Archive for July, 2019
July 24, 2017
Yesterday I was unpacking from my recent adventures from Belfast Maine to Port Hawkesbury Nova Scotia and back…. and saw this. What a great flashback!
Our route took us across the Bay of Fundy and then into the Labrador current on our way up to Newfoundland. The Labrador current is very cold. The warm summer air over the cold current also generates a ton of fog. During the nights this makes the air damp and cold. Well, the first night into this colder temperature I didn’t have my Helly Hansen technical base layer on and was very happy when my time on deck was up and I could get below to put this on for my base layer. The next night as we slid into the colder temps and a nice little low with 30 knots in it I was super warm with all the right layers on. Thanks Helly Hansen for being so awesome at what you do!
Diane
July 16, 2019
Well hello everyone! By now you will have seen that our trip to Scotland on Eleanor is being rerouted back to Maine. It has been quite the adventure indeed!
Leading up to this trip I spoke a lot about planning and preparation for an adventure. The food to eat, the sails on the boat, the gear to wear, the route we would take and the weather we would encounter along the way. All of this trying to take into account the variables that we may encounter and how to plan best for those variables. For example, what if we saw light winds all the way across. How much food would we need to compensate for that and how much diesel would we need to be able to generate power all the way across. So many things to take into account, but eventually you just need to go. And off we went. Well prepared and well armed with a new lithium battery system, a generator fully functioning and food packed to the gills. We were unfortunately down by one in our crew complement. The delay of start that we had experienced with a failing generator was ultimately the cause of this.
The weather heading out the first day was great. Light winds in the right direction. A perfect setup for everyone to get to know the boat, start to get comfortable with watch routines and settle in. For some this is easy and for others it’s always a struggle. But everyone pressed through. One of our crew though was struggling with a bit of sea sickness and this was causing him a reduction in food and water intake. After all, who wants to eat and drink when they feel sick! We were also struggling with our fuel consumption. Something wasn’t right with the tanks. We were going through the diesel twice as fast as calculated. Hmmmm. Next up was our weather update. The weather files were coming into the boat just fine; lots of information and a great ability to keep on top of the information. We had some weather coming in. As much as 35 knots close hauled with tons of rain was forecast to last a full 24 hours. What an excellent opportunity to set ourselves up for the conditions we would surely experience between Newfoundland and Scotland!
During our first couple of days we had also noticed that the chart plotter screen on deck was causing havoc with the B&G GPS signal. When this happened, the B&G would completely shut down. It was like two kids in a playground fighting over the same stick. Hmmm, more things to add to the new equation. And then came the wind and the rain.
Earlier in the day we readied the boat for the new weather. The storm sail was bent on, a deck check was completed, food was cooked up ahead of time and people got their fowl weather gear out ready for action. Boy was I looking forward to wearing my Helly Hansen gear for this! By now we were about 80 Miles from Sable Island. Running to sea was not an option. Too many miles to get there before the storm and it would put us off our rhumbline by too much. And the wind built up to 20-25 knots. At 20 knots we could fly the genoa at the second reef mark with 2 reefs in the main. A conservative sail plan for sure. We were underpowered, but could hold a decent course. And as the Skip onboard I felt comfortable going to sleep knowing the wind could build while I wasn’t watching. And it did. Once we were up to 25knots, it was time to furl the jib and run with the Storm Staysail. Now for most they would say that that too was conservative, which it was. Remember the forecast was potential for 35 knots and I would not always be able to be on deck. So conservative was the chosen path. And then we saw 30 knots. The sea was lively but not unmanageable. It felt “sloppy”. Eleanor weighs 23,000lbs and is a 40 foot boat. The power to weight ratio becomes a struggle when you load her up with all the things you think you may need. We struggled somewhat to make any headway forward. The Storm staysail will only ever allow you a 60° angle to the wind. The sea state is always wanting to push you backwards so you need lots of power to climb up over the hills and Eleanor was really struggling to do so, but we endured. The seasickness was becoming a challenge as well. Now, at the time when one needs lots of energy and to have their wits about them, some of our team was being challenged. Numbers were down on the watch system. 12 hours later the winds started to ease and we were able to regroup and learn from the experience. There were two significant takeaways from experiencing our first rough weather. The first was being a “man down” during a weather battle. The complement of 3 did not work in pressing times. The second takeaway was the ability for Eleanor to pick herself up and move forward in heavy weather. The preparation of setting to sea on this boat is impeccable. The problem is the power to weight ration. How could we optimize Eleanor for such conditions. In the ocean it would be less of an issue. We would simply go slower. But managing a lee shore or passing between islands is a different battle and must be achievable.
With all of that experience in hand and a new list of things to sort out on the boat like the GPS arguments in the playground, the power to weight ratio and the seasickness, Eleanor is returning to Maine with a clearer picture of what our world will be like in an open ocean and how to achieve this ultimate goal of sailing to Scotland.
Life is an adventure. Regardless of the setbacks there is always something amazing to take away from the experience. Use this as fuel for the next adventure!
Diane
July 8, 2019
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