night.
Joan was having a difficult time with the weather, on the other hand she had the most cast-iron stomach of us all and spent a good deal of time preparing wonderful food down below in conditions that would have had me reaching for the bucket. I knew it had gotten too much when I caught her sweeping the salon floor in 30' waves. Moonstruck gave her a few bruises that suggested the cleaning could wait for a later date, and tiredness finally allowed her to get some sleep.
Mayday!
November
9th, 2006
By Friday morning things were looking up! Although
the seas were still large they had calmed down considerably and the sun was
shining brilliantly. Moonstruck was still just as happy as a lark as she
cut through the waves. We were all smiling too by now. Then we heard
a mayday call on the VHF! Someone on THALIA, one of the Caribbean 1500
boats was having a medical emergency. We listened as the boats relayed
messages between each other, trying to reach the fleet doctor, Miles Poor, who
we had met in Annapolis. We called in and offered assistance and the use
of our satellite phone. We tried calling Miles on our VHF and HF, and then
called his sat phone and got his voice mail. Eventually he checked Voice
mail and responded to THALIA. We continued listening as the drama
unfolded. Miles was arranging with the coast guard to have the person
helicoptered out. Then we listened to all the instructions being given to
the boat on how to perpare for a helicopter rescue at sea. THALIA was
about 20 miles from us, and we never heard actually what had happened, but could
only guess it was severe sea-sickness. It was scary to feel so
helpless being so close to their position. It also put our last
few days of discomfort into perpective, things could have been much
worse. We have a full medical kit on board and offered to sail to THALIA's assistance, however they had decided after discussion with the Doctor that an evacuation was needed. The boat had three adults on board (including the ailing crewman) and two children.
More fun with Alan and Joan
Later that same day as we were beginning to finally relax, Alan decided to stow away a bag of garbage in the stern garage. We were still experiencing 10 foot waves and rolly conditions, so I cautioned him to be careful. He climbed out under the life lines out onto the stern steps, (no life vest or tether) and as he struggled with opening the garage, to my horror, he lost his footing, slipped and dangled in water behind the boat holding on to the hand rails. He pulled himself up and tried to laugh it off. Funny. When he was safely back in the cockpit, after kissing him I said "you are so in trouble! I'm telling your Mother!" Consider yourself told, Captain Teed! Believe me that will never happen again.By evening the sea was definately calmer and Colin had recovered enough to eat dinner and enjoy it. Colin suggested that since I was the cook I should be relieved of night watch, everyone else agreed! Yey!!! That improved my mood considerably.
Saturday November 10th, 2006
So much better! Its sunny, warm, the seas are calm. We have been motor-sailing a lot due to light wind. We relaxed, listened to music. I cooked banana pancakes for breakfast. Later that morning we spotted another sailboat about 6 miles from us. Other than that it seemed like we were all alone out there.WINENERGIE was the 40+' catamaran we did the two-step with over the next few days. We were faster under engine, they under sail, but we seemed to be able to sail closer to the wind so we would usually be able to spot them in the distance - especially at night. They made radio contact a couple of times. Joan seemed to be missing female contact so I put her on the radio and she chatted with the female crew for a while. Joan is getting very good with the VHF and has now taken over the Weather Radio duty on the HF (SSB) set. She checks in with Herb Hilgenberg (our forecaster in Canada) at 2:30pm NYT then waits for a half hour or so until Herb begins his pronouncements. He will then call each vessel in turn and after hearing Joan recount her weather observations he provides a custom forecast and routing to get the most out of the weather & winds. So far he has been spot on and the communication has given Joan a lot of confidence. Everyone is feeling well now and Martin decided to try his hand with the new sextant.
Testosterone vs. Estrogen
Sunday November 11th, 2006
There's an unfair balance on this boat and it looks
like testosterone wins. After dinner the boys all retired to the salon to
watch Snatch (British of course, Guy Ritchie movie) on the dvd player.
While I stood watch. Hmm...something is very wrong here.Joan took over the Weather duties today and called Herb Hilgenberg who is providing our weather guidance and that for dozens of others in the Atlantic this week. Joan checks in at 2:30 then has to wait till he calls her back an hour or so later in order with all the other boats (from North to South). She gives out position, our weather conditions and he tells us what to expect in terms of wind and provides input on headings to stay in the best wind and avoid the fronts. So far it is working brilliantly.
Are we there yet?
Monday - Thursday November 12th - 16th
Pretty much every day is the same.
Lovely sunny weather, calm seas, light wind. We seem to have fallen into
lethargy, we gaze out at the horizon, we check the chart plotter, we read, we
chat. The boys drink skads of tea. Martin fishes everyday with no
luck. Sometimes something will chomp right through the line and take off
with the lure. We never see whales, and those little brat dolphins are
avoiding us. Once we saw some way, way off in the distance jumping at
least 15 feet out of the water, just teasing us. One evening a sweet
little swallow came flying up to us. We were about 400 miles from land at
this point. Poor little thing was exhausted! We gave him some
granola and water but all he really wanted to do was rest. He spent the
night perched on a lifeline and at daybreak he chirped "thank you" and flew
away.Before departing Colin had made a major announcement. His closest companion for over 20 years, his moustache, was coming off in the Atlantic! We were priveleged to witness the transformation. He looks years younger and seems happy with the new look.
We waited and waited, and finally the wind died down enough for us to raise the new spinnaker. We had not yet seen it out of the bag so this was truly an unveiling. We launched it in a sock (the long grey tube) then raised the sock to unleash it. It is beautiful - at least we think so.
Martin was still trying his luck at fishing with two and sometimes three lines over the stern. So far all he has caught is sargasso weed.
We settle into a routine, we have our appointed night watches, except for Joan, and take turns with the chores, no arguments so far.
The weather is now completely benign with a good forecast for our arrival as we close on BVI, so I unlocked the rum and we enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail each evening
Joan couldn't resist the temptation to break out the vacuum and do a little cleaning up down below.
Martin continued to fish with an intensity previously unseen. On the last day of our voyage he had 4 lines trailing from the stern with all manner of lures. The pressure was on as we had nothing fresh left for dinner...Then a strike. Martin began reeling it in, we were all scrambling around like keystone cops trying to help, Alan slowed the boat, Colin searching for the gaff hook, I am searching for the camera, Alan is yelling at me to get the Tequila! (That is our method for subduing and killing the fish with the least amount of trauma). Seeing all this commotion the fish leapt mightily off the hook and back to the deep, presumably with a good story on humans.
Fish for dinner Then another strike, this one much harder. Martin had hooked a much larger fish. We dumped the jib and scrubbed off speed while Martin fought it to the boat - could this be dinner? Again the boat erupts into chaos, this one is big! We get him in but we can't get the spray bottle of Tequila to work. (The trick is to spray it in the gills). The fish is flopping and fighting, and Alan yells "Get the rum!" I run for the Goslings Black Seal and Colin pours it straight down his throat as he couldn't manage to get it in his gills. It just didn't work. Martin ended up bashing him on the head with the winch handle. It was all very traumatic.
Finally it was on board and so big it would not fit in a single picture with Martin.. It was around 4' long. Alan cleaned it and cut it into 13 large 2" thick steaks and Joan sauted it with thin-cut potatoes (the Brits were craving chips) and mixed veg. What a meal! We had enough for dinner and a good head-start on our island provisioning. We all had mixed emotions about catching and killing such a large a beautiful fish, but it was for food and not sport and we slept that night with clean consciences and full bellies.
LAND HO!
We arrived in Virgin Gorda on Friday at Noon. It was an epic voyage for me, my second ocean voyage in as many months, and the first without a professional captain. I am very glad I did it, I learned a lot and I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Moonstruck. Alan was the best captain ever, and had the time of his life! I want to thank our good friends and crew Colin & Martin. They unselfishly gave up their time to help us, they were great sailors, supreme gentlemen and I enjoyed their company immensely.We awoke the next morning to find flying fish on deck and Virgin Gorda within sight. It seemed to take forever to motor through the Anegada and Necker Island Passages to Virgin Yacht Harbor, then followed customs clearance and a major boat cleaning- Martin commented "The aft deck looks like a crime scene" There was blood everywhere, that we had failed to see when we cleaned up after the catch the night before.
After cleaning the boat we were left with one problem, what to do with the tennis balls that we had cut up and used for chafe protection for the dinghy...
It was a Great Ocean Voyage. Thanks Colin & Martin for all your work and company on those long night watches. Thanks Joan for sharing this adventure with me.
P.S.
The morning we arrived at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor we joined Martin and Colin for lunch at the "Bath & Turtle", an open-air restaurant & bar nearby. As we were finishing our burgers a young lady came up to our table and asked if we are Alan & Joan. She then presented us with a huge gift basket of loaded with goodies and a bottle of Champagne (The REALLY good stuff). We were amazed and Colin said he was Gob Smacked! The card was from Rex & Leslie Carper, whom we had met last April on Anegada, BVI. We became friends and have emailed and stayed in touch. They have a Beneteau 50 which we have yet to see, and are planning on bringing it down here in a few years. How they arranged the basket and how it found us in a random restaurant on a small island remains a delightful mystery to us all!
Next....The British Virgin Islands