May 2018

Now that I have been home for nearly two weeks, Antigua seems like such a long way away.  Actually, it is when you travel home aboard Pandora, try 9+ days at sea and 1,600 miles.

Anyway, after only visiting Antigua for two seasons, I feel like the island has become a part of me.  One major contributor to this has been my involvement in the “Tot Club” short for The Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda, a group that I became a member of just before heading out to return home to CT a few weeks ago.

I first became aware of the group when Brenda and I were tied up in Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbor last April. There was this mysterious group lined up in a circle.  What were they?  Druids?  I was intrigued. The group has met each day since july 31st, 1991 to carry on the tradition, ended on July 31st, 1970, of the British Navy of issuing a “tot” of rum each day and making one of seven proscribed daily toasts along with a toast to the Queen.

One thing lead to another and when I arrived in Antigua the following November, and was looking for interesting things to do with fellow participants in the Salty Dawg Rally, 55 boats worth, I thought it would be fun to have them participate in one of the evening toasts.

Mike and Ann, two of the senior members of the club, agreed and invited our group to participate in one of their meetings.   While the club meets in various different locations around the English Harbor and Falmouth areas, we thought that the most fitting would be at Copper and Lumber, a wonderful historic building located in the Dockyard.

We assembled, some 40 of us, and easily outnumbered the Tot Club members in the inner courtyard at Copper and Lumber.   It was a wonderful event and when I later did a survey of rally participants, it was one of the most popular events that we did.Of course, I was really taken by the club, the tradition and the great folks that are members and just had to join.   The problem is that in order to join you have to commit to taking seven tots over a 14 day period and, on top of that, have to memorize all sorts of facts about Lord Nelson and his battles.   Yes, I am repeating myself as I have written about all this in a number of past posts but bear with me on this.   If you feel compelled to read ALL of these posts, go to the search window and type in “Tot Club”.  It’s that easy…

So, earlier in the spring, Brenda flew out of St Lucia and I returned to Antigua to prepare for my run north.  I had nearly two weeks in Antigua to work on becoming a member.  I began “totting” on a near daily basis.  You might say “Bob, how hard can that be, taking a tot of rum each day?”  Actually, I am not a big guy and don’t have a lot of “reserve buoyancy” to absorb that much rum.

At one point, when I called Brenda before I headed back to Pandora in the evenings, following yet another tot on my journey to become a member, “Bob, I can’t wait until you call me and your voice isn’t slurred.”

I’ll admit that there was more than one morning when I woke up, shall we say,  not feeling my best. The problem is that an “aspiring member” must take a “full measure”, a solid two ounces, of rum in a “single go”, each evening.   For me, that’s a lot of rum.  Fortunately, once you are a full member you can pour your own, and don’t have to take a full two ounces, so it’s more manageable.   I should note that on your first night, and the night you become a member, you have to take two tots.   Those were not my best nights, according to Brenda.  Me, I’m not sure I recall…

The Club is well known in Antigua and has members or guests with some pretty nice boats or homes who offer to host meetings of the club.  One such event was held and sponsored by an aspiring member aboard Ashanti, a 115′ schooner.  What a boat.  I wrote about that event in this post.  She’s spectacular and after leaving Antigua has begun a round the world journey via the Panama Canal. The club was also hosted, twice, aboard an 80′ Oyster by a member, another spectacular venue.  And, another event at a home overlooking Falmouth Harbor.  What a view. So, after 8 days and more tots than I can count, or remember, I took my test and passed.  And, let me tell you, I would not have passed if it weren’t for the help of Simon, a member that took nearly a half day to tutor me on the finer points of club and British Navy history along with facts about the various battles that Lord Nelson was involved in.

But, I passed, by the skin of my teeth, I expect.  Here’s me and Simon on the night of my “induction” following my exhaustive oral testing by an official club “examiner”. As well as Ann, my sponsor, and her husband and one of the founders of the club, Mike.  If it weren’t for them I would not be a member.    I am looking forward to the arrival of the Salty Dawg Rally to Antigua next November and, as “Antigua Port Captain, the opportunity to introduce rally participants to The Royal British Navy Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda.  Just try saying that three times fast after a ” full measure”.  And, believe me, that’s way easier than memorizing all that Nelson lore.

So, now I am a proud member of the club and am happy to have the “white ensign” hanging in my office here at home.  I’ll be sure to have it aboard Pandora when I return to Antigua in November.

It was a long and hazy journey but I became an official Tot Club member and I  look forward to returning to Antigua in the fall.

Oh yeah, a tradition of the club is for members returning to the island to bring something to share that is emblematic of the returning members home country.  So, what food is uniquely American?  American cheese?  Hmmm…

I’ll have to think about that for a bit.  Perhaps after another tot it will become clear.   Uniquely American, uniquely American?

Oh no, that’s going to take a lot of tots.

 

Just about everyone dreams about the future when they are in high school and sometimes those dreams even come true.

One of my dreams, early on, at least related to sailing, was to retire at 55 and to be able to go sailing and not have to return to work after a brief two week vacation.  In the interest of total honesty, I missed my deadline by one year and retired at 56, six years ago.  Better late than never.

It seems that Brian D’Isernia, when he was in high school back in the 60s, had a dream to build a replica of a Grand Banks schooner, and a few years ago, he realized that dream.

In 2014 he launched Columbia, a replica of the famous Essex MA built schooner by the same name, believed to be the fastest of the US Grand Banks schooners at the time, perhaps fast enough to beat the reigning champion, the Lunenberg schooner Blue Nose.  Unfortunately, she foundered in a storm so was never able to test her speed against the Blue Nose.

This is a photo of the launching of the original Blue Nose.  The Bluenose II, a replica, now sails out of Lunenburg as a goodwill ambassador for Nova Scotia.  As a point of interest, when Brenda and I were newly weds back in the 70s, we took a car trip to Nova Scotia and went for a day sail on Blue Nose II.  I still remember that day and oddly, the sweater that Brenda knitted and wore aboard.  She’s been knitting nearly every day since then but that’s another story.

This short video is of old film footage of the original Bluenose racing her Gloucester rival, Gertrude L. Thibault.  It’s old footage and I expect, colorized.
Anyway, back to Brian and his dream.  Brian began his career as a fisherman aboard a long-liner.  Eventually he decided that he’d be better off building fishing boats than being a fisherman and founded Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City Florida.

Interestingly, among the many fishing boats that have been launched at his yard, over 350 and counting, he built the Andrea Gail, made famous buy the book The Perfect Storm.

He even built at least one of the Staten Island Ferry boats. Over the years Brian has done very well for himself, building fishing boats, ferry boats, oil rig support ships and most recently he won a contract to build a number of USCG cutters.    That’s pretty neat and apparently his first military contract. After many years Brian still had that dream to build a replica of Columbia and  finally realized his dream when she was launched in 2014.   This photo shows the original Columbia and Brian’s Columbia sailing together.  How dey do dat?Anyway, all of this is background for my chance visit aboard Columbia when I was in Antigua.   As port captain for the Salty Dawg Rally that brought 55 boats to Antigua last November, I got to know many folks on the island as I planned for the fleet’s arrival.  Along the way I got to know Franklin Braithwaite, commodore of the Antigua Yacht Club and owner of A&F sails in English Harbor.

I had commented to Franklin that I’d love to get aboard Columbia and he encouraged me to introduce myself to the captain and get a tour of the boat.  Anyway, I did get a tour and she’s beautiful.

Columbia’s owner is rightfully proud of her and the crew is enthusiastic as well.  This video is worth looking at.  It shows her launch and sea trials as well as some great clips of her down below.  She sailed this year in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and received line honors for being the first to cross the finish line.  I caught this shot as she roared toward the finish line with a “bone in her teeth”.  A while later she participated in the “parade of ships” into historic English Harbor.   My buddy Franklin sitting on the starboard side in the stern. On her way out of the harbor.   Big boat.  On the dock in English Harbor, looking regal.  Nothing quite like a schooner bow to set the heart a racing.
Lovely sweep to her deck.  All that blue tape is because she was getting her varnish freshened. Big forward deck still wet from the morning shower. Serious wheel.  True to her heritage complete with her name cast into the rim.
I was particularly struck by her no-nonsense traveler hardware on the main boom.  Huge shackles and a really neat central attachment fitting.   Note the leather covers on the shell blocks in the lower right.  Beautifully stitched.
An impressive mix of hardware at the main mast. And, of course, classic lignum vite dead-eyes and beautifully served stays.
How about the fitting for the goose neck and the wonderfully machined belaying pins.  Note the leather padding under each pin.  Nice touch.
The day that I visited they were just cleaning up from racing mode so my shot wasn’t as elegant as this.  It’s a stunning spot, a perfect place to enjoy a G&T, I’d say.   I’ll take extra lime in mine!The chef proudly showed me the freezer.  Lots of room to keep the crew well fed.  The salon was very comfortable, like a real home.   Catch the watertight doors.  Really impressive and the boat has a number of watertight bulkheads as she was built to a very high safety standard.   How about the tufted leather settee cushions?Lovely view forward, complete with watertight bulkheads and the forward mast beautifully varnished.   Bummer about the port list.  The photographer, not Columbia.It’s hard to get a good shot of the sleeping cabins but I was able to find one from a professional photographer .  And, yes, I got permission…   I would  sleep there!  I’d even make my own bed.  However, I expect that the Stew wouldn’t approve of my bed making skills, I know Brenda doesn’t.
Of course, what’s a schooner without fishing dories?  These competed in the Gig Races in English Harbor and did well, I expect.   I understand that the were built in Nova Scotia very recently.
So, there you have it.  A boy with a dream and a man who fulfilled that dream.

Columbia, a grand lady, that’s for sure and Columbia is proof that dreams do come true with hard work and perhaps a bit of luck along the way.

What a treat to be aboard such a remarkable vessel and best of all, she sails under the American stars and stripes, unfortunately rare as most owners set up offshore companies and register their boats in other countries.

I understand that their summer plans have her in Gloucester MA, home town for her namesake.  I wonder if they need crew?  Hmm…

Perhaps I’ll close with a short video that captures the action and Columbia during this year’s Classic Yacht Regatta in Antigua.    Columbia wasn’t alone among the many beautiful yachts participating but surely was the “belle of the ball”.  I can’t wait till next year.  I’ll be there…

I am always a bit remiss when I arrive home after a winter afloat as it seems to take forever to find a moment to do that” one last post” about the trip.  Anyone who has followed our run must wonder if we made it as I go silent after near-daily posts when we are on passage.  Well, we made it and here’s yet another post that proves that I am indeed “here to tell the tale”.

On Tuesday we cleared customs in New London after several conversations with officers on the phone who were universally insistent that we show up in person for an inspection.  As a point of clarification, I didn’t object to an in-person inspection and even asked for clarification and asked what was “not allowed” so that I could dispose of everything before making landfall.

The items that had to go over the side were any fresh fruit or produce as well as any chicken products including frozen items that were not labeled from the US.  So, over the side they went as we passed Montauk.  Anyone watching would have seen a mile long slick of limes, celery, apples and even an errant turkey thigh bobbing in our wake.  Here fishy, fishy…

We tied up at the Customs Dock in New London and a short time later the officer arrived.  It’s a big dock and the step from the dock to Pandora’s deck was a pretty good drop.  After taking one look at the dock and then down to Pandora the officer said, and I quote “that’s a big step”.   And I said “yes, that’s a big step.  Would you like to come aboard?”  Hoping that he wouldn’t given the large variety of rum that I was “importing”.   After a long moment of hesitation, he said, “Hmm… please pass up your passports” and “do you have any fruits, vegetables or chicken aboard”.  To that I said, “nope, tossed everything overboard and there is a trail of the stuff looping around Montauk point.”  And, he said, “welcome home.  You’re all set.”   And, I said “that’s it?” and he said.  “Yup”.

Now, wasn’t that easy?  So, there we were, back in US waters and free to go on our way.  Bob jumped ship to catch a train home but not until we had a “Tot of rum” to celebrate our arrival.  George and I headed toward the CT River and the Essex Yacht Club, the official landfall for our journey.

The fog was really thick as we approached Montauk earlier that morning with visibility of only a few hundred feet.  After months of clear warm weather in the Caribbean it was a shock to suddenly be in damp, cold fog. Montauk light.  Almost home. Visibility was closing in by the mile.The closer to shore we got the thicker the fog.   The Orient Point ferry emerged ominously from the low hanging fog bank off of New London. Nearly there, the mouth of the CT River. The last time I passed this point was the third week of October, last year. After nearly 4,000 miles under Pandora’s keel since passing this point last fall and 9 days since leaving Antigua, we were home and none the worse for wear.

Actually, I was a little worse for wear after my trip up the mast way back, 600 miles south of Bermuda when the headboard gave way and the mainsail came crashing down onto the deck.

But then you already know all about that if you follow this blog as I wrote about that experience in an earlier post.   I won’t bore you with a replay except to show some photos which I wasn’t able to send from Pandora given our limited “bandwidth” while underway.

As you recall, the headboard, the piece that holds up the top of the mainsail, broke, disconnecting from the top of the sail.   The headboard shot to the top of the mast and the sail, to the deck.  Messy.We pulled the top of the sail through the front of the dodger so we could work on it under cover. After a lot of discussion on what the best fix would be, we decided to drill holes in the sail and thread lengths of super-strong Dynema rope to support it.  Good thing I have a large tool and spare parts selection aboard. Several hours, nine holes and a bunch of knots later…All done.  Not beautiful but plenty strong. The “better side”. George and Bob put the sail back into the mast slides as I was still feeling a bit shaky from my run up the mast. And, speaking of my time “aloft”, I had a few bruises to prove that it was a rough ride.  This one was particularly tender.  Not sure what I banged into but I thought that it was pretty impressive. The inside of both thighs from clinging to the mast.   “Thanks for sharing Bob! Disgusting, really!”Ok, if you insist.  The insides of both arms.  I was really clutching the mast with all my might.   Superman I’m not, but I was clutching the mast “super hard”. As rough as it was the day I went up the mast, a few days later, not so rough.  Once you get north of Bermuda the winds are all over the place if there is any wind at all. We ended up motoring something like 100 hours and yet still managed to sail between 800 and 900 miles and sometimes at near double digit speeds for days at a time.  I wrote about one of our best days of sailing, early in our trip in this post.

However, after crossing the Gulf Stream the wind just died and didn’t come up again.

As much as I hate motoring day after day, the calm seas that come along with no wind do make for good conditions to spot sea life.  We saw a small pod of humpback whales and also many of these sharks, Basking sharks I think.    The fin, tail and “nose” of the shark are very distinctive as they slowly swim along with their enormous mouth agape.   These sharks run in the 15-25′ long, the second largest shark species.  In spite of their enormous size, their primary food is plankton, tiny invertebrates.   We saw dozens as we approached the continental shelf about 100 miles south of Montauk. One of them slowly swam toward Pandora until he/she was only about 2′ from our hull and suddenly realized how close we were.  And with a violent splash, turned away.  They really look primeval. All and all, we had a good run and in spite of 100 hours of motoring, we still made very good time, nearly 180 miles per day for 1,600 miles, over the bottom.

Now that Pandora is in a marina, I’ll have the mechanic take a look at the prop shaft bearing to see how tough it will be to put in a new one or at least fix the one that’s there.   I may also have the transmission pulled for inspection as I fear that the vibration might have caused some excess wear.   I’ll wait until fall to pull her, I hope, to take a look at the cutlass bearing on the shaft to see if that wore too.

You know, they say that cruising is “boat repair in exotic places” but being home means even more boat repairs, but in a marina.  And, it costs a lot more. funny thing.

So, how was my trip?  Well, I am already thinking about my run south in November as part of the Salty Dawg Rally to Antigua.

Oh yeah, the rally will be adding a second “official” departure point, from Essex Yacht Club.  Gee, I wonder how the board chose Essex Yacht Club? Hmm…

Who knew?  But I didn’t want to schlep Pandora all the way to Hampton.  A rally departure from my very own home-town club?  I’m excited.

 

Well, it’s official, we are in “northern climes” having crossed the Gulf Stream last evening.

I am always stunned as to how fast the weather changes when we enter the Gulf Stream and how different the temperature is on the north side, compared to the south of the Stream.

For nearly the entire trip north, now into our 9th day since leaving Antigua, we have been moving along with all the hatches well secured.   As a result, it’s been very hot and stuffy in the cabin.  This is partly because the engine is located under the galley and when it’s running, a good deal of heat radiates from the cabinet.  Even after we shut down, the engine remains hot for many hours.

As a rule, we have been using fans with the hope of keeping cool off watch and often, that just isn’t enough to be comfortable.

The water temperature south of the GS tends to run in the low 80s, not much different than in the Caribbean, and that really doesn’t change until we pass out over the northern wall and into cooler New England waters.

We first began to feel the effects of the GS around the same latitude as the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay when we entered a “cold eddy” at 36 degrees and 55 minutes north, finally reaching the main flow of the Stream at around the same latitude as the Delaware Bay.   Once we were solidly into the flow the water temperature was a pretty constant 82 degrees.  The GS is about 50 miles wide in that area but still runs to the NE at a pretty good clip, I’d guess at about 2-3kts.

As we reached the waypoint that Chris Parker had given us for the north wall of the Stream, the temperature dropped, within less than an hour to 74 degrees and in the next hour to 68 degrees.  Within the next few hours it made a big drop to 57 degrees.

It’s amazing to me that the Stream remains so well defined a thousand miles from where it passes southern Florida.  The amount of energy that is being transferred northward is stunning.

So, after some 1,300 miles with near constant water and air temperatures, we are now into much cooler temperate conditions, and all that change within a few hours.  Amazing.

While I have been cooking each day, usually a hot dinner and sometimes a hot lunch.  I have been holding off on making biscuits, perhaps my favorite thing to eat aboard.   I am a passable cook at best but I do make really good biscuits.

And, today, after a week and a half of dinners without much comment from the crew, this morning’s biscuits were scarfed down in short order.   Well, it only took 1,300 miles but I finally found something that they really like, or at least that’s how it seemed.  Perhaps it was a relief for them, finally…

Yesterday was a good day with 13 hours of great sailing.  We covered a lot of distance, a welcomed change from all the motoring before the wind finally came up.

Remember that whole “shaft bearing” thing?  It seems to be fairly stable but clearly will need love when I get back.   However, there still remains an intermittent vibration in the shaft, from time to time.

Oddly, after motorsailing for hours through the Gulf Stream last night, we rolled out the jib to give us a little more speed and without making any change in RPM there was again a nasty vibration in the propeller shaft.  It persisted, somewhat, after we stowed the jib again and finally smoothed out and has been running along happily for hours now.

I have no idea of what’s causing the problem.  It might be a propeller shaft zinc that has worn and gotten loose, a loose zinc on the propeller or perhaps there’s still some sort of line or material on the prop.   Of course, it could also be a worn cutlass bearing but that looked fine when Pandora went into the water last October.

One way or the other, I sure hope that things hold up until we reach home.  I’d hate to lose the use of the engine with so little wind.
All and all, things are moving along nicely and it’s finally cool enough for biscuits.

It will also soon be time to go through the fridge and freezer to be sure that we don’t have any “contraband” food that will cause problems with Customs and the Agriculture folks if they decide to inspect the boat.   I’ll be leaving a trail of food, including all vegetables and fruit as well as any frozen meat that isn’t labeled as having been blessed by the USDA.

Wish us luck with the engine but so far, so good, mostly.  It’s always amazing to me how much can go wrong on a long passage but we are nearly there and should be back home perhaps as early as mid- afternoon Tuesday.

Wish you were aboard for a biscuit?  Finally, it’s cool enough to bake.

And yes, Brenda, I do need a sweater.

Today, Sunday, as of 09:00 marks the one week point of our voyage since leaving Antigua.  In some ways it feels like less time than that and in other ways, a lot more.   We are getting closer but are still a long way from home, about even with Cape Hatteras and a bit more than 300nm from Montauk, Long Island, where we will turn into Long Island Sound.

Perhaps, more significant is that it is Mother’s Day, and here I am, hundreds of miles from land and days from home, neglecting my own mother and the mother of my children.  Good thing that I married a girl that is understanding, and usually more than is warranted.  I’m not certain if I’d be quite as reasonable if the tables were turned.

The good news is that Brenda has been at a retreat for the weekend so I expect that she’s actually happier than if she had to stick around home with me.   After a winter afloat, I am pretty confident that a weaving conference trumps.

I’m lucky to have someone as understanding as Brenda.  And it gets even better as she’s going to go see my mother, who I am also neglecting on Mother’s day, and she will be bringing a bottle of wine to share with my mom.  Two mothers on Mother’s Day, drinking wine…

Anyway, back to reality.  Not a lot has happened over the last 24 hours, but you probably don’t know that as Brenda has probably not been able to put up my Saturday post while she’s away.  If that’s the case, I expect that this post will show up a few minutes after yesterday’s when Brenda returns home this evening.   (temporary ed’s note:  Uh, no, it didn’t work out like that!  I got Sat’s post up, but couldn’t do Sunday’s post until Monday morning!  Sorry,Bob.  It was a long day Sunday, packing up, having a nice visit with your mom, and arriving home Sunday evening, completely zonked!)

That huge high pressure zone that has sucked up all the wind continues to be a problem although after motoring much of yesterday with wind in the 2-5kt range, the wind has finally filled in a bit to about 10-15kts but still from behind us.   That means that while we are getting a bit of lift from the wind, the engine has been on for nearly 40 hours, non-stop.

That’s not a terrible problem as we have quite a bit of fuel on board.  However, the first tank “ran dry” with just 50 hours on it, which doesn’t make sense given history.   We should have gotten at least 65 hours so expect that a piece of crud in the tank might have gotten stuck in the pickup tube.  I have had that happen in the past and after switching tanks the piece generally drops out of the tube.  I don’t need to worry about the residual fuel in that tank right now so I am not inclined to switch back to test the hypothesis.  One way or the other, we have plenty of fuel in reserve, now on our second tank with a third yet to go.  I also have 25 gallons in jugs as a backup.  We’re in good shape in the fuel department.
A bigger issue may end up being the propeller shaft bearing that I mentioned a few days ago.  It had shown meaningful signs of wear after the problem with propeller vibration.  I am not sure if the wear was caused when the prop shaft vibrated due to something being tangled on the prop or if it was there before and I had just not noticed it.  After a few days of monitoring a lot of dust has collected under the fitting, suggesting that something is still wearing.  I am not familiar with the coupling and exactly how it works but expect that it has some sort of carbon sleeve that wears to keep the shaft in alignment.

Fortunately, I also have a laser thermometer so I have been using it to periodically monitor the temperature of the bearing in various sections.  After rising in temperature early on, the bearing temperatures seem to have stabilized.  I’ll keep monitoring it every hour or so with the hope that it doesn’t get hotter.  So far, it seems to be stable.  The fact that one side of the bearing is a little bit hotter than the other, suggests that it’s still not well aligned.    However, I think that the interior carbon sleeve, as it wears down from friction, will help keep things in reasonable alignment.   If the bearing fails, given the fluky wind, it could be a problem.

It had better not fail as there’s still likely to be plenty of motoring between here and home.  Fortunately, I have a good selection of tools on board so I can still tinker with the bearing.   I wish that I had not let my towing insurance lapse.   Oh well, it’s a bit late to change that.

And speaking of wind, I also just downloaded the most recent GRIB files, weather maps, and they suggest that we might get a good 24 hours of sailing in beginning later today.  That’s good as we only have about two days until we get to Montauk and enter Long Island Sound and that would give us an opportunity to rest the engine and bearing.

Another question that will need answering is how we will have to deal with Customs as we re-enter US waters.   Prior to leaving Antigua, I contacted two offices, Bayone NJ, that covers Northern New Jersey, New York and Long Island Sound, and an office in the New Haven, New London area.
I asked an officer in each office what I should expect and what the current clearance process would be.  The officer in Bayone, an office that I have cleared through in the past, said that as long as each of our passports check out, we would likely receive clearance over the phone.   The officer in the New Haven office took a much tougher position saying “you can count on us visiting you at the dock”.   Yep, I’ll try calling Bayone and see how that goes.  Wish me luck as I’d prefer not to have to make a totally separate stop after so many days at sea.

So, when will we arrive home?  Well, that depends on a lot of variables, wind, current, mechanical issues and of course, Customs.  If we are able to clear over the phone, and everything works out, or continues to work, we might be back “at the dock” by late Tuesday night.

After a week at sea, the last 300 miles seems like we are nearly home, but there’s still a lot of sea between us and the dock.

So far, so good.  Wish us continued luck.