At the end of May, Lion's Paw set sail in Chesapeake Bay to support the Golder Trust for Orphans. Anita and Ray from the old hometown (Denver) arrived to a hot summer Bay day. The next day was stormy, however, so the full crew headed for an "educational tour" of Jamestown. Sailing later that week as the weather improved included a night at anchor near historic Fort Monroe (with steaks on the BBQ), and 3 days of great sailing in 5 to 15 knot winds where Lion's Paw could strut her stuff (and did very well). The highlight was chasing down the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel out of Delaware, who managed to outrun us with several acres (it seemed) of canvas aloft on her square yards for a downwind run. After enjoying Lion's Paw's delightful sailing and comfortable accommodations, Anita and Ray departed with even more enthusiasm to pursue their dream of cruising under sail in a few more years. As a result of the trip, a generous donation was made to the Trust to support ongoing projects which assist orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Capt. Nancy spent March and April on the tall ship Westward, sailing as the ship's engineer. This tour of duty provided a preview of a number of ports Lion's Paw may expect to visit, and a few extra dollars for the cruising kitty. Westward departed from Miami and headed southeast for a 6-week tour of the Caribbean. The students were from an all-girls program - high-school age, out of the San Francisco Bay area. Captain for the trip was Capt. Caroline Smith, a friend and shipmate from previous work on Westward. The weather was not in our favor, and we spent much time motor-sailing to windward - making the engineer's life hot and miserable. We did call at a number of interesting ports, including Great Inagua, Bahamas; Vieques, Puerto Rico; Tortola, BVI; St. Johns, USVI; and Samana, Dominican Republic. Our original itinerary included the island of Dominica, but the weather situation did not allow us to get that far east and south. As usual on this working trip, shore leave was sparse for the crew, but Capt. Nancy had 2 days ashore in the DR, swam in an amazing waterfall, and visited the seaside village of Las Galera. Predictably, our voyage back to the US was - you guessed it - upwind. Things were particularly rocky in the Gulf Stream - rough enough to cause the mainmast to begin working in its partners, dropping mast wedges down into the engineer's lair. Several of us spent the afternoon stabilizing the mast with wood scraps, and of course, duct tape - trying not to slide off the deck in 30 knot winds and the notorious Gulf Stream chop kicked up by a northerly wind.
Due to the unfavorable winds, we didn't make it to our destination to drop of the girls on schedule, and instead landed at Riviera Beach, Florida. The next group of kids, an 8th grade class from Logan School in Denver, had to catch up with us there. We then hopped up the coast to refuel in Fernandina (1748 gallons), and stopped in at Cumberland Island and Charleston, SC - both great stops that deserve more exploration - before finishing in Wilmington NC.
Fun highlights from the engineer's log:
• Loading 200 gallons of fuel in Riviera, using hand-carried, 5-gallon jugs;
• Sparks flying from the mast when the spreader lights shorted;
• A grease fire in the galley which melted stove wiring (as well as a variety of other stove malfunctions);
• Accidently tripping the fuel shutoff when we were trying to leave the fuel dock in Fernandina (which of course shuts off fuel to the engine);
• Unclogging the head pump o the very last day on duty (couldn't get by without at least one sewage adventure).
But, all is made up for on those days working on wiring up in the rig, with the wind in your hair, and a great view 100 feet above the deck.
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Lion's Paw spent the last week of November and the first week of December, snug in Annapolis, waiting for a favorable weather window to make the trip south down the bay to Hampton Va. We decided to make the trip in one shot, about 24 hours run. Otherwise, since the days are so short now, it would take three "day trips". Weather windows avoiding unfavorable winds did not seem to be lasting more than a day or two. Besides, it was darn cold, and it seemed to make sense to get the suffering over with quick.
The first task each morning during those weeks was listening to the weather on VHF, to try to pin down a favorable departure date. I could almost hear the roulette wheel of chance spinning. We zeroed in on Thursday, December 6, to depart on the heels of a strong front. Ultimately, this worked out fine. However, pre-departure activities included shoveling 3 inches of snow and chipping ice off the deck.
Crew for the trip were Tony G. and Rupert K, in addition to Capt. Nancy. You find out who your friends are when you look for crew to sail all night in the middle of winter, and I seriously owe these guys - not just for riding along, but for being competent sailors and enjoyable companions, making an otherwise sucky trip a pleasant experience.
Overnight temperatures were in the 20s. Tony brought his propane heater, so at least there was an island of warmth below (Thanks, Tony!). We had virtually no winds - a mixed blessing. We had hoped for a push from northwesterlies behind the front, but these had diminished completely by the time we got out into the bay. However, the lack of wind helped reduce frostbite for the deck watch. Other than the busy traffic of ships and tugs on the bay, it was an uneventful "motorboat" ride.
Rupert's extensive knowledge of the bay and the ship/tug traffic patterns were invaluable. All the commercial traffic, both northbound and southbound shooting for daylight arrivals at Baltimore or Norfolk, converges about 2 AM off Smith Point. This made for a few exciting, close passing situations.
We, too, timed our arrival to Hampton, but knew we would be coming in on the low tide. As it happens it was a below-mean-lower-low-water tide. "Touching bottom" was expected, as Capt. Nancy didn't quite believe the reported 6-foot minimum depth. After bumping over the sand bar at the channel entrance, we plowed a furrow toward our slip. But all was well as the docklines went ashore and we were greeted by Trudy O., who hauled our shivering selves to a fine lunch of hot subs at Mona Lisa's in Buckroe (highly recommended).
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