Interesting Weather on the Water

After being held up in Hampton, VA for five days, the Caribbean 1500 Rally left on Friday, November 18th. We had a windy start and trip out to the Gulf Stream. Sometime during the first night, someone at the helm allowed us to veer off course to the east and we got caught in an eddie with the current against us. Our second day was spent trying to get out of its clutches. Needless to say, we did not make very good progress on our second day at sea.

You could water ski out here!

Not only did we have the current fighting us, the wind died down. The ocean was so calm for two days that you could have water skied on it. So, of course, we fired up the "Iron Jenny" (our Yanmar 110) to make some headway. Then after that we hit strong winds with northeast swells up to 15-20 feet.

Life was good! We were sailing along at 7-9 knots. After a couple of days at this rate, it happened! The autopilot steering gave out! Actually, we learned later that it was a matter of cleaning the graphite build-up out of the brushes. We checked everything in the trouble shooting manual, but could not find the access to the brushes. Being coached by other skippers on the Rally SSB Radio Net helped, but none of them had the same type of system we do, so we were not looking in the right place. Ironically, we listened to a lecture on cleaning these brushes. Apparently we assumed the User's Manual would direct us to them. NOT!

Now that we are on land and had others look at it, it could have been a very easy fix. (Sorry crew!) Most of the lessons are learned under challenging situations at sea! Our wonderful crew rose to the situation and were steady at the helm day and night - and day and night and ...

As you can see, we have to tear apart our bed to get to things like the batteries, autopilot, etc. It seems like every time I get the cabin organized, we have to pull it apart for something! Oh well, it gives us something to do to pass the time!

Fortunately the autopilot problem was our only major issue during the crossing. With the high winds and seas and intermittent flat spells, the trip took longer this year. We basically followed the rhumb line and made tracks to Tortola. The lack of the autopilot caused the crew to hand steer for 700 miles. Their watches went from two hours to one hour on the last day as fatigue set in. I could only handle the wheel for an hour and a half before my shoulders started screaming "no more!" Bob and Larry were terrific and determined to stay the course (maybe they just wanted to get off the boat??). Thanks, guys!

Ahoy! Land Ahead!

The sun rising over Tortola! A welcome sight!

We are in Nanny Cay, Tortola, BVI! After ten and a half long days and nights, we arrived in Nanny Cay, Tortola early Monday morning. We actually slowed down overnight so we could cross the finish line in daylight. I was soooooo happy to see the sun rising over Tortola when I awoke Monday.

We had a good, but physically challenging trip. The autopilot died at about mile 700. That meant hand steering for 800 miles through seas with swells ranging from 6 to 20 feet. The guys changed the watch schedule from three hours to two as it was so tiring. The last 36 hours they switched off every hour. That meant very little sleep for anyone.



We are heading to the dock at Nanny Cay



I just couldn't stand in the galley very long so the meals became less structured. I am bruised all the way around my body where I was thrown from side to side and forward and back in the galley! I let the dirty dishes pile up to reduce my time down there.

One person was always at the wheel while the rest of us ate. Then we switched the helmsman. Food wasn't even appealing near the end. We just wanted to reach the finish line and dock! So we are here - safe and sound AND catching up on sleep.

Loving the New Electronics!



A multitude of antennae!

 After tenderly using the electronics that came on Trillium for the past two years, it was time to replace them. On the return from the Caribbean last spring in the Atlantic Cup Rally, the chart plotter in the cockpit sighed its last breath! As a result, Dennis had to sit down in the navigation station and direct me in and out of harbors with our walkie-talkies. It made for a bit of a challenge. I did have a small hand-held GPS at the helm, but not the same detail as on the chart plotter below.

Of course, as electronics go, they no longer supported 10 year old technology. And, of course, the new chart plotters could not communicate with any of the other electronics on the boat. Therefore, it required a complete installation: radar, chart plotters, autopilot, VHF and we added AIS for safety. And naturally, the software chips we purchased last year do not work in the new equipment, so that meant new navigation software, too! It is never as simple as you would like.

Love the graphics!

Anyway, the outcome is terrific. We have new B&G equipment and the cartography is outstanding. It is much easier to use: the logic is more like the way one's mind works. Instead of having to go in and out of so many different screens, it is like most computer files where you can go deeper and deeper via drop downs, etc. I love the AIS as I can identify other vessels that have it, know their size, where they are headed, and how fast they are traveling. It also gives the bearing so you can tell if you are on a collision course. This is especially helpful when you are staring down a freighter.

Paul at work on Trillium

We had Paul from X-Com Systems in St. Clair Shores, MI do the installation. He works on the super racing yachts in different parts of the world. We highly recommend him if you are looking for help with your marine electronics. I stumbled upon his company when I was trying to get the old Simrad chart plotter repaired. After talking to the Simrad technical support, they directed me to him. What you don't know about your own area!

It will be more comforting crossing the ocean with up to date equipment and charts. We are in the process of learning how to use all of the functions available to us. There is probably much more than we will ever use!

Safety Lessons

Again this year, we watched the Safety at Sea demonstrations where they demonstrate the proper use of flares - especially SOLAS flares. The SOLAS flares are a safety requirement in the Rally. If you have not ever seen the difference between the Coast Guard approved flares and SOLAS flares, you should attend the Safety At Sea seminar. 

Here the Rally team does the demonstration and people are allowed to try it with their expired marine flares. You can see the difference by carefully lighting out of date flares in a safe place. Practice is good. You don't want to be in an emergency situation and have to read the directions (after you have found your reading glasses!) when time is critical. Also make sure you properly  discard old ones as well as the remains of the ones you used.

In addition to the life raft demonstration, we saw how a MOM8 works. Davis and Peter did the exercise in the hotel pool. Quite interesting to see. It is possible for the life raft to inflate and flip over! Davis showed how to right and then jump into it. Last year's demonstration was done on land. This was much more effective.Of course, the rule still stands: don't get into the life raft unless you have to step up to it! Or if the boat is on fire and you need to get away from it. Boats have a better chance of surviving than the life raft does in high seas and wind conditions. It is also easier to spot a boat from the air in a search and rescue mission.

Dennis and I took the Safety At Sea seminar at Bayview Yacht Club last spring. Having watched the Coast Guard helicopter rescue someone from the water. I don't ever want to have to be in that situation!

We have covered the various safety procedures for Trillium with the crew. Everyone knows what they are to grab on the way off.

But we also threatened them: Don't fall off and Do take preventive actions to avoid a serious situation.

There seem to be a few things that attract a good volunteer crew:

• A good boat
• Good food
• And, of course, a pleasant Captain!

On S/V Trillium, we try to provide a good ride and sailing experience AND really good food! The tips from Julie Palm made my provisioning for last year’s Caribbean 1500 very easy. I planned the meals, taking into consideration:

• The ride we might be having
• The condition of the crew’s stomachs (no red sauce on the first night!)
• The ease of preparation
• And a good variety of healthy meals and snacks
• And of course, plenty of non-alcoholic drinks and water

All meats, rice and pastas have been pre-cook and frozen so they require minimal time in the galley. I have learned how challenging it can be to have everything sliding at me – or away, which is better! I have assembled the non-perishable ingredients for each recipe and placed them into a labeled grocery bag.

Depending on the events of the day, I select a meal, pull the perishables from the freezer and the bag from the locker to assemble the meal. By pre-cooking rice and pasta, it just needs to be dropped into hot water for a few minutes. No waiting for it to cook completely or absorb all of the liquid – just long enough to heat it.

Experience has shown which items are most appreciated. A couple items were swapped out for new ones this year. Sandwiches of various flavors are often served at lunch time with chips and fresh vegetables and fruit. Salads are served with dinners until we run out of lettuce. Our menu consists of the following:

Main & Lunch Meal Entrées For Caribbean 1500 Rally
Beef Burgundy over Egg Noodles	Sloppy Joes
Shrimp Scampi over Linguini	Chili with Corn Bread
Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Meat Balls	Corn Chowder (a crew favorite!)
Chicken Cacciatore with Gnocchi	White Chicken Chili
Beef Stroganoff over Egg Noodles	Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Beef Stew	Chicken Noodle Soup
Curried Chicken over Rice	Potato Soup
Chicken with Wild Rice Casserole	Clam Chowder
Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce	Beef Barley Soup
Chop Suey over Rice	Hamburgers or Turkey Burgers

And the Snack Bag is always available with various bars, candies, fruits, cheese and crackers, etc. The crew has access at all times. Sometimes I flavor the water with lemonade just to give us a break from the plain water. We also use concentrated unsweetened (without artificial sweetener, too) juice to flavor the water.

As the Galley Manager, I have the right to decide whether or not it is safe to cook on the stove. If not, a cold meal will fill the stomachs. We had shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers and fresh fruit for dinner on one very rough night! There will always be something to fill the crew.