Saturday, May 20: Departed the dock around 1040. Powered to Mill Creek to calibrate instruments. Took a while to get it right, but no significant problems. Then powered into Whitehall Bay. While in the channel exiting Whitehall, hoisted the main, then the new asym spin. She had a little twist in the sock, which required some minor adjusting, but once she was set, she really pulled. With our NE winds running around 10-12 knots, we were sailing at 7.2 or so. Kept that sail set up all day.
CIBONEY called just after we got underway; she was already in the mouth of the Severn and was proceeding south. She was a few miles ahead of us all day; all we ever saw of her was her mast and sails. She also was sailing with a new spin. We seemed to be gaining only a small fraction of a knot , as our distance closed about a mile through the course of the day.
Passed through the Star fleet just after their start off West River. Managed to avoid them with only one short change of course.
By evening, we were just south of the Pax river, and we doused the spin and set headsails. Didn't use the spin again for the rest of the trip to Bermuda.
Sunday, May 21. By daylight, we were off the southern end of Mobjack Bay. Got a call from CIBONEY, who was off the town of Cape Charles. Winds were very light. We decided to head out and if the wx turned bad, return to the Bay. We powered out with the main up until well south of the Bridge tunnel, when we set sail and headed south.
Most of the rest of the day was plesant and uneventful sailing. Light winds, which by evening had almost died. Eventually, we were headed to a southerly course, so I tacked to the northeast. Winds were very light, and commercial traffic was all over the radar screen, so I opted to furl the headsail and motor out of the area. We kept the engine on all night.
Monday, May 22. Finally found the forecast SW winds as we were entering the Gulf Stream. They were fresh - around 15 knots, and we initially set the main and yankee. Before long, as the winds continued to build, we took a reef in the main and furled the yankee; but that didn't last long, and we put in the second reef, furled the yankee and set the staysail. This sail set was to be with us almost the entire voyage.
Winds continued to build through the day, along with several thunderstorms. When they reached 40 knots, I dropped the main, and continued under staysail only. After the winds abated somewhat, I reset the main to the second reef.
That night was spectacular with thunderstorms. They started around 6 PM and lasted a good 10 hours. Several of the cells were accompanied by very strong winds, exceeding 40 knots. At midnight, I ordered the boat hove to.
Tuesday, May 23. We didn't last long hove to, as the winds were shifting rapidly, and I was blown into the sailing mode twice, when the backed staysail was filled by a sudden wind shift. But the heaviest winds were behind us, and we decided to continue under sail. Lots of lightning everywhere, which gradually moved east and away.
By morning, the conditions had settled into a very nice sail. We set main, yankee and staysail and made great progress - never seeing the knotmeter dip below 7 knots. The sun was shining most of the day ... seemed like the worst was past and we would enjoy semi-tropical weather at last. I played with the new Monitor rig, that used the emergency tiller rather than the wheel to steer. It worked, though it required a lot of tweaking before I was satisfied. When they came on watch in the afternoon, Brian and Beth weren't comfortable with "Mona's" ability to hold course, so we went back to hand steering.
As evening approached, Linda suggested we shorten sail, so we went back to staysail and double-reefed main. Good thing we did, because the wind returned, staying in the high 20s to low 30s for the next day and a half. Direction was very consistent out of the SW, which put us into a close reach, again making 7.5 knots or better for hour after hour. Seas were on the beam, which gave us a very uncomfortable ride: lots of rolling, wave slaps, and water in the cockpit - usually on the helmsman!
Wednesday, May 24. Didn't touch a sheet or halyard all day. Conditions remained unchanged from the end of Tuesday. We raced along at terrific speed, but endured the environment in which we found ourselves. If it wasn't for Linda's dedication at getting a warm dinner fixed daily, we would have only eaten a bite or two a day. Had our last radio contact with CIBONEY at 8:00 AM, when she was about 25 miles behind us. After that, our distance increased to beyond radio range.
Thursday, May 25. Wind eased just a few knots overnight. By morning, most of the wind was in the low 20s; later in the afternoon, it slowed into the upper teens. Also veered throughout the day to the west. Kept the same sail set - double-reefed main and staysail until we doused sail for the entrance into St Georges.
Arrived at the St Georges Custom House at 1930 local time (1830 EDT) 5 days, 8 hours underway.
(sung somewhere between Elvis in Heartbreak Hotel and Muddy Waters improvising)
Well....
I woke up this mornin'
Salty hair stuck to my head,
The boat is rockin' and rollin'
Skipper says "git outta bed!"
I got the blues..... the sloggin' to Bermuda Blues.I feel like I been in a bar fight,
But I ain't even had a drink.
Wet clothes are hangin' everywhere,
Dirty dishes in the sink.
I got the blues.... the sloggin' to Bermuda Blues.There's lightning all around us,
Spray hits me in the face.
We're flyin' along like bats out of hell. You'd think we were in a race.
I got the blues.... the sloggin' to Bermuda Blues.I got sick as a dog on the dog watch.
Head hangin' or' the toe rail.
If more water comes in over the side,
We're gonna have to bail.
I got the blues..... the sloggin' to Bermuda Blues.I got a bruise the size of Kansas.
I won't tell you were it's at.
I tie myself in to get some sleep.
You know I ain't gettin' fat!
I got the blues... the sloggin' to Bermuda Blues.The waves get your attention,
I'm glad we're still afloat!
I am so tightly teathered in,
I'm in bondage with the boat.
I got the blues... th sloggin' to Bermuda Blues.(Now, improvise.)
Can't brush my teeth.
Can't comb my hair.
Can't even change my underwear.(Now, think 16 Tons and Tennessee Earnie Ford.)
You pull a six hour watch and what do you get? Six more bruises and soaking wet!
Please nature don't ya call me, 'cause I can't go... It's way too rough to go below!If I find that weatherman he is dead.
'Cause I don't like to be misled!
He said 20, we got 45.
If I find him soon I'll flay him alive.Please Neptune show some pity,
'Cause I can't hold on!
The boat is rollin' and the wind's too strong.(Pause and improvise.)
I got them old sloggin' to Bermuda Blues.
After clearing customs, we dropped anchor in Convict Bay (the harbor off St George's). I didn't like our position after the first attempt, so we picked up the anchor and did it again. Very windy in the anchorage. In fact, from our arrival on Thursday until the following Tuesday, the wind rarely went below 20 knots. Almost always SW, but occasionally went westerly. Hard sand bottom. My 44 lb Bruce held without dragging the entire time.
Friday morning, I awoke to see CIBONEY at anchor, still flying the quarantine flag. Talked to her on the radio; she'd arrived about ten hours after us.
I had NO interest in going to the Dinghy Club, as boats there had to Med Moor to a concrete pier. If my anchor dragged even two feet in those wind conditions, CAPELLA could have received substantial damage. Much safer being in the harbor, even though it meant a dinghy trip every time we went ashore.
After a couple of days, we relocated our position a little closer to shore, to keep down the amount of spray that soaked everyone every time we went ashore in the dinghy.
Dinghy launch and engine mounting were relatively easy. I'm refining the rigging to hoist and lower the 100 lb outboard (Yamaha 4-stroke 15 HP). It's working, and probably after a couple more times, we'll get the entire process down to routine.
I kept my fingers crossed, as the outboard hadn't been started since last October, but she caught on the second pull, and performed flawlessly the entire trip. Speaking of outboards, I seem to notice that the largest percentage of motors I see are Yamaha; but I haven't seen any other 4-strokes. In the week I was there, mine used about 1 gallon of gas.
Bermuda was as beautiful as I remembered. Quaint towns, friendly people, a great place to kick back and relax. Within a day of our arrival, we'd all recovered from the rigors of the trip and were delighted to be there. A one-day pass on the bus/ferry system costs $11.00, and with that you can visit every corner of the country. Everything costs more there than in the US, as virtually everything is imported, and the main tax base for the country is from import duties. But other than produce and a few other provisions, we didn't need to buy anything - except for the obligitory T-shirts and post cards!
In contrast to my last visit in '91, we saw much more cruise ship activity. Five different ships visited during our stay, one of them twice. When they discharge their passengers, the towm fills up quickly!
Overall though, we had a great time in Bermuda. With some reluctance, we departed on June 1. Said our goodbyes to the CIBONEY crew; they're planning to depart on Saturday, June 3.
We left in gentle breezes that were just excellent for sailing. 10-15 knots that allowed us to fly all the "normal" sails effortlessly, and still fly along at 6-7 knots. Sunny weather, too. Perfect!
Linda noticed that nightime usually brought an increase in wind. Inevitably, we'd have to reduce sail, and we began to anticipate and reduce at sunset, when it was much easier to see what we were doing. Still, we sometimes had to reduce further during the dark, but after a while, it was easy to "feel" when the sail was properly reduced. I think I could reef blindfolded, now. I've certainly done it enough.
Thursday through Saturday were characterized by light to moderate winds, occasionally stronger in the evenings, and usually calm enough for a few hours that we had to use the engine every day. Predicted weather had the winds going from southwest to west to northeast, but so far, it had been consistently out of the southwest.
We approached the Gulf Stream on Sunday with no hint of how difficult the crossing would be. So far, I had managed to correctly guess the currents, and had managed to get a knot or so of favorable current to boost us along. By Sunday evening, though, we were starting to get strongly set to the North, so I knew we'd entered the Stream, and I adjusted our course to the south to counter the current.
The winds were building, and by sunset, we'd reduced to staysail and second reef in the main - the "standard" setup for rough weather. By midnight, when Linda and I came on watch, the sky was full of lightning, and the radar showed strong storm cells popping up ahead of us. Linda took the wheel, and I navigated her around the first three storm cells. Couldn't avoid the fourth, though, and it seemed like we were in that one for hours. It probably was tracking just overhead.
The good news was that the winds were still southwest, which kept the seas down - probably no more than 6 feet or so. But they were on our beam, so we'd occasionally take a pretty good roll. Winds built to 35-40 knots for a time, and we continued to get swept north in the current. Over the course of the next four hours, the winds went more westerly, and we had to continue to bear off to the north, at times our course over the ground was north-northeast, a long way from the westerly course we wanted to make good. I tried tacking, but that was no better, so we tacked back, steering between 300-330 degrees and making good about 010.
At four AM, when Mark and Brian came on watch, we furled the staysail and turned on the engine to try to make better progress to the west. I had Mark steer 240, and discovered that on that course, with the engine at cruising speed, and the knotmeter showing 6 to 6.5 knots, we were standing still! The GPS showed we were just countering the current. Amazing! Anyway, we bore off to 270, which gave us an actual course of 330 over the ground - quite a bit better than we were making under sail. About an hour later, we left the strongest part of the Stream, and were able to finally point CAPELLA toward the Chesapeake Bay. For a while, I thought we were going to have to come home via the Delaware!
But it was a vicious night, and we were all exhausted at it's end. Unfortunately, the combination of boat motion and noise gave us little opportunity for rest, so our exhaustion continued into the next day.
Monday was COLD! Coming through the Gulf Stream storm, we finally got the wind shift to the northeast, and it brought in cooler airs. We all had to layer up. It was a cloudy, damp day, in which all of us tried mightly to catch up on the sleep we lost overnight. The wind was light, but enough for us to continue towards the Chesapeake Bay at reasonable sailing speed.
About 8 PM Monday night, when we were about 25 miles from the Bay entrance, we started the engine to charge batteries and chill down the reefer. Within a minute, Linda called out, "I smell something burning! I SMELL SOMETHING BURNING!!!" I shouted to shut down the engine, then opened the door to the engine room to see a lot of smoke and some wire insulation burning near the engine starter. I blew out that flame, then noticed there was a glow from something burning under the engine. Couldn't see what it was, but by the time I reached for a fire extinguisher and pulled the pin, the flame was gone. I turned on the engine room blower to exhaust the smoke, then went in to investigate. All I needed to see was that the primary bundle of wires from the alternator to the starter was cooked. So the engine was lost for the trip.
About the same time, the breezes moderated. I changed course slightly to head for the southern opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, about 35 miles away. By the time we reached it at about 4:30 AM, we were down to under 2 knots. For the next couple of hours we drifted about 1/2 mile from the bridge tunnel. Finally, at about 7 AM, I called for a tow to take me into Little Creek, where I could tie the boat up until she was repaired.
So CAPELLA now sits at Taylor's Marine Center in Little Creek. The initial verdict on the fire was that a chafed wire near the starter short-circuited, causing the starter to engage while the engine was running. What's unknown yet is possible damage to the starter and/or the engine flywheel. Hopefully, I'll know within a day or two.
Rented a van to drive home with crew and baggage. As we were departing, Tom and Barb Schaefer (GOSI) walked right in front of us. They were holed up in Little Creek with Greg Poe and the crew of MODERATION awaiting a break in the weather near the Gulf Stream. Hopefully, they'll get out in a day or two, but I'm delighted to know they've taken the safer alternative. It was nasty out there.