In case you are wondering just what happened to us these past couple of months, worry not. Change certainly came and it came quite quickly. For me who digests change slowly, this summer has been a mind boggling mix of excitement, worry and many, many challenges. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Late June, after a month of idle chatter, Manny suddenly closed the deal on a delivery job. This was to be the longest delivery we have done yet and for us required lots of preparation. How do you just up and leave students you regularily teach, clients you have lined up work with and your floating home at the drop of a hat? How do you find crew, acquaint yourself with several different cruising areas and learn a new boat's systems in a couple of weeks? Let me tell you it isn't easy, but it is possible.
Our summer job was to fly to France and pick up a brand new, luxury, 50 foot catamaran and deliver it over 3000 miles along the Atlantic coast, through the strait of Gibraltar across the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal and up the Red Sea to Eilat. The boat, Ellen, was a Lagoon 500 and would be used for chartering.
And so it was at the beginning of July that Manny, Mosheko and I set out for La Rochelle France. After twenty four hours of waiting around airports, cramming into crowded charter flights and driving all night long through the French countryside, we arrived tired and excited about the start of this great adventure. We were welcomed aboard by Boris, the man who is managing the whole operation and his nephew Ilia. Ellen, our home for the next two months was floating gently at La Vieux Port in La Rochelle.
Barely able to keep our eyes open after twenty four hours in transit, Manny and I jittered with the excitement of being in France again. Here we were in the land of baguettes, camembert cheese and may I add cheap wine! However, before we could enjoy France's culinary delights we had lots of work to do.
The first leg of our delivery was up the infamous Bay of Biscay and along the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal to Gibraltar. We had only a few days to finish commissioning Ellen, do some trial sails and provision. At every spare minute, I tried to keep a watch on the weather with hopes of finding a good window to get us around Cape Finister.
For this leg we would have on board Boris, Ilia, Mosheko and Noam, our last crew member who would join us in a few days. Knowing that Boris and Ilia had never sailed before, Manny planned on doubling up watches, a strategy that turned out to be well chosen.
Just five days after arriving, at the end of a long day of provisioning and installing yet more new equipment, Boris suddenly decided that it was time to go. Ilia had a flight back to Israel from Malaga Spain on July twenty third and Boris was determined to make it on time. Manny and I swallowed our concerns about racing the clock and safe passages - a theme that was to resurface again and again on this delivery. I quickly checked the weather one more time and saw that while we did not have an ideal weather window, it wasn't the worst.
Within two hours we were under way.
The Bay of Biscay lived up to her reputation and we had a long, wet windy passage. No one on board had sailed a catamaran before. This first passage was a beat for four long days. The incredible pounding and jerking motions a cat makes on a beat, along with the terrific crashing sounds wore on us all. By nightfall of the first day three of the crew, including this blogger were sick. Day two brought a respite so Mosheko got his fishing lines out and Noam cooked baked chicken and potatoes for dinner. When I came out early for my night watch, I found Mosheko and Ilia with huge grins on their faces blasting Dire Straits from the stereo. During the night dolphins joined us. Throughout this passage we saw many dolphins but that night they were spectacularly beautiful streaming phosphorescence from their tales.
Then the weather took a turn for the worse. By day three we all looked a sorry sight - wet, cold and exhausted. On July 14, my log entry says it all:
Very rough. High seas. Wind blowing spume off of tops of waves. Taking lots of green water over the bow. Very wet on the fly bridge. Autohelm has stopped working. Steering by hand under engine.
Adding a devilish twist the autohelm had broken during the day and Manny wasn't able to effect a repair at sea. All night long, the crew hand steered in driving rain.
It is here that I must give credit to Boris and Ilia. Newcomers to the game, they had a harsh initiation and the morning of day four Boris gently asked Manny if there was a safe harbour nearby. I had prepared myself in advance with several options along this coast just in case and quickly suggested La Coruna, Spain.
On July fifteenth, Ellen motored into La Coruna and tied up at Darsena de la Marina. It is always a surprise to come in to calm waters from rough seas. As one closes the shore the boats movement becomes enjoyable, the sun peaks out of the clouds and up ahead one sees the marina and all the shore side amenities beckoning. This day was no exception. We were a tired and wet crew. We had only started on our journey, but the Bay of Biscay was behind us and we were satisfied with our progress.
Over the next few days we would have repairs to make, some fresh stores to buy and laundry to do. For now the old city of La Coruna beckoned. We had a new town and a new country to explore.
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06/18/2009, Gulf of Aqaba
There is an old joke that asks "How do you make God laugh?" the response being "Make a plan." Aboard Yofy we've heard God's chuckle for a couple of years and we've finally got smart. We're not making plans anymore. No siree. Oh, we have a general goal that has not changed and we have dreams but we are also learning to accept that some things are not in our control.
Take the world economy for example. All around us people are loosing jobs and savings are slowly dwindling. Cruisers are thinking twice about spending big money for canal passages such as the Panama and the Suez. Passage planning takes into careful consideration marina fees in costly places such as the Mediterranean.
One of the big projects left to do on Yofy is haulout. In most marinas around the world sailors haul their boats out every one to two years for general maintenance on the hull. In Canada our marina fees included the option to haulout and mast de-step once a year. Here in Eilat, two years after we bought Yofy, our marina cancelled the possibility to haulout on site.
In the intermitting time different options were explored until the city opened a space of shoreline next to Eilat's commercial harbour and accepted bids on haulout management and facilities. With the finesse reminicient of a banana republic, the bid went to a family that had no experience in the field and they proceeded to make a small fortune. Prices at this facility were set at over $2000 dollars for a small boat Yofy's size. Yard facilities included a square of sandy ground, an extension cable to an electrical hookup and use of a hose for water. Yard hands were handy to weld, scrape and paint. Quality of work was dicey at best, but the real terror was the ways car.
Lacking a travel lift or even a hefty crane, this facilty chose to use the most basic ways car method to haul boats from the water to land. Additionally as most of the boats using the haulout facility were large commercial boats in the chicken charter trade, the ways car they built was meant for large vessels. On the spot adaptations were made by welding steel wedges in place to accommodate smaller boats. The approach to the ways car is open to the sea and in a blow onshore waves can make hauling out dangerous indeed.
This yard operated for several years holding fast to their monopoly. Damages to boats were not uncommon and boat owners always held their breath before the final bill. This winter, sailboat owners got fed up and began to pester city hall for another option. After several meetings and stalled decisions last week the word was out that the yard had been closed. What boatowners will do now is up in the air.
Fortunately the first year we owned Yofy we had the chance to do one major haulout including an osmosis job on the hull. However that was six years ago and to say our hull is foul is an understatement. Every few months Manny dives on the hull and scrapes her as clean as he can, but we cannot replace seacocks and inspect our rudder or shaft.
Last Saturday we went out sailing with Doron and as luck would have it we caught some shots of the family having one last barbeque on their business premisis. It was a calm day with almost no wind and Yofy barely moved in the water sluggish with her foul bottom. We didn't really care because it was a hot sultry day and all we really wanted to do was to get off shore and jump in for a swim.
Around four in the afternoon we dropped our sails and drifted in the middle of the Bay of Aqaba. As I made lunch, I heard Manny pointing out some clouds to Doron and saying "It looks like rain." We all smiled. "Rain? In June? No way." Manny grabbed his mask and snorkel and slipped over Yofy's transom for a quick inspection of her hull. Moments later I looked out the companion way and saw a line of sharp waves heading our way. As I headed for the cockpit, Manny raised his head and clamberd on board. Within less than a minute a southerly squall passed over Yofy, letting loose a few sprinkles of rain and whipping the sea into a foaming temper. Spumes blew off the tops of waves around us and Yofy leaned on her side against the gusts. We all watched in awe as wind speeds leapt from 8 knots to 35 or 40.
Manny and I moved into heavy weather procedures. He pulled up the swim ladder, started the engine and kept it in idle. I added extra ties to our sun awning and made sure everything on deck was secure. We both eyed our searoom, ready to head further out to sea if we had to. And then the wind died and in fifteen minutes it was all over.
This is so typical of sailing conditions on the Red Sea. The day's weather forecast had been for benign conditions. Sailors who headed out that day were more concerned with sun protection than sea condtions. The only warning was that odd line of clouds that could just as easily blow over- that and one day before full moon. I always take the weather seriously close to a full moon.
So, just as any day on the sea can call for a change of plans, we are rethinking our summer choices. These economic times and Eilat's limited facilities for cruisers are calling for some creative thinking.
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05/07/2009, Gulf of Aqaba
Childhood memories of spring cleaning in my Canadian home don't hold a candle to Passover cleaning in Israel. Women in this country begin their cleaning a good month before the holiday. Every inch of the home gets a thorough cleaning. Walls are scrubbed or painted, windows shined, and kitchens scoured till they glisten. This spring cleaning is no small chore and it takes on the importance of national pride.
Understand then, the frustration everyone feels at this time of the year, when a Sharav blows in and dumps a carload of sand in each persons sparkling clean home. This years' Passover Sharav blew in mid week just as we were enjoying a BBQ with friends.
The next day I arose bright and early to face some serious cleaning and caught the crew of one of the charter boats sweeping the decks. Chuckling to myself, I got out the hose and began rinsing inches of sand off of Yofy's deck and rigging. Once the decks were dry, I turned to the interior and used my special dust - buster combo. This is an invention that works a charm when you don't have a vacuum cleaner. Oh, did I mention that our shop vac broke down one day before the Sharav blew in?
My dust - buster consists of one carpet beater, one large soft, thick rag (half an old bath towel works well) a bucket of clean water and a dab of dish washing soap. I use it to clean all of Yofy's upholstery. Sailboat interiors sport a proportionally large number of upholstered cushions that even without a Sharav are prone to collecting dust and mold. While I do machine wash the covers once a year, I use this technique between washes to keep the fabric bright and sweet smelling. In damp environments I add a couple of drops of tea tree oil to the water or alternately a splash of vinegar to deter mold.
I immerse the rag in the bucket of slightly soapy water and ring it out well. Then I lay the extended rag on the cushion and bang the bejeezes out of it with the carpet beater. After a few whacks I rinse the rag and continue till I've banged the entire surface of the cushion. It is truly amazing just how much dirt this method will release. Of course, Manny likes to make sexual innuendos whenever he sees me getting out the carpet beater and neighbours get a good laugh when they see me whacking away, but who am I to let a little ribbing get in the way of a good thing?
This year I have discovered a new cleaning product that has many uses aboard Yofy. It is an environmentally friendly degreaser. While I normally keep my cleaning supplies down to a few basics, this spray degreaser has really come in handy. The brand that I use is called "Ecofriend" but I am sure there are other equally good products out there on the market. We have used this degreaser to not only clean the oven, but our bilges, vinyl cockpit cushions, fenders, vinyl coated lifelines and even to remove cetol dribbles from our fiberglass hull. The last use was clearly a grab in an emergency and it did cross my mind that I wouldn't want to be spraying the gelcoat at random with this stuff. Better to spay some on a cloth and to swipe the dribble itself, but it did work a charm.
Years ago, just after we had invested in our lovely pale green upholstery, I knocked over a full glass of red wine straight on to one of the salon cushions. As the red stain spread, I let loose a few explicatives, thought about how much it would cost us to replace that cushion and dove for the salt. Unfortunately no amount of salt would remove the stain and by the next morning there was quite a large ugly mark. I mixed hydrogen peroxide straight with a teaspoon of dishwashing soap and dribbled it all over the stain rubbing the detergent in well. Then I took the cover off the cushion and went to a Laundromat. The cover came out of the washing machine good as new with no signs of red wine at all. Since then we've kept a good supply of hydrogen peroxide aboard and use it regularly for spot stains on the upholstery.
When I am cooking with lemons, I save the skins after juicing and use them to give our brass a quick rub. If the brass has been neglected for some time I will use half a fresh lemon and allow the juice to sit awhile. Later I can sprinkle on coarse salt and give the brass a rub with the lemon skin. Lemons are also a good cleaner for untreated teak and they cut grease well. You can rub the interior of a lemon skin over your varnished bulkheads and cabinets to degrease. Then wipe clean with using a bucket of water and a clean rag and you will have a sweet smelling cabin with glowing woodwork.
We like to keep a gallon jug of simple vinegar on board Yofy. Vinegar is an excellent cleaning substance and has many uses on board a cruising sailboat. Every few months, we dump about 2 cups of vinegar in the head, pump it into the hoses and let it stand for a few hours. Then we pump the vinegar out and rinse with sea water. Manny also runs vinegar in much the same way through Yofy's engine about once a year. Vinegar will help prevent the salt water scale that builds up in hoses without damaging rubber seals and valves. Fiberglass head compartments will smell sweet and remain mildew free if you regularly wipe them down with a vinegar water solution and vinegar makes a wonderful hair rinse.
Meanwhile, yet another Sharav is on the horizon and my sinuses are having a party. - Nothing to do but batten down the hatches and prepare for another round of spring cleaning.
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