As I sit here and watch the Salty Dawg fleet, heading to the Caribbean and points south, I recall my trips over the years and am imagining the questions that are going through the minds of captains and crew of the many boats underway.  Being far out at sea and knowing that there is a hurricane bouncing around the Caribbean, first heading west to Honduras, on to Cuba and now up the west coast of Florida does give pause for thought.

It’s been a very busy season for hurricanes and may very likely end up being the busiest on record, with nearly 30 named storms.   As the fleet left the US to begin their run, there was at least one comment on Facebook questioning if it was a good idea for everyone to head out with a hurricane moving through the Caribbean.   Now, days later, Hurricane Eta (they ran out of names and had to start all over again because there have been so many storms), continues to bounce around the Gulf and is not expected to threaten the fleet.  Chris Parker, of Marine Weather Center and the router for the rally, felt strongly that the storm would not be a threat to the fleet and it seems that he was right.

Three years ago, I decided to leave Beaufort NC much later in the season than I would normally, January verses November.   After speaking with Chris his observation was that the weather leaving from south of Cape Hatteras was often more predictable in January than in November, when the summer and winter winds are still duking it out.

As we approached our anticipated departure date, I spoke with Chris and we settled on January 5th, if I recall, to head out.  There was a developing ridge near Puerto Rico and as long as I was able to maintain a speed of at least 7kts, I would pass the area before the feature moved into my path.  By taking this approach we assumed that I would pass the area ahead of the ridge and avoid the gale force winds north of the ridge and instead, be south of it and enjoy trade wind sailing with 15kts on the beam.

However, it didn’t work out as planned as I was slower than anticipated, averaging only 6.5 knots and the ridge moved into my path about 12 hours earlier than anticipated.   As a result, instead of our enjoying trade wind sailing, we had 4.5 days of running before a gale with nothing up but a double reefed main.  It was not a fun experience as we crawled up the backside of 20′ waves at 4-5 knots and surfed down their face, sometimes at 20+kts while we all lived in fear of an uncontrolled jibe or something breaking. The autopilot steered the boat very well but ultimately a linkage failed and while someone was able to take control quickly, but before things were under control, we slewed nearly broadside to the waves.  It was a very hairy moment, and one that I don’t want to repeat.  I was able to repair the broken linkage but it took several hours and after the failure, we really didn’t trust my fix and someone stood at the helm every moment for the rest of the trip.  It turns out that the prior owner had experienced this exact same failure multiple times over the years.  Great to hear, after the fact.  I was determined to avoid a repeat and re-engineered the linkage assembly.  Now, thousands of miles later, no breakage.

The point of bringing up this experience and why I ran into terrible conditions,  is that I underestimated my speed and the ridge came in early.  What I learned from this trip is a clear understanding that I need to always need to take into account how the forecast might change and build in contingencies.  Or as my wife Brenda likes to say, “prepare for the worse and hope for the best.”

It’s pretty clear to me now that I should have just waited a few days instead of assuming that everything would go according to plan.  Chris’s forecast wasn’t off by much and had warned me about the possible variables, but a small change in the weather and my underestimating my speed made a big difference in our experience.   There I was in Beaufort, crew on board, itching to get going and so was I, so we left.  Fortunately, those 40+kt winds were behind us instead of us having to close reach in a gale, which would have been much worse.

So, all of this brings me to the topic of this post and that’s what’s going on with the fleet who are participating in the Salty Dawg Rally to Antigua.

For several days in advance of the fleet leaving each year, Chris conducts an evening briefing for skippers and crew to help them better understand the developing weather picture.  In spite of what the weather expected, he always stresses that with a trip of 9-14 days, it’s very hard to anticipate what will happen after the first few days.

In this case, Chris recommended that boats leaving from the Hampton VA area should head NE for the first few days before tacking and heading for Antigua.  The point being that by making as much easting as possible early in the trip, they would likely avoid having to beat into strong easterly trade winds later in the trip.   This advice seems to be playing out as the fleet gets closer to their destinations, some of skippers that are a bit west of the bulk of the fleet will have a tough time making enough easting to avoid a stop in the USVIs or perhaps Puerto Rico.  Chris is anticipating, and the current maps show, that winds will be a bit south of east as they approach the Caribbean and boats that are not far enough east will have a rougher go of it.

Chris is sensitive to the needs of many of his clients, often older folks, like Brenda and me, who are looking for easy conditions and adjusts his forecasts accordingly.  In this case, recommending that boats put some “easting in the bank” by heading to the NE early in the trip would give them a more favorable point of sail as they passed east of the Virgins.

Boats that are farther east will have apparent wind on the beam verses being on a close reach or worse and as the wind is expected to increase into the 20s ore higher.   The closer to the wind the more uncomfortable the run will be.

Note that I have marked Antigua, the destination for most boats, with an arrow below.  Of course, some boats were headed to the Bahamas and a few to the USVIs so it is expected that some may be on a track that takes the west of the rhumb line to Antigua.  However, those who are west of their intended track may very well find that making it all the way to Antigua could be a challenge.   To see the fleet in real time, and see how this all plays out, click here to go to the Predict Wind Salty Dawg Page.

The point is that when Chris recommended that the fleet head to the NE, and most did, he wanted to allow for a possible subtle but important shift in the weather days down the road that would avoid the discomfort of beating to weather.  Chris is not always right but he works hard to allow for unanticipated changes in the forecast, an opportunity to “prepare for the worse and hope for the best.”

It will be interesting to see how things develop over the next few days and I am hopeful that the boats that are more to the west won’t have to abandon their goal of arriving in Antigua with the rest of the fleet.

From my perspective all of this and my own experience over the years and from my youth, is that sometimes “mom, and your weather router, really does know best”.

Trust your mother, or at least your router, and more often than not, your trip will be more fun.

And, as they say, “gentleman and cruisers never beat to weather”.

Good luck with that!

After months of planning and a never ending series of questions about what the state of the pandemic will be in the Caribbean, the Salty Dawg Rally is underway, with most boats leaving from Hampton VA this morning.   Most of the 50+ boats are heading to Antigua with some opting to head to the Bahamas and a few to other destinations.

Chris Parker of Marine Weather Center, is the official weather router for the rally and has been doing daily video briefings for skippers and crew for the last week to help everyone understand when it would be safe to leave for the run south.

I have not been privy to the details of these discussions except to say that the weather systems that boats will encounter are complex, not unlike departures in prior years when I participated in the rally, when we all spent the days leading up to departure not sure exactly what we would be getting ourselves into when we headed out.

This is a shot of the Predict Wind tracking map from this morning showing that a good number are heading out as I write this.    Most of the boats are leaving from the Hampton VA area, with a few from Beaufort, just south of Cape Hatteras.   As you can see by the box, the wind speed is in the low 20s out of the west, north west, a good point of sail and the boats should make good time, at least for the moment as conditions will surely change as they make their way south. And, there is a lot going on weather-wise, with yet another late season hurricane off of Honduras.   The blue areas have light wind and dark red, lots…

See a mark, again with the box indicating moderate trade winds from the east, Antigua, the destination for the bulk of the fleet.  I hope to be able to provide more commentary in the coming days and will follow weather alerts from Chris to share what I can regarding the conditions that the fleet is experiencing along the way.   I clipped these images from my iPad but they don’t offer as much functionality as you will get on a PC, where there is a list of individual boats along the border so you can more easily see who is who.

I encourage you to follow this link, now and often, to keep track of who is where and how fast they are going.   By placing your courser over any given boat, you can see what their speed, lat/lon and direction are.  And, the same applies to wind speed and direction as I have noted on the image above.

So here I sit in my office on election day and I have to say that with all the negativity in that “race”, I am happy to focus on the Dawgs heading south for the winter.

As we sit here in the US, with infections on the rise and months cooped up inside, the Salty Dawg Fleet heading to Antigua, is going to what is arguably a better place for the season. I’m jealous.

Skippers and crew have followed a detailed quarantine and testing regime, preparing for departure to ensure that everyone remains safe and arrives in Antigua free of infection.    And, with a mind toward keeping everyone safe, as Port Officer for the rally in Antigua, I have organized a long list of arrival events to help everyone feel welcome in Antigua.   Click here to see what’s in store when they arrive. 

After so many months of planning, it’s exciting to say.  “And they’re off!”

Recently, we had our first hard frost here in CT and I’m feeling pretty anxious about getting Pandora out of the water and properly winterized for the coming cold weather.

The need to protect Pandora from the cold is in sharp contrast to the Salty Dawg Rally, about 50 boats strong, as they prepare to head south, with the bulk of the fleet heading to Antigua.  No winterizing needed for them.

Most of the boats are leaving from the Hampton VA area again this year and conditions in the North Atlantic suggest that they may have a challenging time getting south this year.  With so much “easting” to make before heading south to the islands, leaving from Hamption brings with it a whole set of complexities.

Some would suggest that just leaving from New England makes sense given the fact that the run to Antigua is nearly due south, avoiding the hundreds of miles of easting that the boats leaving from VA must make in order to get into a position to enjoy the persistent easterly trade winds.

In fact, the course from Montauk to Antigua takes you just west of Bermuda and avoids a lot of beating into the trades from a start in VA.  However, given the number of gales, and there is one going on now, north of Bermuda this time of year, it is very difficult to get a proper weather window to make the run from New England to safer waters south of Bermuda.  As a result, lots of painful easting or not, most folks opt to leave from farther south and avoid the uncertainty of leaving from further north.

I am feeling a mixture of sad and excitement for the coming weeks.  Sad, because Pandora comes out of the water and excitement for the fellow Dawgs that will be heading south.  Hopefully next winter I’ll be feeling only excitement.   I’ll be posting again in a few days with the details of what’s in store for the fleet.

Exciting yes, but that enthusiasm will have to be tempered by the reality that moving from island to island will be quite challenging this season given the threat of infection.  The much promoted Caribbean “bubble”, promising “easier” travel between islands seems to be breaking down with several islands opting out of the agreement even before the season gets going.   With infections spiking all around the world, and more tourists visiting the islands, often from hard hit areas, it seems likely that moving from island to island will become even more difficulty.

Having spent weeks longer in Antigua last spring than we wished, often strictly confined to Pandora, I am wondering how much fun being there will be when compared to a “normal” year.   However, my position on all that might soften when compared to being here in the frigid north over the winter.

Ask me how I feel in about a month…

When I am “home” I always struggle to come up with ideas of what to post and I am sure that this winter will be more of the same.  However after some 950 posts over the years, I somehow always come up with something to write about, so here goes.

And, the next installment of the America’s Cup ramping up, and the defender and challengers alike, launching boats designed to the AC75 rule, we are learning more about what these remarkable boats, if you can call the boats, will be like.

I found a very interesting clip where the host describes the theory and technology behind these boats.   But first, this short piece about the history of the cup is worth watching to give better context to what sort of machines are competing today. And this, a nice piece about the 1934 race in big classic J class boats.  We see quite a few of these classics in Antigua each season. This description of the new A75 boats will dramatize just how much has changed in the competition for the America’s Cup.   Today’s yachts seem to have more in common with airplanes than boats.  Are these the proper direction for the sport?  You decide. I am sure that you would much prefer to hear about  what’s going on in the cruising community but for now we will all have to settle for an “armchair” look at what others are up to.

Well, at least those of us that are stuck in the frigid north for the winter.  For now, we can just watch and I guess “watching” boats, and they are barely boats at all, compete for the America’s Cup, the oldest international sporting trophy, will have to do.

Damn, it’s getting cold…

Recently I wrote of Brenda’s and my last cruise but something that I didn’t mention is that we saw a beautiful classic schooner as well as two beautiful old Trumpy yachts, all within three days, three for three.

As we headed down the CT river on our way to Sag Harbor, the beautiful Trumpy, Enticer, launched in 1935, one of the three “sightings”, passed us heading up the river.   I wish I had taken a photo of her.   She is a familiar site as we have passed her when underway many times over the years, when on the Intra Coastal Waterway, and once as we headed to Key Largo in the Hawk Channel, south of Miami.  It’s always a real treat to see such a beautiful boat in top shape.

In 2009 Brenda and I were able to tour Enticer.    Unfortunately, we weren’t “official” guests, as she was on display and open to visitors at the Wooden Boat Show at Mystic Seaport.   At that time, I wrote about our time aboard, not knowing that sometime later, years later, I’d again be aboard her, and this time as an official guest for “sundowners”.

Being aboard Enticer as a guest was amazing while I was on the NY Yacht Club cruise last summer, a visit that even included “valet parking” for my dink.  I was included as Pandora was invited to join the cruise as “tender” to a member’s boat that was participating as a racer.    I wrote about that visit in a post.  She’s a beautiful boat and was being chartered by several NYYC members and came complete with a 12 meter that was tied up along side.  Nice package deal…In 2015 she underwent yet another major restoration, although she looked pretty amazing when Brenda and I saw her years before that.  Now she is better than ever.  She has been “restored” a number of times, as is the case with all well maintained classic wooden yachts.  Her prior restoration, in 2002 was done at the Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine, known for doing some of the most magnificent rebuilds of classics as well as new builds in wood composite construction.

Her glamor shot after emerging from the shop shop in Brooklin. Hankering to get out on her yourself?  She is part of a program where, you can own a share as part of a fractional ownership plan.  Wouldn’t it be fun to put your feet up in the salon after a long day on the water?  “Garson, please fetch me a dram of rum.”  No, no, that’s not up to snuf.  “Garson, a Pims, if you will, and be snappy about it.”Too nice to stay inside?  Not to worry, you can enjoy your Pims on the aft deck.  And, it’s a nice place, trust me.  Been there, done that.  Although, for me, a G&T if I recall. Not up to your standards?  How about Enticer’s sister ship, Freedom?  A fractional program is available for her too for $350,000.   And for that fee, you will bask in the glow of 5% ownership and 10 days of annual usage.  Want to use her for a single day?  That will set you back $4,800 plus provisions, fuel and crew gratuity.

We saw Freedom when we were in Sag Harbor.   What a sight passing by at sunset. As you can imagine, buying, crewing and maintaining such a yacht is not for the faint of heart and a lot goes into keeping her up to snuff.  However, with fractional ownership, you will never have to pick up a varnish brush.

It takes a massive amount of work to keep a boat like Freedom in proper shape.  Check out this video on her restoration.  The video is about 5 minutes long and gives some very interesting history and what went into getting her where she is today.  Now, in the foreground of the image above of Freedom is a lovely schooner, number three on our three-sightings weekend.   Yes, she’s in the photo above, but she deserves a shot of her own.  Meet Kelpie, a 1928 schooner built at the Harvey Gamage yard in Maine.  This video shows her underway and in a race win in Falmouth, UK, shortly after her recent rebuild before making her way “across the pond” to Sag Harbor.  The video includes some shots of other really spectacular yachts, some of which I have seen in Antigua over the years.  As they set various sails, you really get a feel for just how big everything is on a yacht of this scale.
In order to own such a boat, her owner must have a long attention span and a very healthy checkbook.  Her current owner. Breakfast is ready…  Well,almost. Now Kelpie is under new management and ownership and is being actively chartered out of Sag Harbor.  She was still in the neighborhood when Brenda and I were there last weekend.  I wonder where she will be this winter.  It would be a shame to see her out of the water for the winter.  Kelpie?  Looking for a delivery crew?  I’d work for food.

So, there you go, three for three.  Three days and three beautiful classic yachts and it’s a wrap for this season.

It’s worth noting that that Pandora’s season ran from last fall when she went back in the water and headed south to Antigua, to South Florida, the Chesapeake and back home to New England where she will be hauled for the long New England winter.

Pandora covered nearly 5,00o miles over the last year and was commissioned for 13 months since her last layup.   In all honesty, with the whole virus thing and the months of lockdown in the Caribbean Brenda and I had to endure, it wasn’t all that idyllic a season.  However, I’m counting on next fall and winter being terrific so there is something to look forward to.   Given how terribly the virus has been managed here in the US, experts are now predicting that things won’t be under control until mid 2023, which would be horrible and put’s next season’s cruising plans at risk for us.

What a nice way to end the season, three for three.  Three days and three classics.  Check, check and time to haul.

So, here we will be, stuck in the frozen north this winter.  I sure hope that we will at least be to snow and lots of it so it will feel like a real winter.

I guess it’s time to begin working on that winterizing list and beginning to tackle the many projects planned to make sure she is in top form come spring.

I’ll be looking forward to a nice sundowner aboard Pandora next summer and winter.  Unlike these three beautiful yachts, Enticer, Freedom and Kelpie, I guess I’ll have to serve myself.

At least the view will be nice.Yes, it feels like winter, cold and rainy.  Time to put on a sweater.

Brenda likes sweaters.

Winter is on it’s way and a few days ago I moved Pandora to the yard in Deep River CT where she will be hauled.  It pains me to have her out of commission for the “season” but that’s how it will be.

As I ran her up the river, it was a beautiful fall afternoon and I couldn’t resist and asked Brenda if she would be willing to head out one more time for a short run  to Sag Harbor.  She agreed so I put off the haul date a bit and here we are again in Sag Harbor, where I write this.

We had an easy run here yesterday and were able to sail at least part of the way, a nice way to end the season.  We will head back to the marina in Deep River tomorrow where I will prepare her for being hauled.  It’s nice to have at least one more outing before the season is officially over.

The harbor here is much more empty than when we were here only a few short weeks ago with all but two of the big yachts gone for the season.

As Brenda and I sat in the cockpit last evening enjoying a G&T we were treated to the view of Patriot, a beautifully maintained classic Trumpy yacht steaming by.  It  seems that she is for sale and at $350k, if you are interested.  And, at that price, she won’t break the bank.

However, anyone who knows what it costs to maintain a classic yacht, will realize that the purchase price is only the beginning as I expect that it’s a multi six figure yearly commitment to keep her going which would surely break our bank.  It’s expensive enough to maintain Pandora and I can only imagine the complexities keeping a near 100 year old yacht in proper trim.

And, maintenance is only the beginning and assumes that no major work needs attention.  She was built in 1926 and has been heavily rebuilt over the years, most recently over a 5 year period ending in 2009.   I expect that she’s ready for yet another round of major work about now.   One way or the other, what a sight as she passed by a lovely schooner in the waning light.   The schooner is Kelpie, built in 1928 in Maine.  She too underwent a major rebuild, as is the case with all older yachts, in Maine in 2014 so she is in terrific condition.  She now calls Sag Harbor her home and is available for charter.  I wonder if she will be here over the winter.   Want to go sailing on a classic schooner?  Check out her website here.

Anyway, with the season at an end I continue to think about what life is going to be like here in New England this winter, wondering how bad things will get as people move indoors and tire of coping with the seeming never-ending restrictions required to stay safe.

On a daily basis experts are making predictions of what will happen in the coming months.  It’s hard to know what to believe when reports from medical experts suggest that the worse is yet to come, and others suggesting that the worse is behind us and that the virus will just magically fade away.

And, to add to uncertainty, the questions about vaccines in development and a growing fear that many will not trust them as safe or even protect us from infection.  One way or the other, it’s going to be a long winter.

And, speaking of winter and our missed run south, I have been working hard to arrange plans to celebrate the arrival of the Salty Dawg fleet in Antigua.  Unlike here in New England, it is fairly easy to stay “safe” as just about everything you might want to do in Antigua will be outdoors and with a fresh breeze to further minimize risk.

Last year we had nearly 40 boats make the run to Antigua in the rally and in spite of the world being in the clutches of the Pandemic, it looks like we will have a similar number of boats, perhaps a few more than last year, making the run this year.  Interestingly, two thirds of the fleet this year are first-timers, about double the fraction of what the rally sees in a “normal” year, suggesting that “veterans” either left their boats in the Caribbean last summer or have opted to sit the season out, given all of the uncertainty.

One question is if it will be safer in the Caribbean than here at home, and I find it very distressing that here in the US, we have the highest death rate of any industrialized nation at nearly 70 per 100,000.  On the other hand, the death rate per 100,000 in Antigua is a fraction of that at 3.  These are sobering numbers with our death rate more than 20x worse.  So, who’s the third world country?  As Trump would say “sad”.

Earlier in the week, Brenda and I went out for lunch, on a patio overlooking the CT River.  It was a beautiful day and really brought home just how different it will be here in a month when we are no longer able to sit outside to enjoy a meal.  It’s going to be very different and I can say with certainty that there is no way that I will be comfortable dining indoors, social distancing or not, once it’s cold, as there is ample evidence that being inside, in a public place, social distancing or not, as it is much more risky.

While we have more hospital beds here in the US, the to care for us if we get sick, the government of Antigua has been taking a very aggressive approach in keeping the virus at bay by having forced quarantine in government facilities.

They realize that if things get out of control, they just won’t be able to cope.  Or, to put it another way, “In God we trust, all positives go into quarantine where we can keep an eye on you!”.  I doubt that would fly here in the US, land of “don’t tread on my liberties”.  So, where would we be safer?  In the US with 20x the infection rate and lots of hospital beds or in Antigua with minimal healthcare risk but less risk of infection?  It’s a tough call.

One of the best parts of visiting Antigua is the availability of other islands to visit only a short sail away.  However, this year there are still a lot of questions about what will be involved in moving from island to island, with the likely need to take  a PCR test at $100 per person, just to move to another island.   That could really add up over the course of a season where a cruiser might visit as many as 10 countries over the course of the season.

Some of the islands, basically the non-French islands, have formed a sort of “bubble”.   The idea is that residents of those islands can move more freely between their home and others in the group with a minimum of effort.  However, for cruisers, non-nationals, it’s not all that clear with evidence seeming to suggest that cruisers will need to show a negative test, in or outside of the bubble islands.  At this writing, those wishing to travel within the “bubble” will still have to provide proof of a negative PCR test, regardless of where they are traveling from.

There is indeed a lot of question as to how things will evolve in the coming months and if it will be better to remain close to medical care here in the US or to bail for warmer climes.  I guess only time will tell which approach proves to be correct.

On a brighter note, recently our son Chris and his partner Melody, who have moved in with us for the winter (and yes, it’s going very well, thankyou) were aboard for an evening cruise and were witness to an amazing spectacle,  the swarming of swallows over the marsh.  What begins, as the sun sets, as hundreds of black specks…Turns into swirling clouds of hundreds of thousands…They swoop and dive in elegant sweeping clouds before diving down into the marsh for the night.  Soon they will head south and in spite of all of the uncertainty about what the coming winter will bring, seeing this natural wonder offers hope that as time marches on seasons will come and go and we too will eventually find a new beginning with life returning to some sort of normal.

Yes, time will tell but for the time being, tropical or frozen, it’s going to indeed be a Coronavirus winter.

God help us.