BERMUDA or BUST

And for a time it looked like BUST.

So here it is, the end of August and it's been quite a busy summer.  Where we left off the boat was ready for delivery to Newport for the Bermuda 1-2 race.  Carol and Dan, my crew for the double handed leg and myself left on Wed May 20 for Newport.  Without the new mainsail I might add.  The delivery itself was pretty uneventful; Thursday afternoon brought light air and rain off and on but Friday was delightful.  Friday night as we passed to the northwest side of Block Island we squeezed between numerous race boats in the Round Block Island race.  We pulled in to Newport Harbor around 4am and prudently grabbed a mooring so as not to be motoring around an unfamiliar harbor in the dark in 15-20 knots of wind.  Got some shut eye and then went to Newport Yacht club to arrange dockage for the next two weeks.

Saturday was spent making the boat orderly and Sunday we got a rental car and drove back to Maryland.
Sail STILL hadn't arrived.

So the  next week was spent pulling out what hair I have left because the sail hasn't arrived from S. Africa and all the other stuff I have to do to get ready.  The Iridium GO unit I ordered arrives and of course it won't pair up with my Samsung phone but does work (sorta) w/ the Ipad I bought Carol for her birthday.  (But I won't let her have it til after my race!) So FINALLY the mainsail arrives in the states and the sailmaker checks it over, puts the numbers on, etc and sends it to Providence on Southwest air freight and even makes arrangements for me to get a cab service when I fly up the next day so I can pick up the sail and go to Newport.  Fine. That works.

So I get to Newport and the next day (Sunday) it's blowing pretty briskly so I can't raise the new sail.  I did get my pre-race inspection done and with the exception of a question about the gear that was in the life raft package I rented, I passed with flying colors.  Damn right.  I obsessed over that requirement list all winter long and made certain I had it all.  Monday and Tuesday it's raining off and on; so I still can't get the main up.  I did get together with some old sailing buddies, a couple that are crewing on an OYSTER 655 just like the one we sailed across the Atlantic a year and half ago.  Had dinner with them and another old crewmate.

Wednesday dawns absolutely gorgeous, not too cool, not too hot, no humidity. I had emailed the previous owner of DIANTHUS and told him I was back in RI with the boat and invited him to come visit.  He was going to be nearby on business so we made arrangements to meet up.  We had a really nice visit and I heard all about his plans for cruising up the St. Lawrence river in his Bristol 402. 


Afterwards I finally got around to raising the main and as I was lowering it to check the reefing points, a sail slug popped out of the mast track.  Hmmmm.   Lowered it a bit more and another slug pops out.  Well, WTH?  I know the mast gate is closed properly.  I go take a look and it appears the slugs are just barely in the track.  So I grab a handful of sail and pull and two more pop out!  The sail had the wrong damn size slugs on the luff!  Good thing I wasn't out sailing in some wind.  A frantic call back to Annapolis and I get the sailmaker on the phone.  We figure out what the correct size is and he says he'll overnight me the right ones and make arrangements for someone to sew them on. 

Meanwhile Carol has arrived after driving up from Philly where she spent the night at her daughter's place.  We decide to go find a sailmaker in Newport and try to get the slugs there.  Found a guy who had ONE of the correct size so we take it back to the boat to make absolutely certain it was the right size.  Fortunately yes.   

Thursday morning FEDEX shows up w/ the slugs but now I hear the guy who is coming to sew them on can't come until after 5pm.  Carol gets into a conversation with one of the other racers who knows a sailmaker guy in Connecticut.  We call him and he says sure, I can help you out.  So Carol drives an hour to Stonington while I go to the racer's weather and pre race briefings. 

Five o'clock rolls around, she's back with the sail and we bend on the sail.  It looks good.  I breathe a sigh of relief and we head off to a nice dinner with my friends from the Oyster.  Maybe I'll make the starting line after all.

Next up:  The race.

The three year re-fit. In three months.

5/15/15

Several years ago I learned about a race called the Bermuda 1-2.  Race single handed from Newport to Bermuda, then race back to Newport double handed.  For some reason this kept nagging at me and when we were looking for a boat of our own I wanted one that would be able to go offshore safely.  Fast forward to 2014 and having raced to Bermuda several times, once double handed, I decided it was time to go solo. 
Last September I went outside the Bay and did my 100 mile/24 hour qualifying sail figuring I better get that out of the way before I invested a lot of time and money in prepping the boat.  Thus started a 9 month project of research, buying stuff, emailing and organizing to be able to race starting June 5, 2015
Another wicked cold, icy, snowy winter put the kibosh on doing any kind of work on the boat until about March, hence the title of this post.  Following is a list of most, but not all that has been done this spring.

Starting last fall at the Annapolis Boat show I bought an EPIRB; the boat show price with rebates was only about $75 more than what it would have cost me to rent and pay overnight shipping fees for the time period I needed it; a no-brainer decision.  I also bought some Navisafe back-up LED nav lights.  Excellent product!
Then in October I ordered new sails from Chesapeake Sailmaker in Annapolis as well as had then make up some canvas work for the boat. (roll up cloth doors so I could take the teak doors of the head and V-berth, lee cloth for sleeping in the main cabin settee, and weather cloths for the cockpit with my race number.
After the rig was pulled and the boat shrink wrapped for the winter (highly recommend this as it keeps the snow off, as well as leaves and debris!) the rigger came and did an inspection and came up with an action plan for the spring.
I helped keep the economy rolling w/ multiple purchases from various marine chandlers especially DEFENDER.
I then:
Removed the old POS traveler, installed the new Lewmar traveler
Removed the end caps from the boom and found some corrosion as well as the fact that two of the bolt holes were completely torn out of the end of the boom from a crash jibe the previous owner had. That necessitated having the rigger cut 1/2" off the forward end of the boom and me drilling new holes to attached the end fitting.
Replaced the VHF cable....  more on THAT later. Replaced the VHF antenna!
Replaced the steaming/deck light that was wonky and the deck light never worked.
Replaced the wonky stern light with an LED light.  Another job that got bigger and bigger.  Also resulted in the only piece of varnished teak on the exterior of the boat!
Having previously replaced most of the running rigging over the past 2 years I replaced the reefing lines, vang sheet and furling line.
Installed the new VHF radio w/ AIS and internal GPS that I bought last year but hadn't installed.(also, more on that later!)
Bought an ATN Galesail Storm Jib from Bacon Sails in Annapolis and had the sailmaker add an International Orange patch to the all white sail.
Went back to Bacon's and bought a "chicken chute", a flat cut 1.5 oz. spinnaker that's a little smaller than normal for use in higher wind conditions in case I get ballsy.
Also found a great waterproof bag at Bacon's to use as an Abandon Ship bag.  Or hopefully to NEVER use.
New blocks for the base of the mast to lead lines aft.
Lots of AMSTEEL on sale at APS to make soft shackles of various sizes
A new PLASTIMO MOB module (inflatable pole w/ light and safety gear you throw over the side if someone falls overboard.)  Again, hopefully to NEVER use.
A new DSC enabled handheld VHF.
Fabricated a G10 wedge to hold the batteries in place
Bought 4 new double clutches and 2 single clutches to replace the 10 single clutches on my cabin top.
Bought a "Q" flag and a Bermuda courtesy flag.
Registered with Customs and Border Patrol and got the sticker so I can clear back into the US easier.
Reserved a liferaft
Reserved a Satphone
Borrowed a whole flare/smoke bomb kit from my buddy George along w/ some other goodies

All of this obviously took lots of time to research, buy, take to the boat and install.
So that leads us to mid May.  And a rotating list of NUMBER 1 PROBLEMS.  This is not good because we're leaving for Newport RI in  less than a week.  I need to get the boat there, come home and work a week before going back to Newport for the race inspection and pre race stuff.

NUMBER ONE PROBLEM  (Part one)  The VHF doesn't work.  Okay, must be one of the crimp on connectors I put on.  Nope, they all test fine.  But why do I receive weather stations, but can't hear or talk?  Ask my dock mate Scott.  We put our heads together and figure out it MUST be the connector up at the antenna.  Up the mast I got with Carol grinding the winch to raise me 50' in the air.  Seems all right but I remake it to be certain. Try out the emergency antenna and it works so the radio isn't the problem.  More muddling about.  Get another buddy to crank me up the mast.  Finally call in a pro.  Decide to pull the cable and solder a connector on.  UP the mast I go.  I pull about 2' of the cable out of the mast and go AWWWW   $&*@&^%$(*#&$^!      We're leaving in LESS than a week!

Seems that back in January when I pulled the new cable while the mast was on the rack I used the existing cable, taped the new cable to the end and pulled it through.  Then, because it was winter and nasty I left just a little bit of the OLD cable sticking out of the top of the mast and the NEW cable still taped to it INSIDE the mast so it wouldn't be out in the icy, snowy, wintry crap for 2 months without a connector.  Then in March when I got some connectors and the guys in the yard told me what to do, I went back to install them and walked up, crimped the connector on the cable at the top of the mast, plugged it in and was done.  NOT! Never did pull the short piece of cable out and get to the NEW cable...  ugh.


NUMBER 1 PROBLEM   (part two)

This past Wednesday I went back to the boat (3 time in 6 days) and went out for a solo sail in gusty wind to try out some gear.  Had a blast then went back to the dock to pick up crew for the weekly race.  Wind was mid teens so we were seeing high teens Apparent Wind Speed going upwind.  On a starboard tack I happen to look down and see a crack about a millimeter wide  at the aft end of the turning block that WASN'T THERE BEFORE!  When we tacked it closed up and just the usual gelcoat crazing was present.  Tacked back and it opened up again.  #$)%&*)$%T*)$(*%!   
So first thing Thursday morning I go find JB, the yard manager and tell him what's going on.  He sends his fiberglass guru, Josh down to take a look but tells me I have to do the prep work b/c they're behind schedule.  So 31 years after I swore I'd never grind fiberglass again... I'm grinding the gelcoat off and prepping it for glass work. Things are progressing quickly and it doesn't appear the glass is cracked.  This will be an easy fix and will be done in a couple of days.  We're still leaving in LESS than a week!

NUMBER 1 PROBLEM (part three)
The sailmaker still hasn't delivered my new mainsail.  The new jib looks and sails great.  I see him at the marina this morning and ask if he has my new main.  It's supposed to ship TUESDAY from S. Africa.  TUESDAY!!!!  I was supposed to have it a month ago.  ARRRGHHHHHHH!


Here are a few pics...

The new traveler.

Removing the old clutches.

The new clutches in place!

Nice corrosion and torn out hole... The rigger lopped off that much of the boom.

My G10 block to lock the battery in place.

My new "chicken" chute.

Storm Jib.  Actually works really well in about 20 knots AWS.  Hopefully I won't have to have it live up to its name!

Gelcoat ground off.  No cracks in the glass thankfully.

I then used some Vinylester putty to fair out the pad and soften the transition to the deck to eliminate stress cracks.

Summer Racing and more

Summer 2014

So after racing to Bermuda on WIDOWMAKER and spending a few fun days at the villa George rented we returned home to the realization that we were woefully behind in our training for RAGBRAI  (www.ragbrai.com) the 400+ mile bike ride across Iowa w/ 20,000+ of your closest bike riding friends.  We had been training since April to prepare and now after being gone for 2.5 weeks we needed to get back on the bikes.  And we only had 3 weeks to go.

In the meantime, the third series of races had started and we were doing pretty well in the Non Spin class.  It usually boils down to us and our friends on CARIBBEAN MAGIC, a sister ship to WIDOWMAKER, as to who gets first.  They are much faster but owe me time.  Interestingly, one light air night I was right on their heels as we rounded the first mark and slowwwwwllllllyyyyy  started reaching for the finish line.  We actually beat them boat for boat by 2 seconds.  The whole way down that leg both crews were making smart@$$ comments back and forth teasing each other, all the while providing comic relief to the folks on the committee boat who could hear every word in the still night air.  That leg was so slow I think any decent swimmer could have beaten us!

But Off to IOWA and 25,000 of our closest bike riding buddies!

 TEAM TABOR ready to take on RAGBRAI; all 418 miles!

Just one of the many unusual scenes greeting us as we rode into yet another town!

  Ever been in a BIKE traffic jam?

 PIE!   Lots of pie.  I ate 9 pieces plus some shortcake.  And let's not forget the homemade ice cream!
 
Okay, nice break, back to sailing!  The Maryland Yacht Club Challenge Cup was approaching and as the defending Non/Spin champs we were psyched for the race.  Unfortunately the wind Gods conspired against us.  As in the wind was almost non-existent by the time we approached the first mark although we were leading most of the boats as evidenced by this picture.

Our nemesis, CARIBBEAN MAGIC took first and a last minute entry MOLTOBENE took second.  Amazing was several more feet of waterline will do for your boat speed.  Oh well.  We had a revenge on CM a few weeks later when we not only beat them boat for boat for the second time, but by 2:31!
And we did win the Fall Series even if it was b/c the last race was cancelled and thus there was no "throw out" race.  That meant that by showing up for every race and not missing one we had a better score than our main competition.  Sometimes it really is about being there.

We also had an unpleasant experience in a fundraising race that we've done 3 times on this boat and crewed on WHARF RAT three other times.  Finished second but got protested for flying a double headsail in the Non/Spin division.  Told "that's the way it's always been" and "it's always been *understood* you don't fly two headsails".    HUH?  Gee, it wasn't in the Sailing Instructions.  And if it's not in the SI's then it isn't legal.
Very ugly situation where they wanted us to take 4th instead of 2nd (so the other local boats would place).  I told them we get 2nd or you boot us out, but it's up to you to figure out how to do that.
Then they wanted us to SHARE 2nd place.  They finally decided to let the standings as we finished, but then we get booed while getting our crappy little second place plaque.   So much for being a gentlemanly sport.

The last race of the season we raced Spinnaker and didn't do badly but could have done better.  It was a nice blustery fall day and one of my club members was out sailing and took this pic of us which Carol has since redone in watercolor.

AND now for the big news:  

DIANTHUS will be racing in the Bermuda 1-2 this June.  That's single-handed from Newport RI to Bermuda, a week to recuperate and then Double handed racing back to Newport.   www.bermuda1-2.org

As part of this I needed to do a qualifying sail of at least 100 miles and at least 24 hours on the open ocean.
So in early September I left and sailed/motored down the bay.  A frontal system was going to pass through bringing some good wind and my goal was to ride that out to a weather buoy 64 miles East of Va Beach and then turn around and sail back.  After getting a decent night's sleep in Cape Charles City I left and by 9am had passed through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel channel and was heading out to sea. Wind was about 17 knots or so just forward of the beam and waves about 4-5, sometimes 6 feet.  Even reefed down the boat was making 7-8 knots and handling things well.

 Making 7+ down the bay flying the symmetrical solo!

While the Asyms are easily to handle, I love the way this sail looks and flies.

About an hour after passing the CBBT on the way out to sea.  
 

NOAA buoy 44014, my turning point on the qualifying sail.

Here is a short video from about 6 hours into that passage.

The sail was a success although as I re-entered the bay the next day the wind was just dying out completely.  I then spent the rest of that day and the next motoring up to just south of Annapolis with a stop in Reedville to spend the night.  After another night on the hook I motored back to Rock Creek.  After cleaning up the boat, Carol came over and we fulfilled our duties as Race Committee that night.  All in all a VERY busy 6 days of working on the boat and sailing.  Between down the bay, out to sea and back up the bay I put 410 miles on the boat single handing.


And THAT wraps up 2014....