Sunday Morning the Begining:Chapter 1

The beginning of the next sailing chapter ! Part 1

Baltimore Harbor

As we sit in Baltimore Harbor I find myself thinking of the past year and the changes I have seen with this vessel as well as with my own life. I have let this blog page go Idle over the past year or so. For whatever the reason I have decided that it is time to get back to writing again. What I will try and do is to paint a picture of the past year from coming aboard in Fort Lauderdale, the challenging time we had sailing her to Maine and the refit process that she underwent at the Front Street Shipyard

In Belfast . 

From the time I left the Palawan to run the Oyster 82 Darling I found myself in a funk with regard to writing.  Although I enjoyed my time in Charleston SC over the winter of 2012 the move to the Oyster did not work out as was planned and I found myself trying the freelance delivery market as an alternative to full time aboard one vessel. This in the beginning seemed promising as a way to keep myself busy and also have a bit of a normal life ashore. I met some great people in the process and had the opportunity to sail and drive some very interesting boats. Nonetheless there was something missing not having a boat of my own to command. There was never any attachment to the vessels as the time aboard was short. A couple of the boats were very special to me and the relationship with the owners still stands today. For this I am very happy to have had this experience. Getting aboard a strange boat and taking it over the horizon is certainly not without it’s own challenges. During this time I did over 15 different boats and sailed from Florida to Maine and many points in between. I even found myself dabbling with the dark side (power boats).

Transition after delivery to Maine

I remember transiting across Block Island Sound aboard the Transition. I was doing a delivery from Long Island to Thomaston Me. This boat was what I would call a Resto Mod. That is a acronym used in the car world for cars that are modified and customized into what are essentially hot rods. This boat as boats would go is definitely a hot rod. Muscle Boat is what I started to call it. The boat was an East Bay 54 that had been extended to 60 ft with the addition of a large aft platform deck as well as the extension of the hull. The engine room was gutted and her engines were removed and replaced with two 1100 HP C-18 Cats. Great detail and craft was performed by the Guys at Lyman Morse Boat building in this project. To say the least this boat was special. So here we were in a full blown gale. Wind out of the SW howling at a sustained 30+. Seas were running upwards of 8 to 10 feet.  Transition was running at an exciting but very comfortable 25 knots and doing a bit of surfing. I remember making the comment “ I guy could get used to this”.  I had a couple of more experiences with this vessel and enjoyed the time with her. Her owner was a very interesting man of who I still today have a relationship with.

Sailing is still and always will be the focus of my work in this regard. Which brings me to coming aboard this vessel. At that time she was named Pegasus 2. I was at the time being considered for a position aboard a different yacht. I received a call from a friend in the business. He suggested I call who is my current boss.

He was considering a boat that was in Ft Lauderdale. He asked me if I would on his behalf go to Fort Lauderdale and inspect the vessel and to work with the port captain in learning what I could about the boat. As it would turn out this is a boat I had history with going back to 2003 when I worked at the Hinckley Co. At that time she was called “Irishman”. I was involved with this boat during a refit she had started at the Hinckley Yard in Portsmouth RI.

During my first week in Ft Lauderdale I spent my time crawling in and out of the bilge of the boat observing the different systems and their condition. What was most impressive was the condition of her aluminum structure. This boat was built in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin by Palmer Johnson Yachts. Having spent many years in this wonderful community watching these beautiful sailing boats being built I was enthused to say the least about this opportunity. On the surface the boat appeared to be in relatively good condition.  

Sea Trial off of Fort Lauderdale 

The following week we would sea trial and have the boat surveyed.  I had the opportunity to shadow the surveyor as he went thru the process of evaluating the boat. Much was learned and a decision was made to go forward with the purchase. A couple of days later I found myself in command of a PJ 92 foot Alden Ketch.

I had made arrangements for my former mate Joe Brown to join me on the boat and to pick up where we left off on the Palawan. Joe flew down to Ft Lauderdale and we began the process of preparing the vessel for the transit north. The first plan was to sail to Baltimore where we are today. We did not have much time from the closing to our departure. The boss was anxious to get underway and to sail and enjoy his new boat.

Getting the dingy ready for sea

We began to prepare the Pegasus 2 for the trip to Maine. Getting the dingy aboard using the mizzen was a bit of a challenge. This we would address later during the refit. 

The Plan was to sail to Baltimore MD where the owner has his primary home. We would stay in Baltimore for a few weeks and then would sail to Maine.  To say that the boat had some issues was an understatement and we struggled with constant systems failures.

The trip from Fort Lauderdale for the most part was quite pleasant as for the weather. Although we did not see much wind until we were off of the Virginia coast. We were mostly running on the Mercedes. We did have for better part of a day the boat steaming along with a reef in the Main and Mizzen at 10+ knots. This passage was actually quite fast. We were able to complete the trip in 4 days 6 hours dock to dock. 

Nice sailing off the coast of VA.

The house bank battery system, which consisted of 10-8 D Gel Cell batteries was junk. As it would turn out we had at best when silent 10 volts. The only way we could keep the DC Electrical system working was to have the Gen set running and the AC chargers working full time.  I was very concerned about the balance of the trip to Maine and the condition of these batteries. I flew a couple of techs down from Maine to evaluate our situation. We came to the conclusion that it was not safe to operate the boat with the batteries as they were.

Doing a temp re wire of Batteries

We had plans to replace this system with all new during the upcoming refit. We did not want to get into this while we were in Baltimore.

I suggested to the tech aboard the idea of shutting down all of the batteries and to replace and re wire four new 8D Lead Acids in the system to get us to Maine. This turned out to be a good plan as we would run the Gens to keep the batteries up but at least they would not fail us and we would have the power we needed to run the sails.

With the new batteries installed we left Baltimore with the Boss his wife and their two West Highland Terriers aboard for the trip to Maine. The first leg of the trip would take us to New York City. 

The New World Trade Ctr. in the distance

We arrived off of Sandy Hook in the late morning the next day. We did the city transit and found ourselves docked at City Island.  Two friends of the boss joined us that evening to sail to Maine . The next morning we were greeted with a very brisk NW Wind blowing 25 knots. As we started our passage thru Long Island Sound we were for the first time really sailing this vessel.

Ripping up Long Island Sound

We essentially covered the length of the sound in a day. We went from City Island to Stonington CT in 10 hours. A very respectable passage to say the least. At times she was making 12 knots on a nice broad reach. I believe it was during this passage that I began to bond with this boat. She is very exciting to sail in a breeze. 

We spent the night in Stonington and the next day continued on to Newport RI.

From Newport RI we sailed to New Bedford and spent a couple of days there waiting out some nasty weather. From New Bedford we would sail over night across the Gulf of Maine where we would park the boat in one of the Boss’s Favorite Anchorages.

The Basin Casco Bay

From Casco Bay we would sail to Rockland Maine where the boss the wife and the dogs would fly home in his plane. 

Boarding the plane

Rockland Harbor

Joe Brown and I would spend a couple of more days in Rockland before we would complete the trip to Belfast and the Front Street Shipyard. We would spend close to a month on the dock at the shipyard before we would be hauled and put in the shop for the winter. The facility at the Front Street Shipyard was for the most part brand new. They built this shipyard and had it up and running in just over a year. They had a number of projects that were being completed and would delay our haul out.

It became a priority to get us out as there was a tropical storm bearing down on New England. What would become Hurricane Sandy moved us up to being hauled out and put on the hard for the storm. That meant removal of the rig and the process would begin. The beginning of November would find us at last in the barn.         

Haulout

In the next part I will get into the refit and what we accomplished during our year in Belfast. The year in Belfast would be a very interesting and in many ways a very delightful surprise for me personally.

In the Barn and so begins a very long process

Bermuda and the Harbor dunk punishment

This is a collage of the harbor re enactment of what was a form of punishment back in Colonial days. Boy these people were kind of sick don't you think.

Songtao Caribbean Delivery

Songtao”s Caribbean Passage

Bermuda Bound aboard the “Songtao” Part 1

The begining of any passage is always the hardest part of the journey. Although at times during a gale you might think otherwise,but the first step to me seems to be the difficult one. So many unanswered questions regarding the weather systems that lie offshore, the stores aboard the boat, and on and on. Once you are at sea it all changes. Things seem to work around

the watch system in place and when you are up and when you are down. Is it going to be too rough to cook? Will you be able to get something decent in the form of food or are you going to be left to your own devices to provide yourself with nourishment. I have said this many times that the weather forcasters are not with you when you are 300 miles offshore in a gale. The cheers and smiles of the crew in anticapation of the voyage can be a bit dashed when the green sea sick monster shows up on their faces. When one is tasked with the responsibility of a two million dollar yacht , and the lives of her crew, all of this weighs heavy on the mind.

We are making for the Gulf Stream in a fall gale with a NE wind pushing a steady 30+ with gusts up to 40. The sea conditions to say the least were reflective of the wind speed. The good news is we are ahead of what would become a very strong low pressure system that was to develop in a couple of days off of Hatteras.Many of the boats that would arrive after us had a very hard time of it in this storm. Two different boats were towed in after experiencing damage to thier boats. I had been in contact with the weather guys on shore and thier forcasts were not that encouraging from what I could see between the lines. I had two crew that were not feeling all that well and given that we are three aboard that leaves me as the only one not at that place. I will also say that I was not that far from there myself. From our departure out of RI the North Wall of the Gulf stream was aprox. 240 NM on a SE course. We had covered close to 190 Nm and were looking for a break in the gale. Unfortunatly it had hung on and was moving very slowly. If the gale would continue on for another 10 hours or so we would find ourselves in the gulf Stream with very rough conditions. Trust me when I say the last place you want to be is in the gulf stream in a gale with NE Winds. Given what I was seeing and how the crew was feeling I decided to heave to and stop the boat. As it would turn out the gale did last for another 10 plus hours and my call turned out the be the correct one. When we reached the Gulf stream the storm had passed on and we found ourselves doing one of the nicest crossings I have had in a long time. The crew was able to recover and get some much needed rest and some food in the tummy. The owner of the boat had never done that before and was amazed at how well his boat behaved in the conditions we were in. We hove to for over 10 hours close to three watches. It felt great to get underway again with a more rested crew who were no longer spending their time with their heads over the side looking down at the ocean.

The Third nite at sea was the most delightful of the trip. We had a fresh wind out of the NW and we were rolling down wind sailing just by the lee.Unfortunatly this wind was to back and come around from the east and then the SE. This would put Bermuda to windward of us. As we punched on thru the nite sailing both east and west of the rumb line the wind began to come around on our nose. We found ourselves motor sailing with a reefed main and the the jib furled. As the afternoon progressed the sea conditions began to become most unfavorable on the nose of the boat. I decided to heave to again and wait for the wind to move more to the west. It was short stop as compared to our last one but it gave us a chance during daylight hours to deal with some issues on deck, get a bite to eat,and make a call to the weather boys. As expected the wind did go a bit of west of south and we headed off on a starboard tack making some easting with a bit of south. As the evening came upon us the wind kept moving a bit to the west and we were able to gain some back toward our destination of Bermuda.The next morning with less than one hundred miles to go we were running in a strong NW and making the course for Kitchen Shoal. The seas had built to the 10 foot range with some extra large ones that would slap and at time fall on the deck of the “Songtao”. There were a number of boats on the same passage that would arrive within hours of our arrival but we never saw them when at sea.

As a side story the Catamaran “Mala Conducta” experienced the loss of both of her rudders. She is a very fast high tech boat that was built by Lyman Morse Boatbuilding of Maine. It appears that the rudders were just not up to the rough conditions she was experiencing on this passage. She was making speeds of 15 plus knots when the first one blew up. I was on the radio with the captain to offer some assitance if we could. I was able to make contact on our Sat Phone with the builder in Maine to inform them of the situation they were in. She was also in contact with the “Ticondiroga”. We both had suggested that he take it easy and back the boat down a bit. Given one rudder left and a certain uncertainty with respect to it’s strength. I guess while he was on off watch the crew heated up the boat speed and the second rudder blew up. Kudo’s to the Cap as he was able to fashion out of some plywood a temp rudder and get the boat to St Georges.

We arrived in St Georges just shy of five days which included two stops to heave to for a total of 14 hours. All and all given the conditions it was a fast passage for this vessel.

We were able to get on the Customs dock in short order after entering the harbor. We were greeted by Sandra of Bermuda Yacht Services Whom we had made arrangements for dockage. As it would turn out there was only one spot left at the inn so to speak. Although it was not the spot I would feel comfortable with two days later I was able to secure an excellent spot inside of Ordinance Island across from the Customs office.

St Georges Bermuda is and has been for many years and Oasis in the sea for yachts making the passage to the Caribbean and their return in the spring. The owner and crew left the boat to travel back to the states for business. I was to stay with “Songtao” in St Georges until their return in aprox 10 days or so. As it wouild work out this time was not favorable for a passage given the weather systems during the layover week.

Except for some of the larger yachts most of the boats that were here when we arrived are on about the same schedule as we are. During the week I was able to attend one very nice evening sponsored by the Ticondiroga at their berth. Most of the professional yacht crews were there to enjoy some good sea stories and some BBQ. Thank goodness for Bermuda Yacht Services and the very nice WIFI lounge they provide for the visiting yachts at their office. Also thank goodness for Skype. I do not use Skype that much when I am back in the states but when on a passage to the Caribbean it is life.

Although I have seen it before there is a small tourist event that happens here in St Georges that one has to see to appreciate. This being the re-inactment of the harbor dunk of a woman who by the town Crier has been found guilty of being a Gossip and a Nag. I have included a couple of photos to give one a look into this historical form of punishment. They actually did this back in Colonial times. They have a special chair built just for the job. The woman is first berated before a public crowd and then placed in the chair and to the cheers of the crowd dunked in the harbor a few times. I sure hope she was getting paid some good money for this. Enjoy the pics and look for part 2 of this blog when we get to St Thomas.

Sailing with the Legends and Giants Newport Bucket 2009

Ranger and Hanuman together at the start. Not since 1937 has the waters of Newport seen this image. Although these boats are reproductions is was these two designs that were together in 1937.

Hanuman coming out of the Fog

 Palawan on the Dock at the Shipyard before the race.

In the world of sailboat racing there are certainly a number of very serious venus and events. Some are on a world scale as in the Americas Cup and the Volvo Round the World Race. Others are more regional and class oriented. None I can imagine are more fun than the Bucket events. This past weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the Newport Bucket Regatta. Although many of the boats may take this seriously as far as the racing is concerned. Most of the participants do it for the fun of the event. The nature of the event is setup in a way to be fun. First there are no line starts with a fleet of boats bearing down on a starting line. This is a persuit race where as the handicap system is set up in such a way as to have independent starts. Each  boat starts based upon it's projected time to complete the course. The theroy is that all the boats should be at the finish at close to the same time. For the most part the handicap system seems to work. This is not to say that there are some elements of this that are not perfect. Nonetheless this is one fun event. My goal with this blog was not to get into the detail of the event as you can do that at the Bucket web site bucketregattas.com/newport  . What I want to do is share some pics I was able to capture at the start of race #1 on Sat. Enjoy!!!

Winds of change and the Palawan

Captain and First Mate Joe Brown underway with Palawan.

Below Newport Harbor on a Sunday afternoon.

Underway for Gloucester Harbor

It has been a while since I have posted a blog on my page but I now find my self compelled to write a bit about my new position. I have been on board  the Palawan now for about 5 weeks. It has been a very intensive learning period as she is a very complicated vessel. At this time we are both getting used to each other and are becoming more comfortable. When a boat is tied to the dock and you are working on her it is not the same as when you are underway and actually working the boat. Most recently I was afforded the opportunity to take her on a sojourn with my first Mate Joe Brown for a few days of sailing and sea trials. The plan was to sail from RI up to Gloucester Mass a run of just over 120 miles. All went well on this first real cruise. Conditions for the most part were mild with some sailing in the Fog our first day out as we headed for the Cape Cod Canal. Above the  Palawan in her form on a mooring at the Eastern Point Yacht Club Gloucester Mass. I have  been fortunate to have the opportunity to work aboard some amazing vessels and Palawan is seas apart from the rest. She is not a boat that can park in any anchorage but can find herself in some interesting spots with her relative shoal draft. 

This summer I find my self in the heart of yachting on the east coast. Newport. On any given day one can find any number of boats out sailing. From Schooners loaded with tourists to 12 meter yachts racing head to head. There are a number of classic vessels that ply the waters off of Newport as well as Mega Yachts from around the world. This Harbor is where sailing is king and power boats are the minority.

The Change for me at this time is more geographical than anything. In all my years of sailing I have not spent much time in southern New England and Long Island Sound. I am looking forward to seeing new harbors and meeting new people from this most historical of sailing areas. On the agenda for this summer will be stops at Mystic Seaport , Block Island, and Oyster Bay NY to name a few. A trip to Maine is in discussion at this time but not until August.  So as I move into this summer I embrace my new position running the Palawan. She is a piece of sailing history  that has graced the waters of the North East and beyond for close to twenty years.  The Challenge of running this boat is not something I take lightly. She is a very complicated boat to say the least. She requires constant attention in all aspects of her working, sailing life.We work hard every day to maintain her systems and cosmetics.  She displaces 80 tons of mass and stands over 100' above the water. I look forward to the challenges ahead and hopefully drier and sunny warm days of summer and sailing the Palawan.

Hurricane's , sailing, and the transition of Seasons

Songtau Boothbay Harbor

             Coriolis anchored off of Maglathery Island Merchant Row.

                                                                                                     

                                                                                   A foggy morning in Brooklyn Me.

                                   

                                          Dorade off of the Castine Light:

The end of the summer in New England can be the begining of different transitions for many yachts and their owners and crews. As I reflect back on the summer of 2008 I am taken by the number of changes one has been experiencing on my own. The weather this past summer for me has been a mix bag to say the least. At the begining of the summer while I was on the west coast in the San Jaun Islands the weather was nothing short of perfect. Upon my return to Maine in Mid July the weather went into the tank for about five weeks. Rain, Fog, with more rain and more fog is the only description I can give this period. Despite this weather pattern that ran from most of July well into August, when it comes to sailing and messing about in boats all days are good . Just some days are better than o

thers.  Speaking of good days one reflects  back on the Classic Yacht events in Castine and Brooklyn Me, I was able to attend with the Coriolis as a spectator. This week of races and gatherings is a nice contrast to the Classic Yacht Regatta in Antigua. First the size of the vessels are much smaller than the giants that sail in the Caribbean. It is more of a down home feeling with many yawls, ketches,  schooners, and sloops. The largest boats in the fleet were the W Class sloops which are around 70 feet.

I was blessed with the opportunity to see the fully restored "Dorade" and to capture some very excellent pics of her sailing. Olin Stephens was there to see his most favorite design win the Castine to Maine race. He was celebrating his 100th birthday at the time. He was quoted as saying "This is the best birthday gift he could have ever had". His career was launched with the success of this yacht in the 1931 Transatlantic race. To say the least his impact on the yachting world is profound. I am sad to write that at this time Olin has passed on. 

As the summer moved on I was given the opportunity to deliver from Maine to RI a most beautiful sloop. The Friendship Yacht Company 53 "SONGTAU" was to be my home for a few days as I made the trip south. It was an enjoyable trip not only for the boat but the chance to go offshore again. I had not been offshore since I brought WINGS back from the Caribbean. It was also a great chance to see how this boat would perform in a fairly robust wind. I left Boothbay Maine at about noon to sail overnite across the Gulf of Maine to the Cape Cod Canal. I was leaving on the back side of a cold front with winds expected to be in the 25 knot range for most of the trip. I was not dissapointed in this boat at all. As the wind began to build in the afternoon I began to peel off sail area. Despite the short sail I was carrying she continued to burn off 7 to 8 knot speeds over the bottom. The sea was building to the 7 foot range and Songtau tracked like she was on rails. She did at one point in the late evening ship a wave aboard which completely doused the cockpit. fortunatly for me I was below at the time looking at the charts. 

Maine is without equal when it comes to contrast in the view on any given day. Even the days when it is foggy the views can be just stunning. From Fog to Brilliant sunsets.  The coast can be a visual smorgasbord of classic yachts, windjammers and pine tree lined islands. I hope all enjoy the pics I have added to this blog. 

At this time we are experiencing one of the most active Hurricane seasons we have had in 

some time. As I prepare to make the trek to So Florida one cannot rule out the possibility of having to deal with one of these twirling monsters. With the recent devastation caused by IKE on the Texas coast I hope that for the balance of the season the US will be landfall free.

Wishing all a fun filled and beautiful fall season. Remember to click on any image to see a full size view.

COAST TO COAST

The begining of the end of our time with the Wings began when we loaded the boat onto the ship for her transit to the PNW. For both Terry and I it was an emotional moment. Although this was not the end, it had more of an impact on me than at any other time. Having sailed this boat for close to 20,000 miles and thru most any weather you can imagine how one can get attached. Wings has been my life for over three years. She has been at times a great deal of hard work and at other times a great joy as she would log off the ocean miles under her keel. She has developed her own following in many of the different ports we have visited and spent time. At this time she is missed in Rockland ME. I have had many people come by the public landing where I am currently aboard my boat the Coriolis. They would recognize me and ask where is the Wings? Although I am happy to report that she is safely  home with her owners and family in the San Jaun Islands of the PNW, there is a part of me that is sad she is not here. 

I have struggled with writing this blog for a few weeks now. I have wanted to put down my thoughts about life as a professional yacht skipper. One of the most difficult questions I am asked is where do you live. I have all kinds of different answers for that question. None of which really address the core of the question. Examples of this answer are, the east coast, the western atlantic, this boat, my drivers licence tells me I am from Florida. Yes I am from Florida at this time. One does need a base to catch some mail and a place to send some to.  This is all part of the commitment it takes to do this line of work. When one is running a boat, the job is not 9-5. In reality it is 24-7. In many respects it is difficult to leave the vessel unless it is in a boat yard and on the hard. I have been fortunate in some respects that my employers are very accomplished yachtsmen. When they would come to use the boat we would get a break as they would prefer to sail alone or with their guests. 

So at this time I find myself at a turning point in my career. In all of the endeavors I have undertaken in life I have not found one I love to do more than being the skipper of a private yacht. I love the challenges one faces on a daily basis with respect to the complexity inherent in a large sailing vessel. The planning involved in order to meet the schedules of the owners. The planning involved in order to effect a cost effective yard period. The maintainence involved to keep her looking good and running right.  The planning involved to take care of the ships stores and spares. Running a sailing vessel that is sailing thousands of miles on a yearly basis is not unlike running a small business. 

During my time with the Wings we have seen some amazing places and have met some amazing people along the way. The sailing community is a unique and special collection of boats and people. Some are professional (ie Captains of other yachts doing it for a living) and others are true cruisers who are out there living their dreams. In some respects we all have a common thread, the joy of sailing. 

As I leave the San Jaun Islands and the Wings on her dock I have a wonderful feeling of having competed the circle with this boat. I have worked hard to bring her back to her beautiful look she always had. I have wonderful warm feelings for my employer. I could not have worked for better people and I thank them for this opportunity. I look forward to the new adventure and responsibility that lies ahead for us this fall in Europe. In the short term I will enjoy a few weeks of R&R cruising aboard the Coriolis. The Coriolis Effect will continue on as we move forward in this life we live. I wish the owners of the Wings many continued adventures and safe passages with this wonderful boat. I look forward to hearing about the adventures of the kids and the grandkids as they sail this boat into the future. As she did for us she will always bring them home safely. 

Fair Winds Wings we will miss  you.