July 10, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 36-02.3N 05-46.3W as of 12:00 Gibraltar time (GMT +2 hrs) Course
104 deg M
Speed 8.0 kts @ 2000 RPM
Distance to go: 26 NM to go to Gibraltar
Distance made good past 24 hours: 163.3 NM (6.8 kt average)
Distance made good since Horta: 1138 NM
Total fuel consumed: (168.4 engine hours) 890 gals, average 5.3 GPH (incl.
genset), fuel remaining 590 (40%)
Conditions: Wind SE 28 kts, seas SE 1-3 swells, clear with heavy haze, visibility good
Barometer: 1021.4 and steady
Sea water temp: 71 deg F, air temp 77 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Med Bound 2007's three yachts are on the verge of entering the historic
Straits of Gibraltar. Isla Tarifa, the so-called windsurfing capital of the
world, is about five miles ahead. That’s where we actually enter the
strait. It’s also where Sonaia Hermida, first mate and admiral of the
Nordhavn 57 Goleen, will be waiting to take our pictures as we pass by.
We’ve been in touch with Sonaia on the phone—our Euro cell phone is working
now—and we’re closing up our little formation for pictures. We should pass
at just ¼ mile off, so even in the haze Sonaia should be able to get a
decent picture of two.
The last 24 hours has seen the weather pipe down from the previous day’s
gale force conditions. By dinner time yesterday, we were plugging along in
the leftover chop, with the winds down in the teens and the seas down to 3-5
feet, maybe less. As we came more into the lee of the mainland of Europe,
wind and seas declined even more. Weather for my 2100-2400 watch was flat
and easy but very hazy. At one point about then we counted 45 ships
displayed on the AIS, one more than 100 miles away. The radar and Nobeltec
computer showed dozens of ships streaming to and from the strait, with our
three yachts mixed right up in the midst of them--our little inverted-V
formation right there in their face. The truth is that the traffic was very
orderly—inbound ships to the right, ourbound ships to the left.
My original plan had been to follow the inbound ships, but Bernie
recommended moving across the lanes of traffic to put us on the north side
of the approach. We crabbed our way across last night, dodging what seemed
like many ships—but in reality we snaked our way through only a half dozen
or so outbound ships. We picked our openings, sneaking in near the slower
ships and dodging across their transom ahead of the faster moving ones. It
took several tense hours and when it was all over we were delighted,
finally, to be on the north side of the appoach to the stait. From that
position, we followed the coast the rest of the way to Gibraltar without
ever encountering another ship, not, at least, until we were right in the
Bay of Gibraltar. I'll spare you the details, but let me say that, quite
literally, we could not have done it without AIS.
I am being overcome by what's happening . . . time to quit and get this boat
into the Bay of Gibraltar. We must ship the paravanes, hoist the poles, get
the clearance papers ready, call the marina, rig the docklines, and fenders.
Then, of course, pose for the inevitatble pictures off The Rock (oops, it
was covered in cloud, so don't expect much from the pictures!).
HERRRRE WE GO!
July 9, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 36-26.2 N 08-51.6 W as of 12:00 London time (GMT +1 hrs)
Course 101 deg M
Speed 6.7 kts @ 2000 RPM Distance to go: 175 NM to go to Gibraltar (15% of the way)
Distance made good past 24 hours: 156 NM (6.5 kt average)
Distance made good since Horta: 970 NM (85% of the way)
Total fuel consumed: (145.8 engine hours) 720 gals (49%), average 4.9 GPH (incl. genset), fuel remaining 760 gal. (51%)
Conditions: Wind N 28 kts, seas N 5-7 swells with 2-3 foot chop, clear,
visibility excellent
Barometer: 1022.7 and steady
Sea water temp: 69 deg F, air temp 72 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Just as the 18 NAR yachts got their butts kicked in the approach to
Gibraltar, so it goes with our three Med Bound yachts. Bob Jones gave us
the following heads-up early yesterday afternoon: "The latest observations
indicate the winds are increasing from your area eastward toward 08W. A ship
report at 1200GMT (a little over 2hrs ago) reported north winds 35kts. The
ship was located abeam Cape Sao Vicente near 37N 09.5W. You should plan on
increasing winds, even if they don't materialize, it is better to be
prepared during this relatively short period of increasing northerly winds."
The big winds and accompanying seas announced their arrival at mid-afternoon
and built through the night. The anemometers on our three yachts differ,
perhaps because the N55 sensors are mounted considerably higher than ours.
Aboard Bluewater we saw overnight north winds mostly in the mid- and
upper-twenties, frequently gusting to the mid-thirties. Moana Kuewa and
Salty Dawg reported winds about 5 knots higher across the board, topping out
with a 42.7-knot gust reported by Salty Dawg. Moana Kuewa reported winds to
39 knots and aboard Bluewater nobody remembers anything above 36. Swells
built from mid-afternoon, reaching an estimated 4 to 6 feet from the N
within a few hours, peaking at 5 to 7 or maybe 6 to 8 feet, possibly higher,
with 2-3 foot of chop on top. They seemed huge and knocked out boats around
like they were toys!
It wasn't truly dangerous, but, yes, it was uncomfortable. Very
uncomfortable. Reports from all three Med Bound yachts indicated that
everyone was having a problem overnight staying-put in bed. Perhaps not all
of us slid or rolled out of bed but most of us did at least once. Even with
the stabilizers (and, in Bluewater's case, paravanes) working, rolls were
typically 15 to 20 degrees, occasionally over 30 degrees. Wind and seas
were on our port quarter; as a big roller would approach, the port quarter
would rise sometimes ten feet or more to meet it, then the wave would push
the boat into a starboard roll; thanks to the stabilizers and paravanes, the
boat would roll back. Again and again, thousands of times. Nobody got much
sleep. Trying to sleep after my 2100-2400 watch, I finally found that
putting a non-skid placemat on the sheet under my butt helped keep me from
slipping around in the covers. By morning, Judy and George had their own
placemats. Two placemats per person might have been better-one each beneath
butt and shoulders!
Someone on the radio today pointed out that it's not a question of whether a
boat will leak in such conditions but when and where. Esther and Dennis
have taken a sailboat across the Pacific, and they have a saying. "The water
always wins!" Aboard Bluewater we took a little water through our big
portside vent, with the water finding its way into the master stateroom
overhead--first time ever! In spite of securely taping our lazarette, we
discovered a small nuisance leak through the tape into the lazarette and
cannot figure out how the water's getting in. Chris reports lazarette leaks
over her inverter control panel; she was investigating that late last night
when Moana Kuewa took a gusher-about five gallons came cascading down the
engine room air intake.
I asked Chris to compare last night's seas to what she experienced taking
Moana Kuewa from the San Blas Islands to Aruba into the teeth of the winter
trades. The Aruba wind and seas were worse by close to half again, she
said: on the nose, 2-3 second period, lots of white water and occasional
blue water over the bow, and white water over the flying bridge. As usual,
the boats can take much more than the people can!
In conditions like that, we all learn quickly to do what must to be done and
not much more. We navigate the yachts, stay in touch by radio, track the
positions of other nearby vessels, check the engine rooms for problems and
deal with the urgent ones, prepare and eat simple food, and get as much rest
as the conditions allow. Just holding on takes a lot of energy, and even
reading can be a chore. As one becomes more fatigued from the continual
motion, a sense of lethargy begins to take hold. Everything seems more
difficult. Easy tasks become harder. Jobs requiring real effort get
postponed. Radio calls are short and to the point. Tempers fray. No one
is frightened and there is no real danger, but, rather, a sense of "Let's
just get this over with."
When I arose this morning for my 0600-0900 watch, it was still blowing a
hooley: steady north winds in the high twenties gusting over 30 and big seas
with a 7 to 8-second period. That continued until close to mid-day, but now
we're in the lee of the mainland, some 42 miles off our port beam and we're
seeing both wind and seas come down slowly. As always when the wind and
seas are on their way down, the conditions seem positively benign now (at
1400 local time) that the wind is blowing a mere 20 knots and the seas are
down to 4-6 with some chop on top. Our AIS is lit up like a Christmas tree
with data from dozens of ships bound to and from the strait.
Bad weather be damned, our three Med Bound yachts are on course for the
Strait of Gibraltar and we're still hoping to be there in time to ride the
1131 high tide to Marina Bay Marina for a mid-afternoon arrival. Bob
promises us more of what we don't want: easterly winds-on the nose-as we
pass through the strait. As I told Judy, the Atlantic absolutely insists on
extracting the last pound of flesh as we say goodbye to Mother Ocean and
hello to the Sunny Mediterranean!
July 8, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 37-40.8 N 11-33.0 W as of 12:00 London time (GMT +1 hrsCourse 131
deg M
Speed 7.1 kts @ 2000 RPM
Distance to go: 328 NM to go to Gibraltar (29% of the way)
Distance made good past 24 hours: 165 NM (7.0 kt average)
Distance made good since Horta: 787 NM (69% of the way)
Total fuel consumed: (121.3 engine hours) 580 gals (39%), average 4.8 GPH
(incl. genset), fuel remaining 900 gal. (61%)
Conditions: Wind NNE 11 kts, seas NE 2-4 and building, partly cloudy,
visibility excellent
Barometer: 1026.0 and steady
Sea water temp: 69 deg F, air temp 72 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Another lazy Sunday at sea! Winds and seas are slowly beginning to build
and Bob says conditions may get thorny over the next 24 hours, though all
three Med Bound boats are still very comfortable. It appears that we will
have the easterly winds against the in-flowing current for transiting the
Strait of Gibraltar, but we do not expect to see the kind of
rough-and-tumble conditions the NAR yachts encountered in 2004.
Cabo Sao Vicente marks the southwest corner of Portugal and the European
mainland and, as such, sees a huge amount of shipping traffic. Every ship
entering the Strait of Gibraltar from Northern Europe must pass CSV.
Likewise, every ship leaving the Mediterranean bound for Northern Europe.
Close passes save time and fuel, so most ships pass the cape close aboard
using the well-defined traffic separation lanes off the cape.
It's easy to tell that we're getting near CSV because shipping traffic is on
the rise. That tends to make us watchstanders more alert, though in truth
we've all gotten used to picking up the targets on AIS well before they
appear on radar or we see them coming over the horizon. One danger, of
course, is to be cajoled into thinking that we have a complete picture by
relying on AIS. International rules require that AIS be carried by all
ships of 300 gross tons or more and engaged in international trade; that
exempts most ferries, work boats, fishing boats, yachts and other vessels
working in coastal waters.
The past 24 hours have again reminded me what a huge difference
communications can make on a passage like this-and also how much help we get
from others in far-flung places. Of course, we have weather coming in from
Bob Jones at OMNI in New Jersey and from Ocens in Seattle. Our friend
Sonaia Maryon -Davis in Sotogrande, Spain, is feeding us very useful weather
information for Tarifa, right off the strait. And we had yesterday's report
on the tough rounding of Cabo San Vicente in bad weather and heavy shipping
traffic from Pam and Andy Wall aboard Kandarik.
Another case in point: Bernie Francis called from Moana Kuewa yesterday and
asked about the Med Bound waypoint off CSV. In addition to serving as Med
Bound's chief engineer, Bernie, a licensed captain, stands regular
wheelhouse watches aboard Moana Kuewa. It looked to him as if I had placed
the CSV waypoint in a location that would require our yachts to make a
diagonal crossing of the traffic separation zone-designated lanes inbound
and outbound ships-off the cape. I checked my chart and told Bernie that I
was satisfied with the location of the waypoint in the outer (inbound) lane,
but Bernie still saw it differently and that got my attention. More
discussion led me to check other charts and cruising guides, and it became
increasingly clear that my three-year-old electronic chart showed the
traffic separation zone much closer to the cape than did Moana Kuewa's brand
new electronic chart. I should have updated my charts before leaving, but
in the press of departure preparations it was something I just never got
to-a stupid mistake for a guy who knows the importance of up-to-date charts!
Ambiguity makes me uncomfortable. When in doubt I try ask the someone who
has been there. Andy Lund has taken his Nordhavn 46 around CSV twice in the
past year, so I e-mailed Andy in Seattle asking about the traffic separation
zones. He replied quickly: "I don't have any charts with me here at home.
However, I do know the traffic zones in general have been moved farther away
from the Atlantic headlands and capes over the past few years. I think it
is a reaction to the recent shipwrecks and ensuing oil spills. So the Cabo
San Vicente zone is likely correctly shown on your newer MaxSea charts."
With that in mind, I asked Bernie, using Moana Kuewa's late-model MaxSea
charts, to recommend a new waypoint that would place us well outside the
traffic separation zone at the cape. Andy's e-mail made the point that
slow-moving vessels like ours do not mix well with faster-moving freighters
and tankers, so I asked Bernie for a waypoint to the south of the
southernmost traffic lane. Minutes later, Bernie was on the radio with a
recommended waypoint. When I plotted it, it appeared perfect. Decision
made! Shortly after 0900 today, all three Med Bound yachts entered the new
waypoint and changed course about 10 degrees to the right. We're now on
course to pass 40 miles SW of the cape, and that moves the wind and sea
around a bit farther aft for our yachts-more comfortable.
This is a good illustration of the kind of collegial discussion and
decision-making we've come to rely on in Med Bound 2007. There is no fleet
admiral and no one person calling the shots, but as the Med Bound organizer
and leader I act as a coordinator and final arbiter. Of course, having a
congenial group helps a lot! With about 3,500 Med Bound miles behind us,
now, I cannot think of a single time or incident where this approach has
been a problem.
All is well as our three Med Bound 2007 yacht continue their passage, still
in our inverted-V formation. We're rigged for heavy weather, hoping it
never comes!
July 7, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 38-53.4 N 14.41.5 W as of 12:00 London time (GMT +1 hrs
Course 121 deg M
Speed 6.9 kts @ 2000 RPM
Distance to go: 484 NM to go to Gibraltar (42% of the way)
Distance made good past 24 hours: 164 NM (6.9 kt average)
Distance made good since Horta: 666 NM (58% of the way)
Total fuel consumed: (97.3 engine hours) 470 gals (32%), average 4.8 GPH
(incl. genset), fuel remaining 1010 gal. (68%)
Conditions: Wind NNE 7 kts, seas NE 2-4, clear skies with just a few clouds,
visibility excellent
Barometer: 1025.2 and steady
Sea water temp: 69 deg F, air temp 78 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Could it be that by dropping in the paravanes yesterday we scared away the
bad weather? The Med Bound fleet is making good time under sunny skies,
still in light winds, flat seas with lazy swells, and barely a whitecap in
sight. May our perfect trawler weather continue! We reached our 39N/15
waypoint and made a slight right turn for Cabo Sao Vicente at mid-morning.
Over the past few days I've begun to have the feeling that the nasty weather
moving along the coast down to the cape might either blow itself out or move
out of our way as we approach the cape. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.
But maybe not. This morning, approaching our waypoint, I had to make a
decision: keep heading east or turn towards the cape. Since Bob's forecast
doesn't arrive until afternoon, I went to our backup weather resource: the
so-called grib files from Ocens weather, downloading weather charts for the
72-hour forecasts for surface pressure, winds and seas for our patch of
ocean. Voila! My reading of the data indicates that we can expect
continued light winds and seas from the N most the way to the cape, though
winds and seas should pick up on Monday as we get close to turning the
corner. If the grib files are correct, the wind from the cape to the
Strait of Gibraltar will go light and blow from the west with seas to
match-exactly what we'd like to see for transiting the strait! I should
point out that Bob's latest forecast, just received, does not agree-he's
sticking to his guns, calling for winds over 30 knots with seas to match as
we approach the cape and E winds (against the current) approaching the
strait and in the strait itself. In reporting all this to our other two
boats, I made the point that Bob is the professional and I'm the amateur, so
whom to believe should be an easy choice.
Local weather conditions are a big deal in the waters around the Strait of
Gibraltar, with the colder Atlantic systems battling it out with the warmed
Mediterranean systems for control of weather in and around the strait.
Thanks to these dynamics, some of the usual weather rules go out the window,
and it pays to give attention to what the locals are saying and what
conditions are being reported locally. Our friend Sonaia Maryon Davis is in
the Gib area and sent us her first report on winds at Tarifa, nearly
adjacent to the strait. We look forward to more reports on this from
Sonaia!
Pam and Andy Wall reached Lagos, just around the corner from the cape,
aboard Kandarik today. Here's part of a dispatch we received from Pam:
"Last night I was wondering if I would ever be warm again! The wind was
howling, the seas were huge, and I was really cold all night steering! And,
now that we have arrived in Lagos, just got a berth for two nights! It is
hot and still and sunny and we are dying of the heat!!!!! Just for your
information, we had very strong, 25 to 35 NNE winds once we made the turn to
the right at Lat 39N, and Lon 11W. All the rest of the day it was still
pretty miserable even though we had the wind and seas behind us. Ships
everywhere, NO visibility, more like thick fog, and lots and lots of wind!
THEN at about 3AM, we were 40 miles from Cabo Sao Vicente, and bam! the
wind stopped, soon the seas calmed down, the moon and stars came out, only
thing that did not happen was a lack of ships to avoid! By early this
morning, it is hard to believe we were motor sailing in light winds, and
huge harmless lazy swells!"
Pam and Andy found calm conditions in the lee of the cape, and I hope such
conditions are there when we arrive three days from now. Their e-mail
reminds me that we'll have very hot weather in Gibraltar if our last visits
there are anything to judge by. Welcome to the sunny Mediterranean!
The Med Bound fleet reached the halfway point from Horta to Gib last night,
but nobody celebrated. We're all focused on getting where we're going, to
be sure, but we're also enjoying the idyllic days at sea and the halfway
point is no real reason for celebration. This passage-so far anyway-is
proof positive that after a few days at sea on a well-found, well-run
cruising yacht in good weather, things fall into a nice routine and it's
easy to enjoy being at sea.
While Salty Dawg seems to be the boat that can attract and catch fish, Moana
Kuewa seems to attract dolphins and whales and has reported more than the
other two boats combined. At mid-day today, George was really excited when
he spotted what he thought was a large dolphin, three boat-lengths away and
coming right at us. "That's no dolphin," I told him as we both reached for
our cameras. "It's a pilot whale." But pilot whales travel in pods and this
guy was a loner. Looking at our ID book later, I'm quite sure what we saw
was a pygmy sperm whale-easy to identify (using the book) because of its
very small dorsal fin and surfacing pattern. Alas, he surfaced three or
four times then sounded before we got a picture.
Speaking of sea life, Judy says Bluewater's freezers and reefers are full up
with fish and will not let me drag a line behind the boat until we eat some
of the fish down. Dennis, on the other hand, continues to fish from Salty
Dawg, and at sunset last night, 24 hours after I caught my lone tuna of the
trip, Salty Dawg got two on at the same time. Dennis reeled in one and
Capt. David the other, landing two tuna about the size of the one I caught.
We all surmise that they trolled through a feeding school of the fish. With
two catches right at sunset, I'm tempted to ask the admiral if I can wet our
line only at sunrise and sunset!
Dennis got busy with his onboard reference material and is convinced that
the tuna we're catching are the ones called bigeye. To be sure, the eyes
are outsized for the fish and that ID occurred to me, but, alas, I have no
reference material on bigeye tuna but noted that Linda Greenlaw's book,
Hungry Ocean, reported that bigeyes were keepers and were treated with the
same respect as swordfish on her longline fishing boat. Dennis' reference
material says that even a trained scientist finds it impossible to tell a
small (juvenile?) big eye from a small yellowfin tuna. Both bigeye and
yellowfin tuna are prized both as sportfish and for eating. The sashimi we
had for lunch yesterday bears out the eating part.
The absence of boat problems in my daily reports should speak for itself,
but for the record let me mention that all three Med Bound yachts continue
to perform like the champs they are, keeping their crews comfortable and
contented. Perhaps part of that is due to the work done on the boats and
the inspections before departure from Fort Lauderdale, but there's more to
it than that. Our Lugger (Bluewater) and John Deere (Moana Kuewa and Salty
Dawg) engines, Northern Lights generators continue to purr along, and our
frequent engine room checks seem all for naught-we virtually never find a
problem. The problems seem to come, of course, more often aboard boats NOT
checking engine rooms frequently! To be sure, we all have a few items on
our maintenance lists but they're the kind of projects that can and should
wait 'til we reach port.
Speaking of maintenance, I heard from Vic Kuzmovich at Naiad yesterday.
Naiad Phil should be in Gibraltar on July 10, the day we expect to arrive,
to tackle our stabilizer repairs. I suspect Phil will want to wait a day to
let our 110-degree engine room cool down!
May your weekend weather be as pleasant as that we're having today!
July 6, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 30 N 15 W as of 12:00 Azores time (GMT - 0 hrs)
Course 094 deg M
Speed 6.7 kts @ 1850 RPM
Distance to go: 639 NM to go to Gibraltar (56% of the way)
Distance made good past 24 hours: 164 NM (6.9 kt average)
Distance made good since Horta: 512 NM (45% of the way)
Total fuel consumed: (74.3 engine hours) 340 gals (23%), average 4.0 GPH
(incl. genset), fuel remaining 1140 gal. (77%)
Conditions: Wind NNE 5 kts, seas NE 2-4, mostly cloudy, visibility excellent
Barometer: 1028.7 and steady
Sea water temp: 70 deg F, air temp 70 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Fresh sashimi for lunch! Except for White Bread George who declines to eat
"raw fish" and, instead, has placed his order for tuna salad made with
canned tuna. Go figure.
Just as I was about to bring in the line and stow our rod after sunset last
night, we had a hit and reeled in a nice small tuna-about 25 inches long and
nine pounds. (Remember the pink lure I mentioned yesterday? Yup, that did
the trick!) Salty Dawg caught two of what sounds like the same kind of
tuna today. I've studied our fish books and queried the other boats in an
effort to identify the type of tuna, utterly without success. Based on what
one book said, I was sure it was a small albacore tuna-the description was
perfect; then Dennis told me that albacores have light meat, and the meat
from this fish looks exactly like the fresh tuna in the fish market-bright
red. We had a taste last night while I was butchering the fish and it was
delicious!
Andy Lund, who has seen his share of heavy weather both crossing the
Atlantic in his Nordhavn 46 and cruising from Norway to Croatia, e-mailed me
that, "You've had a really benign crossing so far, so a bit of 35-knot wind
is only appropriate!" He can get by with that because in the same e-mail he
surprised me by saying said he's sending us his Vodafone GSM modem and a GSM
mobile phone with a Spanish SIM card. Once we charge those with minutes,
they should provide us with both talk time and Internet access all along the
coast of Spain. Andy has been a trail-blazer for us and Med Bound 2007, and
much of the European cruising information we accept as the gospel truth has
come from him. His boat is now for sale through Nordhavn's office near
Southhampton, England. It's one of the last Nordhavn 46s built and it was
very well equipped for cruising in Europe and well shaken down. Andy is a
very knowledgeable cruiser who once owned the Grand Banks dealership in the
Seattle area. Alas, his long cruise has ended and it's time for him to go
back to work!
True to Bob Jones' forecast, the barometer is on its way down, though not
rapidly-I think if it as a nice orderly descent. It dropped 10 millibars
overnight, then rose a couple this morning. But the trend is definitely
down, and we're preparing for heavier weather. Let me be quick to add that
we're not feeling sorry for ourselves! We're in touch by e-mail with our
good friend Scott Flanders, who writes the popular Voyage of Egret blog on
the Nordhavn website from his Nordhavn 46 at the bottom of the world. He
reported a couple of days ago that he was experiencing heavy snow with
occasional williwaws, then went on to say:
"The Gibraltar-bound small fleet is experiencing great weather with a
barometric pressure reading of 1032.7 millibars. We have just pulled up the
gribs (weather files) for today. The deep low passing due south of our
protected anchorage is 945.4 millibars. The difference is 87.3 millibars.
THAT, mi amigos is a VERY deep hole in the atmosphere. Now the surrounding
high pressure is trying to fill that hole. See where these stiff winds come
from? The Drake Passage between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula has
to be every mariner's nightmare at the moment."
In anticipation of the coming weather, after breakfast this morning George
and I lowered the paravanes. It gets easier each time. Today it went
quickly . . . about five minutes start to finish. I didn't mention it
before, but when we hauled them out in Horta it also went very quickly.
Experience counts!
We noted a speed drop of about three-tenths of a knot to about 6.6 knots as
a result of the paravanes. This leg is only 1,100 miles so fuel is not much
of an issue. With that in mind, I've eased the throttle ahead enough to
make up for the speed loss, and we're now running at 2000 RPMs and 6.9
knots. Curiously, when we did our full power run today, our top speed with
the paravanes in never reached as high as 8 knots. Yesterday with no
paravanes in the water, it was 9.0 knots. I know of no other variables that
would affect the speed. We still like the idea of a short full power run to
"blow out the carbon" and check the vacuum gauge on the main engine Racor
filter.
I doubt that anyone else is tracking our fuel consumption as closely as I
am, but in case you are you may have noticed a small hiccup in today's fuel
report. From the time we left Horta until today, my fuel consumption
figures reported here were an educated guess. That's because our main fuel
tank sight gauges don't reach all the way to the top of our tanks. Today I
can finally get an accurate measure of the fuel remaining because it's down
to the sight gauges, meaning that for the first time since leaving Horta I
can actually see the level of the fuel in our tanks-today's measure is very
precise. Unlike the red-dyed fuel purchased in the U.S., the tax-free
diesel fuel we've had in our tanks from Bermuda on is a light honey color.
All indications are that we've taken on extremely clean fuel in Bermuda and
Horta. A tip of the Bluewater cap to Marco Quadros in Horta and Global
Yacht Fuel in Fort Lauderdale!
Unlike our sailing days, we're not being especially careful with water.
Bluewater carries 400 gallons in her single water tank, but our Village
Marine Tec watermaker can replenish water at close to 25 gallons per hour.
Two mornings ago George washed down the whole boat to get rid of the dirt we
picked up in Horta, and yesterday Judy did two loads of wash. We take hot
showers daily, use whatever water we need for cleaning, and run the
watermaker as required to keep the tank topped off. Of course, we have to
run a generator to operate the watermaker-a small price to pay for our
bottomless tank of fresh water.
We expect to reach our waypoint at 39 degrees North and 15 degrees north
tomorrow morning. I'm hopeful we'll be able to turn directly for Cabo Sao
Vicente then, but in his most recent e-mail Bob says we may wish to continue
on closer to the coast of Portugal. We'll see what the weather brings!
Meanwhile, we should reach the halfway point on this trip later today-break
out the champagne!
July 5, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 38-40.1 N 29.29.0 W as of 12:00 Azores time (GMT - 0 hrs)
Course 097 deg M Speed 6.9 kts @ 1850 RPM
Distance to go: 802 NM (70% of the way) to go to Gibraltar
Distance made good past 24 hours: 165 NM (6.9 kt average) Distance made
good since Horta: 348 NM (30% of the way) Total fuel consumed: (50 engine
hours) 200 gals (13.5%), average 4.0 GPH (incl. genset), fuel remaining 1280
gal. (86.5%)
Conditions: Wind NE 3 kts, seas NE 1-3, mostly cloudy, visibility excellent
Barometer: 1033.5 and steady
Sea water temp: 70 deg F, air temp 75 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Although it'll soon be time to pay the piper, Bluewater and the Med Bound
fleet continue to make good progress in nearly perfect trawler weather:
light winds, slow and easy ocean swells, and excellent visibility. The
temperature is perfect for leaving the boat open most of the time, though we
do tend to collect what Chris Bauman on Moana Kuewa calls "sea scum," a
light coating of very fine and moist salt on surfaces near the doors and
windows. For that reason, Chris tends to run a generator and air
conditioning 24/7 while we simply wipe down the interior surfaces
periodically, a small price to pay for keeping the boat open.
Nordahvn 50 owner Phil Eslinger had a post on the Nordhavn owners' site
noting that using shipping agents in foreign countries can be a huge aid for
passagemaking trawler owners when cruising overseas. He proposed starting a
list on the site all of the agents Nordhavn Owners have used. If someone
will pass this to the site, let me provide the following contact information
for Marco Quadros who has been a wonderful resource for Nordhavn owners
visiting Horta:
Marco Quadros (senior agent)
Bensaude Agentes de Navegaceo Lda.
Rua Vasco da Gama, 42
Horta, Faial, Azores (Portugal)
Tel. 351-292-293-031 or 351-292-293-033
Mobile: 351-918-792-536
marco.quadros@bensaude.pt
As something worth adding to the list, I should also mention that fuel
arrangements for both the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally 2004 and Med Bound 2007
have been made through Global Yacht Fuel in Fort Lauderdale. Essentially,
this involves establishing an account with Global, then notifying them when
and where one wants to bunker. Using their worldwide contacts, Global will
negotiate the best price, arrange the fueling (usually through an agent such
as Marco above), and bill the owner, meaning you can pay for your fuel
through your U.S. bank account rather than in local currency. The fuel
we've gotten using Global on this trip (and on the NAR) has been among the
cleanest we've ever burned and arrangements have been virtually hassle-free.
Global makes its money by taking a small percentage of what we pay for fuel,
yet the fuel prices are normally less than we'd pay if we simply drove up
and asked for a full-up so they're saving us money. More important,
perhaps, my comfort level is high with my sense that our chances of getting
good, clean fuel are greater using Global. However, keep in mind that they
are not interested in talking to you about less than, say, 1,000 gallons at
a time. Their principal business focuses on bunkering megayachts, so 1,000
gallons is small stuff to them. Contact information:
Richard Manto, Gail Vanstone, Marianne VanCline Global Yacht Fuel
412 SE 17th St.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Tel. 954-462-6050
marianne@globalyachtfuel.com
By most standards, our "fireworks" last night would have to be considered
lame. We had a handful of expired shotgun shell type red flares and a
pistol for launching them. Half had expired in 2003 and the other half in
1997. While some burned brighter than others, all were bright red, easily
seen by the other boats a mile or so away, rose high enough into the air
that they burned for about eight seconds before hitting the water, and
continued to burn for 3-4 seconds just below the surface of the water--the
burn below the water was haunting to see. This showed us once more than
expired flares are a whole lot better than none at all!
This morning I put out our single fishing line just after taking the
0600-0900 watch. The lure hadn't been in the water ten minutes when I heard
the reel go off: ZRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Alone on watch, I throttled back
the boat to dead slow, ran to the cockpit and increased the drag on the
reel, retrieved the six-foot gaff from its overhead cockpit rack, and began
to reel in the fish. At first I wasn't sure I had anything-there was little
pull on the line. George appeared in the cockpit, and whatever was at the
end of the line began plop-plop-plopping in the wake . . . I commented to
George that it seemed like perhaps we had lost everything but the head of
our catch to a shark. Continuing to bring the line in easily, looking back
I then saw what appeared to be the tail of a small fish at the end of the
line. Whatever I was seeing, as I continued winding in the line it came
alive-there definitely was a live fish there and if, indeed, I was seeing a
tail it was no longer tangled in the line. Our catch of the day turned out
to be a 24-inch female dorado (mahi-mahi) which we easily boated through the
transom door. She looked so small I was tempted to release her, but I was
overcome by the urge for fresh mahi-mahi--we fish for food, not sport!
George went back to bed, I throttled up, and cut the fish into steaks, and
washed down the bloody cockpit. I think we have broken the fishing hiatus;
less than an hour later, Dennis on Salty Dawg reported catching a small
tuna, then another at mid-day. I asked what Salty Dawg was using for lures
to catch tuna and the answer came back: the pink ones. We've yet to catch a
tuna, so I traded my blue squid lure for a larger pink one. The hunt goes
on . . . is there sashimi in our future?
We may be in close to a news vacuum out here, but thanks to Jeff Merrill of
Pacific Asian Enterprises we know that Alinghi won the America's Cup
yesterday. Thanks, Jeff! PAE's sales representatives ("yacht brokers")
are definitely a giant step ahead of those I've met elsewhere in the
industry, and Jeff is one of the best of the best. Notably, Jeff's
customers become his friends and they come back to him again and again when
it is time to buy or sell a boat. Keeping customers happy was at the top of
my list when Judy and I owned Bluewater Books & Charts, and I know it's
right at the top of Jeff's list. I am not one of Jeff's customers, but I am
pleased to count him as a friend.
Speaking of friends, our longtime friends Pam and Andy Wall are about 400
miles ahead of us in their 39-foot Freya sailing yacht, in which the
circumnavigated years ago, and we've been sharing weather information. This
morning, Pam reported: "What a night last night! Moon out with fast-moving
clouds, wind NNE 20 plus, big seas, cold in the cockpit but are we moving!
Cape St. Vincent 227 miles bearing 131. We are holding high and close to
the wind anticipating stronger winds as we close the coast and want to fall
off with the potentially higher wind. Sunny with racing clouds, but very
cool."
We look forward to seeing Pam and Andy in Gibraltar. Meanwhile, according
to Weather Bob we'll begin seeing more serious weather late tomorrow, and it
should continue to increase right up to the Strait of Gibraltar. According
to Bob, here's what our Sunday will look like: "NW-N 20-25kt, gusty 30kts
thru midday. Freshen NW-N, occ NNE 25-30kt, gusty 35kts during the pm/hrs.
Waves build 6-8ft, up to 9ft possible during Sun/pm. Swells NW-NNW 6-8ft.
Generally clear to partly cloudy." The good news is the wind and seas
should not be from ahead of the beam. Sounds like we'll need to launch the
paravanes tomorrow before the wind pipes up; they'll slow our progress a bit
but a keeping the boat comfortable is a high priority for this captain!
George, Judy and I continue to devour books on our passages, with George
setting the pace. I'm midway through Gore Vidal's 1984 biographical novel
Lincoln, set in the Lincoln White House beginning at the time Honest Abe
took office. It offers a fascinating look at our new nation at a
rough-and-tumble time in its history-and the role Lincoln played in ending
the Civil War. At the same time, on George's recommendation, I picked up
Linda Greenlaw's Hungry Ocean, a well-written account of her experience as
skipper of a 100-foot longline swordfishing boat out of Gloucester.
Although Bluewater is not a fishing boat in any real sense, George loved the
many parallels between Linda's 1,000-mile passages to and from the Grand
Banks and the ones we're making on this crossing. I agree!
We've just entered a small rain shower, but the radar shows we'll leave it
behind in minutes. Time to close up the boat!
July 4, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 38-29.4 N 24-59.1 W as of 12:00 Azores time (GMT - 0 hrs)
Course 097 deg M Speed 7.0 kts @ 1850 RPM Distance to go: 968 NM to go to
Gibraltar
Distance made good past 24 hours: 161 NM (6.7 kts) Distance made good since
Horta: 183 NM
Total fuel consumed (26.3 engine hours) 1215 gals, average 4.0 GPH (incl.
genset), fuel remaining 1375 gal.
Conditions: Wind N 5 kts, seas N 3-4, partly cloudy, visibility excellent
Barometer: 1034.9 and rising
Sea water temp: 71 deg F, air temp 80 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Every day is a gift! The weather gods have been kind during the Med Bound
fleet's first full day out of Horta, offering up light winds and flat seas
as we regain our sea legs, giving us an altogether comfortable ride for our
three yachts as we eat up the miles between the island of Faial and Strait
of Gibraltar. This morning we passed by the easternmost of the Azores
Islands, Sao Miguel, so it's open ocean for us from here to the European
mainland.
Weather, of course, is everything when one is making a passage in a small
boat, so we study the weather carefully, check many sources, and take our
best shot. Our own secret weapon is "Weather Bob" Jones of Ocean Marine
Navigation Inc. From his post in New Jersey, Bob provides telephone and
e-mail weather routing advice and counsel to yachts around the world. In
return for what we consider a very reasonable fee, Bob-who is a trained
meteorologist who has been doing professional weather routing for
years-provides us a daily e-mail report: an overview of the weather systems
interacting to provide our weather and his best estimate of what to expect
in the days ahead. Based on Bob's advice, we are bound for a waypoint at 39
degrees north and 15 degrees west, north of the direct course to Gibraltar
and about 250 miles off the coast of Portugal. That will add a few miles to
our trip, but Bob expects our winds to increase and move more to the north
in a few days, and taking this route should give us an easier ride when that
happens.
The case for using a professional weather router for a yacht like ours is
strong: Bob has access to far more information from his office ashore with
full Internet capabilities than I do at sea with a very thin e-mail
connection, and as a professional meteorologist he knows far better than I
how to interpret the information he receives. As much as we like and rely
on Bob, we also have a backup and counterpoint: Ocens WeatherNet. The
learning curve for WeatherNet is steep and it's not intuitive, but it's a
rich weather resource with real depth and breadth. It even offers real-time
information on ocean currents based on satellite data, something I've not
found elsewhere.
Of course, none of this could happen without communications. In the middle
of an ocean, Internet connections and cell phone networks are nowhere to be
found. We employ an Iridium satellite phone as the link between
low-earth-orbiting satellites and our computer, using a slow-as-molasses
e-mail connection via an Ocens system specifically designed for cruisers.
It's painfully slow, operating at a fraction of the speed of a dialup modem,
and interruptions are frequent. At around a dollar a minute, it's also
expensive. All its disadvantages notwithstandng, it's by far the best
solution we've found for sending and receiving text messages at sea.
As compared with our Bermuda-Horta leg, Bluewater is riding more comfortably
now and we're making slightly better speed at lower RPMs. That's because
Med Bound chief engineer Bernie Francis and I discovered in Horta,
troubleshooting Bluewater's stabilizer problem, that the boat had been
"dragging" our port stabilizer fin through the water at an acute angle
causing considerable drag. That extra drag both slowed Bluewater down and
caused us to burn more fuel on the last leg. We could have waited in Horta
for a repairman to fly in and fix the problem, but the truth is that we were
ready to move on and our ride to Horta was so comfortable that the decision
to move on was an easy one. Naiad promises to have a technician in Gibraltar
with the parts needed to make the repairs, a job that will be done under
warranty. Last we heard, the Naiad tech would be "Naiad Phil" who spent
time on many NAR yachts.
Once upon a time, ships passing in the night depended on radar, navigation
lights and radio to determine how to pass one another safely, but AIS adds a
whole new dimension. You've heard me sing the praises of AIS, and here I go
again. Last night on my 2100-2400 watch our AIS picked up a Mexico-bound
tanker named Ballad at about 24 miles dead ahead. As the ship tracked
towards us at 14 knots, the predicted CPA (closest point of approach) varied
between one-half mile and 30 yards. I spoke with the other two Med Bound
yachts on our "private" radio channel and we agreed that I would negotiate
the pass with Ballad. Once we were within 10 miles, I called Ballad on VHF,
noted that we showed a very close CPA, and proposed a port-to-port pass with
a CPA of 2.0 miles, suggesting that Ballad change course to the right and
that our three-vessel formation would do the same to increase the distance
between us as we passed. The watch officer aboard Ballad agreed to my
proposal and we changed course, but I noted watching Ballad's course
information that the tanker did not. Minutes later, a woman's voice came on
the radio from Ballad calling Bluewater. She asked if our three vessels
were fishing and if that's why we were requesting a two-mile CPA. I told
her we were not fishing, that we were three vessels traveling in company,
and that a two-mile CPA in deep water offshore is our normal preference.
She rogered, and the ship began to change course. Clearly, the first watch
officer had kicked the decision up to someone more senior and Ballad's
female officer OK'd the course change. The pass was actually at about 1.85
nautical miles, plenty safe.
David proposes that we shoot off some old flares tonight as fireworks. If
we have no other ships nearby, we'll give it a try! Have a great Fourth of
July!
July 3, 2007
Captain's Log from Milt Baker, Rally Leader On board Nordhavn 47 "Bluewater"
Position 38-22.9 N 28-22.8 W as of 12:00 Azores time (GMT - 0 hrs) Course
116 deg M Speed 7.1 kts @ 1800 RPM Distance to go: 1106 NM to Gibraltar
Distance made good past 24 hours: 16 NM (6.8 kts) Distance made good since
Horta: 16 NM Total fuel consumed (2.5 engine hours) 10 gals, average 4.0 GPH
(incl. genset), fuel remaining 1470 gal.
Conditions: Wind SW 10 kts, swells WSW 1-3, partly cloudy, visibility
excellent Barometer 1032.7 mb and steady Sea water temp 70 deg F, air temp
78 deg F.
ETA Gibraltar: PM July 10
Judy said over lunch today that so far on this Atlantic crossing adventure
we've had 18 days underway and 18 days in port, and that seems a nice
balance. It's good to be back at sea with our housekeeping chores done: oil
changed, fuel tanks full, fuel filter changed, fully provisioned with fresh
meat and produce, and a clean boat inside and out. Alas we were not able to
repair the stabilizer problem in Horta. Bernie and I worked on it for
several hours, with diagnostic help by phone from Vic Kuzmovich at Naiad.
The present diagnosis is that we have a faulty servo, and Vic promises to
have "Naiad Phil" meet in in Gibraltar to make repairs. (Phil visited the
NAR boats in Bermuda, Horta and Gibraltar, so he's like an old friend.) We
did so well with a single fin and our paravanes for the last half of the
trip from Bermuda to Horta that this is not a hardship for us and suggested
to Vic that Gib might be a better place for the repairs.
Our small Med Bound fleet was 45 minutes late getting underway this morning,
thanks to a tardy government official who needed to stamp our passports and
issue the clearance papers, then our next-door neighbor to port found he
could not start his engine and move away and allow us to to clear the
seawall. In time our agent extraordinaire Marco Quadros of the Bensaude
Agency showed up with the passports and the next-door yacht was manhandled
off, and Bluewater was underway followed quickly by Moana Kuewa and Salty
Dawg.
Weather router Bob Jones promised a lovely day for departure and has
delivered on his promise. Seas are flat as we cruise the south coast of
Pico in search of whales. Duncan Sweet of Mid Atlantic Yacht services
recommended this route, and Marco obtained the whale watch VHF channels (67
and 69) used by spotters high on Pico to direct small boats to whales
spotted offshore. We've seen a couple of whale-watching boats, RIBs packed
with a dozen life-jacketed tourists. George spotted a single whale tale and
dolphins, but Judy and I saw only the dolphins. We're about two miles
offshore, almost literally in the shadow of 7,700-foot Mount Pico, the
"caldera" or volcanic cauldron that is the highest point in the Azores.
The Med Bound group toured the island of Pico on Saturday, including a visit
about halfway up to the top.
This marked my fourth visit to the Azores Islands. Duncan, who has lived
there for close to 20 years, says he lives in paradise, and there's a strong
argument to be made they he's right. The islands are so scenic, much like
Hawaii with high mountains, lush green valleys, dark volcanic rock
everywhere, and such warm, friendly people. We Americans can learn a lot
from the slow pace of life in these islands! Horta is looking more
prosperous than on our last visit--many new homes, new cars, and new
businesses. We had the good fortune in Horta to visit with Duncan and other
friends who call Faial home: Joao Carlos Fraga, Pat Smith, and Tim and Paula
Colwell. Joao and Pat joined us for a drink last night--Pat coming laden
with fresh bounty from her garden, and Tim and Paula took us to dinner the
night before.
And so we're off on Leg Three of Med Bound 2007. Gibraltar is about seven
days away, and we're looking forward to another terrific passage.
