Home Again and a Few Reflections

We got back to the dock in Delaware City a day or two earlier than we had originally planned.  A frontal system forecast to arrive the next day was supposed to bring 30-40 knot winds offshore and waves that would have turned a trip up the Delaware Bay into an ordeal of tall, choppy seas aft of the beam.  We had following winds and seas all the way from Sandy Hook (New York City) to home…. One tack the entire 34 hours!

Offshore under Spinnaker

I wanted to set down a few thoughts about the benchmark Claire and I set by doing this trip together.

First and foremost, it dramatically and comprehensively expanded our experience of sailing on Justice.   The Chesapeake – where I have sailed for a decade, is a beautiful area to explore, but is plagued by light winds and many shallow areas resulting in using the diesel more than the sails.  This trip, both offshore and in protected waters, gave us a chance to cover hundreds of miles largely under sail alone at steady speeds of seven knots and above for hours and days on end.   We had planned on using the Monitor wind vane but never got it hooked up, so the Robertson Simrad Autopilot (1990 vintage) was tasked with steering assistance for the entire trip.  It performed extremely well. 

Manhattan

One of the goals of this trip was to give Claire her first coastal ocean experience- without setting up a situation where she would wish she was not there.  We ultimately experienced a range of weather, wind and wave conditions during the trip that ranged from calm to gusty winds (35 knots) driving steep waves that brought our forward progress to a halt.  Thankfully the challenging conditions were in the daytime.   A long-distance sailor for whom I hold great respect told me “when you encounter bad weather at night it is not so bad because you cannot see the waves”.  Claire and I experienced the comfort and trust that is generated by being aboard a vessel that is heavily built and designed to rise above virtually any sea condition….. even when the crew may not feel like THEY are ready.

Meeting Frank Foster and B.G. Sykes

Frank Foster and Dave

Frank and Claire

I was really looking forward to meeting the builder of Justice (Frank Foster) and the second owner (B.G. Sykes).  I anticipated we would hear some great stories and learn new things about Justice’ past.  What I did not expect was how much feeling like “family” underscored the time we all spent together.  Frank is the multi-talented individual who built and finished Justice in 1990.  His craftsmanship is evident in every inch of Justice, and his knowledge of all things nautical is comprehensive.  He was responsible for creating a vessel with many unique and well implemented systems and operational characteristics, all of which contributed to Justice being a very special and unusually comfortable and safe vessel with excellent performance.  B.G. gave us the use of his home, his dock, and his wine cellar!  He fed us sumptuous breakfasts and soul healing dinners.  We enjoyed learning from HIS lifetime of sailing and owning many ocean going vessels.  Fine people all and Claire and I both kept commenting to each other on the way home how much being able to spend time with both of these fine gentlemen made the trip much richer and more personally rewarding than we had anticipated it would be.   We now have friends for life, family members united through our mutual connection to this incredible and unique yacht.

Sea Conditions and corelating weather reports to experienced conditions

During our trip we utilized wind and wave prediction data based on the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather models, compared to the European ECMWF weather prediction model (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts).  With the exception of the last two days of our trip, the USA based system consistently under-predicted the strength of the forecast winds while the European system more closely predicted the experienced conditions.  When on open waters an increase of peak winds from 20 to 25 or 30 does not sound like much, but in reality produces a dramatic change in the size and shape of the wave trains.  On Justice waves produced by 15 knot winds gusting 20 were not uncomfortable.  When the gusts piped up to 25-30 the conditions deteriorated quickly to choppy seas.  Ultimately we had a wide range of wind and wave conditions and we learned many lessons that contributed to a better understanding of sea conditions and the ability of Justice to make progress in a variety of conditions.

Winds gusting to 35

Sunset and a nighttime cruise

Boat systems and what matters – and what does not

Two days before our departure the refrigeration system on Justice decided that, after 29 years of reliable operation, it was time to retire.  Attempting to repair or replace the system would have delayed our departure so we loaded bags of ice into the freezer and plugged in a small dorm room fridge.  This system worked much better than I anticipated and ultimately, we ate well and had no significant inconvenience related to the loss of Freon based refrigeration.

The systems on Justice worked beautifully.  Total outright failures encountered boiled down to two cabin light bulbs needing replacement; total maintenance time for these two inconveniences was about two minutes each.  We did some regular maintenance during our travels.  We replaced our fuel filters due to a normal accumulation of asphaltene in the fuel system. (Asphaltene is a black sludgy deposit that precipitates out of diesel fuel over time and collects in fuel tanks and filters.)   My anchor chain snubber (a length of stretchy nylon rope that connects the chain to the bow of the boat and acts like a shock absorber for the anchor chain in windy/choppy anchoring conditions) somehow vanished over this past winter so I spliced together a new one that worked well.   I took my Sailrite sewing machine on the trip and did some small jobs including making some new covers for our dinghy outboard and a couple of our deck boxes.  I also put the finishing touches on the cockpit enclosure.

What comes next?

Pragmatically speaking I have a dozen house repair jobs that are calling out to me and will take some time this summer.  In terms of more sailing trips we will be doing weekend local trips occasionally.   The next block of time that I will have off that would allow for a longer trip will start the first week of October (at the end of the hurricane season) and I anticipate that Claire and I will come up with a plan for another journey.

Thank you all for following us on this blog and I look forward to more opportunities to share what we are learning.

David

Home at Last - June 12

             Dave and Claire are home at last.   Photo by BAW.

We will write more about our great trip in the weeks to come.

Thanks to all that helped make this trip possible!

Dave and Claire

Rockin' and Rollin' on the Delaware Bay

June 12, 2:50 pm Middle of Delaware Bay, DE/NJ
We sailed since 1:30 pm June 11 from Sandy Hook, NJ, fortunate to have a great weather window again. We decided to not stop in Cape May and keep going to Delaware City, DE.

The weather tomorrow would not be favorable for going up the Delaware Bay. Today, on one of it's best days, we are rolling with the waves that are not far apart, going downwind and down-wave. Since the bay is shallow, the tides and waves, either going in same direction or opposing, can be rough (especially opposing like it is now).  The tide is about to change and we can't wait for it to settle in.

Makes for constant steering by hand. There are no autopilots that perform well downwind in big waves. .

We have been sailing on the SAME tack all along the NJ coast!

We took turns taking naps, complete with autopilot whines, block and line slapping and rocking boat. Bracing myself for every task, we are talking about what we learned. Right now both hands are on the wheel or holding on, or taking photos of ships and lighthouses (with one hand).

We should arrive at home dock late this afternoon, unless we stop and anchor close to home, but there are VERY few places to anchor on this bay. Once we get around the bend, the waves will be smaller. We just need to get up to the Salem NJ nuclear power plant for things to calm down. We started the engine and took down the jib and staysail. A real sled ride.

Until later,
-Claire

Looking for a weather window - Clouds at Atlantic Highlands June 11

11 am. Frontal System passage going over us. Put these 3 photos together to see long line:

As the front passes over us around noon, the wispy tails show the high winds  up there which match the big wind we hear down here:

 1pm. We see a window. The average winds and gusts have diminished. We think we will leave now.

 - Claire

Atlantic Highlands Again - Claire

Due to Small Craft Warning for lower half of NJ on Sunday night, we "ducked" into Atlantic Highlands at 3 am Mon. morning. We moved to the more protected anchorage later in the day.

This afternoon, Tuesday June 11, we plan to sail to Cape May and should arrive 24 hours or so from when we leave.

On Monday, we got fogged in:

Dave made a new outboard cover.

Claire opened the hatches and got some tea started.

Dave replaced both fuel filters. More on this later.

Claire dried towels so they wouldn't blow away.

Dave sewed a chafe protector for the snubber

followed by a reward movie "Quigley Down Under"

- Claire

Headed to Cape May Oceanside

Sailing Cape May from Block Island, the travel distance is 190-200 miles.
3 photos from 9 am Sat June 8. Winds steady 15 knots from NE.

Pleasant Block Island

When to Know you Should Have Been Worried but Didn't Know Until Later That You WERE - DAVID

Our route through Quicks Hole and past Cuttyhunk, only to return to Cuttyhunk hours later, older and wiser.

We departed Vineyard Haven Harbor (on the North side of Martha’s Vineyard Island) on Monday the 3^rd of June.  The winds were supposed to be 15 gusting maybe 20 knots in the afternoon.  Probably a bit bouncy but not a problem.  Or so I thought.  The actual STEADY winds ended up being over 20 knots and the gusts went to 35!   

Recorded wind speeds during the last hour before we turned around.  Note the steady apparent wind of 21.4 at that moment and the 35 knot gusts within the past ten minutes~!

 Introducing a Cape Cod given; when you combine a Sou’western blow with current flowing past Martha’s Vineyard where strong currents can oppose the winds it is a setup for a VERY rough ride with steep sided waves that are so close together that the one you are cresting is a setup for you to bury the bow of your boat into the next one waiting three seconds further upwind.

This story is basically a study into the subtle processes that leads you from bravely taking on that which is difficult to turning and running from it.   I have been in pretty rough conditions on the Delaware and Chesapeake bays in the past.  You get rough conditions based on the shallow waters (15-30 feet deep) interacting with the winds in a predictable 3-4 foot chop that is rough but not dangerous in a vessel the size of Justice.

When passing Martha’s Vineyard we were protected from the wind and waves coming in off the open ocean.  As we got past the protection of the island the seas began to stand up.  It was a “less comfortable ride” but totally manageable.    I got this bright idea that we could cut through the passage between Nashawena Island and Pasque Island and get from the Easterly current flowing through the Martha’s Vineyard Sound into Buzzard’s Bay where we would have the help of a current flowing westbound…. The way we were going. 

At first this worked beautifully as the islands protected us from the ocean waves and the winds. But as we passed the last island in the chain (Cuttyhunk Island) the seas really started to kick up.   We ended up needing the diesel to make any progress into the winds that were now gusting to 30 (and eventually 35).  I was hoping we could make it around the corner of Little South West Rock on the northern shore where we might find (wishful thinking) smoother waters.  We labored forward at between 1.5 and 2 knots.  At this rate we would not make it to Newport until between 10 PM and midnight.  Strike two.  No, Strike Three!  Arriving through incredibly rough waves and wind, arriving late at night into an area known for rocks and currents and, on top of all of this, was completely unfamiliar.  We came abreast Southwest Rock and looking ahead could tell that the sea condition was worse, if anything, not better.  I looked at the steep waves we were crashing into…..  Every third or fourth wave the bow would bury and we would throw solid green water the length of the boat, crashing into the fabric and clear plastic cockpit cover. 

I had been hand steering for a couple hours as the autopilot could not handle the sea conditions and getting sideways to the wave trains ….. well I just didn’t want to consider what that might mean.  Roughly 30 minutes prior to arriving at the corner of the ‘Rocks I remember wondering “Are we getting in over our heads?”  I was concerned but not frightened.  During the next 30 minutes I wondered if I SHOULD be frightened and was just not smart enough to realize that I should be!

We came around the corner and the sight of the seas, rougher and higher, made the final decision pretty easy.  We needed to turn and run.  At that point I was not even sure as to where we would run.  The first problem was getting turned around to head downwind, as getting hit by these steep sided closely spaced waves broadside could have caused loss of control of the boat.  We were down to the Mizzen sail alone at this point, so we didn’t need to do much sail shifting just wait and watch for a space between the waves that would give us a chance to quickly spin around.  Finally the space appeared and we used full engine power and the wheel to the locks to turn around before being plowed by the next wave.

It had taken three hours to cover the space since passing Cuttyhunk Island.  It took us 45 minutes to cover the same space racing downwind, trying to match our hull speed to the wave trains.  Taking a quartering wave to the stern of the boat can cause a broach, or an instantaneous loss of steering following which you end up sideways to the waves without the ability to maneuver.  We pulled into a small indent on the downwind side of the island.  The inlet to the protected harbor was narrow and too shallow for us to seek refuge there so we buried the anchor with 200 foot of chain rode keeping us in one spot while the waves roared around the island and did their very best to stir the water where we sat.  It was a restless night as we kept an ear open to the anchor drag alarm on the GPS.  I remember Frank (Justice’ builder) saying “Cuttyhunk is a great place be visit but not at which to spend the night”. 

So what did I learn?  Maybe I was not frightened but I sure as heck was relieved when we pulled in behind Cuttyhunk Island!   I did not consider the opposing wind and wave interaction even though I knew about it from other circumstances.  The Yanmar Diesel kept us under control for the last three hours of fighting our way upwind but under sail alone we would have given up much earlier.  Don’t let yourself depend on only one resource for continuing into conditions that you would otherwise turn from much sooner.

So when should you turn back?  In this case the best time would have been before I first thought about it.  Makes complete sense to me now, in 20/20 hindsight!

David

Not your average oatmeal

When we have oatmeal, we don't JUST have oatmeal.
We add:

• coconut
• wheat germ or flax
• diced apple or/and blueberries
• raisins
• cinnamon
• granola with nuts

We make a lake in the middle for milk and maybe add a dollop of peanut butter!

Back on the Block - June 6

Back at Block Island, to explore it this time on Fri June 7, then we'll head west.