6/2 Leaving Washington

Left DC National around 1045 for Noforlk. Flight uneventful. The plane was one of those "puddle jumpers" which offered a great view of the bay on the way down. Amazing how wide it gets near the mouth. Took cab from Norfolk Intl. Airport to Salt Ponds Marina in Hampton. Friendly cab driver, asked a lot of questions about sailing. I gave her a nice tip. Arrived at the marina around 1400 and found Chuck (Captain) and Willie his brother preparing the boat. Filled the water tanks, checked supplies, etc. ... while waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive. The remaining crew members (Bob and Dave) arrived shortly and we had lunch at the restaurant and a crew meeting to discuss the watch schedule, on-board responsibilities, etc. ... 1600 - meeting of all the participating boats to discuss weather, a radio net (check-in) schedule, and other things like that. Since all of the boats were there, several of the participants were pushing for an early departure. However, the weather was calling for a low to move through the area over night, so it was decided that we would wait. We agreed on a 0400 (AM!) departure time in order to take advantage of favorable wind conditions. Of course, no one ever bothered to check to see if the low had actually passed by, but more on that later. 1730 they hold a small reception at the yacht club and we meet the crews from the other boats.

6/3 Day 1 - Leaving the Bay

Wake at 0330 to prepare for our 0400 departure. I didn't sleep well at all, and was very tired. All of the boats were ready to leave at 0400, so we waited our turn for the parade down the channel and out to the open Bay. It was pitch black, so we navigated by following the boat in front of us and using a large spotlight to locate the channel markers. Soon we were on the Bay, so we set the main and jib, and used the GPS to navigate our way through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. The fleet was still pretty close together, and we were able to see the lights of Norfolk, Hampton, and the Bridge. We cleared through the bridge right around sunrise which made for some excellent pictures. Winds NNE at 20-25 knots, but diminished to 10 knots by 0800. At the helm, we were making 4.1 knots on a course of 144 magnetic. Weather clear and warm, so I loaded up on SPF30. Willie fixed eggs benedict for lunch - excellent! Most other boats still in sight, but pretty slow progress. There was lots of shipping traffic at the mouth of the Bay. We had a nice broad reach, so we fly the cruising spinnaker for a while. It didn't last long though, and by 0920 motor sailing. Off watch at 1235 and down for a nap. 1315 caught dinner! Willie pulled in a nice size blue fish. 1600 on watch. Saw a large sea turtle. Wind has shifted, beautiful 10-15 knots close hauled boat speed about 6 knots. Winds SE Course 110. Spotted another boat from our group NNE on a more northerly course They seem to be pulling away, but we hope to pick up a 2 knot current from the stream. Heard the sonic boom of a plane and some kind of finch visited us for a while. Seems pretty far out for a such a small bird. Looks like some weather is approaching. Shrimp scampi for dinner. 7:20 started watching Crimson Tide. Still sailing in 10-12 knots.

6/4 Day 2 After the storm

1315 Last night SUCKED! About half way through the movie Chuck closed the hatches explaining "it's starting to rain." By the end of the movie things were bouncing around quite a bit. Dave and I stuck our heads out to find that we were in the middle of a 35 knot gale with 10-12 foot waves. We quickly donned our foulies and came on deck to help out. It turned out to be the beginning of a long watch. We had all hands on deck dealing with the weather. It was blowing like stink and the autohelm couldn't control the boat. We used the radar to keep an eye on the other boats and steer around the most severe storms. At the 0700 radio check some of the other boats reported 50 Knots! Chuck and Bob stayed on through our watch since the weather was bad. About 0230 Willie was steering and a mystery screw hit him on the head. It seemed like the boat was falling apart, but we quickly discovered that the radar dome had fallen off it's mount and was now dangling upside down by the wires. The boom was hitting it, and we had to act quickly to lash it down so it wouldn't fall over board. We changed course to run with the storm so we could steady the boat while we assessed the situation. At 0500 we persuade Chuck and Bob go down below to get some sleep. They'd been on since 2000 the earlier evening. Conditions very rough. Rain has stopped, but the winds still 20-25 and the seas were confused and very lumpy. We were visited by couple of dolphins who swam along with us for a while. Did some sailing, but we are now motoring in the Gulfstream. The current is helping with our progress, but the wind and waves from last night's gale are making for a very bouncy ride. Motoring helps with the motion of the boat, since the waves are beating us up pretty badly. Water temp is now almost 80 degrees. Hope things will settle down soon. Hot dogs for lunch. On watch at 1600 uneventful. slept 2000 to midnight.

Day 3 Water in the bilge

Fri. 6/5 1435

Midnight - 0400 on watch. More rain showers, but good wind and smooth sailing. Slept 0400-0700 checked weather and checked in with the group on the sideband. 0800-1200 on watch. Good progress. In sight of "Big Friend" the other 35 footer in the fleet. Shortly after end of watch Chuck heard a buzzing noise coming from the bilge. Turns out the inverter is shorted out due to water up to the floor boards. Main bilge pump is out, one of the manual pumps was clogged but Willie fixed. We resort to the SECOND backup bilge pump. Not sure where water is coming from. Notify "Big Friend" of problem with bilge in case we need help. Using the manual pump every 15 mins, but no more water seems to be coming in. I'm at the helm. Everyone else working frantically to find source of water in bilge. Extended watch to 1400. Scrambled egg and sausage burritos for breakfast. Soup for lunch. 1600 back on watch. Small storms seem to have passed us. Great sailing. Broad reaching, and for some crazy reason we decided to fly the cruising chute in 15-20 knots. I set a new speed record of 9.03 knots. We must have been surfing, since this exceeds the theoretical hull speed for the boat. Very difficult to handle the wheel and tiring, but I feel proud to have got the boat going faster than anyone else. We have put considerable distance between us and "Big Friend," but we feel comfortable now that the bilge situation is under control after discovering that ice melting in the refrigerator is what caused the bilge to fill up. We continue pumping manually, and plan to replace the pump in Bermuda. We finally take down the chute and eat dinner.

Day 4 - In the doldrums, which way to go?

Sat 6/6 1543 - So far it's a slow day because there is not much wind. Motor sailing most of the day. I am reading Buckley's "Windfall" again. We've heard on the radio that another storm is approaching. Thunder squalls have become a daily occurrence, but it's interesting how the mood on the boat changes. Mostly I read or sleep. Actually, sleeping is probably the best. I learned my lesson from being up all night the first night. Now we sleep whenever we can. Eggs and bacon for breakfast, chili for lunch. Herb is telling people to head to the southwest to avoid a trough of low pressure that is developing. (Herb is this guy on HAM radio who gives cruisers in the Atlantic advice on how to avoid weather systems. For example, you say "Herb, this is so and so. We are at such and such a location and heading for Bermuda. He says, you should go to X, because there is a storm heading your way. ) This seems like a good service, and he basically does it out of the goodness of his heart. Unfortunately, we kind of blame Herb for missing the forecast of the gale the first night out. As a result, we have much discussion about whether to follow Herb's advice, since it means turning away from Bermuda, and basically backtracking. We think following his advice could add 2 days to the trip. We see no evidence of the Herb's low on the weather fax and end up heading 133 true making 4 knots motorsailing. We hope this course will get us on the south side of the low and give us westerly winds and following seas. "Big Friend" (the other 35 footer) decides to follow Herb's advice and makes for the recommended waypoint behind the storm. Barometer 1013 and falling.

Day 5 - A wild ride.

Sunday 6/7 midnight - 0400. The winds have shifted and we are motoring due south to avoid the low. Can't sail, wind is right on our nose. Huge storm at 0405 during watch change more 35 knot winds and torrential rains. I got completely soaked, since I didn't have the bottoms to my foul weather gear on. Rough sleep, but the storm was brief, and I awaken to winds of 20-30 knots. The direction is favorable for a straight shot to Bermuda, so our gamble seems to pay off. "Big Friend" is now well to our West, and probably won't arrive until Tuesday. We are making good time and expect to arrive tomorrow. The waves are 10-15 ft, but the boat handles it well. It is quite exhilarating, we're doing 7+ knots steadily with reefed main and staysail Except for the spinnaker run the other day, we are making our best boat speed. Should make good progress towards Bermuda. Off watch at 1200 for nap and reading. 1600 watch is uneventful. Winds and seas are calming, but we are still making good progress under sail.

Day 6 - Landfall!

Monday 7/8 We are now basically heading straight for Bermuda. The bad weather seems to have passed us. This morning we can see a distinct line of clouds to our North that is moving away from us. We motor sailed again last night, and got a little wind during a brief squall. The weather where we are is beautiful today, and we are within 30 NM of Bermuda. We have notified the authorities of our arrival, and should be able to make it within a couple of hours. Need to fill out customs form now. Spirits are high, but it is deceptive because you can see the island even thought we still have pretty far to go. We arrive around 1900. Winds picked up as we approached the island, and the direction was favorable to sail right up to the channel. We put out every bit of canvas available, and were making 7 or 8 knots close hauled. We got to the first buoy and turned to head into the harbor. As soon as we made the turn, we lowered all the sails at once and started motoring into the channel. A group of fisherman on the shore waved and cheered. We passed the Yacht Club and heard more shouts and cheering from the others who arrived before us. We did a "wave" to the others, and started on our way to customs then the Yacht Club to tie up med. style. Med mooring is interesting, and it takes a couple of tries to get it right. A little embarrassing, but no harm done. We see several buoys marking anchors from the failed attempts of others. Dockmaster of YC meets us with Rum Swizzlers. GREAT, since it's been a dry cruise. We tie up, wash up, organize a little, then have a couple of beers at the Club. Head St. George for dinner it's late, but we find a restaurant to serve us. I needed a shower badly, but no time. Finally to bed at 0030.

Day 7 - Bermuda

Tuesday 6/9 - Woke up this morning at 0700, guess I thought I had to go on watch. Breakfast in town, and a shower - finally! Now to figure out how to call LP in Italy. Spent the day cleaning boat and puttering around. Chuck gets reservations for dinner at "Carriage house" and we get a table outside on the wharf. It's a beautiful setting watching the boats and people. We have a great dinner, sample several different wines and finish up dinner smoking Cuban cigars. Wonderful! Tomorrow is the awards dinner at the Yacht club, Thursday I fly home.

-Frank