Kathryn’s Voyage Blog

In November David posted a blog about the possibility of a TV show with the crew of Three@Sea sharing our adventures (Three@Sea on TV?). We have been truly fortunate to embark on this journey, and would love to share the beautiful locations we are exploring and the extraordinary people we are meeting with others. Hopefully you’ve had the chance to watch the “sizzle reel” that is currently on our home page. The team at Atherton Pictures has been working hard making contacts and presenting the idea to a variety of cable networks. The good news is some content development people have expressed interest. The bad news is no one is willing to commit (yet).

Atherton Pictures did a wonderful job crafting the sizzle reel from footage we took over the last two years. However, these are but snippets of our adventures, and the story they hope to tell at each location is broader and richer. Carolyn and Jerry (the principals of Atherton Pictures) are passionate about this project and believe it can succeed, but the content development people at these networks need a better feel for the actual show. To accomplish this goal, the team at Atherton Pictures would like to film a complete pilot episode (which could also work as a stand alone special). This would accomplish a number objectives:

1. Provides the networks with a clear idea of the look, feel, and content of the show.
2. Verifies technical needs and budgets.
3. Gives the networks an easy way to test the concept with viewers.

Of course, a pilot episode for a one-hour show with a professional film crew is going to cost a small chunk of change, even if people are donating their time. Enter Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is a very cool concept/website that helps artist, filmmakers, musicians, inventors, etc. attract funding for their creative projects by providing backers unique rewards for their financial involvement. Each project has a page describing the venture, the funding required, and outlining the rewards for being involved.  The great part is a backer is only committed if the project meets its complete funding goal within the timeframe allotted (Kickstarter FAQ). I had never seen Kickstarter, or anything like it before, but it certainly represents the best of what the internet can do in bringing people together. Check it out if you are interested:  Three@Sea Project .

We are grateful to Carolyn and Jerry for their continued support and belief that there is room on TV for positive, family-friendly programming that will entertain, educate, and hopefully inspire others about the beauty in our world and following your dreams. We’ll continue to keep you posted on what develops.

This year’s holiday greeting comes to you via satellite phone from the
North Atlantic Ocean, somewhere between the Turks and Caicos Islands
and Puerto Rico. We will arrive in Puerto Rico late Christmas night,
so the satellite phone is our only option for sending you this
greeting. Due to the limited bandwidth, we must dispense with our
usual artistic flair: no photographs, and no singing video (which is
probably good news to everybody). What’s left is pure poetry! So get
yourself a mug of egg nog (perhaps with a bit of dark rum in it), and
hum the tune to yourself as you sing this year’s Three@Sea Holiday
Greeting:

The Twelve Days of Cruising

On the first day of cruising,
a pirate gave to me:
- A seagull in a palm tree.

. . .

On the twelfth day of cruising,
a pirate gave to me:
- Twelve waves a crashing,
- Eleven Luggers humming,
- Ten dolphins leaping,
- Nine waypoints calling,
- Eight coconuts milking,
- Seven crew out swimming,
- Six anchors weighing,
- Five golden Kaliks,
- Four hailing channels,
- Three puffer fish,
- Two turtle eggs,
- And a seagull in a palm tree!

We thoroughly enjoy all of your notes and comments, and we thank you
for joining us on our voyage. We wish you and yours a joyous, loving,
and thoughtful holiday season!

Liner Notes:
“Lugger” – The brand of our marine diesel engine, known as being tough
and dependable.
“Kalik” – The golden beer native to the Bahamas.
“waypoint” – A GPS coordinate marking a cruising destination
“hailing channel” – A channel on our marine VHF radio.

Seasickness Sally here to report on our sloppy sea slog from Florida to the Bahama Bank. If you’re following Dave’s blog you know that Yacht Tech pulled off a Herculean effort in getting Three@Sea back in the water on Friday after all of her maintenance and repairs. The weather gods seemed to smile upon us and provide an unusually good weather window so that we could make the run from Florida all the way to Puerto Rico in one shot (about 6.5 days at sea). So with a flurry of activity and last minute provisioning we got off the dock Friday night about 10:00 p.m.

As any good superstitious cruiser knows, you never start a voyage on a Friday. Therefore from 10 p.m, until midnight we were just doing a “sea trial” to make sure all of our repairs were in good shape. Shortly after midnight we deemed the boat in good shape, offered a Christmas cookie to Poseidon, and began our voyage in earnest.

Forecast was for light to moderate winds (11 to 14 kts) out of the southeast, and seas of 2 to 3 feet. This would give us a slight head sea, but should be no problem. Within an hour of coming out the Lake Worth inlet our boat speed was down to 3.5 kts (usually run about 6 to 7 kts) and we were confronting head seas and a stiff head wind at 25 to 30 kts. Hmmmm….a passing squall? A local anomaly? Poseidon didn’t like the cookie?

At less than 3 miles offshore, we discovered we were already fighting the Gulf Stream which accounted for some of our speed issues. We angled back in, running less than a mile offshore now, and picked up about a knot. However, the wind kept up and we were hobby horsing over 3 to 5 ft waves with very little period between them. At times it felt like Three@Sea was actually airborne for a second or two before crashing into the next wave. Talk about water over the bow! And this became the sloppy sea slog all the way to the Bahama bank, which took us about 18 hours. Unfortunately this resulted in a nasty case of seasickness for me.

Over the last two years, I have developed a pretty good system for keeping my sea sickness in check: Plenty of rest before departure; small, light meals; eyes on the horizon; and one Bonine tablet every 12 hours for the duration of the voyage starting one hour before departure. This has seen me through several long passages, and even a good size gale off the coast of South Carolina. Unfortunately it’s not fail safe. Within an hour at sea I began to feel bad, and it just got worse. During my first watch, which started at 4:30 a.m., I felt yucky but just sucked it up. After what seemed like an hour and half I looked at my timer and saw it had only been nine minutes. It was going to be a long watch!

When Dave took over at 7:30 a.m. it was the last time he or Ayla saw me until 11:30 p.m., 16 hours later. Dave and Ayla covered my watches the rest of the day because I felt so bad. It’s hard to describe sea sickness to someone whose never experienced it (although I’m sure every person’s experience is different). For me, it makes me extremely lethargic. I mean really lethargic, just getting to the bathroom can be a feat of great stamina. Then of course is the intense nausea. My skin tingles with tightness, like it’s stretched to the maximum to keep my entire insides from erupting forth. My toes curl up in a resistive attempt to keep from coming up through my throat. Well you get the picture… it’s not pretty. When it gets bad, my best shot is to lay as still as possible in the fetal position in the salon, and just try to breath slowly. Occasionally, I would think I was feeling better and try to rejoin the gang in the pilothouse, only to be forced back to the salon usually within 30 seconds.

Fortunately, for everyone, once we were on the Bahama Bank the seas settled considerably. It still took 4 or 5 hours before I was feeling better, but now I have finally been able to relieve Dave, who has headed below for some much needed sleep. He and Ayla were troopers — even though they don’t get seasick, it is still exhausting to be in sloppy seas. As we’ve said before, successful cruising is all about teamwork. Dave and Ayla were there 100% to cover for me. I hope to thank them with a long restful sleep, and some good food upon their waking.

Next up, “Tongue of the Ocean”, where the shallow waters of the Bahama Bank meet the deep ocean of the Atlantic. This location got me two years ago with a huge pile up of waves. This year I’m hoping for a gentle lapping at the hull versus a solid licking. Keep your fingers crossed!

———–

P.S. By the time this blog was posted via the satellite phone, we had made it across the Tongue of the Ocean without incident:  a nice lapping following sea.

After spending two beautiful months in parts of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, I never managed to post one blog about this charming, historical, and friendly area. My apologies New England.

Last year we whizzed through the area, as we were late heading south from the Canadian Maritimes. (Can you really call it whizzing when you only go 6.5 kts?) Anyway, our stops were few, and they were quick. However, having sampled the beauty of the area, we knew we wanted to return. So in August, Three@Sea returned to Narragansett Bay for a more extended stay.

The cooler temperatures where a treat after two months in the Chesapeake during one of their hottest summers on record. I was particularly struck by the friendliness of Rhode Islanders. They have an easy smile and an unassuming way that immediately puts you at ease. They are very polite drivers, and think nothing of stopping traffic (even during rush hour) to let cross traffic get across multiple lanes. No horns blowing, no big hand gestures, just a smile and wave. As we travel, I’m always fascinated by the small cultural gestures that tell you about a place your visiting.

I took over 700 pictures of the area, with grand plans to write detailed blogs accompanied by photo essays from the old seaport at Mystic, Connecticut; to Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower in Massachusetts; from apple picking in Rhode Island, to “chowdah” on Martha’s Vineyard. But alas they did not come to pass. Instead, I give you the “Reader’s Digest” version of these magical areas.

Highlights:
Biggest surprise (other than how courteous Rhode Island drivers are), was the size of Plymouth rock. Somehow I was thinking Rock of Gibraltar size, not slightly bigger than a bread box.

Loved the passion, skill, and determination of the many historical societies that have worked miracles to preserve, and in some instances recreate, important places in our American history. It’s important to know where we have come from, as we evolve towards our future. Some favorites:

• Plimoth Plantation does a great job sharing the story of the pilgrims arrival at Plymouth rock (yes there are multiple spellings) from both the native Wampanaog perspective as well as the Mayflower pilgrims point of view. http://www.plimoth.org
• Freedom Trail in Boston is an easy 2.5 mile trek through the city filled with tales of hope, conflict, and passions, against a backdrop of historical sites.  http://www.thefreedomtrail.org
• Old Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut is a trip to a mid-1800’s fishing village. Think a small Williamsburg for the seafaring life. http://www.mysticseaport.org

Martha’s Vineyard is strikingly beautiful, with a quirky “Sybil” like personality. At less than 100 square miles, the island is home to vastly different personas. The elegant old homes of whaling captains blend seamlessly with the extravagant and impeccably manicured vacation homes of New England’s wealthiest in Edgartown. Tents from summer religious revival meetings of old have given way to a colorful, playful architecture in Oak Bluffs, which is wrapped in a relaxed summer beach “carnival” atmosphere . Vineyard Haven acts as the bustling hub of tourism and various harbor activities; a small Aquinnah population still celebrates their native heritage on the west end of the island; and the fiery, fiercely private individuals of Chappaquiddick act as guardians of the east end. Whatever your tastes — fishing fleets or flamboyant yachts, chowdah or haute cuisine, a quiet paddle or a bustling bar — you can find it on Martha’s Vineyard.

Then there is the equally beautifully but completely different Block Island, where almost the entire perimeter of this island is beach. It emanates such a relaxed vibe, you just feel an overwhelming desire to sit down and pull out a book or quietly walk along the beach in reflection. New Shoreham, the one small town on the island, acts as a perfect host welcoming you to its beauty, but then quickly sends you off on foot, bike, moped or jeep to go explore and find your own piece of peace within the islands fields or upon the sentinel cliffs, along the meandering beaches or in the simple act of walking a labyrinth. Serene.

As with most places we’ve been fortunate enough to visit, it is the people we meet that bring the spirit of a place to life. We saw old friends we’d met just last year, and made new ones on this trip. Length of acquaintance does not dictate the quality of these friendships, it is the sharing of experiences together. We thank them all for their ideas (like apple picking in Rhode Island, which produced the best apple pie we’ve ever eaten), encouragement, laughter, and most excellent site seeing tips.

New England definitely has its own personality. I never cease to be amazed by the great diversity of our country—geographically, architecturally, historically, and culturally. The red brick homes of Virginia give way to the gray shingled homes of Martha’s Vineyard; the low country marsh morphs to low stones walls covered in wild concord grapevines which have been separating neighbor’s property since before the revolutionary war; tales and music of whaling expeditions live along side stories and rituals of native cultures. The blanket that embraces our country seems more quilt than woven tapestry, with the fabric squares being the unique identity of each area bound together by values of freedom, individualism, and respect.

Thank you New England for the living history lesson.

Location: Greenwich Bay, Rhode Island
Coordinates: 41° 41.111′ N  71° 26.792′ W

When reading Dave’s recent Night Watch blog, you can almost hear The Eagles in the background singing, “I’ve gotta peaceful, easy feeling…”. You can feel his sheer bliss and joy of being at sea.

Unfortunately, someone changed the soundtrack for my night watch, and all I heard was the theme song to Jaws, “Dah…duh… dah…duh!” It wasn’t a large, man-eating shark I was trying to avoid, but instead, it was large boat-smashing fishing trawlers, and small boat-snagging fishing floats hiding amongst heavy fog. What’s that about? For those who have shared this journey with us for awhile, you know I’m still trying “to get my mind right” about fog. I know it’s a state of mind. I know we have great trusty instruments. I know it will come with experience. And truly, I’ve been doing better, but fog…at night…come on now!

Our second night at sea we switched our standard watch times around a bit because of our early arrival in Narragansett Bay. It’s Three@Sea’s first trip up the bay, and Dave and I both wanted to be awake to see the area, and navigate these new waters. So my watch began at 1:45 am while still in the Atlantic, just past the tip of Long Island. I was off to a nice start with a cool evening and a 2-3 foot southeasterly swell. I was proud of myself for handling our course change properly, and beginning our turn around Block Island heading for the mouth of Narragansett Bay. That’s when things began to change.  You could feel it in the air first, a dampness hanging like a wet shawl around my shoulders. “Ahhh”, I thought, “what a nice break from the heat of the Chesapeake. You can almost feel the first hints of Fall in the air.” I settled back in the Captain’s chair with a smile on my face, glad we had made the move north.

Not so fast, missy! A few minutes later the lights of Levity (the boat we’re traveling with) blinked out of sight. What the heck is that? I went to the door and peered into the darkness. I never imagined that darkness could be swallowed up by fog. What can be darker than a moonless night? Apparently, a moonless night with thick fog! What’s strange about it is, it’s not necessarily darker, it’s just that there’s nothingness. No horizon. No sky. No water. You’re just floating in nothingness. Except my nothingness had radar contacts. Holy smokes! Mild panic took hold of my body. I could feel my heart racing faster, and a cold sweat break out on my hands. “Breathe,” I told myself, “just breath…you can do this.”

The next 2 hours and 17 minutes of watch (but who was counting?) was filled with the classic angel and devil scenario on my shoulders. However, the debate of my consciousness was not about right versus wrong, but about confidence and fear.  My first reaction was to wake up Dave. I have supreme confidence in his abilities, and the two of us working a problem together is always best. However, he could use the sleep, and I should be able to do this. I’ve stood plenty of night watches without incident, and we’ve been in fog before. “The key,” I told myself,  “is to calm down, think clearly, use the tools at my disposal, and proceed cautiously.”

First, let’s see if we can sort out the contacts on radar. The contact a half mile off my starboard bow I knew was Levity. The contact  a mile off my port side amidship was a navigational buoy, clearly indicated on the chart. So, my focus became the other three contacts, to see if I could discern what they were, and where they were going. Oh, I hoped they had radar too. I made sure all the windows and doors were open so I could hear the fog horns. The old cliche “minutes felt like hours” certainly applied that night.  As boats moved closer, I would stand at the top of the stairs in the pilothouse, ready to sprint down to wake up Dave. But I fought the urge by making a deal with myself that I would keep trying for five minutes at a time. At the end of five minutes, if I just felt like I couldn’t do it, I could go wake him up; But if all went well, I’d try another five minutes. And that’s how I stood watch for the next 2 hours and 17 minutes, until the agreed upon wake up time of 6:30 am arrived.

The fog seemed to undulate in and out, as if it were breathing, providing visibility of less than a tenth of a mile out to about a quarter mile. Boats came and went on radar, and the occasional fishing float would nudge at the waterline. The scariest moment was shortly after 4:43 am, just after Levity radioed to say they had made a 45 degree turn to avoid a collision with a yacht that appeared out of the fog. That yacht was heading my way.  Oh drat (or something to that effect)! I could see the two contacts on radar near each other, and then one moving towards me. Should I correct course now with the boat still about a half mile away? Should I slow down? Turn? What would that signal to the three fishing boats scattered about my port side. Arrgh! I should really wake Dave up—what an idiot I’d be to run into another boat trying to prove I can stand watch in night fog when I really can’t. Breathe and think. I’m not going to run into another boat. I’m only going 5.2 knots and there’s probably more visibility than I think, even though I can’t see a thing.  As I watched the contact for another minute or so,  it was clear they were on a course to pass well off my starboard side. As I peered into the fog, I could see their steaming light and starboard navigation light pass me by at least a tenth of a mile away. Whew! Breathe…

Long ago, early in my career, I remember hearing a motivational speech about how one’s world can get bigger or smaller based on whether you stay inside your safe, well-defined box, or whether you step out into the unknown and expand your box. The essence of the talk was that the unknown is never very comfortable.  He used learning how to drive a manual-transmission car as the perfect example for expanding your box. We all remember how nerve-wracking those first few times you’re stopped on a steep hill were, and you need to get the car in gear and move. Your heart is racing, your palms are sweaty, and honestly, you’d rather just put the parking brake on, get out, lock the doors, and walk away. But ultimately you don’t, and you lurch your way up the hill. Gradually it gets easier, and finally you do it without thinking. Your world has just gotten a little bigger.

Our whole journey has helped to make my world a little bigger. By nature, I’m a cautious person when it comes to safety. I like to tackle things when I know full well that I can do them. Today, I sit here writing this blog, knowing my world is a little bigger than it was the other night. I had the right tools and the right training—I just needed the confidence to use them. Therein lies the natural tension of finding the ideal balance between spreading your wings and flying, and taking a few more practice runs.

The evening of our arrival, we sat enjoying a fabulous fresh fish dinner with Bill and Rosemary on Levity (mahi mahi Bill caught while cruising). We toasted our successful passage, and shared stories of the transit. When talking about those few hours that morning in the fog, Bill was completely non-plussed by the event. When I shared with them how utterly nervous I was, he was surprised because I sounded so calm and cool on the radio, seeming to have the situation completely under control. The truth is I did. Is that the theme song to Rocky I hear playing?  :-)

Location: New Bern, North Carolina

Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation has announced the finalist for their 2010 Ocean Hero Award. Ayla is humbled and greatly honored to be selected as one of their five Junior Hero finalist .

Oceana, is 100% dedicated to fighting on behalf of our world’s oceans. Through focused campaigns they channel their resources to scientifically identified problems and work tirelessly towards practical solutions. The threats our oceans are facing seem insurmountable, but Oceana knows their health and abundance can be restored through collaborations between scientists, fishery management organizations, governments and passionate individuals.

The Oceana team selected the ten finalists (5 adults and 5 juniors) from over 300 nominations. The winner in each category will now be decided based on public voting which ends next Wednesday, May 26th. Most of you are aware of Ayla’s passionate commitment to ocean conservation. The Oceana team wrote the following blog on their website about her efforts: Ocean Hero Finalist: Ayla Besemer You can also learn more about her work under the  Save Our Seas menu on our website.

Should you be inspired by her efforts, I know she would greatly appreciate your support by voting for her. There is a link to the voting on the Oceana home page or by clicking on this direct link 2010 Ocean Hero Voting. Feel free to forward this on to others who might be interested as well.

Ayla, although deeply honored by this nomination, is feeling a bit awkward about my writing this blog, as she feels the focus should be on saving our oceans not about her.  However, my hope is this process might help spread the word to an even greater audience and get more young people involved in making a difference for oceans today.  Thank you, and as Ayla would say….remember to Think OCEAN!

Location: Sarasota, Florida
Coordinates: 27° 20.036′ N 82° 32.814′ W

Grab your favorite snack and a beverage, this is a long one. Sections and questions are in bold, hopefully making it easier for you to go right to your area of interest.

• Have you ever felt in danger?
• What about pirates?
• Do you carry a gun?
• Do you get scared when it’s stormy? What about hurricanes?
• Exactly what goes into your weather planning? (plus several follow-on questions)
• Are you afraid of sinking?
• You’re a powerboat, not a sailboat: What about engine failure and being adrift in the ocean?
• What if you run out of food? Water?
• What if you get struck by lightning and lose all you electronics and communications capabilities?
• What if…what if…what if…

By far, the majority of questions we receive about our journey are regarding real or perceived dangers at sea. Wrestling this topic into a blog feels a bit like wrestling a giant octopus with long tentacles branching out in all directions, yet intertwining at the same time. These are incredibly important topics, and ones that need serious consideration when contemplating extended cruising. Safety is our number one issue when making decisions about our life aboard. For us, concerns about safety (or dangerous situations) fall into four main categories:

1. Weather
2. Mechanical Failure
3. Pirates
4. The Unexpected

To make things a bit more manageable, I’ll sort the questions above (plus a few extras) into these four categories. Before diving into each of these areas, let me answer the first question.

Have you ever felt in danger?
I asked Ayla, and she replied, “No.”
“Really?” I probed.
“Really, really,” she said with a smile, and then added with a raised eyebrow, “Why, should I have been?”

Dave’s answer, “Just once, when we lost the ability to maneuver in the Hudson River in poor conditions with a barge turning in front of us. ” This incident happened in May of 2009 when a 12-foot piece of 3-inch-thick polypropylene line wrapped around our shaft and propeller, essentially rendering our main engine and propeller useless. For more details here are links to our blogs about this incident: Work the Problem with Teamwork and Snag in the Plan.

My answer is, I’ve been really nervous on quite a few occasions, but I’ve never felt in life-threatening danger. Most of the situations that I found nerve-wracking were because they were my first time experiencing the situation, whether it be poor weather, fog, the anchor dragging, or shallow water navigation. The more experience we gain, the more confidence I’m developing. Here are links to a few nerve-wracking situations:  Running the Gauntlet with a Guardian Angel, Challenges, Work the Problem with Teamwork, Staring Down the Demon.

Our enjoyment of this journey is greatly enhanced by not getting ourselves into dangerous situations. Good planing and preparation ahead of time can help alleviate many problems, but not all…sometimes things just happen.

• • •

Weather
Understanding the weather is critical for safety at sea. After getting caught in a nasty front on the Bahama Bank due to a two-day old weather forecast, we understood more than ever the importance of receiving and evaluating weather for ourselves on a daily basis. I talked a bit about weather in a previous blog, which a raised a number of follow-up questions:

Exactly, what goes into your weather planning?
Like many aspects of boating, this is an area we continue to revisit and refine. The location and length of a passage has a lot to do with the depth of our weather planning. A 1-day ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) run requires different planning than a 5-day offshore passage. When evaluating weather we try and get information from three different sources. We start with an overview of the weather situation (i.e., movement and locations of highs, lows, troughs, etc.) and then look at local forecasts. We also evaluate the information we obtain from GRIB files, such as wind direction, sea state, and pressure gradients. Based on our proposed cruising plan and weather data we determine our course of action. This decision is unique to each cruiser based on their personality, type of boat, schedule, skill level, and desire for comfort at sea.  We tend to be quite conservative, while others we know will just go for it.

United States Weather
When cruising along the U.S. coastline we use:

http://www.weather.gov
NOAA’s website provides a wealth of information, and very specific marine forecast for well-defined locations along the US coast, as well as offshore forecasts.

http://www.passageweather.com/
We have found this site to provide very reliable weather information that’s easily accessible. The home page provides a world map, which allows you to  click on the region you’re interested in viewing. PassageWeather then provides three overlays to the regional map, spanning a 7 day period, showing

1. wind speed and direction
2. surface pressure
3. wave height and direction (Be sure to note the wave heights are in meters. Early in our usage of this site, Dave and I kept thinking waves were always bigger than they predicted, until we realized they were in meters not feet — oops!)

http://www.wunderground.com/
Another site full of useful information.

A number of our sailing friends use http://www.sailflow.com, but I can’t comment on their accuracy as we don’t use them.

Commander’s Weather (http://www.commandersweather.com/)
On four occasions we have used a professional weather router. These are weather professionals who specialize in preparing detailed marine forecasts for cruising and racing boats. They offer a variety of services, from a simple weather consultation before departure, through continuous tracking of you throughout a passage, and providing daily updates helping you to avoid developing weather problems.

In each instance we prepared our own forecast, and then contacted the team at Commanders Weather to get their forecast. We wanted to see how our forecast compared to the professionals. On our 5-day open water passage from St. Augustine, FL to New York Harbor we used the more expanded service of daily information and check-ins. We plan to use a professional weather router on all our major ocean crossings. There are a number of weather routers available, with many specializing in certain oceans or areas of the world. We have been very pleased with the team at Commanders Weather.

Bahama’s Weather
While in the Bahama’s we used passageweather.com and weatherunderground.com along with http://www.bahamasweather.org.bs run by the Bahamas Meteorology Department. Our real source of EXCELLENT information came from Chris Parker, who provides daily detailed forecasts that are invaluable for those cruising in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean. You can receive his forecast via SSB radio in the morning or via email by mid-day (which is what we did since we don’t have an SSB radio). You can get more information on Chris’s forecast at http://www.caribwx.com/

Canadian Weather
For local Canadian weather information we used the Canadian Weather office at: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca

Other good sources of marine weather information are the weather channels on your VHF radio and local cruiser’s nets.

Do you have a Sirius satelite connection?
No. For those of you not familiar, Sirius Satellite is satellite radio that also delivers weather information. We do not have this aboard Three@Sea and I don’t know enough about it to comment on its usefulness.

Do you download weather charts from satelites?
Yes.  After our bad weather experience on the Bahama Bank we promptly ordered a satellite phone upon arriving in Nassau. When cruising out of internet range, Dave has weather emails and local GRIB* files sent to our satellite phone, which he then downloads once a day. It is comforting to have our own trusted weather data to evaluate.

* “GRIB” stands for Gridded Information in Binary form. GRIB is a compressed binary format used by meteorological centers for storing and exchanging meteorological charts and other patterns of wind, sea state, temperature, etc.

Did you take a meteorolgy course before you started?
We did not take a meteorology course before beginning to cruise, but I will take one this year before we leave North America. I know I’ll have a much greater appreciation for what is being taught having been out there for a year.

If you are interested in learning more about weather, I would highly recommend Coastal and Offshore Weather, The Essential Handbook by Chris Parker (available online at http://www.bluewaterweb.com). He takes the mystery out of weather through clear, concise writing and lots of examples (primarily SE United States and The Bahamas). Being an active cruiser, he understands the questions and concerns boaters are trying to address, and provides excellent information on forecasting tools as well.

Do you get scared when it’s stormy?
So far we have not experienced a bad storm at sea. For the most part, the wind, waves, and rain we’ve encountered were expected and not fierce. The few unexpected squalls or fronts we’ve experienced have been uncomfortable, but not dangerous.

When you’re at anchor, its a bit nerve-wracking worrying about your anchor dragging (which we watch vigilantly) or worse, another boat dragging into you. Even at a dock you need to be alert, making sure all your lines are the proper lengths to keep your boat secure given the wind direction and tidal flow, which can accompany a big storm. We often add extra lines to keep the weight of the boat evenly distributed to not put too much strain on any one line or cleat. Keeping an eye on what’s going on around you is also important to make sure another boat doesn’t break lose or have something not properly secured fly off and cause damage.

The strongest winds we have experienced under way are sustained winds at 30 knots with gusts up to 40 knots; at anchor, sustained winds at 35 knots with gusts to 42 knots; and on the dock, sustained winds at 45 knots with gusts just over 50 knots. Mother nature is certainly impressive!

What about hurricanes?
I imagine being in a hurricane would be very scary. Fortunately most hurricanes can be forecasted days in advance, and although their paths are often unpredictable, you do have some warning and can take appropriate precautions. For insurance purposes we stay out of the designated Atlantic hurricane zone between June 1st and November 15th. But even with that precaution we have had to prepare for three separate hurricanes: one in the Chesapeake in September 2008 (Hanna Hanna fo Fanna) and two in the Canadian Maritimes last summer (Another Hurricane- Really?). Fortunately, two diminished to tropical storms before getting to us, and we delayed our schedule to wait for the third to pass.

• • •

Mechanical Failure
This is the area that keeps Dave up at nights. However, just as we try and minimize the impact of bad weather on our safety, we also try and prepare for mechanical failures in three ways:

1. Boat maintenance
2. Mechanical education
3. Spares and tools

I will encourage Dave to write a blog addressing these areas if you’re interested, but here are the questions sent to me in this category.

You’re a powerboat not a sailboat, what about engine failure and being adrift in the ocean?
I really hope this doesn’t happen, and I won’t pretend I haven’t thought about it.  When coastal cruising around North America we have access to SeaTow and of course the US or Canadian Coast Guard in dire situations. However, neither of those services will be available to us in the middle of the Pacific or in other countries. For major ocean crossings, the ideal situation would be to cruise with another boat (a Nordhavn even better). However, plenty of boats have crossed on their own and been perfectly safe. In fact, the reputation and reliability of Nordhavn’s for ocean crossings was the major reason we chose this boat.

The diesel engines on these boats are work horses. We have a Lugger L668D, which is a John Deere engine that has been marinized by the team at Northern Lights (Lugger Captain’s Class). The real key is to prevent problems by doing the maintenance, and ensuring that you are taking on clean fuel. But even with the best laid plans, things happen, and it’s nice to know that employees of Nordhavn, Northern Lights, and other Nordhavn owner’s are available to answer questions and help troubleshoot problems at any time via interent or phone. This of course means having a reliable communications system when you’re at sea, which for us has been a satellite phone and two VHF radios. When we begin our circumnavigation we will take aboard an additional satellite phone (a portable one), and we are still debating the pros and cons of adding an SSB radio.

Taking Three@Sea for a 10,000 nm spin last year was all part of us shaking her down and seeing how well her systems perform. We are extremely pleased with our little ship — her performance and her reliability.

What if you get struck by lightning and lose all you electronics and communications capabilities?
Another nightmare scenario, but one we have thought about as well. We have a lightening arrestor at the top of our stack which is supposed to dissipate static so we don’t get  hit. If we did get hit it will also act as a ground, focusing the electricity through the boat and out the hull without frying all of our electronics. There are very mixed reviews about their effectiveness, so in a storm we take a portable computer loaded with our navigation software, a handheld GPS, and a portable VHF radio, and put them in our microwave oven, which acts as a Faraday cage. If all else fails we have a compass, sextant, charts, and a filed float plan.

What if you run out of food? Water?
This is one thing I don’t worry about too much.  We can carry plenty of food (and I do) along with 300 gallons of fresh water. When offshore cruising, we keep our tanks full all the time, so even if our water-maker should fail we would have sufficient water to survive until we reach our destination.

• • •

Pirates — Arghh!

What about pirates?
Pirates definitely need to be taken seriously, but they do not weigh on our minds as much as weather and mechanical failure. There is a spectrum of piracy from the petty theft pirate looking for binoculars, computers, cash, and maybe a dingy, to the more aggressive kind we hear about in the news which seize your boat and take the crew hostage. Both are bad, but the later gives me shortness of breath and makes my chest tight when I think about confronting that situation. Our plan is just not to put ourselves in that environment. The somewhat good news is that it’s not as common as you might think, and the locations of piracy danger are pretty well known (Live Piracy Map). Just as we don’t travel in countries or cities that are not considered safe, we will also not cruise in areas that are not considered safe. There are plenty of beautiful and interesting cruising grounds in the world that are safe — we have no need to go to the others.

The “rules” of piracy (speaking of the seize and ransom type) have changed in the last few years. It used to be that pirates were primarily interested in two types of boats: a ship with a cargo they could ransom, or a fast boat they could use for piracy activities. Personal sailboats or trawlers didn’t fit the profile.  Unfortunately that changed last year when the Chandlers were taken hostage by Somali pirates now operating further south near the Seychelles Islands. The vast majority of piracy happens in the western Indian Ocean, and international efforts are on the rise to address this issue.  If it’s not safe, we won’t go — same with Venezuela and parts of Indonesia.

We will also make every effort to stay out of areas where there are known theft issues. The cruising community does a great job sharing information about any number of topics, from the best snorkeling and beach bar, to the most efficient ports of entry and safety issues. Many of the same rules apply on the water as they do with your home or car:  Don’t keep valuables in plain sight, lock things up when your away, and when in doubt, travel with another boat in remote areas. Another thing to keep in mind is that many coastal communities depend on the cruiser community for tourism dollars, and they want you to be safe and have a good experience so you can tell others and come back yourselves. Plot a course to the welcoming communities!

Do you carry a gun?
No. Obviously, this is a very personal decision and each cruiser/family needs to do what makes them feel most comfortable. We did not have a gun at home, but did spend time evaluating whether we should carry one on the boat. Ultimately we decided not to because carrying a firearm aboard adds a whole new level of complexity when clearing in and out of foreign ports-of-call. In most every country you visit you need to declare a firearm, and in a majority of countries you are required to turn it over to authorities while you’re in the country. This presents two big problems: 1) you now have to depart that country from the same port you entered, and 2) it is often those countries where you’d like to have a firearm that you are required to turn it over. There are those who suggest you can just hide it. That’s always an option, but you need to evaluate the risk of facing a concealed weapons charge in a foreign country should you be boarded and searched.

Don’t forget: a flare gun at close range is a good self-defense weapon.

• • •

The Unexpected
Even with the best weather, cruising in a sturdy, reliable, properly equipped, well-maintained boat in safe cruising grounds, things can happen. Just like when we wrapped a large line around our prop and shaft in the Hudson, we could hit a shipping container floating just below the surface, or run into a whale at night (it does happen). The key for us is to minimize our risk by being well-prepared in the areas we can be, and  run through emergency scenarios together so should something happen we have a plan to take action.

Are your afraid of sinking?
This isn’t at the top of my list of things to worry about, but we do need to be prepared. Generally I think of sinking occurring when you’ve hit something, punched a hole in the hull, and can’t keep up with the water coming in. First of all, how hard can you really hit something going 6.5 knots?  ;-)  But if it ever happened, we have bilge pumps (regular, high water, and manual), not to mention 3 buckets. A tip I heard from another cruiser, which he received from a Coast Guard crew, is to carry a variety of nerf balls in different sizes. They said you would be amazed at how useful they are at filling a hole because they are malleable and salt water resistant. In a worst case scenario, we would be prepared to abandon ship with a ditch bag (food, portable water-maker, hats, blankets, etc.), GPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon with GPS built in), and portable communications equipment.

Certainly there are things that can go wrong, but that’s true in a land-based life as well.

• • •

On to happier thoughts…
While it is important to think about these issues, and do your best to prepare for them, don’t let them overwhelm you. The magical moments far outnumber the scary ones.

For the next installment we’ll lighten it up a bit with questions about traveling with your pet.  Until then, keep the water on the outside.  :-)

Location: Sarasota, Florida
Coordinates: 27° 20.036′ N 82° 32.814′ W

Hi all! Please excuse the long delay between my first Q&A blog and this one. I took advantage of being “close” to Texas (at least as close as we’ve been this year) to take Ayla on an extended driving trip to my home state. It was a great opportunity to visit aunts, uncles and cousins she hasn’t seen in years. Cruising along the Interstate at 70 mph is really different than cruising along at 7 knots.  Here are the questions we’ll tackle today:

1. Is it tough not having a routine due to the changing ports?
2. Do you feel like you spend enough time at most ports or are you always having to get somewhere else?
3. Do you get frustrated with weather delays?
4. Is it challenging keeping the holding tank emptied?

• The day always begins with a check of the weather. While the coffee is brewing we are either online (when available) or tuned into the weather station on our VHF radio. The days adventure is almost always determined by current and predicted weather.
• Plans are finalized over coffee based on the weather forecast. If we are cruising, we’ve usually already planned our route, loaded the charts into the navigational software, and picked a departure time based on tides, distance, sea state, available light etc…
• Whether we get underway or are staying in port, breakfast is made and enjoyed together followed by  “morning clean-up” where beds gets made and the boat is generally made spiffy for the day (or made secure for being underway).
• Homeschool is always next on the agenda. Ayla likes to take care of it first thing in the morning. While Ayla is doing home school, Dave and I are taking care of other projects (cruising, planning, email, blogs, video editing, boat maintenance, etc…).
• Exercise depends on what’s going on that day. I’ll address this in more detail in a separate blog regarding health and exercise.
• We try to have school and other projects done by noon, so we can have lunch and then be off to explore our new port-of-call. If we’re at anchor, we generally try to be back to the boat by sunset.  If we’re at a marina/dock we are more flexible.
• Our evenings aboard are some of our best times. The events of the day are reviewed and discussed for new insights and learnings over dinner. Time is then spent preparing for the next day’s cruise or adventure (including a detailed weather analysis). When projects are done and time permits, we love to play games, watch a movie or read.

Obviously this is simplified and certainly there is a lot of fluidity to these plans depending on length of cruising day, weather, location etc. The first few months of active cruising were exhausting to me as everything was so new. However, within a couple of months we fell into a natural rhythm that seems as smooth to me now as the ebb and flow of the tides.

Do you feel like you spend enough time at most ports or are you always having to get somewhere else?
Hmmm…tough question. It all depends on your cruising objective – do you want to see a variety of different locations or do you want to explore one particular area in depth?  There are some cruisers who go to a single location and spend the entire season there. Of these cruisers, some  will pick the same place year after year, while others will pick a different place each year. Still others are called to keeping moving and enjoy a variety of places. There is no right or wrong, and all approaches have advantages and disadvantages. The best part is, it’s your plan, so you get to pick what feels right. Our objectives were to:

1. Gain significant boat handling experience and “shake down” our boat in a variety of conditions while close to North America so we could speak the language should we get into trouble or need assistance/parts.
2. Test our ability to cruise new locations, explore areas and capture our journey to share with others at the pace we would be cruising if we are able to complete our around the world plan.
3. Take advantage of our time on the water to explore different types of cruising from open ocean passages to inland waterways and locks, from remote island isolation to busy big city ports.

There is no doubt this was an aggressive plan but it worked for us. We were thrilled with the experience and perspective we gained in cruising over 10,000 nautical miles in about 14 months. Tired at times but very happy.

We learned a ton about ourselves and what we liked best, which will be critical in planning the next portion of our journey. Every person’s experience, needs and comfort levels will be different, so it’s critical to experience a variety of cruising environments and travel methodologies to see what works best for you. For us, we like to mix it up a bit, but for the most part we prefer to spend at least 2 to 5 nights in a location so we can get a feel for the local rhythm. Then we are happy to cruise 48 to 72 hours straight to get to another location where we can spend an extended period of time again. Sometimes this style of cruising simply won’t work, for instance in the St. Lawerence River (Quebec Province) our cruising days were determined by the daily 18-foot tidal shifts.

In retrospect, one of the reasons we had such a great experience is that we had clear goals we wanted to achieve with a general plan of how to accomplish them, however we were willing to be VERY flexible along the way. We had a one year cruising plan broken down by geographical areas, with our daily cruising schedule (in spreadsheet format) planned in rolling two month increments, and then within that schedule we had tremendous flexibility based on weather and new opportunities that presented themselves. There is this wonderful, and at times challenging, balance of good planning juxtaposed against not holding on too tight to what you have planned.

Do you get frustrated with weather delays?
Yes, yes and yes…that was a unanimous answer. One of my biggest “ah-ha’s” of this last year was just how much the weather dictates our schedule. I certainly knew it was important, but I had no idea the extent to which it could change a schedule, not just from a timing standpoint but also the need to modify locations for docking or anchoring. Weather rules the sea, at least it sure seems that way to me.

When we used to sit in Boulder and dream about this adventure, I read about the importance of waiting for the right weather window. Somehow I had in my head that weather windows came in one- or two-day chunks. I had no idea that they could come in week- or month-long chunks. There are cruisers who never made it over to the Bahamas last winter because they could not catch the right window.

Safety and the desire to cross oceans were the two main reasons we bought our Nordhavn. However, it’s important to remember even with a great, safe, and wonderful boat you are still infinitesimal to the power of the ocean and weather. We have our most precious gift, our daughter, aboard so we are very cautious about the weather.

The 14 months we were cruising saw some pretty unusual weather. Many of the places we visited experienced the coldest, windiest fall, winter, summer or spring (depending on when we were there) in history. There were even two hurricanes in one week in the Canadian Maritimes this summer while we were in the area. Friends have taken to calling us the “Bad Weather Besemer’s”, while members of our family have suggested we can fund our journey by showing town councils our weather history and having them pay us not to come to their towns.

In the end, it’s all part of the journey. We try hard not to hold on too tight. We watch the weather closely and go when we can. Sometimes we leave early, sometimes we leave late, sometimes we skip whole sections of our planned journey because we are behind, but no matter where we are, we are always together and appreciate the opportunity to be on such a grand adventure.

Is it challenging keeping the holding tank emptied?
Not really. Once we figured out the size of our holding tank and the amount of water per flush, a couple of simple calculations let us know about how often we needed to pump out (about every five days). We found it fairly easy to plan a stop for pump outs when cruising inland or coastal waters.

The bigger challenge was the quality of pump out facilities and their equipment. There is quite a range between antiquated equipment which we can be difficult and slow to use, to modern machines that take about a minute or two.  We ultimately purchased a pump-out hose attachment specific for our tank, which is much easier than trying to get the various sizes we found along the way to fit. Be sure and keep plenty of quarters on hand, as many of the do-it-yourself facilities use quarters.

Up Next…
Whew!  Did anyone actually get to the end of this post? If you did I would appreciate your feedback on format.  When I have a long answer, should I only tackle one question per post, or do you like having similar topic questions grouped together?

Up next…dangers on the water. Until then, keep the water on the outside.