First of all guys I'd like to express my appreciation for the opportunity to experience "blue water sailing". I'd like you to know I was never concerned about our safety during the trip for two reasons: one, the word of God says "be anxious for nothing" and I take Him at His word and secondly, I know Laurie had prepared the boat to the best of his ability. The pre-departure safety talk was well thought out and proved to me we were ready (new life raft, EPIRB, man overboard gear, cockpit and foredeck
rules...). Were there things that could be done differently? You betcha! I'd start administering motion sickness meds about eight hours prior to leaving. After the fact they just don't work! Word of advice to any who might read this...if you're out there and are already or just about sick...use a suppository! You'll keep it working for you. Get over the icky part of it! Enough of dwelling on the somewhat negative and dramatic parts of the trip. Some really notable things happened. I'll
try to itemize them rather than go into expansive details (not necessarily in chronological order):
The trip down from East Greenwich to Norfolk was a beautiful run on a clear day cool but not cold. Passing some magnificent homes and resorts, the trees a quilt of fall colours;
Passing under the suspension bridge past a large cruise ship and taking a mooring ball in Newport harbour where we mingled with a couple of classic 12 metre boats and admired the schooner that sailed out of the anchorage;
The euphoria of making the big decision to leave and going for it;
Dodging fishing pots and the first sunset.
My first watch was at 1:00 A.M. Kent woke me something like "time for your duty". Alone in the dark, the engines off as I sat in the captain's chair letting the wind blow over me and listening to the sound of the wind the waves and the wind generator. I think that was after I had a good look at the lasagne for the second time. Amazed how little it digested. Just as Kent went to his bunk he mentioned a light on the horizon. It turned out to be a returning fishing boat that had passed us on the
way out of Newport. They light up the back of their boats like a variety store parking lot. To look at them you lose your night vision. I had to move us a couple of points off course to avoid him. There were a couple of other lights on the horizon that night but they never materialized into anything. Interestingly those lights were not visible from inside the cabin.
The sky was clear and at one point I saw a shooting star out of the corner of my eye so large I thought it might have been a flare.
That was my last time outside the cabin until Bermuda!
What about the Dolphins?! Laurie was out by the mast adjusting the main sail and saw three dolphins between the hull (unconfirmed sighting). Later Dawn Kent and I witnessed the dolphins between the hulls and frolicking in the waves beside us. Kind of freaky when you are looking up into a wave and seeing them. We only saw them one time and relatively briefly. Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent picture.
The confused sea state really was the most distressing aspect of the trip, the slamming and shaking, side slipping and dropping into holes. At one point I was lying in bed in my nylon sleeping bag and suddenly went skidding to the other side of the bunk! Some of the noises were disturbing as well. The cabin I was in was directly over the port engine and under the wind generator. There were times the hull was vibrating in such a manner that I thought the engine was on! The wind generator would
suddenly drop from a high pitched whirl to a low evil sounding guttural groan when the wind speed topped @ 30 knots! Then there was this creaking. I believe it was coming from the wooden headliner. There may be a couple of screws that need tightening. How did I sleep? Apparently quite well! Dawn came to wake me for my watch. She knocked on the door, she opened the door and called my name, she finally reached in and shook me calling my name and I woke up saying " I thought I was awake"!
Crossing the Gulf Stream. To me it was almost a non-event. It seemed to me that the sea state moderated somewhat, One thing for certain was I didn't need my toque any more and I didn't need to wear socks to bed.
After getting my sea legs, I managed to read two novels and several magazine articles.
Second to last day out there the lasagne was served again. Laurie and I managed to keep it down. Kent passed up the opportunity to even try.
Coming into Bermuda at night with Bermuda Radio urging us on so we could get to customs before midnight. When it became apparent we wouldn't make it to the office before closing, it seemed to be a bit of resignation in the tone of voice when we were instructed to anchor in Powder Hole. They had us on radar I would have thought our rate of progress was obvious. Coming into Bermuda is just a confusion of lights. With the swells we were riding it was difficult to determine a flashing from a steady
and there was a sense of looking downhill at them. Bad enough it was dark and we had to negotiate a narrow cut through a kaleidoscope of lights, there were the large unlit can buoys that weren't particularly reflective! Anchor down @ 1:30 or was it 12:30? I kept my watch on Eastern Daylight time where Bermuda is on Atlantic. Whatever, the wind was still blowing but the water was smooth, Dawn cooked up some rice and chili and it was time for libations.
Morning broke on a beautiful sunny day. We did not rush over to customs. Coffee and a real breakfast first.
Bermuda, what a beautiful island. A bit expensive yes, but they are in the middle of the Atlantic. Lots of history (real forts). Clean, even the guys who were loitering in the park all day picked up their garbage before they left! Very friendly and happy people. Colourful and quaint. The transportation system of ferries and busses is to be experienced, one pass can get all over the island. No need to rent scooters. (You need your head examined if you do!)
Would I do it over again? Absolutely!
Will I return to Bermuda? Hopefully with Lorna!
All the best to Kent. It was great crewing with you. The position update from the SPOT unit were appreciated. John F. and John S., thanks for adding colour to our send off. John F. thanks for keeping the home bodies at ease with you updates to the blog. I have been told that they were glad they didn't know what was really going on!
Thanks for the memories!
Brian
_________________________________________________________________
