Brainwaves Joins a Regatta (well, kind of, sorta)

February 6, Tuesday

Don went over to Christophe Harbor first thing in the morning and was able to call Scott and Gretchen and ask them to look up the weather.  That was just what they needed on a morning when they'd all overslept and Gretchen was supposed to take a friend of Dieter's to school too!  Scott was extremely helpful in finding weather info for Don.  The forecast hadn't changed.  It was still predicting increasing wind and waves each day for the next five days.  That meant today was the day to take off on the big overnight jaunt.

We left the harbor at 10:30.  As soon as we got into more open waters the wind became more steady and less gusty.  When we got north of St Kitts, between there and Statia things got rougher.  We got some protection from Statia and then it was rough again between Statia and Saba.  We got protection from Saba and then we were pretty much in the open again.  Winds were 20-25 K and waves were 8-10 feet.  From around 23:00-2:00 we became surrounded by large ships.  There were three cruise ships, two freighters and a tug with a barge.  We seemed to be on a popular course.  Don had to radio two of the freighters.  He asked one to divert course a little, which they were happy to do.  The guy couldn't have been nicer.  He asked us to shine our spotlight until he spotted us, which we did.  The second freighter was already aware of us when Don radioed.  We have an AIS receiver which shows us the boats on our chart plotter and gives quite a lot of info about them, including their course and speed.  We don't have an AIS transmitter though, so they can't see us.  You can usually spot a big ship's lights about ten miles away.  The cruise ships look like a small floating city.

Beginning about midnight the wind and waves kept slowly building until we were having a pretty rough ride.  I slept for a couple of hours but Don didn't get much sleep.  He'd startle awake every time one of the whopper waves hit us.  By dawn at around 6:00 we were both exhausted and feeling nauseous.  I slept some more while Don toughed it out.  We picked up a mooring in the Bight on Norman Island at 8:30 and gratefully fell into bed!!!!

Deb (via email)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shark! Alternator!

February 27 & 28th This was back on Tuesday and Wednesday but the snorkeling was so cool. In Staniel Day we swam in the Thunderball Grotto where 007 defeated SPECTRE. It was an underwater cave with beautiful fish and a stingray. At Exuma National Park I had the best snorkel ever with loads of colorful coral big fish, several turtles. As I swam with the turtles they suddenly got coy and headed for cover. I looked to see why as a 7 foot shark cruised by. This shortened my swim rather abruptly. Yesterday we dropped Ric off in Nassau, then David and I made like mechanics. After changing spark plugs and fuel filter on the dingy motor, we opened the engine compartment to change the oil on BrainWaves. There was black spaghetti all over the engine. The belt had shredded. THE ALTERNATOR STRIKES AGAIN!!! So with a few borrowed tools from helpful boaters we replaced the belt as well as changed the oil, then treated ourselves to a seafood dinner. Today we tried to leave Nassau Harbor but ha...
Read more

The Minnow Was Not Lost!

We awoke at 0400 to get an early start on a long passage. After waiting 2 days for 15-20 ft. seas to wane we were anxious to be underway. Despite the forecast (8-12 ft. waves) it was remarkably calm. Our good fortune did not outlast my sordid past, though. With their approach hidden by the glare of the rising sun, a US Coast Guard Cutter approached us and demanded to board. I was certain Cat Cay Security had gotten to them and I would be dragged back to the Bahamas to join Jean Valjean on the rock pile. Actually they were very polite and friendly and just did a safety check. We passed. Just so the story doesn't get too dull, we did average 8-9 knots in the Gulf Stream (compared to our normal 5-6) and as we approached the Florida Coast at Pa!m Beach In!et their were 25knot winds with rip tides and 6-8footers breaking on the beach and all around the inlet. If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would he lost. The Minnow would be lost! The Captain (Don via email)
Read more

Abandon Ship!

After going through 2 alternator brackets and 2 alternator belts, we faced days of stop & go motoring on the ICW. At that point I decided we had completed our mission. The only reason we were going to GA was better prices and frankly the ICW is just to demanding on the weak link in our system. So we are making arrangements to store BrainWaves in Palm Beach until the ice is off the water back home, then put her on a semi and ship her back to the Sweet Water Seas. You are all invited to an alternator destruction party after BrainWaves arrives. Please bring weapons: assault, nuclear or other. The Captain (Don, via email)
Read more