Day 305, Wednesday April 23rd
Well we wake up to listen to Chris Parker weather and are
gearing up for a Thursday departure, but Ham suggests we leave today and we
decide to. The weather is low winds, so
we will have to operate the motors but at least we will be moving. By 9:00 we are planning our departure from
the dock. We are on the inside and
facing the wrong direction for leaving.
In addition to that the current and the wind are on the stern, which
makes turning around almost impossible.
We start bantering around departure ideas, and both Bruce and Ham think
we should do a controlled 180 degree rotation at the dock and then take off
facing the correct direction. We are on
board with the idea.
Julie takes the helm and is advised to put the boat in
forward with the wheel hard over to the starboard (right), while a few of the
guys manhandle the bow sprit around once the current grabs the stern and swings
it out. At first it does not seem to be
working, but at first Julie did a bit of reverse as it seemed weird to be in
forward. With a bit of advice from our
friends, the stern starts getting out into the current and starts swinging
around. Ham is on the bow line with a
leverage wrap on the horn cleat, and Bruce, Peter and neighbour Tony swing the
bow around from the dock. Once we are
perpendicular to the dock, Julie puts it in neutral, Ham tightens up the bow
line and Dawson throws the mid ship and we have turned 180 degrees so we are
now facing the correct direction for departure.
The currents can be up to 4 knots so are a huge influence on maneuverability. Julie is thrilled that the controlled turn
was effective and we are now ready to take off.
With a shove from shore, Julie guns the engine and we are off. We still have to be careful however as the
boat next to us is still close. Julie
turns the wheel to the right and just as we are at the neighbour swings the
wheel to port to shift the stern over to the right. When steering the boat it is just the stern
that is effected by the rudder to change directions so it is important not to
turn too soon if dodging boats and debris.
It was a thrilling departure as we had 100% success in a somewhat
challenging departure and we learned some new strategies for marina parking and
disembarking. Thanks Bruce, Peter, Ham
and Tony.
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| Calm Atlantic and Sarah G. |
What is also funny about our departure is we just left! Normally for an overnight sail there is lots
of anxiety, food preparation etc. Not
that we are getting irresponsible, but we are getting more confident which is
lovely. We have lots of food on board,
just not as grab ready as we like to have for passages, but the weather is
going to be light winds, so we are able to cook etc. while underway. It isn’t until evening that it occurs to me
that we did not take any anti seasickness medication. We have never been seasick however any long
passages we have taken a preventative tablets, so far so good though.
The day passes with a lovely view of a huge turtle, probably
a couple hundred pounds and only about 10 feet off from our boat. We don’t even know what it is until we are
passing by it. We saw it and we’re
guessing at various debris options. It
was caramel in colour and had white barnacle growth on its back and it was
paddling its flippers but not really getting very far. Julie thought it was a dirty piece of
Styrofoam.
Dolphins also came to say hello at various times of the day.
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| Visiting dolphins |
We mainly motorsailed as the winds were too light to keep
the required speed up. At nightfall we
left full sails up as the winds stayed light.
 |
| Sunset |
This is an excerpt of Julie’s experience on her nightwatch.
I am writing this as I do my night shift. Unlike the last big crossing we have no
moonlight tonight. My shift started at
11:00 p.m. and I will wake Dawson at 3:00 a.m.
There is lots of boating activity around us. I am constantly checking first forward then
the sides then the stern with binoculars, then the electrical tools (AIS, and
radar). When checking I stick my head out
of the top of the canvas, and I also remember to look up. The temperature is warm and there is a blaze
of stars in the sky. I declare that it
is a glorious night. It is really cool
to be moving through the Atlantic when there is minimal wave action as it is so
peaceful.
As I look through the binoculars I can’t tell sky from sea
and can easily mistake a low star for a ships light. I step down from the seat and wack myself in
teh temple with the binoculars. Ouch!
I must get myself a coffee.
The fresh brew is in the thermos and sliding along the cockpit floor
from right to left with the motion of the boat as the swell is hitting the boat
from the side. Just as I am watching it
slide the thermos hits the rug and tips.
I think it is okay as the lid is on, but I feel burning coffee on my
barefoot. Drats! Best pour myself a cup. The first swig is an elixir as the coffee is
excellent and will help keep me awake for the next 4 hours.
Time to do another watch circuit. No new ships, but as I look forward I am
wondering if our bow navigation lights are working, then I hear some squeaking
and notice the dinghy has come loose from one of its davits that it clips into
for security. A couple of tugs and it is
back in place. It is now 11:45 so 15
more minutes until the “official” circuit where we log our location, distance
travelled, check the engine, bilge and radar.
(Note there is no steering as we have an autohelm that takes care of the
wheel, we just reprogram Jim the autohelm as needed). There is also very little navigation as there
is not much to hit out here and we just do a straight line to get where we want
to go.
I fill the next 15 minutes with a couple games of solitaire
on the IPAD. The “official” circuit
checks out okay. We are now out of the
critical right whale habitat so hoping there are no sleeping whales in the
way. Another round of looking with the
binoculars I see our buddy boat Sarah G ahead and Bruce from Mamba in
behind. In addition to keeping our eyes
out for ships, there are some abandoned navy tower/platforms out here that have
been reported as unlit. I do see a
flashing light bearing about 30 degrees magnetic and suspect that is the tower,
as Dawson has marked its location on our chart and 30 degrees lines up to his
point on the chart. The rest of my shift
is a repeat of the first hour. I do chat
to our buddy boats a few times to compare some notes on boats we see etc. I am off to bed at 3:00 when Dawson takes
over. Next thing you know though it is
6:30 a.m. and I am back on watch staring at the big pink ball rising out of the
ocean on the east. Dawson attempts to
listen to the weather update on teh single sideband but the “propagation is bad
so heads to bed.
Cheers
Julie and Dawson
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