SV Panta Rhei Retirement Trip

Vessel Name: Panta Rhei
Vessel Make/Model: Able Apogee 50
Hailing Port: Seattle
Crew: Larry and Karen
Social:
18 September 2017 | Seattle
23 August 2017 | Prince Rupert
15 August 2017 | Anan Bear Observatory
19 July 2017 | Petersburg, AK
17 June 2017 | Hoonah, AK
03 June 2017 | Seward AK
03 June 2017 | Denali
25 April 2017 | Seward AK
23 March 2017 | Seward, AK
11 March 2017 | Seward, AK
23 January 2017 | Seward AK
06 December 2016 | Seward AK
12 November 2016 | Seward Alaska
14 October 2016 | Valdez, AK
21 September 2016
05 August 2016 | Seward, AK
26 July 2016 | Whittier, AK
19 July 2016 | Valdez, Alaska
05 July 2016 | Seward, Alaska
Recent Blog Posts
18 September 2017 | Seattle

We are back in Seattle

It feels like home. Of course we are not in Silshole. Maybe we will be, someday, but there is a list and we are on it. In the meantime we are at Bainbridge Island Marina.

23 August 2017 | Prince Rupert

The dinghy holds air again

It wasn't very nice of the bear to tear the fabric across a seam. We were worried that we couldn't patch it but tried anyway. The glue had a job to do and it did it!

15 August 2017 | Anan Bear Observatory

A Grizzly Bear damaged our dinghy

We were visiting the Anan Bear Observatory south of Wrangell. It is one of the best places to visit in all of SE Alaska BECAUSE it has bears. But (as we learned) there is a dark side to this bear concentration. And of course, there is a story to tell.

19 July 2017 | Petersburg, AK

Moving On

"No matter where you go, there you are" (unknown reference). By now we have been there and done that. Most recently that included Cannery Cove on Admiralty Island. The photo shows the quiet grandeur of the setting with Ron and Suzie's boat SV Tango in the foreground. It has been like that for the last [...]

17 June 2017 | Hoonah, AK

We are in Hoonah, SE Alaska now

We got something resembling a high pressure ridge so we moved expeditously across the Gulf of Alaska. The crossing took three days and weather stayed as forecast. That was a very good thing. The weather changes in the far north far more rapidly and dramatically than we ever experienced in the more southern [...]

03 June 2017 | Seward AK

Crossing the Gulf of Alaska

We are still in Seward, AK. Now that spring has come, why not start south?

A tough couple of days

07 November 2012 | enroute to Opua New Zealand
Larry Nelson
The storm that was north of the fleet moved south. Stragglers were crucified. Those in the front of the fleet (us) got re-taught a lesson. The lesson is: storms are amplified by local conditions. It looked from the inside like a frontal passage: overcast, light rain, intermittent strong wind, locally peaky seas.

We learned about the difficulties on the ssb net every morning and evening. One of the smaller boats in the fleet, SV Adventure Bound (about 36 feet), ended up lying ahull under bare poles in 60 knots of wind and 10 meter seas. The largest boat SV Superted (about a 57 foot boat) was not far from Adventure Bound. They lost their dinghy and were making 7 knots south in 6 meter seas. both crews sounded on the net to be in bad condition. Another reality: we could sympathize but there wasn't much we could do. You are on your own at sea. Our experience was better but not good. Our first morning started with increasing wind. We reefed the jib. The main was already double reefed. As the wind speed climbed through 34 knots and the sea state started to reach scary we needed to do more. The plan was to drop the main and sail on the jib. But dropping the main involved working on deck. So we tried rolling up the jib all the way first. This changed strategy arose from the change in wind direction that came with the storm. The wind backed east 60 degrees, allowing us to sheet out the main and ease the strain on the boat (and the crew). In fact over extending the main is called a "fisherman's reef" and is one more way to reduce the forces from the sails. Rolling up the jib worked well, though the wind continued to increase. We approached the limit of this strategy but never quite reached it. For several hours we experienced 38 knots of wind with the peak gust I saw being 44.2 knots. The sea state was large...maybe 4-5 meters with breaking tops. Waves would hit the boat like a drummer beats a drum. Loud,...very loud. And of course the boat was still pounding, though less than expected because of the change in the wind angle. Instead, waves broke over the boat and green water ran from front to back. Amazingly, we still have our dodger. Also, we still have our dinghy, which is tied onto the foredeck.

I should note here that the ride aboard Panta Rhei was much better than you would expect given the conditions. We were dry (except for small leaks at both side stays). The engine room stayed dry! We did have a minor knockdown where the heel angle became way more that we handle gracefully. Basically every item that wasn't actually bolted in place on the left side of the boat moved to the right side of the boat....all at once. Outside in the cockpit was a miserable place, but inside it was much better. When we did venture outside, we used life vests with tethers. The motion was such that they were needed.

Now we are 40 nm from Opua and the winds have decreased to 9 knots. Seas are much better too. Note that I didn't write this during the storm. I tried, but couldn't stay in the nav chair without both hands so I couldn't type!

What do you do during a storm? Mostly you configure the boat and then you wedge yourself in somewhere and read, sleep, or stand watch. The forces are bigger than you are. Your outcome depends entirely on your previous planning and the integrity of the components of the boat. ...oh, yes, also on the magnitude of the storm. Mother nature holds all the cards. And did I mention that in spite of all the fleet's weather awareness, no one saw this coming? We all (at least those in the southern part of the fleet) expected about 25 knot winds. It was the local weather that made the difference.
Comments

About & Links