The Hynes Honeymoon!

09 February 2019 | Earth
05 December 2012
25 May 2010 | San Francsico, CA
22 May 2010 | Brissy to Sydney, Australia
14 May 2010 | Bundaburg to Brisbane
10 March 2010
02 March 2010 | Hiva Oa, Marquesas
15 February 2010
14 February 2010 | Half Moon Bay, California
08 February 2010 | Virginia to Australia
04 February 2010 | Norfolk to Sydney
03 February 2010
20 January 2010 | From Norfolk to Australia, 15,500 miles
15 January 2010
11 January 2010 | Brisbane, Australia
07 January 2010 | Nammucca Point, NSW, Australia

Day 7: Worried About

10 April 2009 | Pacific Ocean Crossing
Author: Seth
Days at Sea: 215
Pic: First mate's fully stocked galley

As the rainy conditions and turbulent seas continued, we discussed what to put in our ditch bag, got out our sea anchor and talked about disaster planning. Although we felt secure and confident in our boat, we wanted to make sure we all knew what to do should an emergency occur. But we were already well prepared having left for our voyage with six key concerns in mind. These were:

1) Diesel and Power: Electricity would power our GPS systems, auto-pilot, navigation lights, electric heads (toilets), and even the solenoid that opens the valve for our gas oven for cooking. Without a way to generate electricity we would be compounding our risk. SOLUTION: So we made sure to bring more than three times as much diesel as we thought we needed, which would in turn power any of our three engines that charge the batteries. All told, we had 50 gallons in our boat storage tanks and another 105 gallons in jerry cans. We probably looked ridiculous with red fuel cans lashed to various places all over the boat, but we were not going to run out of fuel.

2) Drinking Water and Food: We need to be able to eat and drink for a minimum of three weeks, but planned on four weeks just to be safe. SOLUTION: Finding the food was difficult in the Galapagos so we had to load up every single storage compartment on board with food purchased way back in Panama! All told we had over $2,000 of food on board and 160 gallons of water in our tanks, plus 20 gallons of bottled water as a safety back up. And should things really turn ugly, we could capture rainwater on the bimini in our trusty orange Home Depot bucket. But Elizabeth would probably kill me if it came to that, so I made sure we had LOTS of water on board and that our water maker was in good working order.

3) Physical Safety was another huge concern. A deep laceration, 3rd degree burn or broken bone could end up being fatal with no immediate access to a hospital. Even if we had a way to call for help, no helicopter would be able to fly a distance of 3,000 miles without refueling, so it was imperative that we were careful when holding knives, boiling water for coffee and holding onto something solid when the boat rocked. SOLUTION: Although we had purchased a heavy-duty first aid kit and lots of extra band-aids and ice-packs, I repeatedly called for everyone to be extra cautious, hoping to remind us of our situation (although I was probably the one that needed to be reminded most).

4) Chafing and Breakage: We needed to keep the boat in good working order. If there was anything we learned in the first few months of boat ownership it was that boats break... Sails can rip, lines chafe, electronics rust, diesel ages, engines clog up, hulls leak, and rigging loosens. At home, 30 minutes from your boat slip this would not be a problem. But in the ocean we would need to have any spare parts already on board and we would need to know how to fix things that break. SOLUTION: We were sure to leave with loads and loads of spare parts. Although the boat came stripped of all spares, I can honestly say that this boat was ready for sea. The only item we were not prepared to repair would have been our auto-pilot as we did not have a spare pneumatic arm or circuit board should ours fail. But this is the main reason we sought out a third crew member, and with Tim's help the three of us could break up shifts hand steering in an emergency situation.

5) Falling Overboard at night has to be every sailors worst nightmare. Even if someone did see you go overboard, they would have a very difficult time turning the boat around quick enough to keep you in eye sight. And with 20 knot winds, five foot waves, a steady 1 knot of current and total utter blackness, the chances are against you ever being seen again. But now imagine if you fell overboard during your watch and no one saw you go overboard. The boat, on auto-helm, would continue to sail on without you for several hours before anyone became aware you were missing. You would hit the water, scream for help but then watch in horror as the silhouette of the sails disappeared behind each wave and then eventually over the horizon. And then you would be alone... SOLUTION: This gets everyone worried (especially our mothers), but we walked through our Man Over Board procedures; instated firm rules about waking someone if you go on deck; we wore lifejackets at night with waterproof strobe lights; we had harnesses that clipped onto jacklines running the full length of the boat; and we even installed a clever "Man Overboard" sensor that sets off an alarm should the device you wear go overboard. So while we were as prepared as we could be, the thought of falling overboard at night remains a chilling one.

6) Proper Storm Management Gear and Tactics are something I would be remises not to mention. Having experienced 50-knot winds and 20-foot seas off Colombia, we were sure to know how to secure the boat should conditions get ugly. SOLUTION: Aside from SOS equipment like an EPIRB, SPOT, MOM, SSB and VHF; we had non-expired flares and life raft equipment; we ensured that our reefing system worked and did an adequate job reducing sail area; we had a properly sized sea anchor with 300 feet of anchor line that we could adjust to the wave period (from what I have read lately, 100 feet is the recommended length to try first); and finally, we had a system prepared to act as a drogue to slow down our surfing (anchor line shackled to two 20 foot lengths of chain - although in hind sight I would buy the drogue with multiple tiny drogues as this allows you to adjust the drag to your environment).

Hopefully our spare diesel, spare water, spare food, spare parts, spare crew member and firm rules of conduct would keep us all safe. And it did.
Comments
Vessel Name: Honeymoon
Vessel Make/Model: 2004 Lagoon 380, Hull 279, Owner's Version
Hailing Port: San Francisco, CA
Crew: Seth & Elizabeth Hynes
About:
Seth & Elizabeth met in 2004 and have long since agreed that they did not want to live "the typical life. [...]
Extra:
OUR EXPERIENCE: Seth is a lifelong sailor with over 25 years of boating experience. His family taught him to sail via ASA instruction and through many weekend trips on their family boat, a Benateau 35, sailed on Lake St. Clair, Michigan. He then moved to San Francisco where he raced with two [...]
Home Page: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/honeymoon/

Seth & Elizabeth Hynes

Who: Seth & Elizabeth Hynes
Port: San Francisco, CA