08/06/2008, Faial Airport, Azores
The day began early, as usual, and the crew started tackling the tasks at hand: completion of the Windancer IV painting and cleaning the vessel in preparation for the arrival of our first mate Ziggy, our dinghy captain Connor, and cruise director Jennifer.
While our resident author and artist, Jim, completed the painting of the Windancer IV painting on the infamous Horta "walk of fame", John, Bob and Steve attacked the task of cleaning the vessel after 2 months of "guy living". Not more than a couple of hours later, the boat was spotless (OK, not spotless but pretty close).
Captain John jumped in the shower, pulled out the best (cleanest) Windancer IV t-shirt that could be found and off to the airport to meet the family. Forgot to mention that Ziggy sent a note reminding to "Rent the biggest car on the island because we have sooooo much luggage". Well, needless to say, Europe, and the Azores are part of Portugal and very European, do not have large cars. Actually, their cars are very, very small. The rental car of choice, the only one readily available, is a Renault CLIO. Think of a SMART car with just enough room for a tiny back seat. We'll make it work, and I bring along towels as roof protection and rope just in case we have to lash some bags to to the roof.
Off to the airport, the flight arrives early, and after what seemed like an eternity waiting for the new crew to get their luggage, Connor and Jenny rush though the arrival gate and into their anxious Dad's arms. Ziggy follows closely behind, orders the two kids, who she's been single parenting for two months, to "Keep pushing the luggage carts so you don't block the arrival gate" and into the welcome arms of a lonely husband no more.
The family was reunited. Non-stop stories from all, "Dad, did you hear about the Hamburg Zoo?"(Connor), "Dad, did you hear I rode my bike to school in Germany?"(Jenny), "John, look at Jenny's new haircut - hey, your haircut doesn't look bad, thank goodness it's had a chance to grow for a month since you shaved your head!", and on and on.
Off to the car park, and we all laugh when we see the three luggage carts full of bags and this "matchbox" size vehicle. But no worries, and three bags into the truck (can't believe all that fit in their, and two bags stacked between the kids in the back seat and off we go to the boat.
A short drive later, and the MacKenzie family are officially on board Windancer IV.
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Comments [2]
07/06/2008, Horta Marina, Faial, Azores
Thursday, June 4, 2008; Today was spend completing the required repairs on the boat, finishing our sign on the Horta Breakwater and making a run to the grocery store to provision for the trip to Lagos, Portugal. All went well and was completed in time to join the ARC sponsored dinner party. A few notes here. Boat repairs; we now have a fully functional rudder linkage on the port hull, the prop on the starboard hull has been replaced. We are very proud to have left our mark in Horta, our sign will be visible for a long time here, marking our presence in this sailing mecca. I've dreamt of doing such a sign for years. Ever since I saw a photo of the 1000s of signs on these walls and understood the significance of this place in the world of ocean sailing it's been a goal, a need if you will. I thought it an impossible dream, just goes to show you, never give up on a dream. Provisioning; it's just amazing to watch John go through a grocery store, filling 3 large carts to overflowing and we eat well folks, thank you John.
After all the work was done we came back to the boat to prepare for the ARC sponsored dinner party. We joined the throng of happy sailors and arrived at the restaurant. The tables were all set with what looked like excellent fare. This would be a "hot rock" dinner. They give you nicely prepared shrimp, 2 types of fish, beef, oysters and squid, all cold. Then you are given a very hot piece of rock to cook your food on. Very much fun and very tasty. Wine was provided, as much as you wanted, NO...we were all good tonight. After an excellent, filling dinner with all my new best friends, what could be better, I retired outside. It was hot in the restaurant with a room full of hot rocks.
I sat on the steps, made out of lava rock like everything else around here, and began to enjoy the company. This is a major part of this experience for me, the people. We've been together now for over a month and friendship has matured among this ARC group. We're all involved in the same adventure, there's a strong camaraderie that's developed. I have friends from Germany, England, Norway, Sweden, Granada, Brazil, France, Spain and Portugal that I'll never forget. The international sailing community is made up of people from everywhere, with every level of financial backing, from every walk of life, each with a different story. Everyone needs to experience this, it changes your outlook on life. Your own world is just not the same after you've met so many different people from different worlds and their attitudes and values toward things. It's very good folks, puts things in perspective.
Sitting there on the steps I had some great conversations, met more people, outside the ARC group, some local, one from South Africa. We talked about why we were here, how we got here, can we get more wine, what will you do when this trip's over, how's your boat, anything damaged, just everything and anything. As the night wore on conversations got to wives and girlfriends, are they ok with what we're doing, oh she'll join you in Lagos, where to then and on and on.
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05/06/2008, Madelena, Pico, Azores
The island of Pico is a 30 minute ferry ride from our port in Horta, and the crew of Windancer complete the short trip by 8am. As the ferry approached the dock we passed two impressive rock formations jutting some 100 feet out of the water. It obvious already that this is a volcanic island, as these rocks are all lava and their shapes and mass remind me of the flower pots near Tobomory.
Pico is a much larger island than Horta, and is home to mount Pico an inactive volcanic mountain of some 7400 feet. Our original plan was to climb a significant portion of this hill, and end up on it's peak. From here, we hear the panoramic view of all the Azores is beyond belief. I'm sure this is true since this is the mountain who's tip I first saw at sunrise the day of our arrival, from a staggering 100 miles away (big hill!)
Well anyways here's the initial plan. You rent a car (guide optional - of course we four men pass) and we drive to a supervised area about 1500 meters above sea level, where you can sign in and start your climb to the top. We had heard in advance that this would be about a 6 hours hike, round trip.
Well like I said we went to the car, had some breakfast and then we drove and drove and drove. Steve is our navigator armed with only a general island road map which had several roads left out all of which we found. I will admit as lost as we usually were, these were some fun roads. Most were unpaved and all were very windy, some up hill and some down, with never a guard rail in sight. Now cows were a different story - they were everywhere and they were huge. I'm talking gargantuan milk cows that only fed their young (no farms or farmers in sight). Ofter our passage would be blocked of briefly until they sauntered off starring blankly "way down" into our windows. Almost all of the terrain that they graze on looks suitable only for goats; we kept expecting to see on just roll down the hill side and bash through a few stone fences. There are few property fences as we know them here. Some boundaries are formed with miles of mature trees or larger bushes side by side, but most are stone walls. In face everything is stone here (volcanic stone, supply and demand I guess). Wether they be waist high or over your head, hand built stone walls run everywhere on the hillside and from a distance look like a giant maze! House, garages and most other buildings are all made up of these perfectly fitted lava rocks of all shapes and sizes - no mortar or cement here. Steve informs me they're call "dry stone walls" in the UK.
Anyways, back to the magic bus, actually it's a Renault CLIO, and it's a bumpy ride in the back seat for sure. It's also a stick shift and first gear is required ofter on the steeper sections of road. After a bit of sight seeing of cave like rock formations, a whaling museum, a few docks in small towns and as I mentioned, tons of cows, we finally reach the starting point for climbers. By now it's much too late to fit in the climb to the top and still make our return ferry. So the four of us head off for a mini hike up the same main trail, with Bob and Jim quitting first. John and Steve carry on and pass four people coming down who inform them that they would only have two and a half more hours to reach the top, they two descend.
Oh well, we had a taste and now know better for next time. So there's just enough time to wind ourselves down to the harbor, drop off a dirty rental, taste some vulgar white wine at a wine tasting spot, have a last Pico beer (and Sangria) and we're on the ferry home.
In the end we had a peak at Pico, albeit from quite a ways away, we drove 200km of twisting turning of often back jarring roads, through the clouds and countless miles of beautiful hill and mountain side and saw more beef than McDonald's has served.
So if and when you go, remember to take along warm clothes for those cool nights on the boat, and try to local red wind - it's excellent and not to dear.
The end,
PS Idiot Girl, ye with no faith, it ain't my face.
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04/06/2008, Horta, Faial, Azores
Just as an addenda to the previous blog entry that noted one of the crew fell down and went "Boom" and got a few scratches on his face. To set the record straight, Captain John was NOT the one involved in this incident. Truth be told, the skipper was the one assisting Windancer's drunken crewmate home to the vessel. The secret is safe with me as I have agreed not to release the identity of the injured party. "He who shall not be named" will have to decide if he wishes to come foreward and publish the photo of the injury. Fortunately it was not serious, just a few facial scrapes and a severly damaged ego.
But all is well. The crew spent the day exploring PICO, the mountainous island with a peak of 2351 meters. Tonight we will try and complete the blog entry on PICO.
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03/06/2008, The middle of the Atlantic
Please look this link - it is our offering to the sea. We hope to get a response...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9LUheKc3bA
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02/06/2008, Horta Marina, Faial, Azores
We haven't blogged in a few days, sorry. So there we were within 60 miles of Faial and coming out of the night. Bob was on watch and he saw the volcanic peak of Pico on the horizon, just visible because the clouds had not yet met the horizon. It was 5:10 in the morning but there it was, something, we knew it was Pico, what else could be visible from this distance. Pico is a volcanic peak 2351 meters tall, very tall folks.
Well, the clouds covered it soon after we sighted it and we motored through the day knowing we would make land today, a very good feeling. This crossing will only be 11 days, very fast, it's all good.
As we came closer the island became visible. What a sight, different from anything I've seen before, sheer cliffs, lumps of rock sticking out of the ocean, and always Pico looming up in the background. A completely unique topography, like nothing I've ever seen before. It's in the middle of the ocean folks, the middle, only serious sailors come here and we're some of them, very proud. I've wanted to do this my whole life and here I am, how do you explain that, you can't.
We're under power, no wind, we round the point to see Horta, very cool, we're here, we made it. Truth be told it was an easy passage. Sure, we had mechanical failures but we dealt with them and succeeded, we felt good about that, very good.
Horta is beautiful, every building is white with an orange roof, every one, no exceptions. We moor up the boat, look at each other with confidence and head to Peter Café' Sport, the place to be in Horta. This place is a sailors mecca, you have to be at sea for at least a week just to get here. It's very cool folks, and we're very proud to have done this. Oh yea, we have a few drinks at Peter Café' Sport, just a few. We meet up with the crew of a boat we met on the high sea, Summer Breeze, a great bunch of people. Well the night went on as intended. We were having a great time, talking to the other sailors, all with the pedigree of making it to Horta. This is it folks, worth the effort and the beer and wine at Café' Sport flowed easily.
It's Sunday, the night after and all is well, ok one of us kind'a fell down last night, has a few "marks" on his face to show it. All is well though and we enjoy the day, looking at Pico, what a sight. Looks like space ships flying over the peak. Some weird weather pattern causes Pico to "wear a hat", that's right looks like a cloud hat on Pico, what a sight.
That night Windancer hosted a dinner party. Summer Breeze has no food, the grocery store closed early on Sunday, they missed it. And moreOne of the ARC sailors picked up an eel caught by a fisherman during the day. We clean it on the breakwater with the help of Paul a new friend we met on the dock. The dinner party is a complete success. Pasta and eel on Windancer then on to Kalliope for more absolutely wonderful comradery with the ARC sailors and more eel expertly prepared by chef-skipper Louis. It was a great evening folks, doesn't get better than this.
How do you describe this experience, you can't unless you're here. it's absolutely wonderful, the visual experience, the people, the fact that you're in the middle of the ocean and you sailed here. It's off the charts folks, we're all very lucky guys.
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01/06/2008, 100nm East of Bermuda
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...
On the passage from Antigua to Bermuda, Windancer IV and crew experienced a true indoctrination into how heavy weather sailing would affect the vessel and those within her while enduring 60+ knot winds and 30 foot seas (see Jim's description of THE STORM in a previous blog entry). The vessel performed like a champion, and her crew, after a short respite and swapping of a crew member in Bermuda, were ready to depart on the longest leg of the ARC Europe 2008 rally - St. Georges, Bermuda to Horta, Faial, Azores.
As the crewed completed final provisioning, customs and immigration check out procedures, and the installation of the new reefing lines and Windancer IV was ready to go - a day ahead of schedule. We reviewed weather GRIB files with the Chris' aboard Sea Squared and Richard aboard Fuerte, who both decided to depart a day early on Tuesday, May 20th - a day ahead of the fleet to stay in front of a very strong frontal system.
So as I made some final phone calls, quick update of the blog (which suffered lack of attention during our Bermuda outings), clear up the dockage tab and make our departure declaration with ARC organizer Fionn McKee, and off we go. Oops, forgot the trip to the fuel dock, wait in line, two sailing vessels ahead of us, no worries, time to complete the securing of the dinghy and sailboard, contact Bermuda Harbour Radio, where we receive final clearance out of Bermuda and best wishes for a safe passage to the Azores.
Our sailing began as expected, good wind of 25-30 knots from the southwest - perfect. As nightfall approached, we took the usual safety procedures and prepared to put the second reef in the main to continue throughout the night in case of squall activities and the development of big winds. At dusk, a pod of dolphins swam with us for several minutes, and someone commented "I think dolphin bring you luck.......... BANG - BANG". The words weren't out of his mouth when the brand new reefing line failed, snapping the new, less than 24 hours old, line and releasing the boom and luffing the mainsail!
After the "all hands on deck" call was made, the second reef was "permanently" installed for the balance of the passage. No worries, we all confident in that reef since it is the same procedure we used to sail through 60+ knot wind. We will review the cause of the failure once we arrive in the Azores. Could be chafing, a sharp edge on the sheave, the rough bolt at the end of a misplaced batten. That is not our concern now and the night went along - our first night at sea en route to an expected passage of two weeks.
As dawn rose on our first full day at sea, we review the watch schedules and decide they went well and shortly after dawn, the crew sat on the bridge, enjoying the first morning of the passage. Then, around 1000, we noticed OTTO, the autopilot self-steering device, was causing the vessel to "swim", to over steer 5 degrees left then 5 degrees right, then 10 degrees left then 10 degrees right, then more... I quickly run to the open the port engine compartment to review the issue, and upon opening the access door, horror fell upon the crew.
The port rudder post pin had snapped - clear off - and the vessel was steering wildly as a result of having only one rudder control and the autohelm sensor receiving erroneous information. Holy crap - that is not good! As a mater of fact - the broken rudder post control pin is the UGLY in my story.
So calmer heads had to prevail. First consideration, crew is safe - YES, vessel is safe - YES, calm down, think of a temporary solution to at least allow the vessel to sail forward safely. Jim and I begin the repair, albeit very temporary solution, with the help of Bob and a "green faced" Steve, and after a little more than an hour, some 5 mm and 10 mm line, and the port rudder is working - kind of.
So now we're looking at the big decision "Do we go forward or turn back?".
The Good and the Bad - Decision time.....
The Good is that we succeeded in our quest to cross the Atlantic Ocean - safe and sound. The Bad, and it really wasn't Bad (I just used that from the title of the classic western movie with Clint Eastwood) was the challenges brought about by the failure of the rudder post pin. The following is the excepts from each crew members personal thoughts and log entries. Please read through the details of how each member of Windancer IV's crew felt and assessed the problem at hand and to what conclusions each person came to - we respect and welcome any and all comments including those who can share other personal experiences.
Jim Rapelje - personal observations on the broken Rudder linkage incident:
We had left Bermuda only a day earlier, the conditions were rough with wind in the 20-30kt range and waves building, currently at about 6-10' range. The linkage to the Port rudder broke, sheared off the pin connecting the linkage to the rudderpost. Initial thoughts were very negative, only one day out and a major failure, I didn't see how we could manage manual steering at he helm, this boat is difficult to steer manually when everything is working correctly. Then there was the potential for progressive additional failures ending with ultimately manual steering using the auxiliary tiller, a 2 inch steel pipe bent into a tiller shape that attaches to the top of the rudder post. This would require someone manning the tiller 24-7 and we just started. 2 weeks of that was untenable I thought.
The suggestion to turn back was made. I seriously thought that might be a good idea at this point but didn't like it one bit. Weather would be much worse back there according to our weather reports and with the boat "damaged" I struggled with the thought.
I have great confidence in my ability to fix things, jury rig something, but was feeling very negative when the first jury rig was begun. John and I used rope to lash the linkage to the rudderpost arm, it wasn't pretty but I thought the linkage was at least moving the rudder in the right direction but with too much slop. I gained confidence with that even still. However, the thought of the extra strain on the Starboard rudder linkage and it's potential failure was still heavy on my mind.
We realized the first jury rig was inadequate and stopped the boat for a focused effort to improve the jury rig. That resulted in a significantly improved rig and greatly reduced my anxiety. At this point I thought we could pull it off. Maybe re-rigging daily or every other day, but doable. My confidence was bolsteed greatly, I was in favor of going on fully by now, we'll make it. It's also important to note that John and Steve had convinced me by now that this boat can easily manage with only one rudder, there had been several reports of successful experiences that way. I was committed to going on now.
Finally we added tie straps, big ones, to the rig and that proved to be the clincher. The rig has held now for 9 days straight without any changes, a major success. We've done it and can be proud of the accomplishment.
The thing we did not talk about - Steve Southwood
On May 21st, before the end of our first day out, the pin connecting the port rudder assembly to the steering / auto pilot linkage broke. This meant a number of things :
1.Steering, both manual and auto, was going to only the starboard rudder
2.Greater stress was being put on the starboard pin
3.The port rudder was now swinging free.
4.As the autopilot rudder sensor was attached to this assembly it was now reading all over the show.
5.The autopilot was getting confused by these readings.
6.The autopilot was overcompensating (see point 2 again)
This set off a debate. We essentially had two main options. Jury rig and head back to Bermuda for proper repairs or jury rig and press on to Horta.
The natural thing to do would be to turn back as we were only a day out from Bermuda. However, we had left some bad weather behind us. Turning back would require us to go into wind (taking 2-3 days) and stress the remaining pin / jury rig close to land.
I was in favor of making a decision after we had exhausted our imagination jury-rigging the port side assembly with a preference to pushing on. I'm always astounded what human ingenuity can conjure up and I was assuming we would come up with something that would sway minds in favour of pushing on. Initially, it appeared to me that the crew were evenly split with two wanting to go on and two wanting to turn back. I don't know how much my seasickness at the time contributed to my opinion. I must admit that heading into a storm worse than we were experiencing did not appeal to me. But I think my position was taken logically.
I was also concerned that the situation should play out and that we did not rush into a decision. I was aware that the decision was not an easy one and that this was weighing on everyone's minds. In some ways dreams were at stake but a wrong decision would put much more on the line. Again ń this meant it was important we allowed time to play out and let the solution evolve. Bottom line was we had two engineers aboard and I had read of plenty of examples of cats going for weeks (often without knowledge) with one rudder missing. I must confess I wasn't overly concerned but I know the rest were.
Given my condition at the time there was no way I could stick my head down and help with the work on the jury rig. I was more than able to take over the manual steering (which required me to focus on the horizon) and keep the boat reasonably stable while John and Jim went to task assisted by Bob who fed tools to them.
Not all the things they tried worked but in the end a combination of lashing with spare lines and monster cable ties did a pretty good job. John also hooked up the rudder sensor to the starboard rudder so it would get a precise reading. The jury is certainly not as solid as a metal pin but it certainly went a long way to reassuring us we might be able to press on to Horta. We decided to check on the jury rig every hour throughput the second night to make sure it wasn't coming apart and reconsider our decision in the morning. You already know from the log that we didn't turn back.
Finally, we made a group decision to keep this situation off our communicated logs until we arrive in Horta. Given the time and attention we had put on the problem we felt we had a good handle on our situation. However, we weren't sure we could reassure all our families reading our logs so we felt holding this information back until we arrive would be the best. This decision was unanimous.
One thing I would like to point out, and thank, is Capt John's leadership style. He consulted with all the crewmembers on major decisions. At the same time there is no indecision on his part. While we may not always agree, we all get a chance to contribute and influence to outcome. Good job John.
In hindsight. The jury rig has been remarkably resilient requiring very little maintenance. A wooden stopper was added the following day and bar the occasional pushing of lines that was about it. I can't underestimate what turning back would have meant. Going back to Bermuda and awaiting repairs would have severely impacted schedules forcing one or two of us to abandon the trip. This in turn could have forestalled John's overall trip as it was dependent on timing. On the other hand, worst case scenarios of pressing forward may have had us hand steering all over the ocean on the backup tiller similarly stressing schedules.
What we have all expressed in our logs was against the background and ultimate relief of this decision. This really is a trip none of us will forget.
May 21, 2008 - JUDGMENT DAY (Bob MacKenzie)
Less than 24 hours into our trip, and the unthinkable happens - a breakage in the port rudder steering mechanism - a steel pin has been sheared right off! Worse scenario - if this rudder becomes terminally ill and the disease spreads to our starboard rudder we would be left with a manual tiller and rudder and the manipulation of our sails to steer the boat, possible? - maybe, feasible - not really. There is no replacement part or any type of substitute part on board, and I'm now finding that materials and uncommon tools are not abundant either. Long story short - get out the duct tape and bubble gum and hope for the best - or turn back. The latter is not a valid option but we discuss anyway. Firstly, the weather that we left early to avoid, is probably hammering the boats behind us and we would be sailing right into it for at least a couple of days. Secondly, and more importantly, it's obvious to me now that there are no quitters on board. The optimistic approach to the entire dilemma even won me over - not just convincing me that we (could) do it somehow, but convincing me that this would not become a trip from hell rather than my anticipated thrill of a lifetime. Concern, fear and even anger were certainly felt by all of us, but we didn't dwell on it. We seemed to put all that would be wasted energy into assuring each other that we'd find a way to make everything ok. A bit of rope and a lot of confidence - great combination! Let's get at er boys!!
Final thoughts of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Captain John MacKenzie):
Immediately after the damage was discovered, Jim and I completed a "make-shift", first try repair of the rudder control arm. We then sat back and reviewed the situation. In very simple terms, Crew Safety #1, Vessel Safety #2. Turning back meant 36 to 48 hours of very difficult sailing, guaranteed by the weather forecast that we saw prior to leaving and that was sent to us that (and every) morning. Here is an excerpt from the Commanders Weather update for May 21st "ahead of the cold front near, NE and E of Bermuda to 25-40 kts with some gusts 45-50 kts in area".
Turning back meant heading directly into what we had experienced coming up from Antigua, but this time, trying to return to Bermuda, through some of the most dangerous reefs and shoals around, possibly at night and with damaged rudder control equipment. If I have not said enough - this was not my first choice. As a matter of fact, I did not consider this a safe choice at all.
The other option was to continue forward. I was 100% confident in our ability as a team to make the passage work - to make the repair work - to complete the passage safely by moving forward. I came to this decision based on several key points:
1. Catamarans have proven to be able to operate safely for extended periods of time with only one rudder.
2. Windancer IV has four intelligent crewmembers of differing backgrounds and with experience to be able to problem solve this and any other issues that may arise (that is why the crew were chosen accordingly).
3. Weather ahead of us as forecast to be very favourable (and previous research and discussion about this passage gave me the confidence that if heavy weather was anticipated, Windancer IV could avoid such weather by altering course to the south into the Azore high (which we found and is the reason we have been motoring for almost 48 hours in extremely calm, millpond-like conditions).
4. In case of further deterioration or other damage, we had the support of many other ARC skippers, crews and vessels sailing with and behind us.
So I queried the crew, immediately finding out that Steve shared my initial thoughts with the intent to move forward. Jim, I felt was on the fence, but was also in agreement with the decision to move forward after reviewing the third iteration of our repair. Bob was my real concern. Bob remained silent throughout the brainstorming & discussion sessions as we assessed the situation. I read into that silence as " I WANT TO F$%^ING GO BACK!" I can say that now, tongue and cheek, but at the time it weighed heavily on me.
Regardless of those feeling, I made the decision and we, as a team, agreed to move forward. And what a great decision it was. We checked the repaired "rig" every hour to start, then every two hours, fully expecting the repair to last three to six hours - but it was like the EverReady bunny, it just kept going, and going and going! We never needed to make another fix - it lasted more than 1,700 nautical miles - simply amazing. I thank our entire crew for all their hard work and thank our families for their understanding when reading this entry - I hope you understand that we withheld this information until now so as not to cause undue alarm or concern. We love you all, and are now enjoying the Azores, the sight of land "tastes" that much better...
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29/05/2008, Airport Lounge
Hi, we are finally leaving - after countless packing, unpacking, repacking, downsizing, upsizing. Over the last three days we have run countless errands including another trip to Coburg to store our car.
Visited the hockey hall of fame, the last bit of canadiana for Connor and enjoyed a lovely dinner with our friends Amanda and John who kindly hosted us over the last few days.
The time in Toronto was physically and emotionally draining - saying good bye over and over. Not easy and this morning IT hit me. IT - the enormity of no turning back, our lives in bags, everything stored or packed, connected only through internet and memories. No offense to the internet geeks out there, but i believe the memories will always be a stronger connection than any hi-speed, wi-fi, PC or MAC. I awoke early this morning, snuck out of the room not to wake sleeping beauty (Jenny) and went for a walk to clear my head. Had a serious case of the jitters and to my favorite song, You are My Home by Billy Joel, it sunk in that regardless of the roof over my head, the address we call home, weather our home is on terra firma or idly lapping in the morning wake as a boat passes by in a marina, friends and family ensure we always will have a home.
Thank you to all who over the past few months, weeks and days have opened your homes, helped hoist a bag or two, shared kind words, wished us well and made it both so easy and so hard to leave.
We will be thinking of you. Ziggy, Connor and Jenny
ziggymackenzie@gmail.com
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28/05/2008
Hope you don't mind, here are some thoughts on this experience. One mans thoughts, true, thinking too much, I've been accused of that. Maybe you have some of your own;
There's a wanderlust that's satisfied by taking an ocean passage like this, no question. Magellan, Christopher Columbus, Sir Francis Drake, we're in good company. Traveling across the ocean to new lands and cultures. There's also a degree of serenity that's achieved after several days at sea, a level of peace of mind, probably a result of not having so many distractions, responsibilities and pressures that we all have at home and at work. Some people have gone crazy out here, too much time to think, oops, is that what I'm doing now? The sea is so big and we're so small in our little boat. Windancer isn't that little, 44' is no dingy, but it's still just a spec on this expanse of water. Another thing that must affect our thinking is the simple fact that you see 100% horizon. No hills, trees or buildings to block the horizon line, you see it all out here, all the time, there's nothing but water and sky. Again, reduced distractions, less complication. The crew all commented on the degree of excitement generated by the simplest things, a fishing buoy, a wooden plank floating by, everyone jumps to see it. What is it? Where did it come from? How did it get here? We wouldn't give it a second thought at home, something by the side of the road, nothing more, litter, boring.
All that said, we all miss home, our loved ones, the basic comforts of home can't be denied. But only two of us look forward to getting back to those comfortable surroundings, that familiar routine. The other two have committed to changing their lives by living aboard their boats for the near and medium future. A very significant commitment to a new life at sea.
I guess I understand the concept of "running away to sea", makes sense, if you need to get away this is the ultimate escape, no question. You're not even in a country out here, international waters, a member of the human species on planet earth, that's all.
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28/05/2008, Halfway to the Azores
Howdy folks, this is Cowboy Sailor Jim. It is an honor and a privilege to be given the opportunity to write our daily blog from the half way point in our trip from Bermuda to Horta, Faial (Azores). The last author has been fired for reasons unknown. As you know we marked the middle of our trip with a Message in a Bottle, a significant moment for us. So let me begin with the overnight watch on day 6, Monday, May 26, 2008. Our watch schedule is based on four on four off. Two hours on Standby which means you're out of your bunk, lounging in the main salon, reading or writing but always ready if needed. Two hours on Watch; you're responsible for the ship, on the bridge, always with life jacket and safety harness on, scanning the horizon, running the engines as needed to recharge the batteries and making log entries. Four hours off; usually in your bunk, off duty. The watches start at dark each day and continue until daylight.
Last night was a pleasure because it was clear, there were stars and a brilliant moon, was real enjoyment because we hadn't seen clear skies for days. I saw a shooting star and I swear a bat! But I don't see how that's possible our here, maybe a "Bob" hallucination?? Also saw a freighter, always exciting when you see a ship at sea, which is so amazingly huge and empty most of the time. Steve said he saw a "Fireball" last night, an exploding meteor, very cool. We all seem to have adjusted to our sleep schedule. I for one no longer struggle to stay awake overnight, probably be up, in foulies and safety harness sitting in the back yard at 3am when I get home. It was quite humid last night, you always felt wet but we were under clear skies?
Daylight comes and it's another sunny day, winds are a little lighter but we're still just flying along at 7-8kts. We've been doing those speeds for 6 days! We have 810 miles to go. The sea is still choppy, less than previous days, less of the Windancer Shuffle going on. That's when you kind'a hop on one foot sideways when the boat lurches, oh yea, cooking is a balancing act.
Coffee and breakfast, we saw a flying bug, first bug since starting, maybe a sign of our need for doing the wash?? it's all good and we're into another day at sea. We're settled now, used to the Windancer shuffle, the damp, the motion of the ocean, the big blue sea, the waves, the sky in it's many colors and formations, again it's all good.
It's turning out to be an amazing morning. It's only noon and so far we've seen 3 sea turtles, one old sailor with barnacles on his back, I saw "Wilson" float by while doing my laundry in a bucket, yep Tom Hanks lost him at sea and there he was, just bobbi'n along. We had a close encounter with a freighter, talked to them, thanked them for maneuvering out of our path. But, without a doubt my most exciting moment was when I saw a whale blow off the starboard bow. Unfortunately I was the only one to see this and will no doubt take grief for another "Bob Hallucination". The day went on with one sighting after another. A wooden plank with several fish under it, a fishing bouy, right in our path, we picked it up with the boat hook, another freighter, farther away and they wouldn't answer our VHF calls. Finally, toward late afternoon a huge tanker came up from behind, it was 1,100 feet of steel and close on our starboard side, maybe a quarter mile. We talked to them, bound for Egypt, very pleasant, wished us good luck and safety on our voyage. It just doesn't get better than this folks, just another day at sea.
Let's end this first excerpt of the second half of the voyage to the Azores with some overnight thoughts; Day 7, Tuesday, May 27, 2008. We went into the night with fine conditions. Not enough wind to sail so we motored, sails down. Stars, oh were there stars, in numbers uncountable. The sea was black as ink, the horizon was almost indistinguishable. The night watch is a unique experience, very personal and private up there on the bridge. Headphones on, each track is reacted to in a more intense way, you just listen more intensely, your thoughts are free, open, less encumbered with normal terrestrial influences, it's a good thing. Last night the phosphorescence in the water was fantastic. In my limited experience this phenomenon appears when the water is agitated by props, breaking waves or the like. Last night the water was just sparkling with water born "lightning bugs", flashing their colors at random, no agitation needed. The flashes were about 1 foot apart all around the boat. We were motoring through a sparkling sea, was very cool. Does this happen into the depths or just on the surface? Imagine the light show for sea creatures. It lasted about an hour like that then slowly ended. The ocean is an amazing life force of itself, filled with every kind of mystery and adventure. Life is good folks, wish you were here.
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26/05/2008, Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic
This is day five of the longest leg of our journey, Bermuda to Horta marina in the Azores. Shall we back up. Windancer, along with three other ARC boats left Bermuda Tuesday, May 20, a day early to avoid the approaching foulh weather. Each leg of this rally (Antigua to Bermuda, Bermuda to Azores, Azores to mainland Portgual) is treated as a race, where corrected times are recorded and finish positions are announced. Awards are given out for different classes of boats when each leg is completed. In case you hadn't heard Windancer IV (the only multihull vessel in the fleet) received both first and last place awards - we owe it all to a lot of hard work. Anyways the rest of the fleet started their leg of the race/rally on schedule, on Wednesday. Times will be adjusted to compensate for the different starts. Crew of Windancer (Bob, John, Jim and Steve) are eager to get back on the ocean. We have good conditions with a strong breeze at our side as we leave beautiful Bermuda behind. Less than four hours into the trip and we're briefly entertained by a group of dolphins (normally a sign of good luck), snapped a brand new reefing line for our mainsail, sliced through one of our fishing lines while heading up wind to repair the reef, been rained on twice and we have one crew member looking a bit green in the face. Now if everyday at sea was this eventful I'd be blogging on a more regular basis, but they're not all golden.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008; Case in point: Windy and cloudy all day - making great time - good lunch - better dinner - saw two birds today - good night.
Thursday, May 22, 2008; Last nights full moon was a good omen. Finally the sun is out and stays out all day (haven't used sun block in a while). Steve is finally eating some food and the entire crew is in good spirits. Captain John's special chili and cheese smothered baked potatoes, salad and wine give the boys something to sleep on.
Friday, May 23, 2008; Back to cloudy skies and isolated showers. We'll need more than one afternoon of sunny skies to air this boat our. As I wring myself out of a very damp bed, slip into some more damp clothes and step down into a puddle of water on the floor, I yearn for the dry comforts of home. Everything and I mean everything on this boat is either damp or wet. Hang something outside - it rains, hang it inside, well there's no room for that with four guys. The word is 2008 is the most unusual spring, as far as low temperatures and precipitation, in 30 years from Antigua to Bermuda and beyond. But man do we have wind; also unusually strong and steady for this time of year. Still no fish caught but several flying fish found on board after the night shifts. A few jelly fish sightings but other than that the amount of visible marine life has been minimal, but it's still early in the trip. We've experienced some minor electrical problems today, but our skilled, underpaid electricians will have that sorted out soon I'm sure. Other than that our vessel is sound and our spirits high despite less than perfect conditions, as we head into our first weekend on the big pond.
Saturday, May 24, 2008; Happy birthday to the Queen and say a prayer for your countries' heroes and heroines. Heavy rain at the end of my 5 - 7 shift;, I love getting soaked just before I get to go below - oh well, luck of the draw. John and Bob play a little Cribbage and then we really get hit. It's a torrential downpour with zero visibility, just as we sight a freighter in the distance too!. The captain alters course briefly just in case. The rain hitting the boat is actually louder than the water crashing off the hulls - and that's saying something! No lightning though - always a good thing. After the storm Bob decides it's time for a "Real" swim. Float line in, lime green shark repelant fins on and I'm in to 15000 feet of the most gorgeous blue you may or may not ever see. John and Jim join in, pictures of all, no other fins sighted and there is a feeling of "we did it" in the air. We're only a few hours from the very center of the Atlantic ocean. Odds are we're the first and last humans to swim in that exact spot, pretty cool. After dinner a movie (Casino Royale) and a glass of wine put the finishing touches on a fairly eventful day.
Sunday, May 25, 2008; At last the weather is nice enough for me to write this entry sitting in my favorite spot. I'm quite comfy on the starboard aft deck (great sunning spot until 3 or so), looking astern as some 8-12 rollers chase us down and sometimes threaten to flop into the cockpit. The power and grace of these big swells just isn't the same in photos. There are two sea birds scoping out the lures we're dragging at close range - wish the fish would show us as much interest. As far a fishing goes we are indeed desperate. Jim has just dropped in a new line with a home made lure consisting of hook, rubber bait and a piece of frayed rope, looks pretty good actually (can you say patent). It's a beautiful Sunday with "Otto" steering the boat as usual and the crew involved in various chores or napping. Of course the horizon is checked on a regular basis for other boats, but truth be told, we are all alone on the deep blue sea - beats working. After another wonderful dinner we ceremoniously drop our Message in a Bottle in the sea at the half way point of our journey. This event is accompanied by a brief, emotional (to us) speech, and the whole thing was pretty cool.
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26/05/2008, Lots of Bars
Please note the following has not be editted nor censored by this blog poster. The original author, Bob MacKenzie, verifies the story as acurate and only slightly exagerated.
CHAPTER II; BERMUDA WHERE RUM RULES
After almost two days of downright meanness conditions ease a bit and since we are now headed we motor the last few hours into St. George's Harbor, Bermuda. Land was sighted around 7am. By 10:30 we're through the Spitt, through customs, back into our dock and what do you know - the bar opens at 11.
Now you'd think with all we've been through there'd be no need for further punishment, but sailors will be sailors. At the dockside bar its high fives all around as wobbly sea legs adjust to land. Our table of four enjoys a local rum drink, before being joined by a local couple, Gary and Tracy who are friends of Daryl (he seems to know someone everywhere). Gary is the Fire Chief on the island and of course knows where to go for even better drinks and great food - plus he has a car so we won't have to give up our first born to a taxi driver (can't really blame them, gas is $8 per gallon). We wine (or should I say Rum) and dine at a very nice restaurant. Good food, quite pricy, but Daryl takes one for the team (a big one), thank you Daryl. So it's back to our club bar for a nightcap then down to the boat where Bob apparently becomes the host with the most. Several crew from the boats that arrive ahead of us have crashed our little party to tip a rum or two and share their own horror stories until the wee hours. Long first day on land.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Today we'll let someone else cook our breakfast. We find a little, off the beaten path, greasy spoon, for bangers and eggs - good stuff. Since yesterday's busy schedule didn't allow for much other than drinking, today we'll do a little shopping and sight seeing and drool over some spectacular boats in the harbor. The building are very colorful here although mostly pastel with unique ridged, bright white roofs which are painted and cleaned regularly as all rain water is collected in tanks and very precious. There is no other major water supply on the island. Larger fires are often extinguished with salt water.
Ok, back to the boat to clean up, do a little laundry and get a surprise visit from John's long time best buddy Bruce who flew in from Toronto on a whim. Soooooo I guess it's time for some rum drinks all around. The warm sunny afternoon flies by quickly and the evening is highlighted by an ARC Meet and Greet stand up dinner, wings, meat balls, stuffed jalapenos, lasagna and cheap beer. I for one make it a fairly early night, having bloated myself with food and beer, should have stayed with Rum.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Windancer gets her salty decks swabbed, then crew does a little lunching, lazing and logging. New crewmember Steve arrives today with his lovely wife Helen. They'll stay in a hotel in Hamilton till Monday when Steve will replace Daryl who leaves us on Sunday. Today we'll all visit Hamilton, via jet powered ferry bus. Good view of the islands North side on the way to first the dock yards then the port of Hamilton (mansions everywhere, big money here for sure). On arrival the crew split up with Bob and Jim heading for the beaches. Great bus ride across this beautiful island, thick lush vegetation everywhere - some properties have nicely manicured jungles for their yards. Then there's the traffic. Clearance between vehicles, walls, pedestrians or whatever seems to always be measured in centimeters. And the scooters - can you say death wish. Hundreds fly in and out of the smallest openings to strange tricky merges and a series roundabouts even forming a suicidal center lane sometimes - scary just to watch but better than TV.
We finally arrive at a series of postcard beaches with fine pinkish sand and impressive lava like rock formations. They really are breathtaking but almost completely empty, we'll be back.
Another exciting bus ride back to Hamilton harbor to meet rest of crew for a quick rum drink before we all bus it to Swizzlers. Here we meet four others for ribs, fish (since we can't catch any), stir fry and Friday Curry - not to mention Dark and Stormy's and other rum drinks. The former is a local specialty, unique to this island in fact. Dark rum is topped with Bermudan made Ginger Beer to create a stormy look - quite tasty and just what this crew needs, another rum concoction.
Back to the boat, up to the bar, back to the boat, last stragglers kicked out of party central about 4am, ouch!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Heavy winds from the wrong direction force all the ARC boats off the dock wall and out to anchor around 6am any access to land today will be by dink and there will be no leaving the boat unattended today and probably tonight. John and Daryl have land missions so Jim and Bob are left aboard Windancer to clean up and catch up on reading and most of the writing. The highlight of my lazy day is a nice hot shower up at the club. We pick up a rectangular token at the bar and for $2 you get a measured portion of water. If you don't dilly-dally there's enough hot water to wash and rinse. Yes there is a shower on the boat as well as two fridges, icemaker, air-conditioning, microwave and two flat screen TVs but this is the first "hot" shower in a week - it's the little things. Today was an ideal opportunity for the crew to be good having no easy bar access but our big mistake was having red wine with Jim's excellent Chicken Stir Fry dinner. Well one bottle lead to another and before you know it, lights are out early for the weary crew. "To all my friends" goodnight.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Today we loose one quarter of our crew. Daryl is a great guy with great connections too!! We'll miss his company and wish him well. Friends Gary and Tracy offer to taxi us with Daryl who's off on a new flight. We're dropped off at Bruce's hotel, where it's too early to get a pool side drink so we have a quick dip in the pool there then another dip in the pool of the neighboring grotto caves, where the fresh water on the very top is colder than the salt water on the bottom (strange). These smaller caves are two of many world famous caves and caverns on the island. The main area of the cave we swam in is actually a true underground nightclub in the 80s. It is complete with cement dance floor and small-elevated bandstand. These features were somehow blended into the natural rock without disturbing it's creepy narrow entrance and corridors. Countless stalactites and stalagmites of all shapes and sizes point at each other throughout - very cool indeed.
Crew of three head just down the road to Swizzel Inn again for their famous Bloody Creasers and a great lunch. Back to the hotel, pick up Bruce and we're off by taxi to the beaches. As was the case on Friday, we're impressed with the pink sand, massive rock formations and even huge Parrot Fish bottom feeding at the waters edge. However, I for one, is not impressed with our favorite Horseshoe Beach. Having seen maybe a dozen people there on Friday (a week day), I am stunned to find at least 1000 bathers, volley ball and foot ball players, screaming children et all - guess weekends are weekends wherever you go. A quick rum drink on the beach and I'm out'a here. Taxi back to our boat dock, $65 (yekes!), where tonight's festivities include a steak dinner for ARC people ($30 a plate, we pass in favor of leftover stir-fry), a rum tasting by Gosslings, a crown and anchor table by same, where with 3 chips you might win a valuable prize, and supposedly an awards ceremony. A few hours later much rum has been tasted, I "win" a Gossling "pity" t-shirt (because I can't gambler for crap), and the awards are put off until tomorrow. Night caps on the boat at the dock where we hope she can stay through the night - very windy again tonight, what else is new.
Monday, May 19, 2008
We make it through the night on the dock, but by 7am we're anchored out again since very strong winds are on the nose again and we think our rudders are bumping bottom. Into town for a major provisioning - food for four for two weeks. Food taxi back to boat where we're met by new crew member Steve as well as Bruce (when it rains it pours). After stowing many bags of food we have a lazy day of introductions and cards, lots of cards. We say our goodbyes to Bruce and head up to the club where ARC had intended to feed us finger food again if only the caterer had shown, which he didn't. But there's cheap beer again and tonight the awards do indeed get handed out. Windancer winning first and last in our class (being the only multihull in the fleet). We receive two awards - a nice little wooden bowl made from Bermudan Cedar and secondly, surprise, a bottle of dark rum. So it's dink back to the boat, drink our prize and discuss our hopeful early departure tomorrow. Most of the fleet will leave for the Azores on Wednesday but we're hoping to get out a day early before the crew requires organ transplants (actually to get ahead of incoming nasty weather).
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Early docks retie and YES the riggers show up with our new reefing lines. While John and Steve make a last stop at customs and the grocery store, Bob and Jim start re-rigging the boom. Full crew help finish up the job then while last phone calls, etc are made there's still time for Bob to shop for Kate and use up remaining currency on 6 packs of Amstel Light and of course Dark and Stormy (yes they even come in cans). So there you have it my first and last purchases in Bermuda were fittingly, the local favorite, Rum. We top off our tanks at the gas dock, say our farewells and after 6 party filled days and nights it's definitely time to say goodbye and thanks to beautiful Bermuda and hello again to the great Atlantic.
As we say at the end of any difficult leg, well done.
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21/05/2008, Atlantic Ocean - Leg 2 (Bermuda to Azores)
at http://www.worldcruising.com/arceurope/viewer.aspx
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20/05/2008, St. Geroges Dignhy and Sports Club
The crew aboard Windancer have been busy. This morning we received the three new reefing lines and Bob and Jim began the installation, lower the boom, ease the sail bag lines , raise the sail, lower the sail, run the fish through the boom, then repeat, tangle the 1st reef..... while Steve, our new crewmate and John walk to town, stop at the tackle store (sounds like some good wahoo fishing as we leave Bermuda) and then onto customs to check Steve aboard Windancer, wheck the boat out, receive our clearance documents and reclaim our flare kit that was held in bond (for safety purposes).
We then walked back to the boat, final grocery shopping complete and help complete the reefing task. Four hours after we began, three new reefing lines are in and a new outhaul should get us to Horta, Faial, Azores - our next stop - where John will head to the airport on June 6th to welcome Ziggy, Connor and Jennifer as they arrive after their brief stopover in Germany to visit friends.
We are leaving Bermuda in a few hours, one day ahead of schedule to keep ahead of some weather. Our expected passage time is 12 to 14 days and therefore blogs updates may be difficult and few and far between. Once the MacKenzie family is reunited in the Azores, we will set a more regular blog update regime (probably a rotation of blogs responsibilities) and keep everyone in tune with our travels. Once again, sorry for the patchy bloging here in Bermuda.
I have included the World Crusing log entry below of the prize giving from the first leg - as you can see Windancer IV locked up the multi-hul division (easily done seeing that we were the only multi-hull!!!).
From www.worldcruising.com/arceurope
The much anticipated prize-giving got underway on Monday evening, with six awards given out. Emilio Colomer, skipper of the Spanish registered Hanse 531, Kalliope III took first place. Alec Broers, with his Oyster 485, Principessa received the award for second place, and Richard & Petra Haig, along with children Duncan, Laura and Scott, took third place, for a great sail on their Oyster 55, Fuerte. There were also another three awards, kindly sponsored by Goslings.
The Lagoon 440, Windancer IV recieved the multihull award. Lindsay Holbrook was awarded a prize for the great logs that he and his crew submitted during a pretty bumpy passage from Antigua to Bermuda, and Martin Roberts received the award for seamanship, recognizing the way in which he and his crew managed a situation at sea.
Andrew Holmes, Brand Director with Goslings Brothers, the local rum blenders and founders of the Dark and Stormy rum cocktail, sponsored a bottle of rum for each of the winners. Andrew also conducted the very popular rum-tasting session on Sunday evening, opening the crews taste-buds up to the world of quality rum.
With just a day left until the start at midday on Wednesday 21 (local Bermuda time), the participants will be spending the day making final preparations. Commanders' Weather will be issuing the pre-departure 5-day forecast this afternoon, and this will be complimented by a briefing from the Bermuda Weather Service at 4pm today.
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19/05/2008, Bermuda
John longtime friend Bruce Behrend walked through the doors of the St. George Dinghy and Sports Club the day after Windancer arrived in Bermuda and surprised John for weekend stay. Sorry for not writing more but the weather is coming in and we need to get the boat off the wall, refueled set sail very soon. I'll write more at sea and tell the stories of our time in Bermuda.
Many thank to Bruce for the visit!!!
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Well folks Neptune finally said no more mister nice guy. After 3 days of wonderful weather; sun, moderate winds, porpoises and 4 very laid back sailors things began to change on Monday, May 12th. We were expecting it, the ARC weather forecast, which is received each day around 9am, told us some difficult conditions were imminent, this is the header on the weather forecast for 5/12; "Extremely rough conditions developing next 24 hours for both fleets as they approach Bermuda. Take all the precautions necessary for this storm."
That Monday morning started like the past few days had, sunny and clear but the winds began to increase through the morning. We had broken #1 and #2 reef lines earlier, just testing them so we will have to drop the main to tie in the 3rd reef. We did that after lunch in building conditions, I think the waves were about 6' by then and the winds around 20+ kts. It was a bit dicey, John and Jim on the roof of the back deck tying the clew to the boom. Oh how we would come to appreciate that 3rd reef and those 3 wraps of good rope around the boom and through that cringle.
As Monday wore on winds increased to 25+kts and waves to probably 12-15 feet. Truth be told we were enjoying it. The boat was great, strong, fast and comfortable, it drives itself, just hit "Auto" and she just goes straight and true. We were enjoying the sight of building open ocean waves, they were beautiful and powerful and always that incredible blue. We had a great hot dinner in the salon, 4 of us around the table, wine for all, the boat just dashing across the sea. Yes it was getting rough and the boat was pounded by the seas between the hulls more and more. The sea was confused at times and other times just big ocean swells, white caps everywhere. The forecast told us to expect a cold front along with a squall line that could bring big winds overnight, 50kts they said.
Night came and we began our watches; 2hrs on standby, 2hrs Watch up on the bridge, 4 off. Winds and waves continued to increase overnight. We all had lifejackets with safety harnesses clipped on whenever on deck. It was a real challenge to walk around the boat because it was being thrown around so much by the huge waves. At about 2am the outside temperature dropped at least 15 degrees, it was like we sailed thought a wall, instantly cold, the cold front was here. We began watching the radar for thunder storms that will produce the squalls we've been warned about. They showed up clearly and we dodged a bunch of them. For days we'd been in visual contact with another boat. Now there she was directly ahead of us, going through the storm together, it was Spica and we were catching her fast, she was bare poles. The radar clearly showed we weren't going to miss one of these storms. Sure enough it moved right over us. It started to rain hard and the winds came up strong. I think it lasted about 20 minutes but man did it blow, I've never experienced winds like that on a boat. We saw 62kts on the wind instrument, 62!! The splashing waves coming off the bows were blown straight sideways, nothing splashed up, the rain hurt as it was blown into our faces. Yet on we sailed, on auto pilot, 62kt winds, a tiny diaper of a jib and that wonderfull 3rd reef. After the squall passed we felt we'd been through a right of passage a feeling of accomplishment and pride. The cold front and those nasty squalls were behind us but the conditions were still rough, 30-40kt winds now, constantly.
Morning came and we saw the size of the waves. It was a sight to see, they had to be 20+ feet by now, just massive, whole football fields of water moving, walls of water. Sometimes steep cliffs, sometimes choppy fields, sometimes just hugh, rolling mountains of water. Bob was on deck during the day a lot, just to watch the incredible scenery. Occasionally we'd hear a "YAHOO" from the bridge as one of these mountains passed. We were making the best of it folks, but it was getting old. Everything was wet by now, we were getting weary from the violent motion and it just wouldn't stop, or even slow down.
Our calculations had us into Bermuda by Wednesday, during the day, one more night in this stuff, ug. The winds were supposed to diminish by Wednesday and we were all looking forward to that. Tuesday night was more of the same, more tired now, still eating around the table, can you believe that! The boat continued to handle everything thrown at her and still the Auto Helm steered her on. The wind began to head us in the wee hours, by 3am we were sailing at about 40 degrees apparent, way to close the the wind for this boat. Our boat speed was way down, from the 7s and 8s we'd seen throughout the storm to somewhere around 2 or 3. At 4am we rolled up the jib, thank you for all your hard work and began motoring to Bermuda.
Wednesday dawned sunny but still with 30+ kt winds. We were just bashing through the waves, absolutely determined to get to safe harbor. Jim hollered 'LAND HO" at around 7am and we entered the Spitt into St. Georges Harbor around 11am. The long trick was over and we'd come through a serious storm if fine shape. As we came up the the customs dock we saw Equinox with a shreaded jib rolled up on the forestay. We'd hear more stories as the day went on. We made it through, we were all proud and promptly headed for the bar at the St. Georges Dingy and Sports Club for some rum drinks. Life is good folks, nothing better than standing on mother earth after surviving the savage sea.
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17/05/2008, Bermuda
Sorry for the delay in the blog updates. The crew divided the blog responsibilities last night, Jim will write the story of the storm, Bob will tell of the celebration upon arrival (we can blame him for the delay in the updates) and Captain John is drafting this message and the story of our departure.
Antigua was amazing, beautiful beaches, amazing history in Nelson's dockyard, Antigua Race week was spectacular (more 100' sloops than the eye can see), and the most friendly and helpful people anyone can imagine. In any case, on May 8th it was time to go. The ARC Europe organizers choose this date because weather is expected to be excelent for the journey to Bermuda. And beautiful it was.
As seen in the photo, taken by our good friend Joe Novotnak on Antares, Windancer IV started the race (it's not a race but still very competitive) 15 minutes late after the passports were disovered missing [left at the Budget Marine office - oops, bad captain!]. But being a catamaran and very fast, we quickly flew through the fleet and had the opportunity have our picture taken!
Many other ARC sailiors were cursing us, saying "We saw you guys on Windancer enjoying your dinner, on a level table [gotta love a catamaran], while we ate out of a bowl perched at 35 degrees of heel.
On day four we uplinked our position data and downloaded weather. The message started with "EXTREME WEATHER APPROACHING TAKE ALL NECESSARY PRECAUSTIONS". Sorry to leave you hanging, it's Jim's responsibility to write the story of the storm - you all know the ending - we are safe in Bermuda. We are just now saying our goodbyes to Darryl and are off to the beach (it's our first really nice day - sunny and hot, light winds and 80+ degrees!). The next blog entry will be......... THE STORM.
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15/05/2008, Virginia Beach, VA
Spent the day at Sandbridge, a wild beach with rolling dunes and surfers right out of the pages of American Eagle store.
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15/05/2008, Virginia Beach, VA
We have packed, downsized, repacked, and either stored or donated as much of our belongings as we could before we departed from Mississauga, Ontario on Monday May 5th, 2008. With two kids in the back watching movies, I set off for our first destination - Gettysburg, PA. Our final destination is Virginia Beach, Virginia to stay for a few weeks with family, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Marlene and Cousin Ariel.
Along the way, I have learned a few things:
1. There are driving gods - as we departed and I searched Sirius radio, I stumbled across the ALL Neil Diamond station which made the 9 hour Day 1 journey fly by.
2. It takes time to synchronize the biological urges of one mom and two kids - multiple stops along the way for food and pee breaks.
3. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is THE best stretch of highway in the world with super clean stops and Starbucks at each one.
4. A B&B is a great idea on paper for a romantic getaway, not so much for kids.
5. History should not be recorded in textbooks; books yes, but textbooks NO. We learned more about American history in the 3 days in Gettysburg and Washington, DC than I ever did in high school and university. With the assistance of our tour guide, Tony, an ex-marine and history professor, we toured the sites of the Gettysburg battlefield in chronological order and, looking from the vantage point of General Robert E Lee, we saw how geography played into the outcome. Gettysburg today is littered with over 1500 monuments commemorating the men and leaders who died in the course of 3, hot days in July.
6. Washington, DC is stunningly beautiful. On our first day there we did the Mall, starting at the Smithsonian Metro stop and walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Along the way we passed the World War II Memorial and paused at the Korean War Memorial. After the afternoon exploring Georgetown (where I could be convinced to retire amidst the cute restaurants, shops and brownstones) we caught the Metro to Arlington National Cemetery and walked the grounds. The city is magnificent, albeit if feels somewhat strange to be standing beside the monuments and buildings which have been images in films or settings in novels my entire life. It is also rather telling and deeply saddening that so many of the memorials commemorate a nation compelled to fight against injustice at the cost of so many of its citizens. Approximately 24 people are buried in Arlington a day; for larger scale battles or moments in time (Columbia shuttle, Pentagon on 9-11), there are memorials for the entire group of victims. And yet as you stare across the rows of white marble laid in precise military formation as far as the eye can see, there are tombstones, memorials, monuments and symbolically in the distance, the Capital Building, where the decisions originate that determine the fate of their fiercely proud citizens. It begs the question, would a city void of war monuments, actually be more beautiful?
7. Mr Smithson was a brilliant man - his donation of $508, 000 in 1829 (the equivalent of $10 million today) established a series of 19 museums filled with over 137 million artifacts which we can visit for free. We spent a rainy afternoon in the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History exploring mammals, butterflies and minerals. Fun and education all rolled into one.
8. You cannot take pictures in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, but no picture nor words could possibly capture the horror and immense tragedy of the Holocaust. Told in chronological order starting with Hitler's rise to power, you begin the self-paced tour at the top of the museum and walk in a symbolical downward spiral. Oddly, what struck me most was the wall of international newspapers documenting the political climate in Germany in the early 1940's. I had braced myself for the pictures and sadness; in my early 20's I had visited Dachau and vividly remember being overwhelmed by the size of the camp. But here, in the museum, on a wall in one room, above the fold, but not the headline of an American newspaper, read a by-line to the effect of, "Civil rights removed in Germany". And, when asked by Connor, a 12 year old struggling with the enormity and unfathomable atrocities depicted in pictures and in the room of shoes piled high as a result of the German's meticulous record keeping and orderly destruction of an race, "how could this happen?", I glanced at that newspaper and winced, that by-line creeps onto the pages of our papers today...there are an estimated 14 million refugees worldwide displaced from their homes where their life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
9. Doing nothing on no schedule is liberating. Having landed at the home of family, it felt great to read, cook, venture and explore on our own schedule. My blackberry is quiet (I have to admit it took me about a week to shift the power from it to me. No longer at the beck and call of the requests, questions and updates, I check in for blog updates from John and the crew of Windancer crossing from Antigua to Bermuda, but the eerie silence is welcome).
10. The kindness and generosity of family and friends has been staggering. During the weeks leading up to our departure, so many friends chipped in to help with after school care, Sundays with Jenny while Connor and I took scuba lessons, a home-cooked meal, or a sleep over. Work and the folks at Indigo made it easier to balance work and life and left me with super-fond memories of just how great work can be. Now, in Virginia, it is wonderful to be with family and take part in their lives - from charity performances by the NATO families to Jenny joining the Nature Club with cousin Ari to all of us sitting down to dinner. The simple things are sometimes the best.
We are missing our John and looking forward to joining him in the Azores, but not until we have said our final good byes in Toronto and visited family in Germany.
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12/05/2008, Somewhere in the Atlantic
Three days out from Antigua on our way to Bermuda 574 Nautical Miles to the North. It's been easy so far, fine weather, sunny, hot, humid. At dawn today we motored a short while and about 6 porpoises swam and frolicked near the bows, yes remember there are two bows on this boat. What beautiful creatures they are, so easy they swim, look like they're having so much fun.
Last night I was on watch and a flying fish flew right into me. I was on the bridge, 10 feet up! I thought I dropped something and looked down with my flashlight to see this deep blue fish, beautiful, with very long fins for flying flopping on the seat. Had somewhat of a battle with him before I could get him back into the water.
You just can't believe the color of this water, the deepest, richest blue you can imagine, Mac says it's almost purple, absolutely a unique color. Oh, did I mention we're sailing in 20,000 feet of water. That's 4 miles deep, no it can't be, but it is, 4 miles! I have trouble imagining that much water, it's like the stars in the sky, infinite, forever, unbelievable.
The waves or swells are also really cool, long slow moving masses of water, big but only about 2-4 meters. We haven't seen an angry sea yet, this is an easy, comfortable sea, so far. Our boat is big and comfortable, moves well under sail, faster than most of the other ARC boats. Some of the bigger boats have gone ahead of us, that's to be expected, longer waterline good for making way.
It's all good folks, 4 sailors lost in paradise, looking for adventure in the Atlantic Ocean. Wow, just saying that is a rush. It's time to go on watch now, looking forward to it, master of the ship on this big ocean for my short time.
Best wishes from Windancer IV at sea.
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10/05/2008, Sailing aboard Windancer
Two days in and the crew of Windancer are fairing well. They left Antigua on May 8th with the wind form ESE at 15-20 knots. The boat was sailing perfect at between 8 and 9 knots. FAST. They are 648 nautical miles from Bermuda and covered 142 miles in the last 24 hours.
They are currently in 7TH out of 17 and the only multihull in the pack.
The last 24 hours have seen much calmer conditions with calm seas but still moving at 5 knots which should land them in Bermuda on Thursday, May 15th.
Seems the seas are calm enough for haircuts. Thank the gods there is still a month before any of the men meet their wives!
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08/05/2008, Jolly Harbour, Antigua
A quick note as we set off the docklines and head to sea. After months, years of preparation, the journey really begins today.
I have been aboard Windancer IV for just over a month, and the preparations are now complete - no more boat shopping at sea.
Please keep us in your thoughts for a safe passage to Bermuda. We should be checking into St. Georges, Bermuda on May 15th or 16th.
Fair winds and following seas to all.
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07/05/2008, Jolly Harbour, Antigua
The crew of Windancer IV enjoyed a ARC Europe dinner hosted by Jolly Harbour Marina. The photo shows Jim and John with the crew of C squared (Chris and Chris) who are returning to the UK for the summer.
The final, pre-departure day was filled with final provisioning and last minute equipment purchases to complete the safety checks Windancer IV. ARC safety official Vincent was aboard the boat late in the day and presented captain and crew with a "clean bill of health" and clearance for departure as all safety requirements were met.
We attended the mandatory skipper briefing at 1700 in the Dogwatch Tavern and received final instructions for the 1st leg of the voyage and then enjoyed a final departure gathering with all the crews of the participating boats.
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06/05/2008, St. Johns, Antigua
It's amazing how some things just work out. Today, Darryl, Bob and John went to town (the capital city) to provision fresh produce and potentially source a part for the boat.
One of the sails, the gennaker, requires a halyard (the line that pulls the sail up the mast) which runs through a pulley The pulley failed and we need the sail to run at full potential. I went up the mast, removed the bad part, and we walked to the bus stop to catch the bus to town.
We need the part, ask the guy at the local fish market, "talk to the guy at the bus station", he know a guy at Kendall Motors who should be able to make your part. Take Simon's taxi across town to Kendall Motors... Sure, no problems, mon - 2 hours.
We headed back to the market, bought our produce (not from the women looking for a husband!), and the boys took the bus back to the boat while John waited for the part.
Sure enough, after a brisk, sweaty walk to the machine shop, on FACTORY ROAD (where else would it be?) I picked up the perfect, new pulley and headed back to the boat.
Up the mast, try the part, part is perfect, existing spreader material is the problem and the pulley won't work - SHIT! So off to Budget Marine, new block purchased, back to the boat, up the mast again, part installed - PERFECTION!!!!! I love it when a job comes together.
Tonight the crew will feaster with the other ARC Europe participants at a welcome dinner. (PS - the boys enjoyed lunch in St. Johns at Samirs restaraunt with Swarmas that put Windsor's Swarma Kingdon to shame!).
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04/05/2008, Carlisle Bay, Antigua
A beautiful night, a perfect bay, and three days to go before the team departs for Bermuda. Darryl made breakfrast, french toast, and then after a few minor boat repairs, Bob and I dove over the bow and swam to shore - memories of pushing Connor overboard at dawn on Peter Island. Today marks the first days of Ziggy, Connor and Jenny's travels to Virginia to meet brother Bruce and family for the next few weeks.
One month from tomorrow marks the reunion of the MacKenzie family when Ziggy and kids arrive on Horta, Azores.
We walked the beach, took pictures from the resort (Shae and family have to meet us here next year - it's so beautiful) and then the brothers swam back to the boat (that's a good workout!).
PS - The beachside restaurant at the resort is called "Indigo on the Beach"!!!
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