by Judy Handley | Feb 26, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 127, Year 11: Ashburn, VA to Nyack, NY (in a car)
Date: Friday, February 26, 2016
Weather: Partly Sunny, Still Windy
Location: At Home with Ed and Lynne Kirwin, Nyack, NY
We had breakfast with Kevin and Claire, said our farewells and our deep felt thank you for Kevin’s help in getting Windbird to South Carolina, and then we headed on north. We made it to Nyack by late afternoon and have enjoyed a delightful evening with friends Ed and Lynne. Ed’s two sons and two grandsons came over to visit and the youngest grandson, Anthony, gave us a karate demonstration where he could jump in the air and twirl around. He is just so cute. Lynne prepared a fantastic dinner which was enjoyed by all and then showed us photos of her sister’s 50th wedding anniversary party that took place at The Breakers in Palm Beach last weekend. What a beautiful setting for such a special celebration. We also enjoyed looking at 20+ year-old photos of Ed and Lynne when they first arrived in the South Pacific. Some things have changed, but their beautiful smiles are just the same. We always enjoy our time here and hate to move on, but tomorrow morning we head to Cape Cod. We are really looking forward to seeing the Goldstones before we head even further north on Sunday to Lowell where we will be spending the next few weeks. We talked to my niece Lynn this afternoon and she will meet us at the condo on Sunday afternoon. We are so grateful for her generosity in letting us stay in her condo and we anxious to get there. The events of the past week seem almost like a blur to me and I am having a bit of difficulty believing that I am going to be living in a condo in Massachusetts instead of on a boat in Florida. I’m sure once we are there, the apprehension will disappear. We’ve just had too many changes in our lives in a short period of time and I think I’m beginning to be overwhelmed by it all.
by Judy Handley | Feb 25, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 126, Year 11: Little River, SC to Ashburn, VA (in a car)
Date: Thursday, February 25, 2016
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Windy Day
Location: At Home with Kevin and Claire, Janelia Farm, Ashburn, VA
Today we had a wonderfully uneventful road trip from Little River to Janelia Farm in Ashburn, Virginia. And boy was it windy. Mark sat in the back seat while Kevin and I drove and Mark says it was so rough in the back that he could understand how people get car sick. I guess our little Honda Fit is too lightweight for the gusty winds we had today. But other than a sore back from the rough ride, Mark is fine. I drove to Richmond, Virginia while Kevin worked as he had a couple of long conference calls. Mark slept and played solitaire on his phone. We arrived at Janelia Farm in the late afternoon and then went out to dinner and had great Taiwanese food. It was wonderful to see Claire again and we talked the evening away.
A big hug across the miles to all of you who have written emails of support to us over the past few days. We know the weather forecasts for Wednesday were scary. We cut it closer than we had planned due to our slow start the first day out. If we had been able to go outside from Palm Beach, we would have arrived in Little River on Monday. But the seas were rougher outside than we wanted to endure, thus we stayed in the waterway and didn’t go outside until noon on Saturday. We always had the fallback of coming into Charleston, but if we had done that I think we would just be leaving there this morning. Yesterday was too rough even for the inland waterway. So we felt blessed that we were able to make into Little River when we did. Apologies for any worry we caused.
Yesterday we contacted a diesel engine repair guy about our overheating issue and he actually came to the boat to look at the engine on that short notice. He won’t be able to really check things out for a couple of weeks, but at least we met him and went over the problem. Before we called anyone I had said to Kevin and Mark that I really didn’t want anyone working on the engine except Dave Laux. He is the engine genius that installed our Yanmar engine in November of 2005. In the ten and half years since then, the engine has run perfectly until recently. I have heard so many horror stories of people getting engines worked on by well meaning, but incompetent repairmen, that I was really hesitant to call anyone but Dave. But Mark pointed out that Dave is long way away and just might not be interested in our Yanmar anymore. But who do you think we got an email from this morning? You got it. It was Dave Laux with some suggestions about the overheating. He must still be reading our logs after all these years and it appears he is still interested in our Yanmar! If we can get the engine running good enough for me to start north in May, I’m tempted to find a way to stop in the Chesapeake Bay and have Dave take a look. That is, if he is willing to do it. The story of how we met Dave Laux is quite interesting. When our transmission out the day we left Quissett Harbor in 2005, we were forced into the Delaware Bay and found our way up a tiny canal to the town of Lewes. We tied up to the city dock on a weekend and found it to be quite a busy little place. Here’s the story as written in my log:
“People started coming down the dock to check out the new boat in town. People also fish from the dock and a couple of guys who had been fishing stopped to say hello. I told them our sad v-drive transmission story and one of the guys told me his favorite transmission story. He is a commercial fisherman and has a 43-foot aluminum boat built by a local guy. Not long after it was built, he was hauling in traps and got the line wrapped around the prop. But he didn’t know that. After pulling up the traps, he put the boat in gear and revved the engine. The strain on the transmission caused the gears to actually blow out the side of the gear box. He called the guy who had built the boat and before the end of the day, he had repaired the gear box and was back in business. He suggested we call this guy to see if he could help us. So we did. An hour and a half later, David Laux and his wife arrived. He came with a stethoscope and asked me to start the engine and put it in gear while he listened.” The rest is history. With Dave’s encouragement we decided to repair the old engine/transmission and eventually sell it. We bought a new Yanmar and Dave installed it with Mark and I working side by side with him at his insistence. He wanted us to experience the entire process. When we received his email this morning, I felt it was another serendipitous experience, just like us finding him in the first place by talking to the fisherman on the Lewes dock. Dave, it is so reassuring to know that you are still with us.
It was hard leaving Windbird this morning. As I walked down the dock, I noticed Mark wasn’t with me. I looked back and he was just staring at the boat. When he finally caught up with me, I asked what he was doing. He said he was just saying goodbye to Windbird. I couldn’t help but shed a few tears, but hopefully we will be back together with our beloved Windbird by late spring. Until then, we know she is in good hands at Lightkeepers.
by Judy Handley | Feb 24, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 125, Year 11: We Made It
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Weather: Mix of Sun, Clouds, Rain, Wind, and Tornado Watches
Location: Lightkeepers Marina, Little River, SC (arrived 11:28 pm last night)
Total Miles Traveled from West Palm Beach, FL: 508 nautical miles
We made it here to Lightkeeper’s Marina before midnight last night, and how happy we were to tie up to the dock. We ate dinner right after sunset and then had about two hours to go to get to the Little River inlet. All three of us just sat in the cockpit trying to figure out how to spend those hours. About that time, we noticed that fog was rolling in. So I made it my job to go downstairs to turn on the radar and watch for boat traffic. But the fog also made us all nervous about going in the Little River inlet and then making our way down the Intracoastal to Lightkeepers. Between watching the radar, familiarizing ourselves with the entry path on the chart, and thinking about all the jobs we would have to do once we were inside, the two hours we had to go disappeared quickly and so did most of the fog. By the time we got to the inlet, it was hazy, but not totally foggy, and the moon was shedding a lot of light down on us. Whew! Mark’s job was to stay in the cockpit to navigate the boat. My job was to stand on the foredeck with a spot light in order to find and light up the next mark for Mark. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. I had to scan the waters looking for the reflective tape on the markers and we would be almost on the mark before I could see anything. Kevin’s job was to run back and forth between me and Mark relaying messages telling Mark which way to turn. But Kevin was often quicker than me at spotting the marks, so he ended up doing his job and part of mine . . . for which I was most grateful. But with our electronic track, teamwork, moonlight, and a lot of luck, we made it all the way to our slip at Lightkeepers with no problems. Since there was no one waiting on the dock to take our lines, Kevin got the honors of jumping onto the dock to receive the lines. Sure glad it was him and not me that got that honor! I think we all breathed a huge sigh of relief once those lines secured Windbird to the dock. I wouldn’t want to repeat this experience often, but if I did have to, I’d want to do with this same crew. We make a great team.
Today Mark and Kevin had to do some work. Kevin had a very long conference call and Mark needed to find a few more prospects for his job search. I ran back and for the between the boat and the office where there is a washer and dryer. The machine is small and it took five loads to get all of our laundry done. And between loads, I worked at getting those things we need to take with us packed up. And all of this had to be done with an eye on the weather. Schools here were closed today because of the threat of very high winds, rain, hail, and tornadoes. Thankfully we didn’t get winds any higher than 30 knots and the periods of rain were short—and most thankfully, there was neither hail nor tornadoes here in Little River. But with all the threats, we sure were glad we had made the decision to come all the way into the marina last night.
Tomorrow morning we will drive to Janelia Farm in Virginia to deliver Kevin home. We’ll spend the night there and drive on to Nyack, New York on Friday to spend the night with our friends Ed and Lynne. We’ll then arrive on Cape Cod on Saturday afternoon. We’re anxious to get there to see the Goldstones and then to head on north to Lowell, Massachusetts, where we will be living temporarily. It was only a week ago tomorrow that we learned that we needed to get Mark back to Boston. And we are just thankful that the weather held for us and that we were able to get Windbird back to Little River. She will be happy here in our absence.
by Judy Handley | Feb 23, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 124, Year 11: Day Five, Passage to Little River—It’s a Delivery
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Weather: Overcast, Early AM Rain, Hi 60’s, Low 50’s, Wind NE 10, Seas 2-3 ft
Latitude: 33 34.819 N
Longitude: 078 49.305 W
Location: Motor Sailing Off the SC Coast Near Myrtle Beach
Total Miles Traveled: 481 nautical miles (5:00 pm)
We’re not there yet, but we are motor sailing along Myrtle Beach and should arrive at the Little River inlet by 10 pm tonight. We are not going to let the dark night deter us. We are going to carefully follow our previous tracks and hope to find our way to the gas dock just before we get to Lightkeepers Marina, or if the conditions are right, we might go all the way into the slip at the marina. We are making it in just in time as the weather is supposed to turn nasty in the morning, maybe as early as sunrise. It has not been beautiful today, but the seas remained fairly calm and 10-12 knots of wind stayed with us. For most of the day we had all sails up and were doing 6-7 knots on a beam reach. But mid-afternoon the wind turned to the NE and is right on the nose. I have been bemoaning the fact that we have had some great ‘sails’ but only with the assist of the engine. That is when Kevin reminds me that this is a delivery and we had only five days to get here. In that case, you do what you can to go as fast as you can and Kevin really helped with that. These last two days he has transformed from Wonder Boy to Speedo Man. He constantly tweaked the sails to get every bit of speed out of them possible. If we had been able to continue the roll we were on yesterday, we could have made it in before dark tonight. But during the night, we had adverse current and NE wind right on the nose. So we were lucky to go even 4 knots at times. But when the wind switched to the SE this morning it allowed us to sail on a beam reach most of the day. So no complaints. It was a small miracle that we got this weather window at all just when we needed it.
So either tonight or in the morning, we will arrive at Lightkeepers Marina. The captain is voting to go into the marina. It will be at least 11 pm when we arrive there, but hopefully by midnight we will be tied to a dock. Tomorrow we will spend the day packing the car with things we will need until we can sail the boat north later in the spring. Then on Thursday morning, we head north to Cape Cod with a stop in Ashburn, Virginia, to drop Kevin off and visit with Claire. Depending on timing, we might even get to stop in Nyack to see Ed and Lynne. But by the weekend, we will on Cape Cod visiting with Heather, Jed, and the Goldpebbles. Life is good.
by Judy Handley | Feb 22, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 123, Year 11: Day Four, Passage to Little River—Sail Changes
Date: Monday, February 22, 2016
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Hi 70’s, Low 50’s, Wind S 8-10, Seas 1-2 ft
Latitude: 32 03.067 N
Longitude: 080 34.112 W
Location: Motor Sailing Along GA Coast—Just N of Savannah
Total Miles Traveled: 351 nautical miles (4:30 pm)
Today was all about sail changes to try and give us the fastest speed possible. We made good time overnight and Little River is within reach tomorrow night (Tuesday), but either after dark or in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. We tried everything to boost the speed today, but 5.8 to 6.0 knots is the best we can do with 10 knots of wind directly behind us and an engine that heats up if we push it beyond 2200 RPMs. We started the morning by putting out the spinnaker, with the spinnaker and main on the same side. Then we tried wing and wing with the spinnaker poled out to one side and the main vanged out to the other side. The changes went on and on. We have ended up with all sails flying but we get a fair amount of sail slapping as the seas are no longer like a lake. The swell is just 1-2 feet, but that’s enough to roll us a bit when the wind dips below 10 knots and the rolling slows us down. It looks like we will lose the wind altogether tonight, so unless we get a boost from the current, we will slow down quite a bit. If that is the case, it will probably be the middle of the night when we reach the Little River inlet, but we have a good track to follow and we’ll use our spotlight to locate the markers. There is a fuel dock just before Lightkeepers Marina and we are thinking we might just tie to that until daylight and then enter the marina. Of course, if we check the weather in the morning and there is a big change, our plan to go inside at Charleston might be back on the docket. As always, the weather rules.
by Judy Handley | Feb 21, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 122, Year 11: Day Three, Passage to Little River—Lovely Day
Date: Sunday, February 21, 2016
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Hi 70’s, Low 50’s, Wind ENE 8-10, Seas Calm
Latitude: 29 57.914 N
Longitude: 081 12.258 W
Location: Motor Sailing Along Florida’s E Coast—Just N of St. Augustine
Total Miles Traveled: 215 nautical miles (5:30 pm)
What a lovely day! My midnight shift was moonlit and uneventful. How wonderful! Kevin was on watch from 1:30 to 4:30 pm, letting Mark sleep through the night. Another wonderful thing. When I came on watch at 4:30 pm the almost full moon was low in the sky and beautiful. When it set, you could start to see light on the horizon in anticipation of sunrise. It was just beautiful. We were still essentially motoring and continued that way until noon. Mark was down napping and I had just come up from my morning nap. Kevin had been waiting for a someone to get up and help him put out the headsail. We had 8-10 knots right on the beam and putting out the headsail gave us at least an extra knot of speed. So all afternoon, and now continuing into the evening, we are actually motor sailing over 6 knots. We have been moving along at about 6.8 knots all afternoon, but as the sun is setting, the wind is moving further behind us and we are losing a bit of our speed. But it has been a lovely afternoon.
The only things we have seen have been fishing boats and birds. That gannets litter the water here and there and I never tire of seeing them. What I don’t like to see littering the water is Mylar balloons. We saw some yesterday and again today. All of us need to resist the desire to give these balloons in celebration of special holidays. It seems too many of them end up escaping and landing in the ocean.
We doubt that we can keep up our current speed, but even going a knot slower, we are hopeful that we might be able to go all the way to Little River, arriving early in the AM on Wednesday. If we can do that, we just might get in before the weather gets too bad. We have a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday, but it gets windier and stormier on Wednesday. So one way or another, we will be inside by early Wednesday morning.
