Sirona

I got a new gig, being the captain of a 65 foot yacht. She's a Tripp 65 named 'Sirona'. The owner would like to do a refit and some yachting.

The first thing on the schedule is to do the refit down south at Thunderbolt Marine outside of Savannah, Ga. Hopefully we can delivery her in mid January and start the refit by 1Feb08. He would love to do the Newport to Bermuda Race in June. Then from there sail across to Barcelona for the remainder of the season to do some yachting.

He would like to have 'Sirona' in New Zealand for Christmas '08. I suggested that we sail and stop at different places on the way. For example the Canarie Islands and either Brazil or the Caribbean Islands then on to New Zealand. We'll have to see what transpires but that would be amazing. It would be really cool to captain her half way around the world. Only time will tell what the plan is but this is an option that would be unbelievable. I keep you updated.

Selene Delivery

Everyone loves to go south for part of the winter and feel the warm sunshine. We loaded up the Tuesday after Thanksgiving headed from Newport destined to Antigua. I had never been to Antigua before and am really looking forward to the trip. Plus its another 1,600nm of off shore bliss.

My brother gave me a tobacco pipe for being his best man in August. We were talking about taking pictures of ourselves with the pipe where ever we go. I was excited because this was the first trip I could take a picture of the new pipe. Didnt really know what would be the best picture so I just wanted to take a lot. the forecast was for it to be windy the first night out. Around 0000 we were seeing 40 to 45 knots and decided it would be wise to put in the second reef. I just came on watch and had my faulies on getting ready for this maneuver. I had put my pipe in my right pocket in my Musto jacket. It was dark and the wave were crashing on deck. The main needed to be flaked up at the goose neck so I went out of the cockpit to the mast.

The main was neatly flaked, job done. Time to spark up a bowl of fresh tobacco to kill the time. When I reached into my pocket to get the pipe I discovered it was not in there. Dang! I searched and searched, no where to be found. Not in my bunk, not on the deck not in every pocket I had-no where. I believe it is some where at the bottom of the North Atlantic in some monster fish's mouth. Man that's not a fun way to start an eight day delivery! How am I going to tell my brother is all I could think about for the next week. I still have not told him because I want to tell him man to man. I will see him in two days...

Well the wind went right as forecasted and started to die. We were on course to Bermuda and by the time we got close the decision was made to stop in and refuel. We were on our second tank of fuel and with a diminishing breeze thought it would be wise. Besides who doesnt like to stop in Bermuda's White Horse Tavern for a beer?

We left in the morning. That night the wind was blowing in the 40's again. The next morning the waves caught up to us just as the wind was fading. I was watching the wave patterns and have never seen any like these. The trough's were unbelievable, we estimated them to be about one hundred yards long, the waves were only ten to twelve feet and perfectly flat in the trough's.

The rest of the trip the breeze was down, anywhere from two to fifteen knots. Over all the trip was smooth and part of it might have been the yacht, a Swan 80. Nice ride. The top speed was 18.4 knots SOG and got some good surfing in. We arrived on the following Wednesday and had to convert from delivery mode to boat show mode in five hours to make the cocktail party. That was tough, we did not make it but the yacht was ready to go for Thursday. Thats when Kieth and I decided to go and check out some beaches.

In the 1,700nm we sailed about half that we were fishing. You might think that is a good distance to catch some fish but no we did not catch a thing. We did see what might have been a Baluga Whale and have some sweet video of him frolicking by our bow. That was neat, I have not seen one before and he hung around for twenty minutes.

Hissar

Most people don't knowingly punish themselves; simple as not touching a hot stove, avoid inclimate weather or pay their taxes. Sometimes though, there are the people and circumstances to test one's spirit and grow. The captain of the aforementioned yacht invited some hardy characters to do a delivery from Annapolis north to Newport.

The weather started out fair, northbound in the Chesapeake Bay to the C and D Canal. Half way through the canal the wind started picking up from the southwest. The canal is no spot to sail, narrow and big traffic are the two basic reasons. Once we were in the Delaware Bay the true wind speed went up near twenty knots. It was neat to go through that area, I had never been.

Once we were 'outside' in the Atlantic the true wind angle was around 210 to 218 at 13 to 18 knots. Perfect, we put up the delivery jib and main and set our proper course. Thursday morning came and the air is still warm. We knew a big, fast low pressure system is on the way so we enjoy being warm and dry.

Looking at the projected system and the breeze strength and direction coming we start talking about a plan of action. The goals are: to not break the yacht, sail fast and on course and to stay warm and dry. The weather reports called for the wind to clock around to the 300's and high as 330's with increasing velocity. They even called the time it was going to happen; 13:00. With sea's 5 to 8' and sets big as 10 feet.

Our plan; when the wind shifts past 230 we gybe and hopefully keep getting headed while staying close to the shore. When our plan meet reality we were pleasantly surprised... The wind shifted about an hour earlier than expected and much faster. The wind direction came to 230 and we gybed. The breeze did not stop there, oh no it went all the way to 309 before it stopped. The only hesitation is that we are a little farther offshore than what we had expected. Mature waves and wetness is the concern.

The wind shifted so fast and with such force it ate those mature waves and spit them out. Now we are dealing with growing cross waves. This lasted about four hours, then the waves came from the west north west even bigger. Oh man the water is cold and unforgiving.

The ride was fast, wet, cold and fun. It took us around 36 hours to arrive in Newport at 0330 this morning. Up next: a delivery the right way- from Newport to Antigua. We leave on or around Thanksgiving.

IRC East Coast Day 3

Wow, only two races today. Coming into the first race we are tied for fourth place and about seven points out of second. The first start was money mid line and about one second late on the gun going full speed. Then 'Numbers' gave us the one and only chance to get a look at her bow. Two seconds later she was over the top of us and forced a tack.

Nice and breezy today not as cold but I've got the kit on anyway. We did well in the first race, not too many fowl-ups and in a good mood. We still finished fifth but who's counting...

The first Leeward mark rounding in the second race was madness. Some reason this yacht likes to do a spike dowse. We were on port headed for the left gate, left turn. About three boat lenghts out the shackle on the port guy snaps free. Boom the pole smashes in to the forestay.

"Transfer!"

The tack line is getting ground on and the tack of the 2-A is making a circle. The midbow and I are pulling like crazy to get the sail under control. In my fingers I could tell its getting loaded up and wants to rip. A nano second later the schute is in the drink and stopping the yacht. A shrimp advisory is now in effect. Then I see it, the head getting sucked into the water, boils of trapped air and the meat of the spinnaker are churning us to a screeching halt. I run to the back of the yacht to get the thing out of the water. At this point most people have left their stations and are trying to help. One set of people are on the windward side pulling up and the other group is on the leeward side pulling up, not good. Meanwhile its me, the owner and some other geriatric trying to pull the schute in from the stern.

I could tell the rudder was fowled and needs to be cleared immediately. I am pulling very hard and see the owner is struggling a bit. I hand him what I had in my left paw and grabbed what he was pulling in. Shortly after a teammate came by with a knife in his hand. We are in the back of a TP52 with breeze on and nothing secure to hold onto.

"We are going to have to knife it, its already cute forward!"

I reply, "you had better get away from me with that knife, man!"

I've never been to jail and I've never been stabbed, I'd like to keep it that way...

I reassess the sitcho and deem it necessary to knife the luff cord. I turn to the owner as I pull out my knife and say:

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to cut it."

"That's alright son." he replies going to the rail.

Now most of the spinnaker once cut was easy to get on board. We are in full up wind mode and still there is about twenty five feet of material around the rudder. To clear the rudder I put my right side on deck and streached out my right arm to grab it. Just out of reach. I readjust, now my paw is just inches away, I stick my hand into the water to create an eddy for the spinnaker to flow up into. After a few attempts I have succeeded.

We finish the race with a second place! That's the most amazing part about it. We corrected over 'Numbers' and they subsequently got a second in the regatta. Nice.

IRC East Coast Day 2

Four scheduled races today. We ran all four. It was awesome! All legs were 2.2nm and went around twice. Nice long races, this is what the big boats need. Give us a chance to open up and scream down wind. The highest we saw was 17 knots, not too bad for a five year old yacht.

I think the race community did us justice and ran the longer legs. Plus the time in between races was not that long. I felt the over all flow of the regatta went very well. My hats off to AYC-RC. Not a bad day but plenty to improve on. Some of the guys went out the night before and anyone can tell.

We corrected as much as possible and moved on. A solid day of racing.

IRC East Coast Day 1

Today we had a fifty mile distance race. The wind is blowing from the North West and expected to be breezy. The carbon main is on and the battens are in. The last minute call to switch the main is an odd one. This is the main that we took off shore and I put my shoulder through. There is a big square patch just above the second reef point and is almost a two foot square patch. Not fast. Our train of thought; if we blow out a main it would be better to blow this one out and be DNF or DFL versus blowing out our carbon one and be out for the regatta.

This helped to be mentally unfocused. Myself and Don feel relieved and happy to be hoisting the main. The rendezvous point was not too far and we had about twenty five minutes to the gun. It was blowing hard enough to make the call for the reef line to be installed. Who doesn't like more weight aloft? This was a safety incase our main ripped and was able to save boat speed by using the reef.

The reef line was never secured properly and went into the piss. It got wrapped around the prop. Not good. The next plan of action is to get the reef line unfowled. Engine off! I went down below to get the anchor. Don and I are up forward getting ready to drop the hook while Guinness is stripping down getting ready to cut the rope loose. Hook set, Guinness is in. There were lines over board for Guinness, when I got to the back of the boat Guinness just popped up and was in arms reach. I dove down and grabbed his hand and pulled him in.

No one knew what to expect. The majority of the line is off the prop and its time to put up the main and get to the starting line. I think we were already into our five minute sequence and we had to go up with the jib and get on the line fast. Don and I are up front trying to sort out the mess and got soaked by a wave. From that point on I was never warm. I had my shoes on instead of my boots. Lesson learned.

The race was fun. The two reaching legs at the beginning were fast. Once we got to the second make Numbers was gone. Up and around the 'Bay' we get to our windward mark. Turn and burn baby. We were in the twenties in no time, screaming down wind and ready to go. We caught up to 'Hissar' but could not quite pass her.

It was a long upwind beat back to the start/finish line. The main did not break. Time to get warm.

'Fearless' delivery

I have been in Newport but two days and now am getting ready to go on another delivery. Hopefully it will not be crazy like last weeks.

'Fearless' is an Alden 72' currently for sale. Nice big yacht, looks like she wont fall apart like the race boats...

We left on 23Oct07 headed for Charleston, SC. The wind was coming out of the south again but with a little more velocity than last week. Our sea plan is to go through the 'Sound' and anchor for the night at Port Washington. I like to know what the safety measures are before heading offshore. I asked the captain about the usual; where are the life rafts, life jackets, dicth kit and flares. One thing i noticed that struck me as a bit odd; no jack lines. the captain told me that we would not need them and thinks they give a false sense of security. Interesting, I'll take this one in stride. The yacht has a rolling furler jib, controllable by one person in the working cockpit. The traveler and main sheet are also easily accessible. The radar is right there too.

When carrying on about the watch system we were told that it is going to be single man watches day and night. This struck me as odd. No jack lines and single person watches at night? Life is an adventure and I'll try it knowing that the captain's only feet away if I need help. Plus we have autopilot.

I try and drive most of the time on a delivery. This yacht was no different. We pull into the shelter of Port Washington early in the morning. My alarm woke me up in the morning. To my surprise and delight we were at anchor. I looked out into the 'Sound' and saw some big waves crashing into the bow of a barge. The wind was blowing around 25 knots. Our original plan was to wait for favorable tides to go through 'Hell's Gate' and down the East River. We just got through 'Hell's Gate' and the rain began. The temperature dropped about five degrees and was pretty nasty. We are making 14 knots over the ground and passing some cars on the G.W. Expressway. Not sure who the sucker is in this sitcho.

We look for shelter on the south end of the Bronks. A little marina where the water is an issue. 'Fearless' draws 12'6". We run a gound real soft and power through it. There we stay Thursday and Friday night. We played chess, drank coffee and went out and about.

Friday 17:30 we cast off the dock lines and are back on track. Hugging the New Jersey shore the sun drops beyond the horizon. With a reef in the main and 2/3rds jib I am back at the helm on watch. When the sun rose the wind went far right, almost NNE. Setting us up for a sweet reach into the Chesapeake.

Back on watch now with a full belly and a caffeine buzz trying to get this big girl to break 10 knots. The wind went back left and the waves followed. There was about 3 to 6 footers and some a bit bigger. Perfect conditions to surf down... I broke the 10 knot barrier and was looking for more. Soon it was twelve-two, twelve- eight sustained and then about eleven for a half an hour. I told my relief that I wanted to break fourteen before I went down, he was fine with that. It seemed to take forever but I got it. The perfect set up. We were going around eleven knots, came up to catch a wave on the bow and get sucked in. The stern got lifted up and the yacht was locked in. Coming down now right into a puff, 'Fearless' loaded up and off we go. Twelve, thirteen, thirteen-four, thirteen-eight, fourteen! Woo man that feels good. I stay on the wave and almost had enough power to run the next one over but she could not hang on any longer. I raise my hands into the air with a feeling of achievement. My relief and another fellow where up on deck and could not believe what happened.

Time to read a book.