We’ve had a wet exciting and topsy-turvey kind of day today. The weather wreaked havoc with the watch schedule. Sometime in the early morning the weather began to deteriorate, and by 9:30 we were in the midst of a full-fledged squall. The wind shifted forward, the seas got bigger and lumpier, the wind increased and so did the rain until it was really pelting the boat. Jake and the 2 Peters were on deck when the storm began and stayed until the end-no sense dragging all that water into the boat andsending someone dry out into the storm. They called for their foul weather gear and hats and hunkered down in the cockpit to keep the boat on course with a combination of power and sail. The radar screen showed heavy rain for 8 miles all around us, further in some quadrants. Jeff used the radar to monitor the movement of the storm for a few minutes and then suggested a course change that would get us out of the storm in the shortest distance. And it worked. It wasn’t quick, however. It took about 4 hours to get through the worst of the storm. We could begin to see a couple areas of blue sky, the dark clouds ahead seemed less dense than those behind. And the rain stopped. At that point we all had lunch and the wet guys came below while the dry guys went out fully dressed in foul weather gear. Yet another example of great teamwork on avalanche! (Peter V reported the highest wind gust he saw at 35 knots.) Jeff and I took a photo of our radar screen with the storm all around. We’ll try to post it. (The range was at 8 miles, the rings are 2 miles.) (It’s just like the Doppler radar the local weatherman shows on TV.)

The rest of the afternoon has been spent with Jake and the 2 Peters going down to sleep. Jeff has now joined them, Leo and I are on watch, but I’ve been permitted to do all my watching inside out of the weather, and Jake has gotten up again to go on deck and to talk to Herb. We’re waiting for Herb to tell us what we just went through and what to expect next, then it will be a
turkey dinner. It’s supposed to be Jake’s turn to cook, but since he’s out sailing the boat again, and I’m inside, I’ll do my best to get dinner together.

Unfortunately the propagation was miserable, so we couldn’t ask Herb what we had gone through, whether it was a front or merely an extended squall or squalls. We were able to learn that we won’t have much wind between here and Bermuda. But the best news is that the clouds have thinned and we have big patches of starry sky around.

Leo and I were both commenting on how quickly the sea can change. During the storm the seas were big, yet at midnight when we were on watch together the sea was practically calm in the moonlight. I had thought of describing the sea at some point, and this is a good opportunity. If you watched George Clooney in The Perfect Storm, it might be easy to imagine the ocean as wild with huge scary waves. Since we are able to select our weather window when we are out here with input from Herb, we don’t experience anything like those conditions. We are more likely to see 5-6′ swells with 10-20 knot winds and the accompanying white caps. In a squall like today the wind driven waves are whipped up, the water blows off the tops and it’s hard to see very far in the rain-just like at home on Narragansett Bay. When we have light winds and are motoring we are apt to have small swells, and when there is no wind it can be glassy calm. That’s when we have swim call!

Also of note is that the ocean is like a desert. We see very little life. We’ve had the barracuda and 2 marlin, but haven’t seen any other fish except flying fish. We’ve seen Bermuda longtails and shearwaters, but that’s about it for birds. I’ve spotted a couple of loose fishing floats, and someone saw a piece of lumber. Otherwise we see Sargasso weed. (We have a dip net to scoop up some weed to see all the life it carries, but it hasn’t been calm enough to use it yet.)

I have to apologize for forgetting to include our latitude and longitude in each day’s blog. I’ll include the 1600 position (that’s when we talk to Herb) for today, and append the preceding 3 days as well. All the best from the crew of avalanche, looking for a dull ordinary unexciting day tomorrow, perhaps some fish!

Tuesday May 27 Latitude 26 30.65 N Longitude 63 08.99W (miles in 24 hours:
178)

Monday May 26 Latitude 23 38.100N Longitude 62 22.6W (miles in 24 hours:
180)

Sunday May 25 Latitude 20 45.669N Longitude 61 52.174W (miles in 24 hours:
185)

Saturday May 24 Latitude 17 35.800N Longitude 61 39.111W

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Well, today we did have that day to sit on deck, relax and enjoy. We put up
the motoring awning for protection from the sun and heat. We played cards,
read, sat in the pool to get cool, took long naps and generally enjoyed
ourselves. Leo demonstrated some really impressive card tricks. Jeff
tinkers constantly with the computer programs and navigation instruments,
all to our benefit. He’s given me lessons on both the radar and weather
faxes. (One of those lessons was at 4 am, so I’m not sure I retained much.)
It’s a super opportunity for us to learn from an expert and for him to fine
tune our instruments under actual conditions. Peter V prepared shredded
beef sandwiches for lunch and reports having a long cool bath in the pool on
the back deck. I can’t report any other specifics, because I slept most of
the day, my only job being to prepare dinner

The winds are light and variable, so we are motor sailing. That means we’re
motoring, but whenever possible we put up sails to increase our speed. We
took down the poles this morning, so we can use the jibs in their normal
configuration.

The most exciting thing that happened today was the sighting of another
really big marlin. This time it was Leo who saw it swim past the boat on
its way to take a look at our lures. It gave each one a little nibble, but
didn’t bite, before going on its way. Leo’s eyes were huge as he described
its size and proximity, and he’s seen some impressive fish.

The final item of note is Herb’s birthday-71st, we think. We wished him
birthday greetings over the airways when he discussed the weather forecast
with Jake, and we’ve sent him and his wife, Brigitte, out for a birthday
dinner tonight. All the best for another happy and healthy year, Herb! For
those of you who don’t know yet who Herb is and how important he is to our
program, please check the link on the website. You can read about what Herb
does, and how he has helped yachties in trouble.

All the best from the relaxed crew of avalanche.

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Hello from the busy yacht Avalanche!

We can hardly believe the day we’ve had. We got up to another bright, sunny, really really hot day, with a light breeze blowing. With 6 of us in the watch schedule we get 8 hours of sleep every night, plus another 6 hours off during the day to do as we please. Since we are so well rested, despite it being only our first day at sea, everyone was up and looking forward to a bath in the pool, some reading and cards as we sailed along at a respectable 8 knots. Well, that isn’t exactly how it worked out…

In the early morning we had a huge fish on. I got a look at him when he jumped way way behind the boat. (He took off so fast that Jake had only 6 wraps of line left on his reel.) He must have been easily 6′ long. The span of the tail was equal to the span of my arms, and the tail looked like that of a marlin. He shook himself free of the hook, which was a darned good thing. What would we have done with such a huge fish once we got him to the boat? Shortly thereafter we had 3 strikes on the lines (2 were probably the same fish hitting each line), but we weren’t quick enough to set the hooks, so we lost them. That is the extent of the fishing for today, so the score is now Jake 0, Peter 1, Fish 4.

During that part of the morning when we were not catching fish, we wanted to make a little water to replace what we had used. As Jake started the watermaker he discovered a growing leak. (In Antigua the same leak had been proclaimed innocent by the watermaker guru there: just expansion due to the extreme heat.) Well, apparently the rusted out part on the back of the gauge that was allowing water to flow out was not all that innocent after all.  Fortunately we have an extremely talented crew. Peter V offered advice from the helm and I fetched paper towels and parts. Meanwhile Jake, who had previously taken the gauge and panel apart, and Jeff, who is an engineer at heart, pulled the panel open,  solated the leak, and determined that they could cap off the line to the gauge and still make water. The only question was how to determine when we had 850 PSI without a gauge. Too much pressure would blow the various pressure fittings off the membranes. Well, they calibrated the turns on the leaking gauge before removing it and we proceeded to make about 125 gallons of water! Not a bad morning’s work.

The next event came immediately after a slightly delayed but no less delicious BLT lunch prepared by Pete Largess, and even before Peter Vaiciulis could get the dishes washed. Jake had been watching the wind drop and the direction go aft and was itching to try sailing wing & wing. Wing & wing means fastening both spinnaker poles to the mast and positioning them at right angles to the boat, then rolling out the 2 jibs (Whomper and Yankee) to the poles, one on each side. Now that was an all hands evolution! (Except Leo, who was off watch and slept through the first half. Some of the rest of us were also off watch, but up and about and couldn’t resist the challenge.) The first step was to locate the appropriate lines and turning blocks. Then it took all the guys to lift both poles in place and secure each one with a topping lift, foreguy, and afterguy, and run the sheet through the forward end of the pole. (If you were counting, that’s 4 lines per pole.) Then all those lines had to be run and sometimes rerun to get a fair lead. While the guys did the heavy lifting I was trimming all these lines as they came back to the cockpit. Jake and Peter V had done this all before (albeit usually under Ben Jacobsen’s tutelage), so they led the project. Pete L has done lots of foredeck work on small boats, so he knew what needed to happen, but had no idea of the loads on a boat as big as avalanche. Jeff had delivered and raced many miles so he, too was totally conversant with the requirements. It probably took a couple of hours under the hot sun to get the job done, but once done we were so proud! Once done we took photos and will try to post one near this blog.

Not long after completing the wing & wing evolution it was time to talk to Herb and get the weather report: little or no wind through Wednesday. So we rolled up the jibs, but left the poles strapped in place and turned on the engine-except that it wasn’t getting any water. Since burning up the engine or any part thereof wouldn’t be good, Jake and Leo (who had to step away from final preparations of his shrimp scampi for dinner) opened the sea strainer and impeller to create and verify water flow. They managed to get water flowing and the engine going, and Leo served up a fine dinner!

We can credit a successful day (instead of a disaster) to our fine crew, who reacted positively to the good and the bad. We really acted as a team. People who could fix stuff fixed it. People who weren’t on watch stood watch so the watch standers could make repairs. Pete L delayed his lunch until the watermaker project was under control. Dishes got washed by crew who had the day off from KP duty. The entire crew rose to the challenge of rigging a system we had little specific experience with and did a fine job. Someone kept Leo’s dinner on schedule while he crawled in the bilge. Teamwork. It was great! And afterward there was a line for the pool and shower!

So maybe tomorrow we’ll have that quiet day of reading, bathing, playing cards and telling stories!

All the best from the crew of Avalanche, most of whom didn’t get a nap today.

Hello from Avalanche!

As we like to say, we have accomplished the most difficult part of the trip!
That is preparing the boat, chasing all the details and casting off the dock
lines. This morning, according to plan, we untied the dock lines at 10:30,
which wasn’t bad considering the customs officer came into work 1? hours
late, thereby delaying our checkout.

Our weather forecasts early in the week did not call for much wind, so it
looked like we would have to motor most of the 950 miles to Bermuda.
Nevertheless, ever hopeful, we motored for the first hour and a half around
the south end of Antigua with high hopes. And, indeed, there was more wind
this morning than predicted and we are sailing straight at Bermuda at 8.5
knots in winds of 13-14 knots. We are enjoying a lovely sail with the
Whomper, the staysail, and the full main.

As Jake was talking to Herb and I was enjoying a salt water bath on the back
deck to cool off, we had our first of what we hope will be many fishing
evolutions. The drag on Peter’s reel went crazy and we all scrambled to
respond: furl the Whomper to slow the boat down, reel in the second line
and get me out of the pool, while Peter reeled in a nice barracuda.
Unfortunately we can’t eat barracuda here, but Leo skillfully slipped the
gaff into the gill of the fish, unhooked it and released it. So at this
point, the score is Peter 1, Jake 0, Fish 0. (Jake has not caught a fish
since Block Island last September!) As for me, I have always had a nagging
worry about the guys catching a fish while I was having a bath, because the
back deck is where all the action takes place. I had to quickly scramble up
the steps and over the rail and hand the harness over to Leo so he could
climb down to the back deck to gaff the fish, wearing the wet harness that I
had just removed.

We have a super crew on this trip. It is composed of Jake and me, Peter
Vaiciulis, Leo Bontiff, Jeff Frazer, and Pete Largess. Peter has done many
trips with us and it is always delightful to have him on board. He is very
familiar with the boat and the sailing, is a wonderful cook, and usually a
good loser in the fishing contest. (Except for times like last fall, when
he beat Jake soundly.) You may remember that Peter cut his finger on that
trip; and we had to return to Bermuda so Peter could get medical attention
and eventually fly home. His finger has healed nicely in large part thanks
to Kim Hapgood, the crewmember who did such a great job closing the wound
with the steri-strips. Peter’s scar looks as good as if a surgeon had done
the work.

Leo has helped us by looking after the boat in Antigua for the last three
seasons, made last year’s trip north, and this year’s trip south. Leo has
really made a difference in the condition of the boat, is a terrific friend,
a great fisherman (his first job was fishing off Dominica with his
grandfather), and even a super cook. He is looking forward to his third
visit to the USA, where he will spend a week with us upon arrival and a week
in New York with a friend before he returns to Antigua. We were really
lucky last fall when Leo got a 10 year visa. He is even thinking about
joining us for a vacation in the U.S. this summer.

Jeff Frazer is delivering on the boat for the first time, but this is by no
means his first time on the boat. Jeff is in the marine electronic
business and has installed and serviced most of avalanche’s electronics.
Additionally, he has done many deliveries on other vessels, so he is no
rookie! Unfortunately Jeff was in a terrible auto accident last fall and we
almost lost him. But the really good news is that he is back, better than
ever and a real treat to have on board.

Pete Largess is from Jamestown. He has raced with Ben and Jake on Tuesday
nights for the last 3 years. He also sailed for his high school and
college. This is his first trip offshore and he is eagerly trying to soak up
all the new things he has to learn about offshore voyaging. (And there is a
lot to learn, just ask him.)

A crew of this size allows us to have much more rest than our usual crew of
5. After every night watch, each crew is off for 8 hours. After every day
watch, we are off for 6 hours. Each of us takes turns cooking and cleaning
up the galley. Tonight Jeff is cooking dinner and Leo will have the clean
up duties. We are having Mahi Mahi, which we bought in Antigua from the
local charter boat operator who had a good day on Thursday. We had it for
dinner on Thursday, lunch on Friday, and again tonight. Each meal received
rave reviews from the diners.

So we are off. With winds we didn’t expect, a flat sea, and lovely weather.
As Jake and Leo like to say “We’d rather be lucky than good!” We will try
to add to the blog on a daily basis, so please stay tuned for our adventures
on avalanche.

All the best from the crew of avalanche, already 170 miles north of
Falmouth Harbor, Antigua.

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