Reconnecting: Crew and Sailing Friends

Many of you have asked: Do the two of you sail across the ocean to the BVI alone?

The answer is: We could, but we don't! You need several people to handle the night watches and help with navigation, repairs, etc. Someone needs to be awake and alert on deck at all times.



Nirit crossing Magnetic Sky getting
to her boat Passerpartout

There are some couples who sail double-handed. We met a delightful couple from Israel who have sailed the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic, down the island chain and up to New England. They are working their way back to the islands for the winter and will cross the Atlantic again to return home in May or June. We had hoped to sail the Med with them next summer, but it is not looking like we will now. Maybe we will meet up with them over there in 2013.

We are happy to have Bob return as crew this year. He and I had a lot of time to discuss leadership. In fact, I recently had him join me in a leadership training session I was conducting. If was interesting to see someone in a different context. He is looking forward to sailing with us again.



Why did the Mahi Mahi have to
hit right at dinner time?

And his friend Larry is joining the crew. We are looking forward to sailing with Larry as he has a reputation for ocean fishing. We are hoping to learn a lot from him. While we had success catching Mahi Mahi last year, we are hoping to have a shot at Wahoo and whatever else is out there. While sailing from Tortola to Bermuda, I saw a huge school of fish with a bright -almost neon - pink stripe on their sides shooting out of waves and diving into the next one. There must have been hundreds of them and I still haven't figured out what they were. Hopefully Larry can tell me what they were!

Preparing for 2011 Caribbean 1500

I can't believe we are only six weeks away from heading to the islands again! The summer has flown by and we have only been to Maryland once to work on the boat. I am learning that there is always work to do and it truly is a hole in the water into which you pour $$$! But it is worth it!

Out with the old!

We are installing all new electronics since ours are 10 years old. As soon as they are in, we will put the boat back in the water to test everything. Then we have to learn to work the new system. I am hoping that the processes will be more logical and easier to use than the old ones.

We are adding new dock lines and outhaul. Our sunsceen was so wonderful that we have added more coverage so we can eat dinner on deck without being blinded by the sun - something our Michigan friends won't be seeing everyday unless they come to sail with us! And we have added cockpit cushions. This will make it easier on the knees when moving around in the cockpit. Not to mention the backside!

The crossing last fall and return with the Atlantic Cup Rally helped to identify areas where we needed to increase the robustness of our equipment. When your boat is your lifeline and is a totally self-sufficient environment, you must make sure everything is performing at peak levels. We were very comfortable living aboard. By adding the cushions, it will be easier to stretch out in the cockpit.

It is tight quarters in the galley!

Next step for me is to start planning the meals and do the provisioning. It will be easier this year since I have had the experience once. I did a very good job last year. We even gave away a lot (too much) food when we left to return home for the holidays. The local people appreciate getting what we cannot use or leave onboard. Since you can't know exactly how many days you may be on the ocean, you have to prepare for extra days just in case. This year my extra food will be coming out of cans that can be left onboard!

Oh, the Peaceful Chesapeake!



Gary, Sherry, Bob and Dennis

We have said good-bye to our crew and the other sailors in Hampton, VA. We spent the night at the Hampton Yacht Club and had dinner with Bob and Pixie (from the Caribbean 1500 days) and Gary and Linda Kay and her father. I was really ready for someone else to cook a meal for me! And I had been anticipating a crab cake for several days! Mission accomplished again!

After a very quiet and peaceful (as in not rocking or listening to waves slapping the stern), Dennis and I slipped away from the dock early in the morning and began our trip north on the Chesapeake Bay alone. Once again the wind - what there was of it - was on the nose so the engine was humming again. While extra crew is essential on a crossing, it was nice having the boat to ourselves again. Of course, he was on the phone working most of the way up the bay. As soon as he was in cell phone range, the Captain was back to work!

I am comfortable enough to navigate and sail the boat while he is down below working. It amazed me with how confident I felt on the bay compared with last year. Then everything seemed to be an unknown. While we have learned so much, we both know we have so much more to learn - and that the learning should never cease. With our increased knowledge and comfort level, the whole trip was more enjoyable.

Another beautiful new day!

There is only one place we know of to anchor on the way up the western side of the bay: Little Bay in Fleet Bay. It is about a day's trip from both Hampton and Herrington Harbor. So we tucked in there for the night expecting a storm and a rocky night. The storm went northeast, we had a beautiful sunset and a wonderful smooth night of sleep!

The sunrise was beautiful as we pulled out of the anchorage for a long day of motoring - again! It is about 11 hours to Herrington Harbor.


The blimp was very close to us.

Again we encountered Navy games - complete with hovering helicopters, fighter planes, ships of all sizes and a blimp! I felt like we were their target. The blimp was flying very low in the sky and actually rose to clear our 65 foot mast as it passed right in front of us. Since we can only get into Herrington Harbor at high tide due to our seven foot draft, we were timing our arrival for the 7:20 PM tide. The extra challenge at this time of night is looking into the sun while trying to spot the unlighted buoys!

Entering Herrington Harbor, Tracy's Landing: At Last!

Once we finally tied up at the dock, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that it surprised me. I still don't know if it was exhaustion, a let down or sheer amazement at myself for have completing 3000 miles of sailing!

I never doubted that I could do it. Of course, I knew Dennis could! I just didn't think this kind of trip would have come so soon in my learning curve! It was a real sense of accomplishment! And my final docking maneuver was perfect as Trillium gently slid along side C Dock. (I set a goal to be excellent at docking the boat after watching Erick Reickert handle S/V Escapade on our sail with them. He is so slick at it!)

There we were: back where we started. Ready to party. The worst part was that there was no one there with whom to celebrate! So we went out to dinner, had a toast to ourselves and I had another crab cake! Then we collapsed into bed and slept 10 hours!

After two and a half days of cleaning and closing her up, Trillium is going on the hard for the summer. 

Why is it that the laundry is never done-
even on the boat!

We have a long list of improvements and repairs to do before the next adventure. Putting her away is like packing up the cottage each fall: wash and bag all bedding, empty lockers, insect repellent, etc.

We also have a busy summer with family weddings, birthdays, and graduations so we won't be sailing until the fall. We will be traveling to California for two weddings and to Chicago for a graduation. Time to golf, too. And the cottage. And most importantly, with the grandchildren!

All in all, what an adventure. Life is good!



Mission Accomplished: We Made It!



The sunrises and sunsets are the best!

I can't believe we have actually completed 3,000 miles of sailing in the past seven months! A year ago it seemed like a wild dream of Dennis'. And I was going to "tough up" and participate in this adventure. As it turns out, I really like living on Trillium. Aside from some rough weather, life aboard is good!

Once we finally left Bermuda, we had good weather for the first two days. We also finally got to sail some distance. It was great not to hear the engine. One of the things I love about sailing is the special quietness: just the wind and the water passing by the sails and hull. And the beautiful sky - day and night.

As we headed west, we were joined by schools of dolphins on several occasions. We tried our hand - half heartedly - at fishing. Actually, I was glad we did not catch anything as I was trying to use up the food in the freezer. Last fall I had too much food at the end of the trip, so I worked at improving my provisioning skills on the way home. There were just a couple of meals left at the end of the trip this time. I am so tired of sandwiches - making them, eating them ...

Here it comes!

The weather was not a problem except on two occasions. A huge storm popped up quickly and caused us to go into action quickly to reduce the sails and start the engine. The second time was when we were crossing the Gulf Stream. From a distance you can see the line of weather over the stream. It is quite interesting. Since warm southerly water is meeting cold northerly water, you can expect both turbulence on the water and in the sky in this area.

After the first storm, we lost the wind and had to go back to motoring. I know understand the statistic: for every day of sailing, you spend seven not sailing (motoring, anchoring, at the dock, etc.). This sure turned out to be true on this trip. The return trip was more like a "delivery" rather than a sailing trip. I guess that is what we were doing: delivering Trillium back to the boatyard in the US.

We crossed the Gulf Stream in eight hours of daylight. The only way we could tell we were in it was from the water temperature. It went from 67 degrees to 76 degrees as we moved through it. Then it cooled off again on the other side. The Atlantic Cup Rally had given us a good printout of the stream showing its flow and the eddies. As a result, we charted a course to ride the westerly eddies into the heart of the stream just north of Cape Hatteras. This allowed the stream to carry us north toward the opening to the Chesapeake Bay. I learned a lot of strategy from Gary during this part of the crossing. My job was to navigate using the chart plotter to keep us on the right course. (Once we were at the dock, the Immigration officer complimented us on our boat handling as he was impressed that we made it across the stream in such a short time!)

Navy games make entering the bay a challenge!

 Once across the stream, our next challenge was navigating though heavy vessel traffic approaching the east coast. We saw more vessels than anywhere on the entire trip and even played "dodge 'em" with one freigher in the night. That was an interesting experience that again offered several learning opportunities! When a big one is coming at you, it is not the time to debate whether or not we are on a collision course!

Seeing the bouys marking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay was a welcoming site! Even from there it is still five hours to the dock in Hampton Roads. The Navy was out in full force with live fire training going on around us. I think they had every kind of vessel and flying machine in their inventory in action! They kept reminding us that we must keep our distance from their vessels - as if I was going to sail right up to them to say "hello!"

Homeward Bound - At Last!

Living at a 15-20 degree angle!

It is finally departure day and we are heading west!  We are leaving on Saturday morning with four other boats going to Virginia. The rest of the fleet is headed to various ports in New England. I will miss our new friends, but plan to reconnect with some next fall in the Caribbean 1500 Rally back to the BVI.

The weather reports are mixed. Some forecasters say little wind (more “driving” in the future) and others suggest strong winds and storms. It will depend on what is in the area in which we will be sailing. I sure hope we don’t have to motor all the way to Hampton! I am tired of hearing the engine.

Sunset through the rain.

As it turns out, all of the weather reports have been correct. We have seen it all: flat water, ten foot swells, 40 knot gusts, driving rain, sunny skies, beautiful sunsets, full moon … It has been a Mother Nature smorgasbord! The crossing of the Gulf Stream will be the biggest weather challenge.

We had several schools of dolphins swim along with us and play in our bow wake. It is fun to watch them as they lunge out of the water in pairs and dive back in like synchronized swimmers. There was a dozen or so each time swimming back and forth under the bow, then running alongside. This went on for 30-40 minutes. I tried to get a photo but could never get them out of the water!

A couple of the nights have been extremely rough. I am physically tired from being rolled back and forth across my bunk. It is also physically exhausting to maintain your balance and posture whether sitting or standing when it is rough. I did not get many bruises this time so I have learned something from the trip south!

We saw a couple of freighters and a cruise ship. Other than that, we had the ocean to ourselves with the dolphins and an occasional stray bird that would come along. We did not have any luck fishing, but then we did not put a lot of effort into it either.