MUTUAL FUN - A SAILING ODYSSEY

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FIRST MATE'S LOG - NOVEMBER

November 20, 21, 22, 23, 1999

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Saturday, November 27, 1999
Day last
Yesterday morning I was asleep after my 6-8:00am watch when I awoke about 11:00am with a slight jolt. I laid in my bunk for another few minutes and then hopped up, stuck my head in the cockpit and asked Bob if we hit the Gulf Stream about 10 minutes ago. He had a big grin and said he thought he felt it, too. Dale was unaware of the sudden change but when he really paid attention, he could also tell that the seas had become short and choppy. There is also a feel of a greater pressure, almost as if the blood in your body is being pushed down. This is because there is a 1½-3 knot current. The longer we stayed in the Gulf Stream, the stronger the pressure gets. We stayed in the stream about 10 hours, which was quite enough for us. When we left it, all of us could feel the difference. The waves were further apart and had less pull. We were certainly making good time on this return voyage. Seems we always make good time when we are going the wrong way. The sun went down and the moonrise was not due for about 3 hours. The sky was as dark as I have ever seen it. There was no differential between the sky and the ocean. The first front was upon us. The winds picked up to up to 25 knots, the sky got even darker and opened up on us with a torrential downpour. This lasted for over an hour while Bob and I switched off at the helm. Old Max just couldn't be trusted to handle these conditions. About an hour after the first front hit, the second one dumped another hour of rain and high winds our way. The saving grace was that the temperature was still warm and so we didn't freeze. During these heavy rains and black skies, we were supposed to be looking for Cape Lookout which is a lighthouse denoting very dangerous shoals. We never saw the light, which made Dale kind of nervous, but I have great faith in Bob's navigating. Before long, we entered the channel to Beaufort and Moorehead City. By now it was about midnight and we were not on any watch schedule and nobody had slept. As you can imagine, there was some high tension as we approached land for the first time in over 10 days. The channel is long and the seas were still quite rolly. Dale took the helm while Bob and I tried unsuccessfully to doze. As we neared the channel to Beaufort, once again it started raining. I had just changed into warm, dry clothes but those are the breaks. Bob took the helm. Dale was on the right and I was on the left, watching for buoys. As we went through some green markers and some red markers, we realized the channel was quite tricky and we were in trouble. The seas were still very choppy in the channel and as we were trying to sort things out, we almost hit a huge red buoy. Bob gunned the motor and just missed it. We were so tired that we thought we would just drop an anchor and get some rest. We were terribly disoriented and tired. The only other option was to go back out to sea and wait for daylight. We all knew that we were all too tired to keep any sort of watch. Our friends, Eric and Susan, were on standby on vhf radio, waiting for us to call if we needed help. At about 3:00am, I convinced Bob to let me call them and get some help. Well, let me tell you, if Eric and Susan offer you help, they mean they are there to really help you. I raised them on the vhf and they were fully ready for our call for help. Eric got on with me first and got out approximate position. Our engine was roaring as Bob was trying to keep the boat from crashing into the buoys as Dale shone a spotlight on them to read their number. After getting our location, Susan got on the radio and told us that Eric was coming out to meet us. As I thanked her, my voice caught and tears welled up in my eyes. Susan would stay aboard their boat, Eric would take a portable vhf radio in the dinghy and I would relay all of the information from Susan up to Bob. What a professional system these two had. As it turned out, they had actually rehearsed this just for our arrival. Having had a rough go in the Gulf Stream themselves, they didn't want us to spend one more night out there. Susan walked us in buoy by buoy until we saw Eric out in his dinghy shining a light toward us. Then Eric walked us the rest of the way in, directed us to a place to anchor and made sure the anchor was set after we dropped it. He reached down in a bag in his dinghy and pulled out a big box of chocolates to welcome us back. He then went and got Susan from their boat and she came bearing fresh apples. We sat around and drank tea and caught up on each of our harrowing experiences until 6:00am when we all decided to get a few hours sleep.
Bernie drove all the way here from Toledo to pick up Dale and off they went to a nice warm motel with lots of hot running water. We took Eric and Susan out for a nice thank-you dinner.
We are now safely tucked in at Beaufort where we will remain a few days to get our sails stitched, get a new GSC 100 from my brother and get some much needed rest. We are catching up with past boating friends from different ports and meeting new ones. Bob and Eric are diligently going over charts from here to the Virgin Islands via the Bahamas. Weather predictions are for much colder days ahead. Guess it's time to head south………….

Friday, November 26, 1999
Day 10
Dinner was tasty last night. Dale made up his famous mashed potatoes along with the other goodies I prepared. We were at about a 20-degree heel so when we all sat down at he table to eat, we had to hold our plates in one hand so the creamed corn didn't slide off the plate. This was not so much fun so we all gobbled our food and all of that preparation was disposed of in 7 minutes flat. That's the thing I hate about cooking. Hours to prepare and a few minutes to enjoy. After dinner I started to clean up and wash the dishes. I had prepared the ham in a pan using crushed pineapple and honey to steam it. I put all of the table scraps into the pan with the leftover juices and handed the pan up for fish food. Only problem was it didn't make it up. The handle came off the pan and the pineapple juice, honey, bits of leftover food all went flying over the companionway steps, behind them onto the toolboxes, canvas covers, life preservers, into the galley, onto Dale's room floor, under the nav station and part way into the main living area. I couldn't believe what a mess I had to clean up after all of that cooking and still had the dishes to wash and I was on watch in 10 minutes. The guys were looking down from above but couldn't help because the steps were covered with pineapple. I set to work cleaning it all up and decided since it was Thanksgiving, to be thankful that the boat no longer smelled like 3 people who hadn't showered in 9 days but instead, pineapple. I was looking forward to a nice, peaceful watch when about ½ hour into it, a large squall line appeared and I had to hand-steer into 22-26 knot winds with the rail in the water for an hour. I reached the exhaustion stage and Bob harnessed up and took over. Dale was so exhausted that he slept through the first hour of squalls, which had to have sounded like Niagara Falls down below. Bob hand steered us for another hour before the winds let up enough to get back on course and hook up Max, the windvane. Max has been so named, short for Maximillion because he is worth a million bucks to us. He is performing beautifully and was definitely worth all of the trouble.
We are presently 19.8 miles from the Gulf Stream where we are supposed to be greeted by a front bringing us 20-25 knot winds and stirred up conditions. The weather has been beautiful from start to finish. Everyday has been warm and sunny. Thank heavens for small favors.

Thursday, November 25, 1999
Day 9
Sitting on my 6-8:00am watch, the sunrise was pretty, there was a squall line ahead moving off to the west, seas were rolly but not uncomfortable and the air was warm. It would have been a perfect watch if not for the sudden nostalgia realizing today is Thanksgiving Day. With my sister and her two children living in Israel for the last 26 years and my brother in California, today was going to be the first Thanksgiving the whole family would have been together in 18 years. A sudden pang of homesickness hit hard and so I dedicate this entry to my loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving to my Mom and Melvie. To Sharon and Maya and Shaul. To Gary, Linda, Ali cat and Claire bear. To Kathy and to Florence. And to all of the rest of my family and friends. We will be preparing a special meal. If the seas quiet down I may even bake a cake. If not, we will have ham, mashed potatoes, beets and my mom's and Kathy's homemade cookies I had frozen for just such an occasion. I will be thinking of you all as we have our meal and will be giving thanks for having such wonderful people in my life. And to Tiger, you be sure Sharon gives you some turkey. Meow.

Wednesday, November 24, 1999
Day 8
Presently 267 miles away from Beaufort. Sailing conditions are: seas 4-6 with 10 foot swells, winds 15 knots and "following seas", meaning they are behind us and giving us a nice push forward. It is rolly but sunny and pretty warm. We are all in fairly good spirits considering our situation. Sometimes life brings us funny twists and turns and for what reason, we have only to look forward to finding out. We are all fairly dirty, smelly and looking forward to touching terra firma. I have watch at 6:00pm and I had better go heat up last night's leftovers of pasta, chicken, corn and mushrooms. After talking to Herb a few minutes ago, I have learned that we should have a fairly nice sail back with a front approaching and ready to hit us smack in the Gulf Stream. We may have a bumpy 100 miles through the "stream" but with any luck and good winds, we will beat it back.

November 20,21,22,23
Day 4,5,6,7
Oh, what a sad situation! Sailing was long and hard and uncomfortable. We managed over these 4 days to come within 150 miles of Bermuda. Unfortunately, the winds were such that we couldn't get there. On day 4, 5 and 6, we beat into the wind with 25 knot winds and waves between 10-12 feet with up to 30 foot swells. "Beating" is the most uncomfortable point of sail there is. If you can imagine being in a boat that is being slammed by 30 foot swells and high winds, along with the wind screaming through the sails, you can picture the dilemma that was now to face us. According to Herb, the weatherman, south of Bermuda was 5 days ahead of gale-like conditions. These winds were 35 knots with 30-foot seas. Going south was now not an option. That left trying to make Bermuda. Bob plotted the course it would take to get there and it consisted of 100 miles north, or away from Bermuda, going about 2 knots (50 hours or over 2 days) and then we would have to beat back at the same speed for 200 miles (100 hours or over 4 days). That meant that we would have to sail for 6 more days, on top of the 3 we had already been "beating" in the most uncomfortable of sailing possible. To give you an example of this type of position, picture trying to brush your teeth at a 45-degree angle. Picture trying to prepare food with the boat so heeled over that you can hardly move without holding on and sliding from one side of the of the boat to the other. Picture trying to put on your pants and having to feel the movement of the boat so you can time the next wave and not fall over on your head. And that while sitting down. Picture holding onto the handrails while going forward on the deck to do sail work. And picture laying in your bunk with 25-knot winds screaming through your rigging, the boat slamming into huge swells and then crashing down into a trough. Picture the sound of the sails and the rigging slamming and cracking from the pressure of the wind. Now picture that you have passed your off-watch hours with hardly any sleep. This had been going on for 3 days and now we were hearing that it would be 6 more days or go south of Bermuda and worse yet, slam into gale-like conditions for at least 5 days. Well, there was a third option and unfortunately, we had no choice but to head back to the East Coast. Bob and I had to make this decision while Dale was politely quiet. He knew that not only short-term plans were being decided but long term for us as well. Can you imagine how we all felt being 150 miles from Bermuda and not being able to get there? So, after much discussion, very sad faces and tears (only mine), we turned the boat around and headed west. It was so sad. Poor Dale. First of all, we had to wait a week to get a clear weather picture. Then we finally head southeast and proceed to make the longest U-turn in history. 2-plus weeks all to return to almost the same spot as where we left. He was a really good sport about it all but he is very anxious to set foot back on land and see his wife.
Bob sank into the blues about an hour after the decision was made and stayed there for a few hours until we cheered ourselves up talking about all of the places we were going to visit on the "Thornless Path", the route we are planning to take to get down to the islands. We will head south through either the Intercoastal or off-shore and just make our way down through the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and then the Virgin Islands.
I think I have mentioned in the past that we have new friends, Eric and Susan from sailboat, Elysia. Unfortunately for them, they started out from Beaufort and headed straight into really nasty weather in the Gulf Stream. Eric was sick and the seas so rough that they had to head back. We are able to talk to other boats via "the net" which was put together for boats sailing to Bermuda on the single-side band radio. When we heard Elysia's fate, we were so saddened because we were hoping to vacation with them in the BVI. Well, when they heard our plight while we were talking to Herb, they were also sad for us. They were planning to leave for their southern "stepping" down to the islands and decided to stay until we get to Beaufort. They offered to come out and get us if we get there after dark and promised to buy the first round. As sad as this situation is, we are greatly looking forward to seeing them and crying in our beer together.

Wednesday, November 19, 1999
Day 3
My 6:00am watch brought calm, rolly seas, mild temperatures, little wind and 2 whales. Dale was up with me and although they weren't in a playful mood, we did see their fins. We put the boat in neutral in case there were more than 2 so we wouldn't hit them. I included a picture but you have to look pretty hard to see the fin. As you can see, the sunrise was beautiful. I just got off my noon to 2:00pm watch. The wind has picked up but we are still motor sailing. This is not good, as we really need to conserve diesel. We tried sailing every which way but the only way it would work was to head north or west. Not good. We have yet to try our new steering vane. Tomorrow promises wind in a better direction. In a few minutes I will log on to the frequency with Herb and see where hurricane Lenny is and what weather to expect this way. Everyone is well; nobody seasick. We are well fed but would really like to sail.

Tuesday, November 18, 1999
Day 2
I had the sunrise watch 6-8am (what a coincidence) and the new sky brought sunshine, milder temperatures and the Gulf Stream. We were in and out of the Gulf Stream in about 12 hours, which is excellent. The stream can be really bumpy. It was pretty tame but a bit rolly. The water temp is 75 degrees so you can imagine the day was pleasant and mild. Unfortunately for me, I had many chores to do and just got to enjoy it on my noon watch. While I listened to Herb on the single side band radio, got details on hurricane Lenny and waited my turn to speak with him, I prepared the evening meal of salmon patties, mashed potatoes and peas. I heard no complaining. Dale was gracious and said he would keep watch while Bob and I sat together and ate. Bob commented that it was nice to sit side-by-side for the first time in quite awhile.
It is now 7:00pm and I am sitting in the cockpit on watch. For once the autopilot is working and my hands are free. The weather is extremely mild, the seas calm and the night very quiet. Both boys are asleep and I am at peace with the world. Bob and Dale saw dolphin off in the distance today but I was asleep. We are motoring but can't keep this up as we have many, many more miles to go and we must save our fuel in case Lenny decides to pull a Mitch and turn back west towards the coast. Last night I came out to help Bob with a sail change and smashed my kneecap right into the corner of the helm seat. It hurt so badly I couldn't speak for about 5 minutes. This is the same knee that I smashed on 3 different occasions in Camden. I limped around all night but today it is much better. It is so calm out here. The stars are shining and the moon is making the water sparkle. Theses are the nights that I wish all of you could be with us. On those rough nights, you would be happy to be home in your nice warm, unmoving, bed. At 8:00pm, I will go off watch and sleep. I won't have to get up again until midnight. The boys are well and playing nicely together.
Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Day 1 REALLY!!!
We left Hampton, Va., that would be Bob, myself and Dale Overly, about 1:30 PM, We got the weather window that we've been waiting for after waiting one week in Hampton. By 3:00 or so, we were leaving the Chesapeake and entering the big blue Atlantic. The winds were mild and the seas pretty calm. The crew was ecstatic and also a bit anxious. At 3:00 we checked in with Herb, an amateur weatherman out of Canada who has been helping sailors on the eastern seaboard for 25 years, and he acknowledged us. We gave him our lat/lon and he gave us his blessing. The night was mighty cold but clear, with a meteor shower to welcome the beginning of our voyage. I didn't sleep very well as I usually don't the first night out, but I'll make it up.

Sunday, November 14, 1999
Here we are STILL in Hampton, VA. We have been walking the town looking for things to keep us occupied while we await our weather window. Herb is back and we will listen today at 3:00pm and hope he gives us the OK for tomorrow. We will do last minute laundry and a quick stop at the grocery for fresh foods and if all goes well, we will leave early tomorrow. There are 4 boats in this harbour waiting for good weather and more in Beaufort, NC.
Yesterday, the captain of Sovereign, who we met in Maine, came over and got our weather fax up and running. We are very excited to have this going. It will be most helpful as we sail south to show us the weather as we're on our way. I'm not really sure what we can do about it once we're out there in the middle of the ocean but at least we can turn in a different direction if really nasty weather is trying to bite us.
Hopefully you won't hear from me again for at least a week where we duck into Bermuda or two weeks if we go straight to the Caribbean. Ciao!

Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Well, we didn't have to wait till 3:00am to decide what to do because at 11:30pm, we woke up with a shout. We had dragged our anchor as the tide came up and sort of plowed into another boat. The other boat was much smaller and thank goodness had a very limber and qualified captain on board. He fended us off and hopped in his dinghy and made several maneuvers to get us off of him. The three of us (I was pretty comatose) did a nice job of pulling up our anchor and we finally decided to dock the boat as it was late and we were tired. The guy on the next dock over came over and helped us with our lines and went back to sleep. As we finished up, Bob noticed the name of their boat and sure enough if it wasn't a couple who we met in Maine in the Hinckley service yard. We have seen quite a few sailors again that we first met in Maine. It seems to be a small but friendly community.
Well, the bad news is that Herb says that we have to stay put until, at the earliest, Sunday. There are fronts and tropical storms and gales all around us. Cape Hatteras is notorious for eating ships and is definitely one place we don't want to be in any sort of negative weather. The men were impatient to move on and were toying with the idea of motoring down the Intercoastal Waterway. It would be a 5 day trip and there is no sailing because of the narrowness (is that a word? My spellcheck didn't kick it out so it must be) and you have to stop at night and basically I talked the guys out of it. I think they just wanted to be moving. The positive for taking the Intercoastal down to Beaufort, NC is because that way you are south of Cape Hatteras. In any case, here we sit in Hampton, Virginia and the weather is nice and warm and we are content.
We have so much stuff on board that I cracked up when I went to put something away in Dale's room and found his sleeping area on his bed is barely large enough for him to get in. It seems that everyday something else has to be stored in there. He admitted that last night when we had to get up fast when we dragged anchor that he could barely get out of bed. He is a great sport, though and never complains and even seems to like my cooking. And that's pretty scary.
There is a room here at the Harbour Master's where I can connect to the Internet so I am also able to get these floppies sent to Erin. Don't you think Erin is doing a great job with this web page? She is the one who puts in the little animated things and the music and she inserts all of the text. What a great find she was for us. Thanks, Erin!

Monday, November 8, 1999
Day 1 We left Annapolis on a cold, sunny morning at about 9:00. Bernie and Beth (their daughter-in-law) were there to wave us off as was our Minnesota friends and some of the staff of Steve's Boat yard. It was one of those anticlimactic moments as everyone waved us off and we turned toward the gas docks instead of out to sea. The gas docks were closed so we actually did head out to the Chesapeake but by then, everyone on shore had left. So much for dramatic send-offs.
We had nice, calm seas and some decent winds but once again, right on our nose. In fact, the winds were on our nose for the next 30 hours; all of the way to Hampton, Virginia. Not once could we even put up our staysail. We started out with 3 hour watches; 3 on and 6 off. We all decided that it was too cold and so we had 2 hours on and 4 hours off. For once, I slept well and got enough sleep. The night watches were cold but not unbearable. Dale acclimated very quickly and very well. Our autopilot worked like a charm all of the way until maybe 10:00am the following day when it decided it didn't like the seas coming straight at it. We weren't sure if we were even going to stop in Virginia but because we motored all of the way down the Chesapeake, we needed to refuel. Once we got here and fueled up and filled our water tanks, we listened to Herb, the weatherman. Herb said just what we all feared, don't go to Bermuda for at least 2 days. So, here we sit once again, waiting on the weather. Herb is taking his first vacation in 25 years and won't be there to broadcast Friday and Saturday. Just when we need him. We set anchor here in Hampton just as the sun was going down. I made cabbage and noodles and roast beef and applesauce for dinner. It is 7:15pm and Bob is snoring away and Dale is in his bunk. We are all tired from the 30 hour trip but what will we all do at 3:00am when we wake up?
Saturday, November 6, 1999
I feel like I am in that stupid Ground Hog Day movie where the alarm goes off, the same music plays on the radio and the day is exactly the same as the last. Today, the film finally ends. All of the workmen are off the boat, the work is complete and Mutual Fun, once again, is clean and tidy. The wind vane took about 10 days instead of 2. The autopilot is once again working. The salt-water washdown is fixed. The head is filling again. All of the lights on the mast work and the stern rail has been hacked, welded and sanded. It is a beautiful, sunny day and we are awaiting a huge tug-of-war that takes place over the bay. Bernie is driving Dale to us, here in Annapolis, instead of us sailing to meet them in Norfolk. This was done for three reasons. 1. It is closer for Bernie to drive. 2. We are running so late that we would have to have pulled an all-nighter which would have been OK, except for 3. I have a nasty sinus infection. Bob decided that it wouldn't be wise for me to start out on a long passage not feeling well and then with not enough sleep. So, we are here wasting another 2 days but I am resting and getting better. I took a mega-dose of antibiotics yesterday and felt better by day's end.
We have met even more friends here: Ellysia and John are newlyweds and are crewing with her father, Rolf. They laugh at me as I am walking around in 6 layers because they are from Duluth and walk around in T-shirts. They have a 47-ft sailboat that needs a lot of work and they hope to leave for Bermuda in one week (yea, right.) They have hired on a guy for crew that only requires his air fare and eating/drinking money to be paid. Some of these guys can really drink so it may not be such a great deal. In any case, these are nice folks and they think we're pros and ask us a bunch of questions. That's pretty funny. Seven years ago, when we first began our P.O.E. (Plan Our Escape), we met with a broker here named Scott. Scott showed us some boats and turned us unto big crab sandwiches with the legs hanging out of the bun. We kept in touch with Scott over the years and here we are and here he is. He makes us pots of fresh coffee and lets me use the phone and allows me to e-mail these pictures and text to you. He's always quick with a joke or some little-known tip for this or that. It's been nice seeing him again.
The captain is well, fingers healing nicely although he seems to have lost feeling in the tip of the baby finger. He is ready for our passage and very excited to be heading toward warmth. He did a lot of pacing and watching-over as the steering vane was installed and then some negotiating on the final bill. The final bill was $4600.00 for the work done. That, of course, in addition to the $3500.00 for the cost of the vane, itself. Donations can be sent to…...I am almost looking forward to the Caribbean where you can't get work done and have to rely on your fellow harbour mates. I'm sure I'll have to eat those words more than once.
Dale is due tomorrow evening. I imagine Bernie will spend the night with us on the boat and then we will both take off first light Monday. We will listen to Herb, the weatherman before we go and may just sail straight on by Norfolk and out to the big blue. I will be writing to you over the trip but, of course, won't be able to send it until we get there. I know you wish us well and safe passage and those thoughts stay with us. Until we hear the steel band music and feel the tropical breeze on our faces, Aloha.

Tuesday, November 2, 1999
The weather got nasty today. Though it is not as cold as it will be tomorrow, we are sitting at the dock (still) and 40-knot winds are gusting around us. The boat is bobbing up and down and I am thinking wouldn't it be a first to need Dramamine at the dock? Tomorrow, the weatherman is calling for a "blustery day." While Bob and I were at the mall visiting Radio Shack, I decided to high tail it over to an outdoor store and see if they got in those moon slippers yet. When we had cocktails with Eric and Susan, I fell in love with these space slippers Eric had on. The four of us tried to find them at the mall but they hadn't gotten them in yet. As I sit here, I am wearing thermal, down-filled ankle boots. I am sitting with an electric heater at my feet and an unlimited water supply. Oh, I am getting so soft. When we get released from this place, I am not going to be able to function.
The wind vane is actually attached to the boat. Finally! Today, three men were working on this sucker trying to move this project along. We are petrified to see the bill for this. We have been at this dock for about 10 days and there have been people working here for about 7 of those 10 days. At 60 bucks an hour, you can do the math and thank your lucky stars that you weren't dumb enough to be doing this. Mike, the wind vane guy, just has to finish bringing the lines into the cockpit and then they have to hack off more of the railing so the paddle doesn't hit it. This has been the most unfun project to date. It has taken entirely too long and we are bored and restless to get moving. And, really, we are afraid of getting too soft.

Monday, November 1, 1999
Today is Monday and we are impatiently waiting for Mike, the wind vane guy. Friday was a complete bust except for the last 15 minutes when Mike got out a saw and hacked off the swim ladder. He actually worked on this project ALL DAY Friday and accomplished nothing. Positioning and repositioning. Well, I'm glad he's not drilling holes and then sorry about where he drilled them. In any case, the weather has been absolutely beautiful, just as it has there. I have been cleaning and scrubbing and waxing and polishing. Bob has been repairing and reading and plotting and charting. We need to do a major provisioning, some laundry and be on our way. If only the boat were done. The weather is supposed to turn nasty starting tonight and continue through Wednesday so it looks like we may leave Thursday. We are supposed to meet Dale Overly on Sunday night in Norfolk, which is a 3-day sail for us. Bernie is driving him to meet us. What a sweetheart