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