Tues Nov 1

I drove our beasts, Blackie and Baby from Boston to Ocean City, Md. On the way we visited and had dinner with one our favorite crew members, Lindsay, who is a freshman at Haverford College near Philadelphia. I arrived at Sunset Marina at 10:30 pm Tuesday night. All seemed fine with Briclin II.

Wed Nov 2

Rick cleaned, provisioned and got the boat ready for the arrival of our crack crew on Thursday. Dale Stock from Ft. Lauderdale, Bob Kearns from Kenosha Wi, and our newest recruit, Dan Holland of Boston. I promised them an adventure and a journey, and left the details up to Mother Nature.

Thurs Nov 3

I met Dale, Bob and Dan at noon at the Salisbury Airport. Our crew seemed rested, ecxited and eager to go. We were planning to leave for our 1600 mile sail Friday morning, but the winds were blowing gale force. Postponing our start for a day, we had a few beverages and dinner at the Shark before retiring.

Fri Nov 4

Woke and made a unanimous decision to layover for another day as the winds were gusting to 40 knots. We went to Home Depot and West Marine and bought all of their jerry jugs in order to have 65 extra gallons of diesel with us on our trip. Dan's brother Ryan, a commander with the Navy River force stationed out of Norfolk Va, came up for the day and night to visit. It was another night of tall tales at the Shark and Sunset Grille. All campers were happy, fed, liquored, rested, and ready to go.

Sat Nov 5 - We are off!

Slept in and rose slowly. Winds still howling but predictions were for them to taper off by mid afternoon. After lunch on the boardwalk and seeing Ryan off, we decided to cast off at 4:30 pm. We raised the sails in the bay, set the second reef in the main, shut the engines off and pointed SE towards Bermuda some 600 miles away. We had a 10% chance of meeting a sub tropical storm (more later). Our shifts for the journey: Dan 6-9, Rick 9-12, Dale 12-3, and Bob 3-6. Our goal was to make it to St Croix in 8 to 9 days and use as little fuel as possible. Our big picture goals were to learn Spanish and Guitar, and eat all the Halloween candy that magically manifested each day.

Dinner Sat night was pre-made Sloppy Joes paired with bonine. During the first 5 hours of rough seas Dan, Rick, and Blackie the wonder dog all got seasick. With Capt. Dale also trying to shake a very bad headcold, it seemed like a very foreboding start. Our course would take us through the gulf stream in 13 hours then SE 600 miles to Bermuda, then 900 miles due south at 65 degrees w longitude to St Croix.

Sun Nov 6

Winds from the NE at 25 knots, 15 foot waves coming from behind us, lots of creaking and banging, accompanied us as we crossed the Gulf Stream. Dan was still sick, and Baby and Blackie both scared shitless. Dale's cold was on the mend and transferred to Dan to make his maiden voyage even more enjoyable. With the second reef still in we made 210 miles in a day averaging almost 9 mph. Dinner was sandwiches and chips. The bang bang banging of the waves meant little sleep for our team. Some day the sun will shine, but apparently not here.

Mon Nov 7

Another 210 miles sailed under a storm sail and genoa averaging 9 mph. As night approached the waves grew to 20 feet while the wind dialed up to 35 plus. Although not very relaxing, we dined on grilled chicken with asparagus, salad and ice cream. We had another sleepless night due to the pounding, growing waves and screaming winds. Ever the optimists, we made a lot of headway - 420 miles in 2 days. Sleep is over rated anyways.


Tues Nov 8

Oh shit. Our 10% chance of a subtropical storm had been upgraded to tropical storm Sean, less than 200 miles SE of us. Using our weather satellite we decided to backtrack west and south of Sean, as it was predicted to go right at Bermuda. Our bailout point was now 36 hours away in the Bahamas. With the winds still screaming at 35 plus, and seas buliding to over 23 feet, Rick braised ribs and boiled broccoli for the crew. While we surfed the waves forward, Dan overcame his seasickness only to realize we were 600 miles from land in seas 13000 ft deep with large and unrelenting winds and waves. We had another day of great milage, but hardly an enjoyable ride.


Wed Nov 9

We had more 35 plus winds but seas finally diminishing down to 20 footers. We got south of Sean's killing zone and were again making great mileage. Still with storm sales up, we dined on chicken burritos. We had only 650 miles to St Croix. Will the sun and blue skys ever return?

Thurs Nov 10

Are we in heaven? Winds fell to 25 mph from the SW. The waves were easing. Sun and blue skies returned. This is what we came for. As we made 9 mph under sail we fished, checked the water maker and generator, and repaired two chaffed reef lines. As the sun went down we hoisted a few brews and happily dined on grilled ribeyes, corn, roasted potatoes, and a great cabernet. This is sailing. As the winds started to shift back to the east at 7pm, we fired up the port engine to add some speed. With another 500 miles to go, it looks like we should arrive around noon on Sunday.

Fri Nov11

We had another spectacular sunny, windy, day of sail. SW winds near 20, no waves makes our crew happy, as does a few beers accompanying another beautiful sunset.


Sat Nov 12

The thorny path is back. We woke to beating into 28 knot winds from the E accompanied by 7 foot waves.There was lots of pitching, creaking, and banging. Thank god we are only 24 hours out. On Rick's 9-12 pm watch we got caught up in an instant monster squall with 42 mph winds and torrential rains. Rick and Dale got the genoa down but the main at 1 reef took a pounding.

Sun Nov 13

Continued bashing into the wind and waves meant little sleep was had. Dawn found us off the Spanish Virgin Islands, meaning that for the first time in 8 days, we had cell coverage. The crew quickly fired up their phones and re-connected with the world. 40 miles from St Croix the main sail block broke and down came the sail. We got to St Croix Marine in Gallows Bay and tied up the boat at 2 pm.

1600 miles, a close encounter with tropical storm Sean, 35 knot winds, 25 foot seas, 8 days and 7 nights. We averaged 200 miles per day with 4 days of using only a storm sail. Four souls and two tormented animals were happy to tie up at the dock again. Damage report: broken watermaker, washer machine, genoa clew ripped out, main sail block broken, and 2 bildge pumps demanding a reprieve. No progress on the Spanish or Guitar lessons but lots of exhilarating sailing. Our great crew celebrated land with lots of cheap rum and bar food at Rum Runners, whose motto is "The liver is evil, and must be punished."

Bret arrives monday night. Let the pirate adventure begin....