Monday, September 27, 2010

Rain and Waves Dominate Brief Final Sail - September 27, 2010

Kelly IV on her "mooring"
John Stahl signed up to do the first fall work day to help me with Kelly IV's haul out.  Since both of us were free to go to Erie a day early, we decided to take Kelly for a daysail.  Unfortunately, the weather was grey, blustery and rainy with a forecast for increased wind, waves and rain as Monday wore on.

While Kelly has been in Erie this month, we've treated the CQR anchor as if it is a mooring.  I tied a couple small floats onto the end of the anchor line.  Every time we moved Kelly IV from the anchorage, we merely untied the anchor line and dropped it, with the floats, off the bow and sailed away.  When we returned, it was just a matter of using the boat hook to retrieve the line by snagging onto the floats.  Jack VanArsdale suggested this when we first arrived in Erie and it has worked well all month!

About 11am John dropped the anchor floats off of Kelly's bow and we motored out of the bay heading directly into the northeasterly breeze.  And it was a very cool, stiff breeze.  Presque Isle Bay was choppy, the channel was worse and there were nasty little 2 to 3 footers bashing us on the nose as we made our way into the open lake.

John and I raised the mainsail with the first reef tied in and only unfurled the jib to the top of the bow pulpit, effectively a first reef in the jib.  With the Yanmar shutdown the only sound was the splashing and whooshing of the waves and wind as we beat into them close hauled on a due north heading.  We tacked to avoid the shoals of Gull Point and could point no higher than 120 degrees.  Although the breeze made for great sailing, the cool temperature, damp spray, threatening grey clouds and short, steep choppy waves made for an uncomfortable ride beating to weather.

It only took a couple more tacks and the addition of some determined rain clouds to convince us that we were “gentlemen”.  As in “Gentlemen Never Sail to Weather”!  It had taken us over an hour to tack our way to the northeast only a couple miles beyond the channel into the bay.  Once we ran downwind, we covered the few miles in less than half the time, with much greater comfort, and with almost no spray.  With the wind at our backs we blasted through the channel without even turning the engine on.  John was steering most of the time and continued to turn the helm to the southwest as we ran toward the Erie Yacht Club at the far end of the bay.

As we approached the EYC, John called “Helm's-a-lee!” and we tacked back into the building breeze.  Without the battering waves of the open lake, the close hauled trim became an exciting and enjoyable sail.  John successfully tacked Kelly several more times to place her off the entrance to Marina Lake in Presque Isle State Park.  The breeze was strong enough that we never needed the motor, but drifted through the almost dead wind space in the small entrance to the park's anchorage.  As we made the turn to the west, the breeze came clear of the towering trees and we sailed nicely up to our makeshift mooring.  We only used the motor for a little fine tuning as we maneuvered to pick up the anchor line.

John and I had a good, if wet and chilly sail, but now it was time to work.  We rigged the whisker pole as a crane, lifted the Portland Pudgy onto the foredeck and pulled the CQR off the bottom.  Raising anchor became a job worthy of Mike Rowe!  John volunteered to do the messy deed, but I fear he didn't understand just how dirty the job really was.  At first the line came up just fine, then it became dark in color from the bottom muck until finally the anchor line appeared to be twice as thick.  In fact, the extra density came from the globs of black, gooey crud that makes up the bottom of the anchorage.  While it is terrific for holding a boat anchor in the strongest of winds, the thick black mess sticks to and stains everything it touches.  To clear the muck off the anchor rode and chain and finally the anchor itself, John had to continuously and vigorously splash the line, then chain, then CQR up and down in the water to gradually wash everything enough to drop it back down the hawse hole.  If John had not done this job well, then the odoriferous slime would generate a foul scent that would permeate the entire vessel.  Thankfully, John did extremely well and the anchor, nicely cleaned, came to rest in its place on the roller.

I dropped John off at the fuel dock so he could drive the car around the bay while Kelly and I motored over to Bay Harbor Marina.  In the morning, the team at BHM would haul Kelly out of the water and put her on a cradle in the RCR Yachts yard for the winter.  It was pouring down rain Tuesday morning as John and I pulled the Genoa and main off their spars and folded them up.  Thankfully the rain intensity dropped to a mere drizzle with frequent dry moments, so the weather kept improving as the work progressed.

Although the “Dreary Erie” weather made things a little uncomfortable, our rain gear kept us mostly dry and the job was done.  John and I were both back to our respective homes in time for dinner Tuesday night.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Another World Traveling Sailor Meets Kelly - September 17 – 19, 2010

Jack VanArsdale, Bill Paviol and his daughter, Sarah, joined Kelly IV for the final sail of the 2010 season.  We drove to Kelly IV on Friday night, loaded our provisions and gear and climbed into our sleeping bags.

It was an early wake up at 6am as Jack prepared a delicious breakfast for the crew and we were on our way at 0700.  As we cleared the channel departing Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PA, the mild breeze was about 10 knots and mostly southerly so we set the sails for a broad reach and were bounding along quite nicely.  Our original thought was to sail to Dunkirk, NY, but as the day wore on, the wind gradually shifted directly behind the stern (southwest) and built to a blustery 15 knots.  While this was great sailing, especially as we set the whisker pole and sails for wing-and-wing, it also brought grey clouds and the looming threat of rain.  It was the gloomy thought that the cold rain might catch us that changed our destination.  About Noon we were only about 4 miles from Barcelona, NY, a port of many fond memories and one that Jack had never been to.  Our stories of the small but interesting harbor and it's friendly people convinced us to rethink our destination and we set the new course for Barcelona, due East instead of Northeast.

Jack had the helm for much of the sail and did a great job of keeping us on our northeasterly course about 5 to 10 miles off the brown cliffs and green trees of the Lake Erie coastline.  The waves came upon the stern, pushing Kelly one way or the other, then sloshing noisily by as it passed underneath.  While the action was similar to our recent delivery trip as the winds were aft and the waves were lifting the stern and rolling the boat as the they slid underneath, it was a much kinder/gentler version!  These breezes to Barcelona were only about 15 knots and the waves were only 2 to 3 feet, so the scale was dramatically smaller than the “similar” sail from Sandusky a couple weeks earlier.

Knowing that the Barcelona Harbor is quite shallow, we entered slowly with Jack at the helm, myself on the bow and Bill managing our communications so everyone could work smoothly together.  The harbormaster told us in a phone call that with Kelly's 5 ft draft, we should just anchor in the small channel, keeping close to the western breakwater.   Even there we saw consistent depths of 6 to 7 feet, just enough to keep Kelly floating!

We recognized one of the moored boats as the one owned by a world circumnavigator whom we had talked with on our last trip to Barcelona, which happened to be Kelly III's final cruise when I sold her before finding Kelly IV.  Fortunately, the experienced sailor was on board his boat as we entered the harbor, so he clambered down into his dinghy and motored slowly over to us.  He asked about our anchors.  Finding that we had our 2 Danforths, he suggested we use both of them to be sure they dug into the somewhat weedy bottom (not usually good for Danforths).  The white haired sailor with more than a few miles under his keel, also pointed out that the pretty blue-hulled boat on a mooring very near us was, in fact, aground!  The pretty boat's draft was five and a half feet, just inches more than Kelly IV!

There was an open mooring between the 38 ft world traveled cruiser and the pretty boat, but thinking that another boat might own and pick up the mooring later, we decided to anchor between the moored boats and the small rocky beach at the end of the breakwater.  It was the tightest anchor spot Kelly IV has ever been in.  Thankfully, the shallow depth called for a short rode to accomplish a 5 to 1 scope.  With four feet of freeboard and 6 feet of depth, we only needed 50 feet of rode to achieve the 5 to 1 scope.  We put out both Danforth anchors and our swing was very minimal.

In the early afternoon, the sun returned, the wind kept changing from West to South to SE to SW and around again.  It was quite the test for our anchors, so the crew went ashore leaving an anchor watch (me).  Although the winds shifted a lot, the majority of the breeze came from the west.  It seemed Kelly IV was gradually inching her way closer to the pretty grounded boat, until finally I felt it was necessary to move the anchors a little further to the west, away from the moored boats, especially the grounded one.  With two anchors down, very little swing room and no crew (they were all ashore exploring the tiny harbor, marinas, restaurants, historic lighthouse and 16th century sailing ship) my adrenalin was a bit elevated!

I shouldn't have been concerned.  The breeze dropped to about 5 knots which was perfect, as it was just enough to make Kelly drift, but so minimal that just putting the engine into gear was enough to propel Kelly into the slight breeze.  With the sun bathing the entire scene, it became an upbeat and enjoyable exercise.  Kelly just motored slowly forward as I pulled up both anchor rodes until the bow was spit between the two anchors.  Then I put the engine in neutral and pulled Kelly to one side collecting the first anchor, then back to the other side and popped the second anchor off the bottom.  With the now very light breeze, I had time to splash the anchors vigorously in the water to wash all the mud off them.  Once the anchors were clean and on the bow, it was simply a matter of circling once around to find the new anchor spot, lowering first one then the other anchor and drifting back to a more comfortable distance from the pretty blue boat (which was still firmly aground).

Soon after the crew returned from their explorations, we saw a good looking motor yacht with a sweeping sheer to the bow and first class canvas enclosing the pilot and cockpit area.  As the solo sailor motored close by us, he asked about where he might tie up for fuel, so we directed him to the only open slip we could see.  It was late in the afternoon, so it seemed he might be taking a slip that was unlikely to belong to anyone else that evening.  Fortunately, we guessed correctly!

The most intriguing thing about this motor yacht was the British Ensign he was sporting from his stern!  It was the first time I'd seen a British Ensign on Lake Erie.  My curiosity got the best of me, so Sarah and I rowed the dinghy across the 100 feet to shore (the shortest dinghy ride from anchor!) and walked over to meet our new neighbor.  It turns out that John is a dual citizen of Canada and the UK.  As a Canadian, his speech was identical to our own, no accent to our ears.  I guess I was hoping to hear a little “blimey, mate!” or something.  :-)

John is a very friendly sailor who had sailed his prior boat, a Catalina 45 down the US East Coast, throughout the Caribbean and even through the Panama Canal.  He says he chickened out 300 yards into the Pacific and turned around, but I suspect he is no chicken.  Like any good sailor, he changed his plans when it made sense to do so.  Like our plans to go to Dunkirk were changed when it made sense.  We were thankful we made the change or we would never have met John!

In the morning we met John for coffee at the small breakfast place called “Jack's” and discussed our plans for leaving.  The wind had shifted to the northeast overnight and was blowing at 15 knots again, kicking up 3 ft waves.  The forecast said the winds would be calming and the waves declining as the day wore on, so getting a later departure seemed a good idea, especially for John as he would be motoring into the northeasterly wind and waves.  The breeze was fine for us as we'd be riding it downwind again, southwest to Erie.

Our conversation bloomed so our departure crept to a later time until we finally pulled our anchors aboard and found the breeze was down to 10 knots or less and the waves were well under two feet.  Since the wind was directly astern, we were on a dead run, no additional advantage like a reach.  In addition the breeze and waves kept falling.  By the time we were only a couple miles from Barcelona, we restarted the engine and motor sailed the entire way to Erie.  There was just not enough breeze to get us back in a timely way.

Although we never saw the threatened rain on Saturday, Sunday afternoon it finally caught us.  It was a little cool, bur we merely raised the bimini and pulled on our foul weather gear for a comfortable, if damp ride home.  The rain stopped before we entered Presque Isle Bay, so unloading gear and packing the cars went smoothly.  Then the Paviols headed home, Jack and I buttoned up Kelly IV and the dinghy, as I wouldn't be back for several days.

It was another memorable weekend, as Barcelona continues to create wonderful memories of the world traveling sailors we meet there!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Erie Delivery Sail in 8 Foot Waves - September 3-6, 2010

The dates above are misleading because the actual sailing from Sandusky, OH to Erie, PA was only 26 hours from Saturday about 5pm to Sunday about 6pm! To add a little perspective to that, the trip is about 140nm, very similar to the two TransErie Races I crewed a few years back.  For the TransErie Race I crewed on a very fast racing sailboat that could easily sail at 8 to 10 knots, in the right breeze. It was one of the earliest finishers in both races I crewed on her. The fastest of the two races I crewed took us 30 hours to finish. And you read correctly that Kelly IV, a heavy cruising (NOT racing) design sailboat took only 26 hours for the same trip!

Here are some exciting details. I was very fortunate to have the experienced crew of Jack VanArsdale, Keith Otto, and Val Schwarzmueller. Jack has been sailing for many years including several years on his own Cape Dory Typhoon with his sons on Lake Arthur, then for 8 years with me on Kellys III and IV. Keith has been sailing on Lake Arthur since the turn of the century and with me since 2003. While Val only recently joined the Kelly Crew last year (a total of 7 trips now on Kelly IV), he has been a sailing instructor with the Moraine Sailing Club for several years and also has about 10+ years sailing all the world's oceans with the German Merchant marine and Navy.  In addition, Nino Forlini and his daughter, Nina, served as crew driving the van which delivered Val, Keith, Jack and I to Sandusky, then picked us up in Erie.  For Val's video of the trip, Click Here (Video by Val Schwarzmueller).
Nina and Nino discuss the weather with Murph

I am very fortunate to have such great crew as the conditions we faced this past weekend were anything but mild. The forecast had very little variation as I checked it each day last week leading up to our departure from Pittsburgh for Sandusky, Ohio. The Friday Afternoon Offshore Forecast from NOAA summed things nicely: “SATURDAY WEST GALES TO 35 KNOTS DIMINSHING TO 30 KNOTS IN THE AFTERNOON. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. WAVES 10 TO 12 FEET.
 SUNDAY SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING SOUTH 30 KNOTS. WAVES 5 TO 8 FEET.”

We were checking the weather every couple of hours on Saturday as Gale Warnings were issued through 5pm on Saturday. As you probably know, Small Craft Advisories are announced when there are sustained winds of greater than 18 knots. Gale Warnings are issued when sustained winds exceed 34 knots. In addition we checked the Canadian Hydrographic Service as well as a NOAA buoy (online data) that was in position about 17nm north of Vermilion, Ohio. About 3pm the NOAA buoy data showed a drop in wave heights from 6+ feet to about 5.5 feet. Since the forecasts were consistently showing a slow but steady drop in both winds and waves, we decided we could depart Sandusky sometime after 4pm. Although the wind and waves would be a significant challenge for us, we thought we'd be up to the challenge, as it was certainly a downwind ride.
Jack, Keith and Murph at departure by Val Schwarzmueller

About 1645 we departed our slip in Sandusky with many good wishes from various dockmates and sailors. For the first time in Sandusky, we did not leave our lines on the pier, but pulled all lines aboard Kelly IV. We do not plan to revisit Sandusky for some years to come. Val was on the first watch. We had prepared a watch schedule that had worked well for Kelly in the past. The watch was for 3 crew to stand 3 hours on, 6 hours off from 6am through midnight, then 2 hours on, 4 hours off from midnight to 6am. Our thinking is that 6 hours off provides an almost decent continuous opportunity for sleep, but also reduces the demand for concentration through the wee hours. Val's watch provided him the chance to steer through Sandusky Bay as we made our way into the open lake. Although the waves were small (2 to 3 feet) in the Bay, the wind was still a very brisk 20 knots (not counting the gusts which went to 25+ knots). We raised our mainsail with a double reef and left the jib furled completely. Once the motor was off we were still making 5 knots through the water, so we felt no need to make any more sail.
Val (steering), Jack enjoying the ride! Click for Val's Slideshow

As Val took us beyond the Cedar Point breakwater the wave heights gradually climbed until we were beyond the protection of Marblehead and Kelleys Island. By then Keith had taken the helm and the waves were about 5 feet. We were discovering that a larger wave could easily grab Kelly by the stern and push her 20 to 30 degrees off course and put her in a position to risk broaching (turning sideways to the waves so that she might dip her boom into the water). That would be bad as the water on the boom could also pull more of the mainsail under the water until finally the mast could be pulled under. That would mean we would be at risk for flooding water into the main cabin (never a good thing!). Fortunately, none of our experienced crew let even the least amount of water hit the boom, so nothing dire ever came to be.
Keith steers before an 8-10 feet tall wave! by Val Schwarzmueller

As evening turned into night, the wind and waves seemed to grow. Our log records sustained winds up to 30 knots and frequent waves up to 8 feet. What that means is that every now and then we may have seen a gust to 35 knots and a wave of 10 feet! Jack, Val and Keith were real troopers as they each took their watch as scheduled. As Skipper, I did not stand a watch, but merely made myself available, if and when needed. I am very grateful as each crew stood his watch and I never had to take a watch for any of the crew. The effort they expended was quite significant as it took a very strong effort for the helmsman to counter the powerful waves as they pushed Kelly off her course. After even two hours of fighting the weather, the watch was very willing to return to their bunk for some well-deserved rest.

You would be right on target to wonder about how the crew handled the threat of mal-de-mer (seasickness). Val, Jack and I each took Dramamine and followed on our respective package instructions closely. Val never felt ill, Jack and I only briefly and minimally. Unfortunately, Keith had a tough bout following his first watch, about 2100 on Sunday night. Keith has sailed in a large variety of conditions, but nothing quite as boisterous as the current battering from Mother Nature. As we discussed it later, this was Keith's opportunity to discover his limits! :-) Fortunately Keith recovered, got some sleep and was back on his feet in time to stand his next watch, so he never missed an assigned watch, despite his battle with the sea conditions.
Jack handles the helm at dusk, between the larger waves

As the night wore on we realized we were very much alone on the lake. We had passed a small freighter, the Maumee, at anchor outside of Sandusky Bay, and another freighter on a reciprocal course heading west, but not a single sailboat until we reached Erie. The lights of Cleveland were very bright as we passed twenty miles north, but the stars were clear enough that the helm could be steered by holding the stars in a fixed pattern above the dodger. In fact there was no haze and the horizon was starkly clear so that it was difficult to tell if the bright lights we saw were a nearby freighter or a distant shoreline. It wasn't until we passed by and could determine that the lights were fixed, that it became certain that the lights were 15 miles away on shore.

The same clarity continued as the morning dawned and we could see the chimney stacks of Ashtabula appear on the southern shore. The waves and wind diminished some until the log recorded 4 to 6 feet and 15 to 20 knots respectively about 0830. The waves and wind continued to subside until Noon when they seemed to be only 2 to 4 feet and 18 knots. From there the typical afternoon conditions of rising winds and corresponding waves kicked back in, so that Kelly's log shows that we saw winds in the low 20s (kts) and waves still at four to six feet. It was late in the afternoon, about 5pm that we spied our first sailboat underway, a sloop flying only her Genoa jib, just east of Presque Isle. They were only in sight for about an hour, then they slipped out of sight, as we suspect they returned to the relatively flat water within Presque Isle Bay.

While it was a beautiful day for sailing, the crew was pretty tired from a vigorous night and little sleep due to the constant and exuberant motion of the boat. This might explain that everyone (captain, included) were eager to enjoy the calm seas as we turned south then west into the lee of Presque Isle's peninsula.  As we motored into the wind of the relatively calm bay, we began to see some sailboats enjoying the brisk breeze, but calmer waters of the bay. Keith's watch took us the final few miles ending in the flat millpond of Marina Lake within the Presque Isle State Park where the great crew dropped anchor cooked up a hot meal and dropped off to a well earned rest soon after dark.
Val, Keith, Murph, Jack, Nina, Nino:  Kelly IV's Crew

We called Nino and Nina to let them know we were safely arrived in Erie.  The next morning they picked us up for celebratory breakfast at Taki's restaurant, where we learned about the exciting time Nina and dad enjoyed visiting an animal park, some fishing and a fun trip to Waldameer Park.  Then they drove us back to Pittsburgh where we all returned to our work-a-day world.

While the challenge of the 26 hour sail was anything but silly fun, it was truly an experience of the adventurous sort. I am very proud of the crew for their courage standing up to the challenge of a seriously difficult sail across the short, steep, choppy, and large waves of Lake Erie. Jack, Keith and Val are sailors of distinction and I will be pleased to sail with them anytime, anywhere!