We Are Blowin' In The Wind!

What an exciting morning: final Skipper's Meeting and Weather Briefing, everyone trying to get off the docks and out to the Start line without crashing into each other, helicopter taking photos ...

Sherry, Dennis, Bob & Stuart

The Rally (racing portion) started at 11AM with the sound of the starter's gun. It took about an hour and a half to get to the Start line so everyone was jockeying for position. Those of us in the Cruising categories just got in the way or tried to get out of the way!

Sorry racers! Those of us cruising still get our prize for just simply getting there! That is more than satisfactory for us! No high tension and clock-watching here. We are just taking it all in. We had to share the channel with two Navy destroyers and a submarine - as well as the full fleet of Ralliers.

Who's worried about that Navy ship approaching?

The seas were 5-6 foot coming out of the Chesapeake Bay and are growing as we move away from land. There was a major course change since the hurricanes are still playing havoc in the usual path. We are heading down to Cape Hatteras (ugh!) before turning east. I have never heard a good word about sailing around Cape Hatteras. Hopefully we won't have more stories to tell! The good news is that we will have westerly winds (W-NW) most of the way until we make the turn. Then we may have little wind until we reach the Trade Winds.



We are anticipating seas of 9-15 feet with winds of 15-30 mph, gusting to 35 mph. I found it challenging to steer a straight course with the high waves. We passed through the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel entrance with Pixie on shore taking photos. She said we looked great! We were the first to cross this mark, but will be passed by bigger boats with spinnakers flying. Our goal is to get there - not to win!



Here is the fleet behind us!



I am going to try to download photos and update this blog until we get out of the Internet range of my Droid phone. Hopefully the pictures will tell it all.



Finally! We Are Ready to Sail

Monday is Departure Day!  11:00 AM start. It seemed like the day would never come after all the weather delays. It looks like we should have a great sail. We are not in the racing classes. We just want to have a nice experience on the open water without thinking about strategy and sail trim and time. Of course, we will do our best to maximize the boat and crew's capabilities to get a good crossing.

While out at sea, there will be no more postings since we will lose our Internet and cell phone connections. We do have a satellite phone for weather updates and emergency calls and emails. Our main mode of communication with the fleet will be the twice daily SSB (single side band radio) chats where we all call in our positions and have the opportunity to ask questions and get help.


Dennis studying the communication systems

The land-based command center will be feeding us the weather forecasts and suggested routes to avoid as much nastiness as possible. We have a new iCom 802 SSB (single side band) radio so we are learning how to use it for weather reports and net chats. There is so-o-o-o-o-o much technology to learn with "on the job training."

They have put the transponder on Trillium, so you can see our location with updates every 4 hours. Go to http://www.carib1500.com/ and click on the Follow the Fleet at the top of the page. We are in Rally Class 7 and should be a yellow line. Hopefully we will be traveling the same line as the others in the fleet and not off by ourselves!

Everyone is anxious to get the show on the road. Final preparation is being done; flags are flying in the breeze. We should have a nice 20 knots of wind out of the north and northeast which will be perfect for going east then turning southeast. We are hoping for a beam reach all the way with few course changes.

This waiting experience sure has made an impression that you just don't mess with the storms. Moving at 5-7 knots per hour, you just can't move quickly enough to outrun or dodge them. Patience is a sailor's virtue!

We have used the extra time to catch up on emails, work and little details. Dennis has kept his office running thanks to virtual office technology. He even attended an all day deposition from here. Sherry is continuing to work with clients virtually as well. Although, she is not keeping up her business blog while traveling.

It seems like everyday someone shares a new tip from experience so we add or adjust accordingly. There was a great lecture on Tropical Medicine and the need to carry antibiotics, have an up-to-date tetanus shot, and hepatitis vaccinations. We will need to address these when we come back at the end of the month and before we continue sailing down the chain of islands. It is so easy to take our good health care environment for granted! 

Remember to click on the POSTS box in the right hand column and select one of the email providers or click on ATOM to get updates delivered to your inbox. You can also comment now as I figured out how to allow for them. For earlier postings, go to http://www.sv-trillium.blogspot.com/ or click on Older Posts at the very end of the page.

Dealing with Chilly Weather

Have you ever noticed that time only flies when you are having fun! This hurry up and wait is getting to me. I was so geeked about casting off on November 1. While we are still excited about the adventure, it is challenging to keep the enthusiasm at the highest level as we count down the days again. Maybe by Saturday night I will feel the rush again.

Dennis at the helm

We have learned how to work our heaters and heat pump. I sure love that the Swedes believe in cold weather sailing. You probably have not noticed, but you never see a photo of a Hallberg-Rassy yacht adorned with  bikini-clad babes! No, they always show the crew bundled up in cold weather gear. Now I really appreciate the extra amenities of the Swedish design.

We only packed cold weather clothing for the first few days since you move into warm water and air once the Gulf Stream is crossed. So a few more days of wearing the same clothes ... Pixie has offered her laundry room once again.

Not exactly a real beauty wearing everything I have with me!

The weather has been overcast and rainy for several days. And it is chilly. Hopefully this is a result of the backside of Richard and Shary. It appears that Tomas is headed for Haiti (they do not need this!) and Cuba. Then hopefully it will turn toward Bermuda and break up on its way northeast. My sinuses would love to see it dry up here!

As you can see below, there has been a lot of rain. When the sun has been out, the breeze has had a real bite to it so we are dressed in layers and wet weather gear even on land.

We will really appreciate the warm weather when we get there. But you still will not see a bikini-clad babe on the rail of this Hallberg-Rassy! At least not until our daughters and their friends show up.

We are hopeful that our family and friends will join us along the way and sail a leg or two with us. Our grandchildren are still a little small to be confined to such a limited space and be tethered in all of the time. But the way they are growing, it won't be long!

We Are Still Here in Hampton!

Here is the bad news: We are not departing until Monday, November 8th. That is a full week's delay. I cannot fault the Rally organizers as they want us all to be safe and have a comfortable sail to Tortola. It is a good lesson in letting Mother Nature have her way! Women do rule!

Dennis, Stuart & Bob strategizing!

We have done a lot of little projects on Trillium which equals spending a lot of money! At least, we know she is sea-ready. A boat IS a hole in the water into which you throw money!

We continue to enjoy the generous hospitality of the Killebrews and the Hampton community. Many people are sympathetic to our weather delay - but love the support we are all giving to their ecomony. There is always a silver lining to every cloud!


Could you enjoy this view every night? I surely could!

Pixie and Bob hosted a wonderful dinner for the crew and Stuart's father and friend, Mary Lou. The Killebrews live on the James River in Newport News and Pixie is a fabulous gardener with many plants in bloom now. The views of the river are stunning with the setting sun. I could live here, too.

We are so lucky to have connected with them and will be honored to call them friends for many years to come. Hopefully they will come to Michigan and see our beautiful sunrises on Lake St. Clair and sunrises and sunsets at Pointe aux Barques on Lake Huron.


Sunset over the James River

Bob is a real walking, talking history book and shares the best stories about the area as we travel around. Stuart's father, Murray, and Bob captivated us with the discussion of the various wars in which they had participated. I have never been a history buff, but I found it most enjoyable hearing from men who were there. My father never spoke of the war as he had been a young medic and saw "too much" to talk about. My father-in-law, Joe Day, loved to discuss the WWII.


Dennis, Murray and Mary Lou

The sailing community is a wonderful group of people. Everyone lends a hand, a tool and advice. We are so blessed to be able to be part of it and have this experience. If you want to sneak a look at another family sailing the South Pacific with their small children for 5 years, check out their blog at http://www.sv-totem.blogspot.com/. Behan has the most fabulous photos on her site.

Cotton Pickin' Weather!

Here it is "Departure Day"- but we are still here! Hurricane Richard has held us in port. We are waiting for the low pressure system over North Carolina to move offshore and pull Richard up and out of the way. In the meantime, there are 83 boats whose crew members are jockeying their vacation schedules and airline tickets. We may all be a little unhappy, but you don't mess with Mother Nature!

So what do you do while sitting around a harbor waiting for a weather window? If you are as lucky as we are, you have a crew member who lives in the area and with his wife are the "host and hostess with the mostest!" Pixie and Bob took us to a tidewater community in Rescue, VA to have lunch at Captain Chuck.A.Muck's right on the river next to a working dock.

The working dock filled with crab cages

This is an active waterman community. The area was once brimming with generations of watermen, but like many things it is beginning to dwindle. If you enjoy crabs and oysters, you have to applaud the men of this lifestyle.

  

Welcome to Captain Chuck.A.Muck's

Captain Chuck.A.Muck's serves great fresh seafood in a wonderfully casual atmosphere. The oyster lovers among us were in shellfish heaven with several dozen of those slimy things arriving at our table in buckets. (Can you tell who does not like them?) 

Love this sign at the entrance!





Bob and Pixie showed us how it is done. Dennis is a seafood lover and knows just how to wrestle those shelled critters. Sherry can hardly stand to watch them eat them! A crabcake served her well. 

That's one huge oyster!



Pixie knows how to "dress 'em up"



 

On the way back to the boat, Bob stopped at a cotton field and picked a "bouquet" of cotton. Not every boat will have this! As for the cotton pickin' weather, we will have to find other fun things to do until Friday or Saturday until those troublesome men (hurricanes Richard, Shary and Tomas) get out to sea!