May 10, 2007
Antigua to St. Martin
Hi Everybody!
The adventure begins. This is the first leg of our 9th trip sailing Avalanche from Antigua to Jamestown, and the first time we have taken this route of exploration. Today we’re heading 95 miles to Ile Fourchue, an island off St. Barths, where we’ll anchor overnight before proceeding to St. Martin in the morning. We’ll leave Monday from St. Martin, sailing offshore about 3 days to the Turks and Caicos. As I mentioned in our pre-departure email, we plan to spend about 2 weeks exploring and sightseeing there and in the Bahamas before jumping into the Gulf Stream to ride up the U.S. coast
I’d like to introduce our crew. We’ll have 3 in addition to Jake and me. Bill Elvey, from Rhode Island, known as Electric Bill, has made 2 previous trips with us and has played a big role in various refit projects. He’s an electrician, a computer geek, a diesel mechanic, and has spent many years cruising the Bahamas—he’ll be our guide. Leo Bontiff is a Dominican who has settled in Antigua and works for the boatyard that takes such good care of our boat in Antigua when we’re not there. He has a lot of experience with the various systems on our boat and is as flexible as Gumby, so he will be a big help if we have to make any repairs; but this is his first delivery on any boat, so he will be learning a lot. Leo will sail with us as far as Nassau, where he has an appointment with the consulate to apply for a U.S. visa. Depending on the outcome of that appointment, he will either accompany us for the entire trip or return to Antigua. James Brooks rounds out the crew. James is an Australian, who is circumnavigating in his own boat, but stopped off temporarily in Antigua about 4 years ago. James has made 2 trips north with us and is very valuable as a sailor and a mechanic. He will join us in St. Martin on Sunday.
The highlight of our sail from Antigua to St. Martin was the small tuna that Leo caught. We enjoyed tuna sashimi as an appetizer while underway and again before dinner the next day in St. Martin.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers reading this from the crew of Avalanche in St. Martin.
May 14, 2007
St. Martin to Turks & Caicos Day 1
Hi Everybody!
Now we’re really off on our great adventure! Jake, Bill, Leo and I got to St. Martin Friday afternoon in time to buy a few boat parts at the marine supply store and load up on beverages. Saturday we bought produce and dairy products to complete our provisioning and headed for Grand Case, a wonderful bay renowned for its mouth-watering and expensive restaurants. We swam and cooled off in the crystal clear warm water (about 80 degrees). Then (ignoring the expensive restaurants) we had a wonderful meal of BBQ ribs on the beach with beer, coleslaw and more. The ribs are so good that we bought extra to freeze for our trip! Sunday James arrived and our crew was complete.
Since then we’ve put up the weather cloths along the life lines to protect us from spray, we’ve tied 10 gallons of water to the life raft just in case. We installed the jack lines so we can hook in when we move about the boat, and we replaced the large awning with a smaller sailing awning to provide shade in the cockpit while underway. Jake checked us out of St. Martin with immigration and we pulled down our French courtesy flag. We put the dinghy engine in the sail locker and hoisted the dinghy, pulled the anchor and were underway at 11:00. It’s extremely hot: 93 degrees below deck and 100 in the cockpit. Fortunately we can put on our swimsuits and a harness and sit in the water on the back deck to cool off. I think we’ll be doing that a lot!
Every year we have a fishing contest. This year the teams are Jake and Leo fishing on the starboard side, and Bill and James with gear on the port side. Because not every fisherman is up at all times to tend his lines, any fish caught on the port side is scored for Bill and James and any fish caught on the starboard pole is a score for Jake and Leo, regardless of who reels the fish in. Within less than 3 hours of our departure we had 2 Mahi Mahi’s on. Leo and Jake were on watch and able to land a huge Mahi on the starboard side, but unfortunately the port Mahi got away. So at this point the score is J&L 1, fish 1, B&J 0.
I’ll try to email daily with our adventures while we’re underway.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche at 18.28 N latitude, 63.39 W longitude.
May 15, 2007
St. Martin to Turks & Caicos, Day 2
Hello Everybody!
We’ve had quite a day! The excitement began just before lunch when we had a fish on. I heard the engine throttled back so I headed on deck to see what was up; but before I got there we had a Man Overboard siren going off. At that point everybody ran for the deck. Fortunately the MOB was a false alarm, which sometimes happens when an MOB watch gets splashed. It took several annoying seconds to get it turned off.
Meanwhile we all got a glimpse of Jake & Leo’s sailfish! Jake had a hit on the starboard line and saw about a 200-pound sailfish tail walking. As he grabbed the rod the fish quickly stripped line from the reel, which began to smell and feel hot. Jake was incredibly impressed by such a magnificent fish. However, he was hoping the fish would throw the hook because we certainly can’t land a fish of that size, and eventually that’s what happened. I think all of us got a look at the fish, but we didn’t get a photo. It was an incredible creature and we were happy that we didn’t harm it. The score is now J&L 1, fish 2, B&J 0. It appears our lures really work. Lunch followed: pan-fried Mahi sandwiches prepared by Leo with hints from Jake. Last night’s dinner was sautéed Mahi seasoned with lime juice by James. That Mahi has been a delicious addition to our menu.
Our next event occurred as the wind came up to about 12-13 knots, enough to start rolling out sails. When the sailing awning is in place it is difficult to see the mast as the mainsail is unfurled, and unfortunately today that caused a major problem. The entire upper half of the main didn’t come out, but got wedged in the slot in the mast. The lower half of the main was out and filling. It was a really ugly situation. We had all hands on deck as James went up the mast to pull the sail out as much as he could while Jake rolled the furler in to tighten the roll and out to let the sail out, all the while keeping some tension on the outhaul. It took an hour and James had to go up the mast twice, but we got the main out and full. New rule: the sailing awning is only for motoring, not for sailing!
We’ve been sailing about 65 miles off and parallel to the coast of San Juan all day in water 20,000 feet deep! That’s almost 4 miles deep. At this point we’re almost north of the eastern end of Hispaniola. We should reach the Turks & Caicos early Thursday morning.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche at 20.39 N latitude, 68.14 W longitude.
May 17, 2007
St. Martin to Turks & Caicos, Days 3 &4
Hi Everybody,
It’s Thursday night and we’re safely anchored up in Providenciales, shortened to Provo, one of the Caicos Islands. So far I can tell you that the color of the water is incredible—like nothing I’ve ever seen.
Yesterday we had clouds and overcast, capped by a two-hour squall, which pretty much spoiled our day. Today was more gray skies and lumpy seas until about noon when we began to see the low outlines of the Caicos Islands. About the same time we began to see patches of blue sky. As the weather improved so did our view of Provo. We could see miles of sandy beaches, many resorts and even more construction. But the most amazing thing is that we were motoring about 2-3 miles off shore and were still off soundings. That means the water was so deep that the fathometer couldn’t pick up the bottom! Within those 2 miles we came through a coral reef into an area less than 10 feet deep and at some points only 7/10ths of a foot under our 6-foot keel! The water is so clear we can see the bottom, the anchor, the chain, and even sand dollars. And it’s a really pretty greeny turquoise blue. (Under a partly overcast and very hazy sky.)
We can’t wait to explore tomorrow. We have to finish checking in with customs and then we’ll find out what Provo has to offer. The water promises to be a beautiful color under a sunny sky, and the coral reefs provide marvelous snorkeling and diving. And who knows what else there is to discover. We expect to be here 3-4 days before moving on to the Bahamas. I’ll write again when we leave and report on our adventures here.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche 21.47 N latitude, 72.13 W longitude
Wish you were here.
May 21, 2007
Vacation in the Turks & Caicos
Hello Everybody!
The Caicos Islands are beautiful! They are low lying limestone islands surrounded by lots of reefs with long stretches of fine white sand beach. The water inside the reefs is very shallow, in many places less than the 6′ Avalanche requires. Yet just a couple of miles offshore we’re off soundings. It’s an amazing place. In the bright sunshine we can see the bottom and identify the reefs and coral heads under water that is the most glorious azure color. I wish I had a big 64-color box of Binney & Smith Crayolas so I could identify the blues we are seeing.
While we were in Provo we rented a car to do a little exploring. The building projects are massive, with development after development along the beaches: condos, resorts, huge private compounds, as well as more modest homes. Along several parts of the coast they have cut canals into the developments: homes with a concrete dock and a boat ramp sit right on the canal. The prices are astronomical–$250,000 for a 1-bedroom condo, many millions for a house with land. The roads are excellent, except where there has been heavy truck traffic—into the port and into construction areas. We found a grocery store that rivals any we have at home (except they were out of Coke). There is a golf course, but otherwise the recreation opportunities seem to bewater-related: para-sailing, water-skiing, sailing, snorkeling and diving, and fishing. Provo is definitely a lovely place to visit.
Yesterday we left Provo, checked out with customs, and headed to West Caicos, another island. We have been able to tie to a dive buoy during the day and have moved onto the Caicos Banks at night to anchor in 15-20′ of water. The diving is excellent! We were a couple of boat lengths from a wall that went down, down, down, into dark blue oblivion. Jake and I had 4 terrific dives at 75-90′ on the wall: lots of sponges, corals, Nassau Groupers, Queen and French angelfish, a hawksbill turtle, a spotted eagle ray, to name only the most outstanding specimens. James had had trouble equalizing his ears, but for our 4th dive he was able to join us. We showed him the anchor that had gotten stuck in a crevasse many, many years ago and he was able to view the edge of the wall. Meanwhile Leo and Bill snorkeled all around the boat. The guys all went into 2 caves along the shore, and today went to shore twice for a bit of exploring. It has been a delightful vacation!
Tomorrow we’ll be up at 5:30 for a 6 am departure for Georgetown in the Bahamas. We think it will take about 30 hours, so we’ll get there around noon on Wednesday when the light is good for entering the harbor and shallow water. We have to check in to the Bahamas in Georgetown (and we’d like to replenish our Coke supply), but don’t plan to stay there. We have to be in Nassau on Monday 5/28, so we’ll be able to do a bit of exploring as we work our way north from Georgetown to Nassau.
Leo has pointed out how much later the sun sets here. We are approximately 250 miles north and 450 miles west of Antigua where the sun sets pretty much 30 minutes either side of 6:30 pm year round. Leo finds it astonishing that we still have daylight and twilight at 7:30 and almost 8 pm.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche about to depart the Turks and Caicos.
May 23, 2007
Turks & Caicos to Georgetown, Bahamas
Hi Everybody!
Today is proverb day: “A poor dress rehearsal portends a great performance.” “Into every life a little rain must fall.” “Plans are made to be changed.” “Life is what happens when you have plans.” “A day late, a dollar short.” Take your choice or choose them all, because they all fit.
As planned and described to you, we were all up yesterday at 5:30. We had the coffee made, the course plotted, the instruments on, the deck lights ablaze, and the anchor ready to pull—but the engine wouldn’t start. Immediately everything except drinking coffee was put on hold as the men began troubleshooting the problem. We certainly had the right crew: Bill is a diesel mechanic, James has had to take apart and put together his diesel under all kinds of conditions in all kinds of isolated locations, Leo has lots of experience working with diesel mechanics, and Jake reasons out everything. They immediately identified salt water in the engine oil. (The id was made by tasting the watery residue.) Fortunately, because the engine hadn’t turned over, the water was confined to its own layer below the oil at the bottom of the engine, and we were able to pump it out. We removed about 2 gallons; probably half water and half oil, and replaced it with 5 quarts of oil. At that point we were able to start and run the engine.
Next came torrential rain. We wouldn’t have wanted to be out in that weather anyway. And then the search for the source of the water began. Logic said water had to come in through the exhaust, so they began dismantling the exhaust line starting at the engine. They started with the brand new vented loop and found the gasket was malformed and the diaphragm had even been glued in one place, and the line might have been partially obstructed. They reworked the gasket and changed the hose dripping into the bilge. Then they cleaned out the sea strainer. Next came the attack on the water lock, a part in the exhaust line that will collect water to prevent it from reaching the engine. What they discovered surprised everybody. The water lock had been installed on its side instead of vertically. That meant that water could collect and rise a mere 3″ before flowing toward the engine. Now that it is installed correctly, the water will have to rise 9-10 inches before it can flow toward the engine. We think we’ve solved the problem, but we plan to be very suspicious of every detail related to the engine cooling system.
Just after we reassembled the vented loop we decided to head 10 miles across the Caicos Banks to Sapadillo Bay on Provo, thinking we could buy a new vented loop and additional oil, since we had used our reserve. Crossing the banks was like running across a lake. The water was only 12-15′ deep across a huge expanse. There were no seas and the waves were minimal. Quite an experience! Unfortunately we were only able to get rid of our garbage and buy 5 gallons of oil from a refinery. No vented loop.
While we were there we had a visit from 2 delightful traveling salespeople! Two cute blonde girls, 10 and almost 12, rowed out in their dinghy to sell us necklaces. We bought 3 necklaces (James is wearing his), and enjoyed talking to the girls. Their family of 7 is from Texas and they have been in Provo for 2 years. The girls were earning money for airfare for a visit home. Their best week had been about $300, which included about $100 from the crew of Eric Clapton’s yacht. He was on board, but not at the time when they visited.
Today started well, we motor sailed in partly sunny weather until about 2 pm, when the weather deteriorated. Since then we’ve had lots of squalls and rolly swells. We’re making progress, though. Our current position is 23.04 N latitude, 74.12 W longitude. We have 99 of our 246 miles still to go. We had the fishing poles out after we left the Turks and Caicos boundary waters, but didn’t catch anything before they were rolled up for the squalls. So the score still stands, J&L 1, fish 2, B&J 0.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche.
May 27, 2007
Georgetown to Nassau, Bahamas Day 1
Hello Everybody!
Forgive us for our 3 days of silence. We have been held hostage by the weather. We reached Great Exuma Island mid morning on the 24th in 30-35 knot winds and big seas. With the breaking seas we had a difficult time identifying and motoring into the cut on the leeward shore for Elizabeth Harbour and Georgetown, but we were “saved” by a nice local named Elvis, who came out in his boat and led us between the reefs. The wind continued to blast away, but once we were 4-5 miles inside the protection of the land we were no longer affected by the seas. Unfortunately the town of Georgetown was on the lee shore of the harbor, so the trip to customs in the dinghy was a wet one.
It’s interesting to note that the rules at immigration have changed this winter. Formerly only the captain went ashore, while the crew waited on the boat for clearance. Now the entire crew must appear in person to sign immigration forms. Apparently this change is connected with the Cricket World Cup being played in the Caribbean this year. As a penalty because of this new rule, Jake made one wet ride into customs while we hosed the saltwater off the decks, and then we all made a second trip, barely clearing in before their 5 pm closing.
The next 2 days we spent at anchor in Elizabeth Harbour along with a couple dozen other boats, which had been waiting as long as 2 weeks for a weather window. Apparently this is the worst weather the Bahamas has had at this time of year in memory. Normally the weather in May is sunny and clear with winds 15-20. This year a weather system has been stationary over the island for weeks. Gradually on Friday we had peeks of sunlight and Saturday we actually had blue and sunny skies; and gradually the wind began to drop. We did a little exploring along the beaches, hiked up a couple of hills to see the wild water crashing onto the island, had delicious ribs on the beach for lunch, and finally got to see the real color of the water! In the sunlight the colors jump out: beautiful turquoise water over white sand, with reefs and coral heads showing up clearly. We even watched a ray swim along close to shore in 3-4′ of water.
Today we were up at first light (6 am) to head out. We had a good route on the computer following our inbound track to get out the channel to the cut, but wanted good light to see the reefs along the way. We’re now headed for Nassau via Eleuthera Island. Today’s leg is 87 miles off soundings until we anchor up in the lee of Eleuthera. Tomorrow we have another 50 miles to get to Nassau. The first half will be off soundings. Then we go through a cut and onto the Bahamas Banks. There the water is shallow and as we cross a 4-mile stretch called Middle Ground we will have to watch for and avoid coral heads. We are currently sailing with most of the main and the staysail in
20-25 knots just forward of the beam under bright sunny skies. There is one big black cloud off the beam in the distance, but it doesn’t show up on radar. We hope we can sneak out in front of it.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche.
23.47 N latitude, 75.50 W longitude
May 30, 2007
Georgetown to Nassau, Day 2, and beyond!
Hi Everybody!
I must say this Bahamas sailing is not for the weak of heart! After we left Georgetown we had a wonderful day of sailing to Eleuthera. The winds were 20-25 knots aft of the beam so we were able to sail with main and staysail the entire way, and we even had some sunshine. Once we were under the lee of Cat Island the seas quieted somewhat and we had a wonderful ride. As we approached Eleuthera we had a large ship on the horizon—the Queen Mary 2. She had just pulled up anchor from the area we were headed for. Amazing to see the QM2 here since we frequently see her out the window at home when she visits Newport. We reached Eleuthera in plenty of daylight, so we went fishing. Leo reeled in a small tuna on the J&L side. Score: J&L 2, fish 2, B&J 0.
As the sun dropped toward the horizon we figured it was time to anchor—and the adventures began. We motored up toward the island avoiding any coral heads and dropped the anchor in a nice sandy spot about 15′ deep. Unfortunately the sand was only about 2 inches deep over bedrock, so we dragged. No problem, try again, and again, and again. After about the 4th attempt, Jake put on his snorkel and jumped in the water. He swam to a likely looking spot and we dropped the anchor again (practically on top of him). Once again we dragged, so he found us another spot, no luck. Finally we tried his 3rd handpicked location and the anchor held. Jake dove down to check the holding and reported the anchor was stuck in about 2 inches and holding. We let out every bit of chain and Bill and Leo stood anchor watch sleeping in the cockpit. We figured that if the anchor dragged again the boat’s motion would wake us before we hit the lee shore 25 miles away. When we got up at 5am for our next adventure, we found the anchor had held perfectly.
To get to Nassau we had a quick sail for 25 miles off soundings to a cut between 2 cays, which took us up on the banks. We had our lines out the entire way, but didn’t get a strike until we were within 3 miles of the cut (and shallow water requiring careful GPS and visual navigation). We had a Mahi on each pole. James reeled one fish in, while Leo fought the larger one. Jake gaffed James’s fish, almost lost him overboard, made a mad grab and recovered him. Then as he was tying a rope through the gills the fish slid off the deck and back into the water—gone. Darn! Next Leo brought his Mahi to the boat and Jake made the gaff and secured the fish. Meanwhile Bill was driving the boat, keeping it on course in the strong current pushing us toward the cut and the shallows. Eventually we had to head back out to deep water while we got the fish under control. Score: J&L 3, fish 2, B&J 1. (B&J caught their fish even if we didn’t get to eat it.) As you can imagine, we have had tuna sashimi, and Mahi for lunches and dinners. Monday night Leo made fish water with steaks and meat from the head of the Mahi. It was a lovely broth with potatoes, cabbage, plantains and Mahi.
Once we got onto the banks our 25-mile sail into Nassau was over the most beautiful blue water. Once again I wish I had that box of crayolas (maybe the box of 128). We could see the bottom the entire way and had to pick out coral heads as we went over Middle Ground. That was very easy in the sunshine because they look dark black. You just steer around them. Our trip over the banks took about 4 hours under Yankee alone. The mainsail furler motor refused to operate that day, so we couldn’t roll out the main.
Nassau looks like a very diverse place. As we came into the channel we admired huge homes along the waterfront, some with private protected anchorages, and most with large yachts out front. We could easily identify the resort Atlantis on the horizon. The Nassau channel has a shoal in the middle of it and a fast moving current, so we had to be careful. It was difficult to get to the dock (twice, because we had to fuel before tying up for the night) because of that current and the wind pushing us on the dock. Oh, we wish we had a bow thruster.
Tuesday was a workday. Jake and Leo were off to the U.S. embassy at 6 am to be prompt for Leo’s 8 am appointment. They returned to the boat exultant. Leo was granted a 30-day visa to continue the delivery with us and have an opportunity to see a few things in the U.S. They just had to pick up the visa and Leo’s passport at 2:30 in the afternoon. Meanwhile we dug out the spare mainsail furler motor and Bill and James installed it. Jake and Leo changed the oil on the generator and Bill and James changed the main engine oil. I spent the morning in the Laundromat. At 3 pm we had all hands back aboard and had to get Avalanche off the dock against the wind and tide. It was tough to do, but we managed by dropping the dinghy in the water so it wouldn’t be scraped off the davits by the pilings. Additionally, James took a leeboard from one of the double beds and pushed the bow out from the forward piling. We use creativity in place of a bow thruster.
And now we’re back at sea. After we left Nassau’s shallow waters we motored about 4 miles and were once again off soundings for 53 miles. And then back on the banks for another 60 miles. We had a swell while we were in deep water that made cooking our Mahi dinner exciting; then as we entered the banks the seas calmed and the ride is terrific. These drastic changes in water depths are absolutely astounding to me. We’re currently seeing 8-16′ of water under our keel. Amazing!
Once we leave the banks again around 8 am, we’ll head for the Gulf Stream and its strong current, which will give us a good push toward Charleston, S.C. and a date with U.S. Customs and Immigration.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche
25.47 N Latitude, 78.47 W Longitude
May 31, 2007
U.S. waters Florida to Charleston, S.C.
Hi Everybody!
This is the second day of our 390 mile race up the east coast of the U.S. from the Bahamas-Florida coast to Charleston. The only remarkable thing about the trip is all the boat traffic between Florida and the Bahamas and the radio traffic that goes along with it. Once we got into the Gulf Stream we recorded speeds over the ground of 9+ knots regularly and 10+ with a breeze. This morning we had a nice moderate easterly breeze and were having a lovely sail with whomper, staysail and main. Unfortunately that breeze dropped so we have just had to start the engine. We’re now making 11+ knots!
There really hasn’t been much to report. Yesterday the guys had a fish on, but lost it, making the score J&L 3, fish 3, B&J 1. And just now Leo has reeled in another beautiful Mahi!, bringing the score to J&L 4, fish 3, B&J 1. The Mahi put up quite a fight for a good 10 minutes. It practically wore Leo out. We have frozen it and plan to serve it to Grandma Jacobsen Saturday night. (Good thing we caught it, because we have just finished off the last of our Mahi: a lovely lunch of Mahi sandwiches prepared by Leo.)
It currently looks as if we’ll be in Charleston before dawn to check in with Customs and Immigration. Electric Bill will leave us there to fly back to R.I. and work. The rest of us will go right back out to sea heading 108 miles to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where we’ll spend the weekend with Jake’s mom, and rendezvous with Ben and Nikki, who will be heading home from a wedding in Georgia. Peter Vaiciulis, a frequent member of our crew and Jake’s usual fishing contest opponent will meet us in Myrtle Beach on June 4th for a June 5th departure for Jamestown. Watch the fishing scores after that. Peter is a worthy adversary and a wily fisherman who always has some secret weapon.
We plan to plot a course through New York City harbor so Leo and James can get a glimpse of the city from the water. Then we’ll head up Long Island Sound and into Narragansett Bay.
I won’t write again until we leave Myrtle Beach for Jamestown.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche.
30.36 N Latitude, 79.49 W Longitude
June 5, 2007
Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Jamestown, R.I. Day 1
Hello Everybody!
We’re underway again after 4 days of family fun in Myrtle Beach.
We had a beautiful overnight sail from Charleston (where we saw lots of dolphins in the harbor). We had to time our arrival at the Little River Inlet to the Intracoastal Waterway for first light, because we needed to see the day markers to run the channel. It was a beautiful hazy starry night with a full moon and a light breeze and we were slipping along at about 6 knots (more or less depending on the time requirement). Our timing was perfect. We got there at dawn as the fishing boats were coming out. The channel at the inlet was well marked and easy to follow all the way. It was really fun to see the golf courses along the ICW, the marinas, restaurants and bait stores. There were lots of condo complexes and some wonderful homes. It’s a part of the world we didn’t have any experience with. Lots of people take their boats north and south through the ICW in the spring and fall, but we can’t do that because our mast is 84′ high, and the bridges are either 65′ or 69′. Jake had previously checked out a great marina (ocean side of the first bridge), so we knew where to go and how to get in. We just had to wait for them to open at 8 am.
Once we got the boat squared away and the crew got a little rest, we rented a car and headed off to see Jake’s Mom. We quickly developed a pattern: Jake and I spent our time with his Mom, and James and Leo took the rental car and went exploring, and then each night we all had dinner together with Mom before returning to the boat for the night. Ben and Nikki arrived for dinner on Sunday after a wedding in Georgia, and then left on Monday morning. Peter Vaiciulis arrived on Monday to continue the trip with us. With the changing mix of people and the various activities each day we all had plenty to talk about over the dinner table.
Today we left the marina about noon and retraced our route back to the Atlantic. We had some big swells right on the beam for 6 or 7 hours, and that made for a really rough ride, but the winds have decreased and we were able to change course for a better ride. At the moment we’re motor sailing.
The guys are all looking forward to fishing tomorrow. There has been some debate as to whether the fishing contest will begin again or simply take up with the score J&L 4, fish 3, P&J 1. I’ll let you know what they decide…and what they catch! Peter has a hankering for yellow fin tuna for dinner tomorrow night.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche.
33.29 N Latitude, 77.19 W Longitude
June 6, 2007
Myrtle Beach S.C. to Jamestown, R.I. Day 2
Hello Everybody!
We’ve had weather! And that’s the good news and the bad news! Yesterday we had seas beam on, followed by very confused lumpy seas on our quarter, and we were hating it. The comfort level was about zero! We rolled and bounced, it was impossible to lie still in our bunks, stuff went flying. However, sometime this morning all that changed. The seas smoothed out, the wind cooperated and we went sailing. We’ve had lovely blue skies and bright sunshine—a really beautiful day. At the moment the wind is shifting and we’ll have to adapt to it. We have about 425 miles to Jamestown, and we’d like to get there before the next weather system arrives on Saturday.
The guys decided that we have a new fishing tournament. And we have a new leader. I told you yesterday that Peter was wishing for tuna for dinner. Unfortunately he had to settle for Mahi, but it was fresh and delicious. And the score is P&J 1, J&L 0, fish 0.
All the best from the crew of Avalanche.
35.12 N Latitude, 74.29 W Longitude
June 7, 2007
Myrtle Beach S.C. to Jamestown, R.I. Day 3
Hello Everybody!
Before I tell you today’s story, let me remind you that our day never really begins or ends. As you know, we sail around the clock and we all share the watches, so 2 people are always up running the boat, while the other 3 are off. And stuff happens day or night.
Today’s events began last night at midnight when I got up for my watch. I noticed in the logbook that the bilge pump had been running more frequently than normal, so I pulled up a floorboard to have a look. I found salt water leaking out of the engine’s cooling system at a rate somewhere between a drip and a stream. James, who was just going off watch, tightened the hose clamps without much success. We made a date for 6 am when James, Leo and Jake would all be up and could repair the problem. And that’s just what they did! James could reach into the tight space to remove the hose, cut off a portion that was malformed and reattach it. Fortunately Leo is as flexible as Gumby and could tighten the hose clamps.
Naturally the first order of business even at that hour had been getting the fishing lines in the water. So while they were drinking coffee and planning their repair it wasn’t surprising that they had a strike. What was surprising was the approximately 175 pound Blue Marlin on the end of the line! He jumped about 3 times and the reel got hot before that fish got away with Peter’s lure: score 1 for the fish. The day began with great promise! The next fish was a Mahi that Jake got to the boat. However, Peter lost the fish during the gaffing process, but scored it for Jake and Leo anyway. Score 1 for J&L. When I got up just before 10, Peter was catching a Mahi on his line, and Leo found its mate swimming at the transom of the boat as he reeled in his line, so he jigged for it. The bull Mahi took the lure. It was probably the fastest catch we’ve ever had. Current score: P&J 2, fish 1, J&L 2. About 45 minutes later Jake reeled in a Mahi, and less than an hour after that Leo pulled up a Wahoo, while Jake lost another Mahi on Peter’s line. Updated score: P&J 2, fish 2, J&L 4. With 4 fish boated Peter had spent the entire morning cleaning fish! A couple of times we were dragging fish or fish heads behind the boat until Peter could get caught up. It’s a good thing we have a big freezer!
We all had a break from fishing and fish cleaning for lunch (Mahi sandwiches), which was just as we exited the Gulf Stream. We had considered stopping for swim call, but when the water temp dropped from 80 to 72 degrees and the color changed from pretty blue to gray/green, we lost interest. As we had lunch Leo spotted a whale slap the surface with his tail. Gradually we could all make out the large body on the surface, but it didn’t spout or sound while we had it in sight, so we couldn’t identify it. The wind and seas were calm most of the day and that gave us the opportunity to see the wildlife that we would otherwise miss in the waves. We saw a turtle, then a pair of dolphin, followed by 4 separate pods of dolphin. Three of those pods were undoubtedly fishing: they were moving very purposefully in a line, unlike the 4th pod that was leaping and frolicking. One pod was definitely Atlantic spotted dolphin. We also spotted a log, several plastic items and 4 or 5 chunks of Styrofoam. It is so amazing to see the Atlantic Ocean so tranquil, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to see the creatures that inhabit it!
Around 5 pm the fish began hitting again. James caught, cleaned and cooked for dinner his first fish of the trip: a Mahi. Peter also caught a Mahi and we lost 2 Mahi. Total score for this segment of the
trip: J&L 5, P&J 3, fish 4.
We were making over 9 knots when we were in the Gulf Stream, and again in a warm eddy north of the stream. Tomorrow we’ll get up onto the Continental Shelf, where we have seen most of our wildlife on previous trips. We’ll also cross the Hudson Canyon. The fishermen have high hopes!
All the best from the fishing fools on Avalanche.
38.35 N Latitude, 72.48 W Longitude
June 10, 2007
Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Jamestown, R.I. Day 4
We’re home!
Hello Everybody!
We made it! We got to the mooring in Jamestown at midnight June 8th.
Friday, our last day at sea, had its high points and its low points. Without question the least pleasant aspect was the fog! About 5 am we went from a bright and clear starry night to fog all around. Much of the time we could see barely 100′ from the boat, but at the warmest part of the day we had 2+ miles of visibility. Fog really spoils a day because someone has to sit at the radar screen constantly looking for contacts, while someone else has to be on deck peering into the fog for anything. It’s also generally damp, clammy and cold. While those things were true on Friday, there was one positive: no one else seemed to be out there in the fog with us. Additionally, because we could only see about 100′, we really concentrated on what was within that range. We saw wonderful sea life. First were a couple pods of dolphin which checked us out, followed by 3 separate sightings of swordfish and 2 sharks. We also sighted Styrofoam coffee cups, plastic containers, and several mylar balloons.
Please, everybody, don’t buy mylar balloons. Or, if you must, dispose of them in the garbage. They get loose, deflate, land in the water and turtles mistake them for jellyfish. Ingesting balloons will kill turtles.
During this time we had 3 fish on. Jake caught a bluefish about 50 miles from shore, and then Peter had a huge fish on. We never saw it because it broke Pete’s line, kept the lure and escaped. Perhaps it was a blue fin tuna?! And finally Peter caught a bluefish. Final fishing score: J&L 6, P&J 4, fish 5. And lots of fish in our bellys.
The last event on the wildlife tour was another shark birthing, or migration, or convention. We saw hundreds of small sharks (about 24″) long, for about 10-15 minutes as we motored (the math makes that 1-2 miles) about 2-3 miles south of Block Island. We had seen that the spring of 2002 when we had very calm water and great visibility. Unlike this year, that time we also saw several full grown sharks and noticed an odor like burning ski wax.
Thank you all for joining us on this year’s trip north. It was definitely educational as we explored new locations. We think the Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas are both areas we’d like to explore again when we have lots of time. Unfortunately this time we had some weather issues and time constraints that kept us from making the most of those cruising grounds.
If you’d like to respond, please email us at marnie8@cox.net.
Meanwhile, all the best from the crew of Avalanche.
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