Day 7, November 21, 2009
24 12.9 N latitude 63 25.4 W longitude

Hello Everybody,

We are motor sailing slowly. We’ve made 138 miles today, down considerably from our normal average of 180 and our earlier daily totals of just under 200. There isn’t much wind, generally 5 knots of wind with 12-15 in an occasional squall, so we’re running the engine at 1500 rpms with the mainsail rolled out. The wind is on the nose, so we can only roll out a jib occasionally. We’re still around 450 miles from Antigua and have at least another 24 hours until we find real wind. While we’re watching and wishing for wind, we are also checking our fuel burn rate and plotting strategies to get further faster. So far Kim is being quoted as having the best idea. “When we run out of fuel, we’ll race to Antigua”. The small boat racing skills will come into play. Certainly it’s not the briar patch: we’ve got lots of food, plenty of water, sunshine and possibly a chance to swim. And we all really think the lowered speed will reduce the burn rate enough to get us to the wind.

Meanwhile we’ve had a nice day. Kim treated us all to a big breakfast: bacon, potatoes and eggs. That was followed by lox & bagels for lunch and taco salad for dinner. We had showers all around, the water is 83 degrees. We’ve had the fishing lines out, but no fish. We have been able to open hatches throughout the boat, a very unusual treat and a result of the lack of wind. We watched a movie last night, The Edge, and tonight’s movie is 50 First Dates. As you can tell, we’ve been relaxing.

All the best from Avalanche, wishing for wind.

Day 6, November 20, 2009
26 42. N latitude, 64 11 W longitude

Hello Everybody!

I wish I’d griped earlier, because shortly after I posted yesterday’s blog the weather changed and our wishes were granted. The clouds were replaced by a starry sky; the wind dropped into the twenties, then the teens; the Yankee was rolled out; the onerous job of hand steering became a pleasure; foul weather gear was stripped off; moods lifted–and all before dawn! As the sun came up the whomper was out and we were motorsailing in dying swells, under a cloudless sunny blue sky with the hatches open. We all felt invigorated by the sunshine and set to work. The fishing lines went out first, then all six of us bathed on the aft deck and put on shorts, short sleeved shirts, and sun screen; the damp towels are drying in the sunshine; foul weather gear has been rinsed and is drying in the sun and breeze; the cockpit has been hosed with fresh water and dried by the sun. I shoveled out the galley, wiping down surfaces and cleaning out the fridge. We had a selection of left over one pot meals for lunch, followed by ice cream for dessert, and now we’re ready for shrimp scampi in the cockpit for dinner. Leo and Chris replaced the waterlogged receiver for the auto pilot remote, so hand steering is again merely optional. The watermaker has been on for almost 5 hours making about 160 gallons of lovely fresh water; and the freezer, which refused to run when heeling more than 15 degrees, us back on line. Crew members have completed their unpacking after half the trip and done some laundry; the music system has been going constantly with the watch’s favorites; Jake has even suggested we plan to watch a movie after dinner tonight. This is the kind of day we had all looked forward to.

There appears to be a slight cloud on our horizon. According to Herb we have lost one of our days of wind. We have 400 miles to go to the wind and 350 miles of fuel. Remember our gamble? We hope it doesn’t come back to haunt us. But don’t worry. We’ve put energy saving efforts into effect: we’ll be running the engine at only 1500 rpms to conserve fuel, and we’ll have our Whomper up as much as possible. With our crew of small boat racing sailors we should be able to squeeze every inch out of every whiff of wind.

We have sent 3 photos, which should be in the vicinity of this blog. In one,Leo is driving during some of that heavy wind. The other 2 show the Sargasso weed piled on deck and caught on the deck and lifelines. We haven’t had any fish or other wildlife, but we’re watching for it.

P.S. to Herb, we had clear reception of everything you said to Melinka, who is only about half a degree away.

All the best from Avalanche enjoying the sunshine and hoping for more.

[Show as slideshow]

Enough Already!
Day 5, November 19, 2009
29 07.0 N latitude 64 35.5W longitude

Hello Everybody,

Enough! Enough one pot meals, enough salty drippy foul weather gear, enough sweat soaked clothing underneath, enough slamming doors and cupboard doors as they come loose from their catches, enough water bottles rolling across the deck, enough bracing oneself to stand, enough grabbing for handholds with every step, enough only going on deck when on watch because there is so much spray. We want showers! We want to sit down to eat together on deck, not huddled under the dodger; we want our auto pilots back; we want our living space to dry out; we want to put our clothes on without grabbing something to stay upright. Now that you are in tune with the mood of the crew, I’ll tell you why we feel that way.

Ever since we crossed the Gulf Stream and began sailing the wind has increased steadily up to about 30-35 knots, with appropriately large accompanying seas. Plenty of spray and even waves have been hitting the crew on watch. Each day the weather prognosticators encourage us to think that the winds will lighten “soon” in “3 more degrees” at “30 degrees N”, and we look forward to that. And every day they predict just one more day. This is about the 3rd day (feels like a week) and everyone is getting tired of this weather. Enough already. We’re really ready for sunshine and for calmer winds and seas so we can all shower, so we can dry out our clothes and so we can sit in the cockpit and enjoy the ride. Unfortunately today we had too much sail up when the wind hit 36 knots and we broached, sending things below flying and drenching the cockpit. Both autopilot remote jacks got wet, and with the big seas and spray we can’t take them apart and dry them out. Until then both autopilots are out of commission. So while we’re waiting for sunshine and less wind we are hand steering. (That is, the watch crew is hand steering. I’m making one pot meals.) The mouse and keyboard on the navigation computer went flying off the desk as well, so they are now tied and velcroed down, respectively. We’re just frustrated, cooped up and looking forward to real Caribbean weather.

We did have some fun today. Chris, Leo, Peter & Kim all managed to watch some or all of a DVD about treasure hunting in the Bahamas. Earlier everyone had threatened to get on the back deck and take a shower, but only Leo actually did. He was all cleaned up, dried off, and climbing back into the steering cockpit when a big wave hurled salt spray all over him. He had to go back and rinse off again. Kim made the sensible decision and showered in the head. At least two of us smelled good.

At dinnertime I noticed an AIS contact about 8 miles away that I was then able to locate on radar. It was the yacht First Light, 102′ long, heading to Antigua. It caught my attention because it was moving erratically at only 1 or 2 knots. We called them on the VHF radio to ask if they were all right. They reported hydraulic steering problems, but thought they had them under control. We had all been concerned initially (until the boat’s name was revealed) that it might have been an overdue sailing yacht heading to Bermuda from Nova Scotia.

We did get some photos of the Sargasso weed on the deck and rail, but we haven’t gotten it downloaded yet. We’ll keep trying to get a photo on the blog.

All the best from the crew of Avalanche, who have had enough already and are looking forward to sunshine and showers!

Bypassing Bermuda
Day 4 November 18, 2009
32 31.3 N
64 31.9 W

It is almost 6:00 pm AT. We can see Bermuda, but we are not planning to stop. We have had another day of heavy air sailing with the winds averaging 30 knots all day. We sailed just under 200 miles! It was way too rough for fishing, bathing, and just about everything else. However, we had a work party after lunch and made quick repairs to our water maker, a block on deck, and furniture in the salon that got bumped in the rough sea. What a team! Chris and Peter handled the furniture; Chris the water maker and deck block; Leo steered and kept the boat going. Jake and Kim both got some much needed rest. Kim appeared part way through the projects and pitched in to help, while Jake appeared just as we were testing the water maker. Aside from the fact that we were heeling too much to actually make water, the repair was perfect. As for me, I took various areas apart; moved things to secure places, then reversed the process. We did good work! Three repairs made in less than three hours, the boat restored to order, 2 crew members rested for their watches, and the others taking a rest.

We made the decision to bypass Bermuda after talking to Herb at 4:00 pm. We have just less than 1000 miles to go. That means we have just less than 6 days remaining at sea. We are going to have strong winds through tomorrow thanks to the remnants of Ida and the high pressure system you are probably enjoying. We should have 2 to 3 days of good sailing, and then will have to find wind for a day or so. We have enough fuel for 2 days of motoring. We are betting we will find enough wind to make it! You will know how we make out.

Because we’re rolling so much and heeled over I’ve had to be somewhat creative in the galley. For example, even when the oven is gimbaled items in it will slide around. One year the spare ribs slid off the back of the oven rack and lay on the back wall of the oven. To avoid a similar occurrence I haven’t used the oven in this windy weather. Tonight I heated the lasagna in the double boiler! It worked fine it just took longer than expected.

As I’ve been writing Jake and Leo just got hit by a huge wave. Leo had water up to his knees, while Jake was sitting in a mere 6”. The wave shorted out the auto pilot momentarily, and left piles of Sargasso weed on the deck, caught under lines, looped over the lifelines and piled up against the life raft. If it’s still there in the morning we’ll try to send you a photo.

All the best from the crew of Avalanche, carrying on toward Antigua.

Sailing fast
Day 3, November 17, 2009
35 20.9 N latitude 65 36.7 W longitude

Hello Everybody,

We’ve been sailing most of the day today in 20-25 knot NE winds under partly cloudy to overcast skies, and we’re making 8.5-10 knots speed over the ground (SOG). We’re trying to stay high so we can make Bermuda if necessary because the prediction is for the wind to shift to the east and increase in velocity. All those things together mean we’re heeling about 15-20 degrees and going way too fast to fish or even bathe. The water is 75 degrees and the air temp in the mid 70′s, but we’re getting hit by spray. While it’s not an uncomfortable ride, it means we have to work hard to move around, prepare meals, brush our teeth, etc. It also means that I’m having trouble not sliding off my seat and keeping the computer from sliding away as I type. Therefore, I’ll bid you good night from the crew of Avalanche making great time south! (199.8 miles today)