Open the below photos in a full-screen slideshow in Flickr
October 28th, 2009 – At Sea, 24 56N, 074 23W
by Herb McCormick
On Wednesday, the voyage of Ocean Watch continued apace, with the steel 64-foot cutter holding a course just south of due east, bound for Puerto Rico. By late afternoon, the tropical island of San Salvador – where a fellow by the name of Columbus made a celebrated landfall a good five centuries ago – was just over fifty nautical miles south, and the eastern flank of Cuba, and a place called Guantanamo, was another couple hundred miles beyond. The world is a funny place: Heaven and hell just an overnight sail apart. Anyway, we’re glad to be headed for San Juan.
For sailors setting forth from South Florida, there are a couple of ways to get there. As mentioned in an earlier log at the outset of this voyage, the offshore option is a straight shot out to 065W longitude – what navigators like to call I-65 – before hanging a sharp right and making for P.R. When sailing, it’s all about the angles, and this strategy is employed to make the best use of the trade winds. Happily, those trades have diminished somewhat in the last 24 hours, and Ocean Watch is currently motor sailing in roughly fifteen knots of apparent wind and relatively flat seas, and seems very pleased about the conditions and circumstances.
 |
| For those with some time on their hands, The Thorny Path offers an interesting route from Florida to the Caribbean. |
There is, however, another way of getting from Florida to the Caribbean, an inshore, island-hopping route known as “the Thorny Path.” For those with some time on their hands, or a boat not quite up for long-distance work, it’s an interesting, viable alternative. With calmer winds, Ocean Watch is sort of splitting the difference between the inshore and offshore headings by angling south towards our destination as conditions allow. But like all sailors underway, it’s always fun to debate the choices, especially when negotiating the waters in question. And that’s how today’s cockpit chatter turned to the Thorny Path, which earned its name, no doubt, because it’s not necessarily a walk in the park. Our well-traveled photographer, David Thoreson, has first-hand experience with the watery briar patch, and it makes a good story.
It was the winter of 2003, and Thoreson’s friend, Jim Gardner, had just purchased a 36-foot sailboat he named Emotional Rescue, after an old Rolling Stones tune. Gardner had an adventurous side; what he didn’t have was sailing experience, so he coaxed Thoreson along to help him learn the ropes on a voyage to the islands.
“Jim wanted a little more adventure in his life,” said David. “And he got it.”
Taking off from Florida, the lads decided to head out to I-65 on the leading edge of a cold front, with its attendant northerlies. The pair enjoyed a spirited crossing of the Gulf Stream before the front really kicked in, tossing up wild 20-foot seas. Obviously, in January, those weren’t exactly unanticipated conditions. But they were surprised when it started, well, snowing.
Yes: Snowing. In the Bahamas. Trust us, this is rare.
“We didn’t realize how big the front was,” said David.
The good ship Emotional Rescue - feel free to insert your own joke here – sought shelter in the Berry Islands before once again trying to gain the open Atlantic north of Eleuthera (the same pass Ocean Watch rolled through so very recently). Powerful easterlies were one obstacle, but so too was the unlit freighter, towing a barge, which twice almost rammed our heroes, which would have been ironic: the Rescue in need of rescue.
“So we went inside Eleuthera down Exuma Sound to George Town past Rum Cay and south to Grand Turk Island,” said David. “We needed to regroup. It turned out to be a great decision.”
There would be no I-65 for Emotional Rescue. Instead, indeed, the boys were headed down the Thorny Path.
David explains the general idea. “The trades were really blowing, 25-35 knots, so we’d go out at 0-Dark-Thirty
 |
| In the winter of 2003, photographer David Thoreson took the Thorny Path and had a great adventure. |
and sail offshore for 30-40 miles before the trades really kicked up by mid-morning. We’d make 40 miles down the track and tuck into some cool little harbor, drop the anchor and have a couple of cold ones. The next day we’d do it again. We went all along the coast of the Dominican Republic, across the Mona Passage, and then down the west and south coast of Puerto Rico, harbor-hopping the whole way.
“It was a little hitch out, then a little hitch in. We’d take our pounding and then rest up for the next day. It was actually a great way to go. We saw some great harbors along the way. There were no other boats out there at all.”
Wow! No other boats! Surprising!
It took four weeks to get from Florida to the British Virgin Islands – “a month-long nosebleed,” said David – where our hearty mariners finally had their true “Eureka moment.”
“We got to this little harbor in the dead of night and picked up a mooring,” said David. “It was still really windy. We weren’t really supposed to be there, it was like a National Park, but I just wrapped my arms around the mooring ball and said we’re here. We aren’t going anywhere. The next morning we got up early and had a short sail to the beautiful BVIs. We just looked at each other and sort of collectively said, ‘Uh-huh. Now we get it. This is why people come here to sail.’
“But honestly, we had so much fun. It was a real little-boat adventure.”
 |
| A little sailboat with a cabin, a place to sleep and to make a hot meal can be your window on an amazing world. |
On Ocean Watch, if we haven’t quite got it across yet, we really like to sail. I mean, we really, really like to sail. But the point of today’s tale, especially for younger readers of our logs, is that you don’t need a huge boat, or to cross an ocean, or to sail through the Northwest Passage, to get out on the water and have a real-life adventure of your own. A kayak or canoe will get you going. A little sailboat with a cabin and a place to sleep and make a hot meal can be your window on an amazing world and wonderful experiences.
Just be careful whom you ask along. David Thoreson, for example, will be available in a few months time, and he’s always up for an escapade.
You’ve been warned.
- Herb McCormick with photographs by David Thoreson
This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
To add a comment to this story click on the comment link below the post title. Please direct your messages for the crew to crew@aroundtheamericas.org instead of submitting them here. Thanks for following the Around the Americas Expedition.
