Mark Smith and iLean Windward - a 2003 Bavaria 38 Cruiser
Part IV: Back Home
Return Journey...
We had a great day on Block Island. Rest, relaxation (polishing the boat some more!) hiking around, and- of course, buying the requisite souvenirs and presents for the loved ones. The day began with some wind-wisp high clouds and then got progressively bluer as the day went on.
Mid-morning, the next day. Some fresh coffee on board
(“plugged in” !) and we were ready for our day
as “tourists”.
Dinner, night before the return sail home. The crew (L-R):
Mark, Patrick, Ken, Steve. We had continued to closely
monitor the wind and sea forecast and we knew that the trip
home would be a real “cruise” compared to the
trip to the island.
Fortunately, or not (depending on perspective), the return
trip was rather boring. There was little/no wind, so we
were flying the “iron jib” most of the trip
back. Plus, we were traveling on Sat & Sun, so the
commercial ship traffic was practically nill. There were a
couple of (what seemed like) party boats, or charter
fishing boats with lights a-blazing.
There were very few boats out that night, and the night
watches were uneventful- almost restful.
Saturday sunset- quite spectacular! We could see nothing
around us but sea- I found it to be one of the most
beautiful scenes I had ever seen.
We
were off New York City on Saturday night (Sep 11), and saw
the towering lights marking the spots where the World Trade
Center Twin Towers had once stood- it was a magnificent
sight, especially combined with the sparkling lights of
Manhattan and North New Jersey. We had forgotten the
significance of the date, so as we approached NYC from a
distance we had wondered, at first, about the huge search
lights we saw reaching straight up to the sky. As we got
closer and realized what they were and what they stood for,
we paused for a few minutes, as we were brought back to
“land reality”.
Saturday night dinner. BBQ grill is just an absolute
requirement on a sail boat. Patrick (Left) and I had an
early dinner while Steve and Ken stood an able watch.
Steve was back with the crew, having secured sea sickness
medication on Block Island, so we all got a bit more rest.
Patrick threw out his fishing line on Sunday morning, and
landed a large Blue Fish. We finally say Atlantic City and
knew that the journey’s end was near.
OK- I had never been on a sail boat before where fish,
“deliberately brought
on-board-directly-from-the-sea” was
involved…this took a bit of adjustment…
Thankfully, Patrick walked us all through the experience.
We were about 40+ Nms or so off the Nj coast when Patrick
snagged this guy. The skipper and his family had a land-BBQ
dinner of half he bounty
There
was a very large contingency of private fishing boats as we
approached “GE” at the head of Great Egg Inlet.
We carefully wove our way through them and figured it must
be some sort of tournament. The weather was fantastic- mid
70s, and as sailors fortune would have it, just as we
approached the GE mark (and about 30 mins from the slip) a
predictable and rather constant 10-15 Kts SW came up, so we
actually go some sailing time. We kept the sails up through
most of the quiet inlet.
I eased iLean Windward in to her home slip, lines were
secured, gear gathered together, and it was time to say
goodbye. I traded a couple of very quick recounts of our
journey to some other sailors on our dock while Patrick
secured ice for the car ride home for the Blue Fish. The
boat had performed in a most outstanding manner. Balanced,
secure, solid handling- as I closed up the boat and started
to walk back to the car, I sensed I had gained more trust
in the boat- I had sailed her “blind” and she
had responded with a dance with the wind and sea that I had
been a part of- still requiring careful vigilance and care,
but a full experience for the senses, a huge part of what
sailing has meant to me for almost 20 years- ever since
that very first time long ago on a lake in Dallas Texas
that I felt for the first time the wind grab my sails and
pull my boat, as I leaned, to windward.
Lessons Learned...
One of the best things about sailing is the incredible
challenges always present. I’ve sailed for almost 20
years, sailed and charted all sorts of boats from 20’
to 45’, I’ve raced (twice in Newport), and been
an ASA certified sailing instructor since 1991- still,
every time I go sailing, I learn something. This trip was
no exception, with lots of “lessons learned”.
Here’s a partial list.
Weather and sea conditions. Hard to say what
“the” most important single thing is to sailing
(maybe there isn’t a single one), but weather and sea
conditions are WAY at the top of the list. Bad weather and
seas make for dangerous life-threatening situations. We
studied the weather constantly for several weeks up to and
through out the trip. As it turned out, conditions were far
better than we had anticipated.
Planning. All signs were good for the weather and sea
conditions, but we knew that situations can and do
deteriorate in difference to the forecast. We had
identified several harbors and inlets (several of which
I’ve sailed out of or in to) where we could
“duck in” if conditions warranted.
Crew. The accounts I’ve read of sailing journeys
discuss the importance of crew and crew dynamics. The
lesson learned here was “sea-sickness
susceptibility”. I’ve known Ken and Patrick for
over ten years, I’ve sailed with both of them for
about 6- I had only known Steve for a couple of months and
sailed with him twice. I had neglected to ask him about his
susceptibility to motion sickness. As the skipper, I should
have made sure the crew was up to the trip physically- we
knew very well before hand that it was likely to be a rough
trip.
Shipping Lanes. During our planning, the crew discussed, at
length, the issues involved in crossing the New York
– New Jersey Shipping lanes at night in stormy
conditions. Two issues came out of the experience for me:
First, Radar would have been invaluable for us and would
have given us more time to anticipate the barge we
encountered late at night and would have shown us the
actual course trajectories we were both sailing. It would
have been difficult to justify the cost of Radar for a
single over-night trip, but had I any thoughts that this
kind of trip would be repeated, it’s an investment I
would have made. Not knowing the accurate relative courses
we were on, turning to starboard to sail to his stern had
not been an option. Secondly, we were monitoring channel 16
the entire trip except when we briefly changed to the NOOA
weather channel. However, we never tried to hail the barge
we encountered in the middle of the night- we should have.
Night Watches. One word: exhausting! Except for having one
of our crew debilitated with sea sickness, our planning and
anticipation were fairly good in this regard. Having a
minimum of two knowledgeable and experienced crew on watch
at all times was an excellent decision that I would not
change on any future voyage. Our only failing here was (at
least for me) the additional time needed on the island
stop-over to fully recover from the exhausting
over-nighter.
iLean Windward. Wow! How can I sum it up? The boat’s
a dream. I’ve sailed so many boats over so many
years; to actually own such an incredibly stable and solid
sailing vessel is indeed a “dream come true”.
She handled beautifully- responsive, smooth through
sometimes-choppy seas, and fast. The marina we stayed in on
Block Island was mostly power boats, with only 3 other
sailboats there during our two-day visit. I couldn’t
resist cleaning and shinning her up on the
2nd
day there while the other guys went for an extended hike.
She is beautiful, and I wanted her to look her very best.
Sure enough, one of the folks from a power boat brought his
young son over to have a closer look. It was if his dad
somehow understood- a sail boat is a “real
boat”!
Post
Script
As I finish the last edits to the story of this journey
(May 12, 2005), reports from a few days ago told the
too-familiar tale of yet another very unlucky sail boat
caught in peril at sea, 400 Nms off the coast of Virginia.
An attempt at abandoning ship had gone awry and the skipper
had been lost. Thankfully the remaining four crew members
are safe and well.
I’d like to dedicate our journey last year, and this
brief re-count of that trip, to the crew of that fateful
sailboat on their way to a sunny stay in the Bahamas. We
sail, and our love of the sea can sometimes cost us dearly.