Day 177 - Mourning the loss of Big Blue

We have been following the front for so many days, it seems funny that it is now past. In looking forward, there are a few more days of light winds and then a nice steady westerly comes up and should take them most of the way to the Azores! Passageweather gives the forecast through the 4th now and we expect them to arrive on the 8th.

Our New Hampshire 'to do' list is still very long and suddenly, what seemed like a long time, is getting short. We are having lots of fun but also taking care of business, client meetings, doctor appointments, and finishing the third grade. We have had our first illness in eight months! Unfortunately, Anna is still a little under-the-weather. Hopefully all will be back to 'normal' soon.

Yesterday three of the four LaDue Cousins and a good representation from the Emanuel branch were in the Stratham Memorial Day parade!  Finn and cousin Graham represented the Farm on the "Green Machine." They did great!

Here is Bob's brief email from this morning.  -Kim

Be-calmed...crying the blues for the loss of big blue.

Current location:

36 58.704N
51 47.084W
heading 78 Degrees True
Speed 2.8kts wing and wing and flopping

Did see dolphins this morning.  Should be able to leave phone on longer because so calm.

Did make it past halfway last night!

 

Day 175 - Settling in

Although we have been warned not to expect a daily email, we anxiously await it each day. We quickly pass the message onto Grandma in New York and then Anna plots the Midwatch position on a paper chart. I continue to carefully watch passageweather and it looks like they will be getting some much calmer weather in the coming days. Hopefully they will not get too much east wind. I have been plotting their position on Google earth as well and yesterday's position put them at exactly 1,000 statute miles into their approximately 2,700 mile trip.

Hi everyone,

Well, we beat the front …we think.

We still haven't worked out the time thing (time zone) yet.  Grandpa says I missed the sign on my watch.  He is now reading Longitude and starting to whittle clock parts out of various wood scraps found around the boat.  The other problem we have is that Scott and Lisa's fancy machine ends its weather data capabilities at this longitude so it just stopped giving us info for points east of here.  Grandpa has grown very attached to the machine and thinks that because the screen is blank to the east of us that maybe that's the edge of the earth.  He says he is going to throw the anchor over to stop us.  Of-course it is almost 17,000 feet deep here so not sure it will prevent us from slipping off the edge.

Struggling to cook....been pretty rough, managed Nachos today.  Cereal has been the biggest hit but we are nearly out of milk.  Yesterday was the first day that we didn't see any boats or planes.  We did see a jet trail but Grandpa says that doesn't count. About the only thing we have seen is some type of sea bird that we will need Anna to research.  I will try and get a picture one of these days.  Oh and lots of Portuguese man o wars.

Days have been sunny and warm...nights cool and clammy.

Water is infiltrating everywhere I look.  The decks are nearly always awash so it seems to work its way in.  Not bad, but annoying nonetheless.  Days are comfortable, nights are long and uncomfortable.  No problem sleeping as we are nearly always exhausted.  Hoping a bit calmer weather in the future will allow us to live a bit more comfortably.

We think we are making good time so far.  Can't imagine if we had tried to stop in Bermuda...would have held us up a week.

Until next time,

Love Dad and Grandpa

Day 174

Todays Email:

All well here...

Just running the rhumb line to the Azores as best as can be managed.  Basically as close hauled as we can get with double reefed main and working jib.  Really a close reach.  We have been able to stay ahead of the worst winds so far and are making what we think is great time.  Hoping to scoot out under and ahead of the front tomorrow and will try to carry on with the southerlies as long as they hold for us.

Love Dad and Grandpa

Day 173 - Approaching Front

We are all thrilled at the progress being made by Midwatch and her crew. We have been carefully following the weather and trying to help them prepare for the approaching front. We will be watching passageweather tonight!

We are beginning to daydream about getting to Ireland and have been checking out cottages and car rentals. 

Bob seems to be getting into the groove with his writing, we are all enjoying his reporting!  -Kim

P.S. It was not 10 pounds of Broccoli!

Bob's Friday email:

Yesterday was a bummer for us: we blew out big blue.  Hopefully it can be repaired in the Azores or beyond but it is currently a "no can use".  We think it is probably mostly operator error combined with the fact that it is flat out delicate.  Unfortunately, we also chafed nearly through our new halyard as well.  We have spares but it is hard to lose new stuff. Mostly what we seem to do out here is break stuff and try to repair enough to carry on.  The ocean is unforgiving to man-made things period!

We have seen either one boat or one plane every day for the last three days but expect to have that end soon. We passed Bermuda last night.  We have heard them on the radio talking boats through the reefs day and night.  That radio chatter seems to have ended now. The decrease in boat traffic into Bermuda may be partly due to the pre-frontal southerlies that are hitting us now.  We have been decreasing sail area with a reef in the main around midnight and then another at 3 a.m.  After a cup of coffee this morning we dropped the genoa and raised our working jib.  This little gem is getting its first real workout and "workout it is".  We are driving as hard as we dare to the east as best we can to try and get as far out in front of the front approaching from the states.

Grandpa has been getting a real workout...I have to get him to calm down and work slower...he can be a bit of a rammer but he has been doing well.  Amazing how well he takes loud constructive criticism from his son out in the middle of the ocean.  He has developed a real appreciation for" heaving to".  I think he still thinks it’s a bit of magic so he hasn't learned to get comfortable with the fact that the boat will take care of its self and we can work without worrying too much about it, he's always looking over his shoulder like the boat is going to take off and run out from under him.  His real strength is his ability to sleep.  He hits the rack and one second later is out.  Had to turn the lights on to get him up at 3 this morning.  Kind of like what he did to us to get us up to go whitefish fishing as kids.  That reminds me...a big fat flying fish creamed the windshield last night.  Miracle it didn't break.  Grandpa got to learn "first hand" how stinky they are.

Today the wind has been increasing from the 16-20 kt range to the 20-25 kt range and the seas are building.  We are doing lots of stuff to try and prepare the boat for storm conditions with this approaching front; like putting all items not in use down below.  We even took the lures off the fishing rods so nothing can get free and get chewed up by the wind generator.  The best news of the day is that there is enough wind that we are actually charging the batteries and can use all the power we want and have excess.  We closed the through hull valve that drains the sink as we are getting sea water in the bilge from it through the bilge pump line that is plummed to it.  I need to rearrange that ASAP.  In the meantime it’s just closed.  I also secured the cookstove as we are rolling past its gimbal with a crash every few minutes.

We each took seasick medicine this morning as a preventative measure.  Probably our biggest weakness is the lack of interest in cooking.  We are trying to finish fresh foods but we don't know what to do with things like the 10 pounds of broccoli that is turning brown.  Don't tell Kim, but that might go over the side.  We have been drinking milk for our power and it has stayed good and cold so far.

Well this typing down below is starting to make me feel sick even with the medicine so I better wrap it up.

We are currently at:

            5-24-13  12:45PM (we think, not sure what time zone we are in)
            35 51.251 N
            63 10.605 W
            Heading 75 Degrees doing about 6.3 kts
            Wind is 22 kts
            Seas, 6-8 feet and building
            Double reefed main and working jib (close hauled as we can get with this jib) Sunny and upper 70's

Love you all,

Dad and Grandpa

Day 172 and a swim!

We are beginning to get into the groove with communications. Incoming texts to the boat are free but the phone has to be on to receive. We have set it up so that the phone is on from nine until noon each morning (not sure what will happen with the time change.) Bob is checking email once per day. The time intensive effort (cost) on the phone is the connecting time. Once connected, one or five emails doesn't make too much of a difference so I have been passing on information carefully but am trying not to be stingy. In Bob's email from today he urged us not to worry if he doesn't write everyday but we will still worry.

We are following an approaching front (from their rear) very carefully. If they continue to maintain their speed and don't get too far north they should not be influenced too much. It is difficult to tell right now what will happen after it goes through, likely a day or two with low winds but direction seems to be all over the place.

Bob writes:

We are great.  Great sailing!  We are relying heavily on Big Blue or "Overdrive" as grandpa calls it.

Yesterday we hove-to in light air to fix the wind generator’s tripod.  When we were done we jumped in and had a bath and then a freshwater rinse in 16,000 feet of water.

Last night a pod of dolphins visited me again around midnight.  The moon is bright and the skies have been clear so it seems almost like daylight all night long.  Grandpa scared them off with the spotlight.  You know Grandpa!

We are making power with the Honda generator again today.  Trying to spare diesel and the point of sail we are on does not allow for enough power from the wind generator to keep up with Otto.

We are trying to sail as fast as we can mostly to the east but we are forced a bit north because of wind angles.  We will pass Bermuda today and it looks like we finally got by Maine.  Feels like we are really making miles.

Day 171 - Making Repairs and Dolphins!

Bob reported in at 10:12 A.M. this morning from 34º 37.140' N and 68º 49.063' W travelling at a course of 80ºTrue and a speed of 3.7 kts. The winds were calm at 5-10 kts. They were sailing a close reach under Big Blue  (the new light weather 'reacher' sail...my vote was to name it Jack) and full main.

Bob writes:

Yesterday Grandpa and I got a lot of things repaired and worked out the arrangement for setting our new sail (Big Blue).

We sailed big blue all night and hit speeds over 7.5 kts through the water. 

We are running the Honda generator this morning but the new wind generator has gotten us three full days of sailing.  The new  wind generator is very quiet and does a great job.  We have to do an adjustment on the tripod because the 30 kt storm we were in in the gulf stream pushed it over a bit.  Fortunately we caught it before any damage was done.

We fixed the furler and luckily have enough new line so it is good again.  The dingy slid over and caused the problem which is probably what happened to us on our trip from Green Turtle.  We re-tied the dingy a better way and found that we can put a lock on the furler when it is reefed so that we can leave the line slack.  Should be a better arrangement.

A pod of eight little dolphins came to see Grandpa and I while we were working on the bow yesterday.  It was really fun.  They stayed with us for 10 minutes or so.

We are going to try and download weather today.  We see a nasty front coming and are trying to get an update.  I am projecting that we will be somewhere plus or minus 35.19 N by 61.34 W on Saturday.  Any advice from passage weather would be gladly accepted.

Two Bobs in a Boat

After nearly three, intensive, weeks at True World Marine, Bob and his Dad, Bob, set off down the ICW, around the Cape Lookout Shoals and headed east, destination, Azores. From there they will continue on to Ireland, where the kids, Judy (Bob's Mom) and I will meet them. It is very exciting, and a little scary. There were more than one set of tears shed but as we learned in the "Ice Blink" movie, you don't get the tens without going through a few zeros. We heard nothing from them yesterday but were able to convince ourselves that 'Day one', through the Gulf Stream, was probably tough enough; and that getting in touch with us was not their number one priority. We did receive our first email this morning, sent from the very expensive satellite phone which makes the HUGE monetary and time investment in the device all worth while.

Bob writes:

    " Had heavy weather and seasick so could not send out yesterday.  Dad is well. I am over being sick..didn't puke but came close. Busted the furling line again during the middle of the night. Went up to tie and there was a little dolphin riding the bow wave.  Absolutely amazing experience.  Moonlight, phosphorecense and bow light.  She was just a little one with white under side or stripe. Going to try and set big blue now."


Now that they are on their way. I will make an effort to post their position each day on the "Where is Midwatch" page.   - Kim