July, 2009

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7-Eleven. Saturday Evening Post

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

At 18.45 hrs UTC I am at 34.46 N 39.05 W with 552 miles to go. A 131 mile day. I must have a favorable current. The wind has gone from SW to NW and it is a much rougher ride with the waves on the port beam. Occasionally lapping over the deck and cabin. Wind is between 20 and 25 knots. Just using the 90% jib. Herb will not come on till 23.00 hrs. Since I have apparently run that nice WSWesterly to it’s end I am trying to head more directly for Horta. The next few days promise a lot of wind strength and direction changes. The blue sky is gone. No fish, except a nice size, about 6 inches, flying fish deposited right at the front door when I went to get my “USA To-Day”, at day break. Saved another egg, three left till arrival. I saw a sea turtle float by. Every one must have had a rough 4th of July and worn out because my incoming mail has shriveled to nothing. My one faithful correspondent, Bobbe, is away this week to the West Coast. The Radio Nederland Cryptogram just came on. It used to be every Friday evening. “Die kledingstukken leg je op de kachel” 10 letters 3rd “f” 5th “r”. I am wrestling with this one. The end must be “broeken”.

Friday July 10 a week away from Azores

Friday, July 10th, 2009

At 19.20 hrs UTC I was at 34.38N 41.51W with 679 miles to go. A 105 mile day. I am staying about 20 degrees south of the rhumb line to avoid unfavorable wind direction to the North of me. Still that same wonderful 15/20 knot SW keeping close to hull speed. Just the 90% jib and at times, when it drops to near 15 knots I add a 3 reef main. The mid ocean meeting, yesterday, was the 2nd encounter or even sighting, of another sail boat in the open ocean since I left for this madness in 2005. The previous encounter was in June 2007 on my way from Trinidad to the Chesapeake. At that time the sea was so calm that we came along side and exchanged gifts, a bottle of Trinidad Rum for Lindt chocolates. We became regular correspondents, Carl and Susan McKenzie of “Morning Star”. They were then on their way to the Med from Jacksonville. I lost contact when they stopped using SailMail. I was unable to get a forecast from Herb at the usual 19.30 rendezvous. Most likely he will try again at 23.00 hrs. But at any rate, I should be heading mor N.E., towards Horta on a 80 degree course instead I am at 100 degrees. A soon as the contrary winds to the north of me change I will head for the barn. Probably to-morrow, but the Grib files show less wind than I have now and no longer the down wind sleigh ride I have been spoiled with the last 5 days. I have had a problem starting the engine and spent a couple hours in the cramped quarter berth in the rolling seas. I think I fixed it. I run it once in a while in neutral to pump out the bilge water that drips from the packing gland and sometimes to make some more current when the solar panel is handicapped by a lack of light. I am not certain why I am still dragging the trap line. I can’t figure out the Radio Nederland schedule. Friday night is Cryptogram but they just signed off and no “Klare Taal”.

Thursday July 9

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

At 19.20 hrs UTC I was at 34.38N 44.09W with 784 miles to go to Horta, a 122 mile day It just does not quit the great weather and favorable wind conditions. What I figured had to be “Way we Go” passing me last night, turned out to be a totally other yacht, believe it was called “Isaac” manned with a delivery crew, a young German and a Spaniard, on their way to Malta from Trinidad. We passed within shouting distance and I talked with them on VHF. Got some good pictures to mail to them. “Way to go” is about 100 miles to the SW of me, I think I have gained on him in the last two days. Herb could not hear me or any of the 1/2 dozen boats this far east of Bermuda. We will try again at 23.00 hrs UTC. That worked well last night. My Grib files (weather faxes) show that I, as Herb has advised as well, should keep going East, so if I had sailed the rhumb line my miles for the day would be as much as 5/10 miles more. But from Monday on the Grib files show that I may have head winds from the N.E., not that strong so I might be able to motor sail. Took a cockpit bath, read my Jan de Hartog book, listened to the Tour de France. Another exciting finish, Norwegian won to-day’s run, Armstrong has not shown much yet. Found another dead squid on deck, this time on starboard. I can see one washing up on deck on the windward side but yesterday’s makes no sense, on port. Mysteries of the moon lit nights. I hooked on with his plastic nemesis, but so far not a bite. Please, pray harder for a fish I am salivating for a Tuna or Mahi-Mahi. Very few Portuguese Men of War now, the Saragossa sea weeds are back after a week’s absence. Time to open a can of vegetables and make dinner.

Wednesday July 8 Trucking right along

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

At19.15 UTC I was at 34.27 N 46.42 W with 898 miles to go a 124 mile towards destination, 24 hours. The forecasts for the next 4 days are decent winds, continued downwind sailing, so, unless I run into weak winds after that I should make landfall in Horta on Friday the 17th, take a day sooner or later. I just talked to Herb but he could not hear me well enough. But “Way we go” is right behind me and he got his predictions which will be identical. “Way we go” will be passing me this evening. It is a much bigger and faster boat. I am going hull speed plus the push from the waves and only have the 90% jib up, winds are about 20 knots. No good moon pictures, the clouds covered the horizon on the moon rise and it was too bright when it set. But it was a beautiful site to see and the cabin was dimly lit all night by the moon. The weather has been gorgeous, blue skies with just a few white clouds. I ate the last apple and finished off the last of the vegetables, to-day. Not bad for a 26 day sail to only have to eat vegetables and fruit out of cans and dried for the next 8/9 days. No luck on the trap line. There was a dead squid on the deck this morning, possibly dropped by a hitchhiking bird; I skewered it on with the plastic squid lure. Great anticipation but no luck all day.

Wednesday July 7. Flying “Fleetwood”

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

At 19.15 hrs UTC I was at 34.16 N 49.18 W with 1022 miles to Azores, a 114 mile day. If I would be going striaght for the Azores these miles would be more like 120/125, but I am still holding to the south of it, for that predicted front above 35 North. Another outstanding sailing day. All night I was able to average above 5 knots, with just the 90% jib. Then the 3 reef main went up in the morning, now I am back again to just the 90% and still averaging 5 3/4 knots. I will have a picture to show you of the hand held GPS registering 9.5 knots… I saw it as high as 10.1 knots. This happens when the wave lifts me and lets the boat slide down again. It is exhilarating. If these winds and conditions hold to the Azores I’ll have a good chance to record one of the fastest passages for a 30 footer, from Bermuda. Herb could not hear me but another boat “Way we Go” is just 50 miles to the S.W. of me and his predictions will be identical for me. This might be come a regular race. The old racing juices are running already setting me up to lay out the 1 1/2 ounce spinaker.

The moon rise was obstructed by clouds. I did get a few pictures of it after it rose above the clouds and before total darkness. The moon set was the same problem. I might have another jab at it to night and to-morrow morning. While I was trying to get a few more shots of the Portuguese Men of War, concentrating on the water ahead of the bow, I see this great big mammal just under the surface ahead of the bow. I thought it was a dead whale. But it did slowly move aside. Not sure what it really was. Green and brown, spotted, about 15 feet long. Small for a whale but far too large for a porpoise/dolphin. It never surfaced. I changed the lure and added weights to it but I was still moving too fast and it just drags on the surface. Please, pray for a fish. You all are so good at it.

I listened to to-day’s Tour de France, time trials in Mont Pellier. And read the de Hartog book. I must try and read all his English written books. The first part was about the urchins, 10/13 years old, so called sea-mice, that were part of a Botter crew. The botters were the leeboard shallow draft sailing fishing vessels used around the Zuiderzee. They have a special significance to me. My grandfather, and several generations before him and two since him, made the masts and blocks for the Botters. And on my web site there is a section about my association with a famous botter yacht, the “Groote Beer”. The story I am reading now is about Jan de Hartog rescuing torpedoed commercial vessels off the English coast, with his tugboat, during the 2nd world war.

Monday July 6

Monday, July 6th, 2009

At 19.15 hrs UTC I am at 34.30 N 51.50 W with 1136 miles to go, a 103 mile towards destination day. In 6 days I have moved over 650 miles away from Bermuda, as the crow flies. It took me 8 days to cover the 600 miles to Bermuda, from Beaufort, N.C. Another fantastic passage making day. During the night the winds came down some and just the storm jib did was not sufficient canvas any longer. But I was lazy and waited till day light to go to the 90%. At 10.30 hrs my 24 hour distance had dropped to 93 miles but as you can see I have made up for that during the day. The winds came down to about 15 knots but have crept back up to around 20. At one time I was nearly surfing but the heavy load I am carrying makes this impossible, I was hitting 7 knots frequently. I could get used to this kind of sailing life. Most of the morning I have been able to get excellent reception on Radio Nederland. They covered to-day’s “etappe” from Marseille to la Grande Motte practically the entire route with another exciting finish. Radio Nederland invited listeners to e-mail or sms their reception. So, I sent an e-mail and 10 minutes later I hear my name and they read off my e-mail. Until now I have had very little luck on any reception in the morning, the evenings are always much better for that. I tried another heavier lure but have not had any hits on the trap line. I am hoping for a clear Eastern horizon to get a photo of the rising moon. It should still have some light left from the setting sun, to-day. Last night there were thick clouds on the horizon. To-morrow morning and Wednesday should also be good opportunities for moon sets. After that there is too much day light.

Herb wants me to continue south of my rhumb line to avoid possible gale conditions north of 35 degrees North. The daily faxed Grib files I get tell a different story. But to be safe I’ll stay nearer to 34 latitude.

July 5th evening

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

At 19.20 UTC I am at 34.33 N 54.02 W with 1239 Miles to Azores. A 102 mile day. Tonight/to-morrow I shall pass the 1/2 way mark from Beaufort N.C. to the Azores. The strong wind I reported yesterday evening has not let up and is still close to 25 knots. And according to Herb, the weather Guru, it will continue for the next 3 days. It’s a rocking and rolling, with just the storm jib up. The waves have grown formidable. When I look out of the cabin over the stern I see the waves rise several feet above the stern, it looks like the tops of the waves want to take a peek and see what I have in the cockpit but then they lift me up and slide away under the boat. Once in a while they slap the stern around a bit and then there is a lot of screeching and squeaking of the wind vane control lines through their blocks to bring the boat back on course. But even though I prefer less wind, the good part is that I do not have to make any sail changes and only have to keep an eye on that tiny storm jib, and I keep a steady speed of close to 5 knots. I searched for a Sunday sermon. I ended up listening to the French transmission of Family Radio. Later in the morning they talk right over the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program on the same frequency. Very little ship traffic in this part of the Atlantic. Yesterday a bulk carrier heading from the Caribbean for Europe. Earlier in the week an ore carrier (bauxite?), same direction. I will continue dead east along the 34.30 latitude and not go further north yet ( which I’ll need to do eventually) because gale force winds can be expected north of 35 N latitude. Fortunately I have been able to just hold this on the jibe I made yesterday. I Photo Shop edited my 30 plus shots of these wonderful creatures which I believe to be Portuguese Man of War. Got a few really good ones. I’ll be posting them when I get to the Azores. They are still around but fewer. I’m cooking white beans, canned chicken, onions and spices for dinner. The lettuce is all gone, still have a few fresh vegetables and fruit left, then it will be cans/dried food.

July 4th Coordinates

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

One person reads the blog. Sorry for the omission: At 19.15 hrs on July 4th I was at 34.29 N 56.11 W 1341 miles to Azores a 105 mile day.

This morning, July 5th at 9.30 UTC I was at 34.23 N 54.53 W with 1279 miles to go a 113 mile day. All night it stayed close to 25 knots and all I am flying is the tiny Storm Jib that I bought in Durban, after I had my knock down under bare poles off Richards Bay. It has been a life saver for keeping the boat moving in these strong winds. I am doing 4 1/2 to 5 knots. Last night when I hauled in the trap line, for the night, I discovered I was dragging a fish. Again a small tuna, but it did not make it to the boat, lost it. Have a blessed, joyful Sunday.

4th of July on the Atlantic

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

At 19.15 hrs I am at

So far this has been the best passage sailing that I can remember. Yesterday the wind died down to where every other sane passage maker would be running his motor. But with my full main and 140% I managed to stay close to 4 knots. During the night the genoa sheet snapshackle broke open, twice. The sail would just flap like a flag. The reason was that with the rocking motion due to the surface surges the wind is take out of the sail, momentarily, and then when it fills it takes a hard jerk on the sheet (sheet=rope that controls the sail shape). That slowed me down some but the wind slowly built during the day and right now it is between 20 and 25 knots, but the seas are still relatively flat from the earlier calmer winds and this makes for fast sailing. And as you see I am still staying above the 100 mile per day. And bear in mind that I am calculating this to destination, whereas I am not going in a straight line, to-day I have been sailing more towards the north, to a way point suggested by Herb. This is because at the higher latitudes the westerlies are usually more reliable. A brief interruption; the wind still increasing, needed to slab in the 3rd reef in the main. Going like gang busters. I edited about 30 shots of the Portuguese Man of War (I think..) Got some good ones. If the weather calms I plan to hang from my toes down the lifelines and try scoop one up. If they were not so rare I’d not be going through so much effort and might be less in awe of their incredible delicate beauty. What if Dandelions and Sparrows were rare? On my early morning bike rides from the boat yard in Green Cove Springs into town I used to marvel at the precision of the way the dandelions would face the early morning sun.

I started reading Jan de Hartog’s “The Call of the Sea”. He was born in the late twenties in Holland and came to the USA in the mid fifties. He wrote mostly about the sea. In his preface for this book he ends with the observation: “The call of the sea only ends when it is finally obeyed”. And my thoughts are that one can only obey a command when you fully understand it and are capable of obeying it. Some people figure that for the distances I have covered since 2005, over 30,000 miles, I must be a good sailor. But I meet many sailors who have done much fewer miles who are far better sailors. Just to give a few examples, that the learning process never stops. 1) To douse a head sail I have to release a halyard (Val)stopper in the cockpit and then work my self to the foredeck quickly before the sail drags in the water. Only yesterday did I find the solution; I take the tail of the halyard forward cleat it off on the bow mooring line cleat, go back release the stopper and then have control from the cleat right where the sail needs to be pulled down. Why did I not discover this earlier? The problem is that single handed sailors have no-one to learn from. 2) Since most of this sailing is down wind or broad reach, I use the spinaker sheets for the head sail this keeps the clew (lowest aft part of the sail triangle) further out board than using the genoa block on the deck track. These sheets are lead through blocks on shackles attached to the most aft life line stanchion. But as I described above these sheets, when the wind is momentarily taken out of the sails, will slacken and then the block drops hard on the deck. And my head is just below this spot when I am in my bunk. So, the noise is aggravating. As of yesterday I have hung these blocks with a shoe lace attached to the life line, no more dropping to the deck, Jack sleeps in peace.

My contribution to to-day’s festivities is that, the third reef I just put in, has three reefing grommets and I use a Red a White and a Blue sail tie through them. Patriotism of the finest kind on “Fleetwood”

Later: 20.20 hrs Just talked to Herb and I have jibed to not go any further north to avoid stronger winds in the next days. Right now I am down to just the 90% and rocking and rolling in about 25 knots.

Friday July 3rd

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

No fish this Friday on the line but I did have two decent flying fish laying in front of the companion way with the morning paper. I fried them for breakfast. They are tasty. You might remember that I had a bowl full of them one morning, just before arriving in Trinidad, in May 2007. And then in Trinidad the Swedish couple on “Acapella” made maatjes, pickled flying fish, what a treat, with ice cold Aquavit. At 19.30 hours I was at 33.44 N 58.03 W By the way, not sure if any one caught the error on UTC. Europe is two hours ahead of UTC, not behind. Also yesterday was July 2nd not June 2nd. I am now 1446 miles from Azores. That made for a 101 mile day. Last night was slower. I found that I could not budge the main sail boom. I had to wait till daylight to free up the friction caused by one of the hose clamps that I put on to temporarily fix the broken gooseneck. So I could only fly a head sail during the night, which was plenty before night fall but then I needed more sail during the night. It was a very nice sailing day to-day, not as rough and lots of sunshine. But the wind has now dropped to where I can only make 3. 1/2 – 4 knots with the most sail area that I have up now. But it gave me the opportunity to get several good pictures of these unusual critters that sail over the surface. It’s an unreal sight. Herb promises me decent conditions and wind for the next four/five days, as long as I stay below 35 North. To-night is the Cryptogram on Radio Nederland. I missed it the last number of weeks.

Well, I wish every one a very happy and pleasant 4th of July Holiday.