After going to bed at midnight, I awoke at 0330 due to a mosquito buzzing around my ears. I couldn't go back to sleep. So, I considered my options for the day. After communications back home last night, I learned two relevant things:
- Bill was delayed a day and hadn't left until yesterday instead of Monday. So, while I was waiting for him yesterday, he was just crossing The Stream. He would probably come this way today, but there was a second factor to consider.
- My family and friends were delayed a day by Tropical Storm Bill in the Gulf of Mexico which had messed up all of their connecting flights. However, they all would be getting in today. I was anxious to see them, and I didn't really want to wait around another day in Grand Key.
Of course at this hour, the marina wasn't open, but I had fueled and iced yesterday So, I left $20 for the dock fees in an envelope on Rosie's door with a "thank you" note. Then, I sent a text to Bill and Carmina indicating what my plan was for the day, and I departed at 0415.
The last 4 days the wind had been out of the East, and of course I was headed directly East. Yesterday, the wind had eased and was forecast to swing to the Southeast. Guess which direction I need to go to get to Marsh Harbor? That's right - Southeast! I felt if the wind could hold out from the East long enough, maybe I could get a little reaching in. As I cleared the harbor entrance, I laid in a course on a port tack for Little Sale Cay and took off at 5.5 knots. If the whole day could be like this, I would make good time to Marsh Harbor. Here's what the morning looked like:
By this point in the trip, I was building up a fairly sizable load of smelly clothes. So, I was inspired to created a washing machine out of an empty cooler. Fresh water from my solar shower, cooler, soap, and a rocking boat makes for a fairly good washing machine!
0700 - I reached Little Sale Cay and needed to alter course more to the East. This resulted in being head to wind and motor sailing at 4 knots - UGH!
0700 - I reached Little Sale Cay and needed to alter course more to the East. This resulted in being head to wind and motor sailing at 4 knots - UGH!
1100 - I passed a MaineCat 30 having a nice downwind sail. I was jealous! I also noticed that while my iPad was plugged in, it was slowing loosing charge because I had set the screen to always be on. I had noticed this the other day on my 8 and 7 hour sails to get across the Little Bahama Bank to Walker Cay, but I didn't worry about it much because I knew the charge would last for the duration of the sail. Today was a different in that I really didn't know how long I would be sailing. It would depend on progress and how I felt. So, since I didn't have the auto-pilot and I would need the iPad for navigation throughout the day, I needed to set the iPad to turn off and find some kind of visual reference to steer by.
If you are not familiar with tropical island weather, the physics of hot land versus relatively cool water causes clouds to form over the land, but not over the water. On top of that, the clouds remain relatively stable over the land mass; i.e. not moving like you are familiar with on large continents. The advantage of this is that you can use clouds to navigate. The Polynesians used this fact (along with many other navigational techniques) to conquer the Pacific Islands - see We The Navigators. Anyway, knowing this, I used the cloud formed by Little Abaco Island to steer to the East for the afternoon. In the picture below, Little Abaco Island is to starboard (my right), and I know that the entrance to the Sea of Abaco is at the end of the line of clouds. The iPad remained off the rest of the afternoon.
If you are not familiar with tropical island weather, the physics of hot land versus relatively cool water causes clouds to form over the land, but not over the water. On top of that, the clouds remain relatively stable over the land mass; i.e. not moving like you are familiar with on large continents. The advantage of this is that you can use clouds to navigate. The Polynesians used this fact (along with many other navigational techniques) to conquer the Pacific Islands - see We The Navigators. Anyway, knowing this, I used the cloud formed by Little Abaco Island to steer to the East for the afternoon. In the picture below, Little Abaco Island is to starboard (my right), and I know that the entrance to the Sea of Abaco is at the end of the line of clouds. The iPad remained off the rest of the afternoon.
1130 - The water color abruptly changed from dark blue green to aqua marine. I assumed this had to do with the fact that the sea bed I was sailing over was relatively barren; i.e. no sea grass. Along with this change in water color was a change in wind - the wind picked up from maybe 5 knots (see picture above) to maybe 10 knots, but I was still motor sailing directly into the wind out of the East-Southeast.
As I approached Crab Cay, the entrance to The Sea of Abaco, things really started to pickup. It still seemed as if the wind was coming out of the East, and it was getting rough.
As the sea state grew, I threw in a starboard tack towards Allens Pensacola Cay to gets some relief from the head on bashing. Of course, in the lee of APC, things look quite tranquil - see below.
I was really hoping when I passed Crab Cay that I would be able to ease a bit and reach or at least close haul down the see of Abaco, but the reality soon became apparent - I was in for a 40 mile beat to Marsh Harbor! It's one of those moments when you look to the sky and say, "Really? Give me a break!"
The Sea of Abaco on average is only 5 miles wide. So, no more long tacks. This was going to be fun - NOT!
2015 - I'm just off Green Turtle Cay, and the light from the setting sun will be gone soon. I hove to and refilled my primary gas tanks before dark to prepare for the night ahead. At this point, I was still wondering if I should press on or call it a day and anchor. Almost there! Let me get past Treasure Cay point and determine if I should bail at that point.
2115 - I slowly motored across Don't Rock Passage (DRP) in the dark. DRP is a shallow passage across Treasure Cay Point sand bars. It was high tide so I felt fairly confident. On the North end of DRP is a large sand reef, and on the South end is Don't Rock. At this point in the journey, I had a great deal of confidence in my Navonics charts on iNavX. So, I went for it at about half speed. What's the worst case? I bump into some sand. Anyway, no issues on the passage.
After I got through, I called my friend Scott and asked him what was going on at the house. He said everyone was getting ready to go to sleep. I asked him if he would help me find the dock even if I got in after midnight, and he said he would. That was all I needed to press on, and that's when things got really interesting.
2300 - I've heard of solo sailors hallucinating on extremely long passages, but I never went so long as to experience that. I think I came close to that on a couple of legs to and from Mexico, but I always had crew if I really got tired. Not this time. At this point, I had been steering by hand over 18 hours on 3.5 hours of sleep. And then it happened. As clear as turning on the radio in my car, I was hearing symphonic, military music that was actually quite pleasant. As my stereo had been trashed on The Stream crossing, I hadn't heard much music in days. So, the melody was welcomed. I remember being clearly aware that I was probably hallucinating, but I didn't care. Someone later asked me if I thought the music could have been coming across the water from shore. No way. I was fairly far from an uninhabited shore and the music went on for a good part of the passage. the other interesting thing is that before this music, my track was very crooked - like a drunk sailor. However, after "the music" started, my track was almost straight as and arrow. I was in some kind of mental flow state. It was really awesome and something I'm sure most of you reading this think is crazy, but it is real. Believe what you will.
0030 - As I approached the Eastern Shores of Marsh Harbor, I had to slow down. A couple of things were at play. First, I was very tired, and as I slowed down, I lost the flow state. Second, the anchorage at Matt Lowe's Cay had several boats in it that I needed to avoid crashing into in the black of night. Third, the passage between Eastern Shores and Sugar Loaf Cay is very narrow and shallow. Given all of these factors, I decided to take it very slow at around 2 knots. I trusted my Navonics charts and pressed on into the black.
0112 - I thought I was at the dock to our rental, but I wasn't sure. In my haste, I did not set a definite way-point for our rental dock. However, how I solved this issue is tech cool! I remembered looking at the dock on Google Maps when we booked the place, and I had a clear image in my mind of what the dock looked like on Google Maps. I checked my phone, and I had a signal. I pulled up Google Maps, and BOOM! There I was as a little blue dot on the map. With the satellite image on Google Maps that I remembered in view, I could see that my "blue dot" had gone just a little too far. As I turned around, I texted Scott.
P: I think I'm here.
S: OK
S: On my way.
Moments later I saw a flashlight on the hillside above me. As Scott worked his way down the hill to the dock, I assessed the situation. The dock was somewhat exposed to the Southeast. So, there was some wind wave chop coming in beam to on the dock. There were pilings about 18 feet out from the dock with mooring lines hanging off of them. So, the general idea is that I had to get the lines off of the pilings and tie up to them before worrying about the dock. I could ease into the dock after I had the windward side secure. Scott was great about watching the boat against the dock as I got the the piling morning lines secure. We soon had everything secure and headed to the house. It was great to see Scott after my 6 day journey to get here. What a relief!
0130 - I entered our room and woke Carmina from her slumber. She did not say anything. She just wrapped her arms around me and hugged me very tightly. It felt great! I told her that I really needed to shower up good before even thinking about sleeping. So, I sauntered off to the shower and relished in the fresh, hot water extravagance after 6 days without such luxury!
I was ready for a deep sleep. Alex had been sleeping with Carmina, and when I jumped into the bed, I grabbed him, hugged him, and gave him a big kiss. His reaction was quite humorous. He woke up, looked at me, and said, "Mommy, mommy. Daddy's here!" He then hugged me, turned away, and immediately fell back to sleep. Oh, to be young and care free!
At then end of the day, it was a 21 hour beat from Grand Cay to Marsh Harbor! I looked forward to the week ahead with family and friends.
As I approached Crab Cay, the entrance to The Sea of Abaco, things really started to pickup. It still seemed as if the wind was coming out of the East, and it was getting rough.
As the sea state grew, I threw in a starboard tack towards Allens Pensacola Cay to gets some relief from the head on bashing. Of course, in the lee of APC, things look quite tranquil - see below.
I was really hoping when I passed Crab Cay that I would be able to ease a bit and reach or at least close haul down the see of Abaco, but the reality soon became apparent - I was in for a 40 mile beat to Marsh Harbor! It's one of those moments when you look to the sky and say, "Really? Give me a break!"
The Sea of Abaco on average is only 5 miles wide. So, no more long tacks. This was going to be fun - NOT!
2015 - I'm just off Green Turtle Cay, and the light from the setting sun will be gone soon. I hove to and refilled my primary gas tanks before dark to prepare for the night ahead. At this point, I was still wondering if I should press on or call it a day and anchor. Almost there! Let me get past Treasure Cay point and determine if I should bail at that point.
2115 - I slowly motored across Don't Rock Passage (DRP) in the dark. DRP is a shallow passage across Treasure Cay Point sand bars. It was high tide so I felt fairly confident. On the North end of DRP is a large sand reef, and on the South end is Don't Rock. At this point in the journey, I had a great deal of confidence in my Navonics charts on iNavX. So, I went for it at about half speed. What's the worst case? I bump into some sand. Anyway, no issues on the passage.
After I got through, I called my friend Scott and asked him what was going on at the house. He said everyone was getting ready to go to sleep. I asked him if he would help me find the dock even if I got in after midnight, and he said he would. That was all I needed to press on, and that's when things got really interesting.
2300 - I've heard of solo sailors hallucinating on extremely long passages, but I never went so long as to experience that. I think I came close to that on a couple of legs to and from Mexico, but I always had crew if I really got tired. Not this time. At this point, I had been steering by hand over 18 hours on 3.5 hours of sleep. And then it happened. As clear as turning on the radio in my car, I was hearing symphonic, military music that was actually quite pleasant. As my stereo had been trashed on The Stream crossing, I hadn't heard much music in days. So, the melody was welcomed. I remember being clearly aware that I was probably hallucinating, but I didn't care. Someone later asked me if I thought the music could have been coming across the water from shore. No way. I was fairly far from an uninhabited shore and the music went on for a good part of the passage. the other interesting thing is that before this music, my track was very crooked - like a drunk sailor. However, after "the music" started, my track was almost straight as and arrow. I was in some kind of mental flow state. It was really awesome and something I'm sure most of you reading this think is crazy, but it is real. Believe what you will.
0030 - As I approached the Eastern Shores of Marsh Harbor, I had to slow down. A couple of things were at play. First, I was very tired, and as I slowed down, I lost the flow state. Second, the anchorage at Matt Lowe's Cay had several boats in it that I needed to avoid crashing into in the black of night. Third, the passage between Eastern Shores and Sugar Loaf Cay is very narrow and shallow. Given all of these factors, I decided to take it very slow at around 2 knots. I trusted my Navonics charts and pressed on into the black.
0112 - I thought I was at the dock to our rental, but I wasn't sure. In my haste, I did not set a definite way-point for our rental dock. However, how I solved this issue is tech cool! I remembered looking at the dock on Google Maps when we booked the place, and I had a clear image in my mind of what the dock looked like on Google Maps. I checked my phone, and I had a signal. I pulled up Google Maps, and BOOM! There I was as a little blue dot on the map. With the satellite image on Google Maps that I remembered in view, I could see that my "blue dot" had gone just a little too far. As I turned around, I texted Scott.
P: I think I'm here.
S: OK
S: On my way.
Moments later I saw a flashlight on the hillside above me. As Scott worked his way down the hill to the dock, I assessed the situation. The dock was somewhat exposed to the Southeast. So, there was some wind wave chop coming in beam to on the dock. There were pilings about 18 feet out from the dock with mooring lines hanging off of them. So, the general idea is that I had to get the lines off of the pilings and tie up to them before worrying about the dock. I could ease into the dock after I had the windward side secure. Scott was great about watching the boat against the dock as I got the the piling morning lines secure. We soon had everything secure and headed to the house. It was great to see Scott after my 6 day journey to get here. What a relief!
0130 - I entered our room and woke Carmina from her slumber. She did not say anything. She just wrapped her arms around me and hugged me very tightly. It felt great! I told her that I really needed to shower up good before even thinking about sleeping. So, I sauntered off to the shower and relished in the fresh, hot water extravagance after 6 days without such luxury!
I was ready for a deep sleep. Alex had been sleeping with Carmina, and when I jumped into the bed, I grabbed him, hugged him, and gave him a big kiss. His reaction was quite humorous. He woke up, looked at me, and said, "Mommy, mommy. Daddy's here!" He then hugged me, turned away, and immediately fell back to sleep. Oh, to be young and care free!
At then end of the day, it was a 21 hour beat from Grand Cay to Marsh Harbor! I looked forward to the week ahead with family and friends.
Total Distance = 88 nm
Elapsed Time = 21 hrs
Average Speed = 4.2 knts
No comments:
Post a Comment