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October 10th, 2009 – At Sea, 36 33N, 072 09W
by Herb McCormick
The plan had been to aim for a waypoint off Cape Hatteras, away from the worst of the Gulf Stream, and then catch a fresh northwesterly breeze to Charleston. The plan did not work. In the early morning hours on Saturday, the crew of Ocean Watch, en route to South Carolina from New York, sailed into the Stream and rendezvoused with 30-40 knot southwesterly winds. Everything since has been a fire drill. As a result, today’s report will be told in a series of brief vignettes. Here goes:
- Water temperature 82-85 degrees F in Stream. Cabin temperature belowdecks, with boat buttoned up against ingress of water, 91 degrees F. A sauna. A stream-room. A disaster.
- Ocean Watch taking terrible pounding, even with triple-reef main and storm staysail. But arguably doing better than crew. Sick feeling to the stomach when boat launches off wave, momentarily achieves weightlessness, then falls down a mineshaft into the trough. Not good.
- As a sailor, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, more frustrating than pointing your boat south and making a course almost due east in one of the most powerful ocean forces on the planet. Really: Nothing.
- Worst wave of the day obliterated side curtains of dodger, completely filled cockpit with ocean. Your typist was temporarily under water. All I lacked was a snorkel. Have jury-rigged side curtains with wire ties. We’re thinking this may be a highly tenuous solution.
- Sorry, Dave.
- David Thoreson and I have come to a conclusion. Worst night/day of trip so far. Since Seattle. Bar none. There is no second.
- Was going to bring daughter Maggie on this leg of the trip, to have an adventure with Dad. Maggie currently playing with friends and family in Newport, RI. Best decision of Dad’s life. Bar none. There is no second.
- In a related dispatch: Dad not doing so great. Bad head cold. Big sneezing. Seasick for first time in eons. Sweating like Patrick Ewing.
- But, hey: Wearing shorts!
- Just for more fun, tuned into last night’s Red Sox-Angels game, another completely lame effort from the Boston Nine. Sox have scored one run in last two nights, on verge of getting swept from playoffs. Perfect night for it. Time for the Pats.
- Food. What is this thing they call food?
- And sleep. What is sleep?
- Okay, it needs to be said. The Gulf Stream is beautiful and awesome. The dramatic tropical-looking clouds at sunrise, with big rays of sunlight radiating in the distance, were breathtaking, as were the schools of porpoises that have come diving and plunging across our path – Release the hounds! – on a couple of occasions. I have to keep reminding myself, not many people get a look at the Gulf Stream in a gale.
- Yada yada yada. Who has a helicopter?
- Goodness gracious, how great is standing by the sink and pouring glass after glass of cold water over your head?
- Skipper Mark Schrader, wearing a sporty green t-shirt that almost perfectly matches his complexion, has just emerged from typing up a Captain’s Log. There’s (yet another) cheap joke here about appearances but I’m the last one to talk, that’s for sure. So let’s go to the Skipper:
“Over too many years to mention I’ve had some interesting Gulf Stream experiences, but the only one truly worth mentioning was twenty years ago. I was in Lone Star, the Valiant 47 built with some special features for the 86/87 BOC Challenge race. In order to qualify for the race I had to sail Lone Star single-handed to the Azores from Key West. I don’t remember the exact mileage but it was something close to 3,000 nautical miles. I left Key West, found the Stream, stayed in it and headed north and east at a good clip. Conditions were perfect for that trip, a strong stream and a solid southerly that followed the current as it turned east toward the Azores. It was a fast and very good ride.
“What we’ve experienced for the past 30 hours or so is just the opposite. We’re in the clutches of the strong northerly flowing Stream with a southerly gale on the nose. Progress toward Charleston is laughable – if anyone here felt like laughing, and we don’t.
Overnight and most of today we’ve managed to make only four miles toward the shrimp and grits waiting for us on arrival. We’re 266 nautical miles (n.m.) from New York and now 170 n.m. offshore. Wind and sea conditions have pushed us southeast rather than southwest. The wind has been something over 30 knots for the duration, the seas are now six to eight feet and giving Ocean Watch and crew a pretty good pounding.
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| One whopper of a wave broke over the dog house, flooded the cockpit and much of the companionway. |
“A few hours ago one whopper of a wave broke over the dog house, flooded the cockpit and much of the companionway, shredded parts of the dodger and gave Mr. McCormick a pretty good soaking. Several slightly smaller waves have boarded since then and managed to soak us all. Deck work, as in dropping the staysail and setting the storm staysail and pulling in the third reef, have been wet and athletic experiences.
“These conditions are more frustrating than dangerous for us as long as safety tethers are used and moves are planned from one hand-hold to the next. Nothing about this is fun – it just comes with the territory. And, according to the latest weather report, conditions should change for the better sometime tonight. Our ETA for Charleston will be later than planned, how much will depend upon what happens tonight.
The good news – it is anything but cold. The sea temperature in the Stream is now 80.6°, air temperature 77°. With all hatches, portlights and the companion way door shut because of the sea conditions – temperature at this desk, according to our meat thermometer – 91°! I do feel slightly overcooked.
While desperately trying to keep our soggy senses of humor intact, I’m happy to report we’re all well.
- Well, we hope everyone has enjoyed all this as much as we have! If anyone has a spare moment on this Columbus Day weekend, please go sit under a tree, have a nice snack, and think about us. Thank you.
- ETA Charleston: Never.
- Herb McCormick and Mark Schrader with photographs by David Thoreson
This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
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