Annapolis – Norfolk – Around Cape Hatteras to Beaufort, NC October 22 – November 8, 2007

We left Annapolis, MD on October 22 just before noon and started south in SSE wind (155^o). The new autopilot needed further calibration, but the sea was too rough to accomplish it. Also, the instructions with the new autopilot are very different from the previous one and do not show you how to get to the sailboat calibration part. Jim used the old instructions and did manage to get the autopilot to hold within 20^o of the prescribed course. That’s not good enough as when it is at its max and we hit a wave, it goes over 20^o and cuts out issuing an “OFFCOURSE” alarm. This happens quite often. With the rainy weather and choppy seas and fickle autopilot, we pulled into Galesville, MD – up West Creek – for the night after only 15.3 miles.

The next day we went only 14.5 miles down to Deale, MD and anchored under the Fairhaven Cliffs. The wind had swung to SSW at 205^o so again we were pounding into it. Now, catamarans are wonderful boats at anchor (90% of the time we are at anchor and the boat is very stable and does not roll in a cross sea like a monohull does) and when the wind is anywhere but on the nose we can reliably do half the speed of the apparent wind. (That is calculated by the computer taking the boat’s speed through the water and the true wind into account. As an example, when you are driving a car it feels like the wind is coming from the front but when the car is stopped, the wind could actually be coming from another direction, say the side and could be much lighter, or stronger than when you were driving.) Back to the point of this – when “pounding” into the wind – we really do pound. While a monohull can sail much closer to the wind, we can only sail with the wind about 50^o or more off our bow (away from directly ahead). If the wind is that close, or closer, we pound into it, kind like a dolphin going up and down. They call this “hobby-horsing” in a monohull. We call it POUNDING! However, the dirty little secret of a catamaran is that when they do that, the waves between the two hulls, (under the bridge deck) hit each other and get thrown vertically to bang against the bottom of the bridge deck with a resounding base drum WHAP! While we have never noticed any damage to the boat from that, we, humans and cat, can only take it for short periods of time.

The following day, Wednesday, 10/24, it was rainy and in the 70’s with the promise of colder weather coming. We got off the anchor a little after 0900 and were able to sail “wing-and-wing” (genoa to one side and main to the other). The wind had swung to NNW 320^o putting it behind us. We made Solomon’s Island about 35 miles by 1515 and as we have been there many times, hunkered down in the cold (rainy, low 60’s) and stayed aboard for the night.

Thursday, 10/25, we pulled the anchor again at 0915 and with the working sails in 23.6 kts true wind (25^o NNE) we made 7.8 kts SOG (speed over the ground). By 1015 we put 1 reef in the main (shortened about 12 feet off the height of the sail from the bottom so it really cuts down on sail area) and slowed the boat down to about 6.6 kts SOG. Even at that, as we passed the Potomac River, the auto pilot gave up and couldn’t hold a course in the confused seas. Jim was having a ball steering and surfing down the waves. By the end of the day, the max wind speed was 36.5 kts and the max boat speed (through the water) was 16.8 kts. Our record is 17.8 kts on June 9, 2007 from Beaufort, NC to Virginia Beach, VA in 31.6 kts of wind, so we came close to beating the records. As we approached Deltaville, we saw a blue-hulled ketch (2 masts – back one shorter) blow out their genoa. We saw it flapping (flogging is the term) and then it just shredded. Jim and I have different theories on why, but the outcome was the same. We called them on the radio so see if they needed assistance, but they said no. Right after that we ducked into Deltaville, running aground twice in the channel. The wind and low tide conspired to make the channel very shallow. We found a place to anchor and spent the night.

Friday, 10/26 we were off the anchor by 1010 and made it out the harbor without running aground. Mid morning we rolled out the genoa in 17.5 kt winds and were making 4.5 kts with the wind only 40^o off the bow. The seas were 2-4 ft so the pounding wasn’t bad. By mid afternoon the wind lessened to 14.7 kts, but we changed course and were able to put up the main and made 7.4 kts SOG putting us into Hampton Roads, Norfolk, VA by 1745. This area has magnetic disturbances and the instruments said the max wind was 53 kts. I don’t believe it. The hand held also had weird readings, and Halloween is approaching, so… hum… However, the max boat speed was listed at 11.2 kts (through the water) which was probably true.

We stayed in Hampton Roads until Sunday, 10/28 when we started up to whip around Cape Henry to Virginia Beach, to be in place to 1) watch the Giants play Miami in London, and 2) be staged to go around Cape Hatteras on Monday with the predicted weather window. As soon as we started the starboard engine alarms went off. We shut it down and found all the oil spewed out in the bottom of the engine compartment. Despite dragging the anchor, we stayed in Hampton River to try and find someone to look at the engine. The first guy was booked for a week. The second guy could work on it, but we had to move the boat over to Little Creek, on the other side of Norfolk proper. We got over there on 10/30 and the guy came to look at the boat on Tuesday. He said the oil pan was cracked and it was too big of a job for him and he couldn’t do it. He thought the boat would have to hauled and it would be major. Jim called Jerrett Bay Boat Works, where we were hauled last year in Beaufort, NC and they told us to call Town Creek Marina as they are the Yanmar (our engine make) people and they would just charge us travel time to Jarrett Bay. Town Creek said they could take us. Now we just needed a window to go around Cape Hatteras with only one engine and a fickle auto pilot.

Due to Hurricane Noel (see previous log mailing), that window did not arrive until Tuesday, November 6. We intended to go only to Virginia Beach and do the 36 hour swing around Hatteras starting Wednesday, 11/7 so we didn’t leave Little Creek until 2 pm. By the time we cleared the bridge/tunnel and took pictures of the outbound sub which was part of a fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier and two other ships from the US plus a ship from England and one from some other European country heading over to Somalia to combat pirates (Jim called the sub on the radio and I emailed the picture to them), it was about 4 pm and the winds were light and the weather was beautiful. We knew the forecast was for 30 kt winds, but we have sailed that many times. They were also forecasting 8-10 seas, again, been there, done that and it would be a somewhat following sea. Everything was forecasted to diminish that night and the next two days and the winds were supposed to swing from the south after that (south is bad for us) so we decided to just keep going and make the run around Hatteras before the winds turned southerly. Was it a bad decision? Well, despite only one engine and an unreliable auto pilot, we didn’t feel the weather would present a problem. At 7:30 that evening we were running under working sails with one reef in the main. The wind was 20 kts true, 16 kts apparent, at 292^o WNW and we were moving at 7.8 SOG on a course of 162^o. At 9:30 Jim had the watch and I was trying to sleep in preparation for my watch. I was not having much luck as the water rushing past the hull sounded like a freight train down in our cabin, when I heard the main jibe. Jim had been hand steering as again, the auto pilot went on hiatus. I jumped up and ran up pulling on foul weather gear, life vest and harness as I went, and steered the boat as he pulled in the genoa and double reefed the main. That cut another 8 feet off the bottom of the main and really made it small. However, without the genoa, the auto pilot could not hold a course. Now I had to steer directly into HUGE waves – no, Jim, you were looking at the sails, I was looking at the seas and I know they were far taller than 10 feet!!!! – so Jim could lower the main altogether. He got it down (it was not easy!) and we went back on course and pulled out the genoa. As he was pulling it out, and I was controlling it with the roller-reefing line, I twice requested he reef the genoa (don’t let it out all the way) to slow the boat down (we were making 3.5 kts SOG under bare poles – do we really need to go faster?). I didn’t trust the auto pilot and it was night (10:30 pm by now), coming up on my watch, and we were cruising at 9 kts SOG with full genoa in 32 kts of true wind. He finally decided, since I wouldn’t take a watch under those circumstances, to reef the genoa. While he was cheerfully (you believe that don’t you?) doing that, the off sheet (loose sheet from the other side of the boat) lost its knot at the end which keeps it hooked up to the winch, flew through the rigging and began to flog the genoa. By the time I got my harness (we always wear life vests and harnesses at night) attached to the jack line (sturdy line running the length of the boat – one on each side) and got up to the bow and got the sheet under control, I looked up to see the genoa beginning to tear. Jim was still trying to reel it in so I grabbed the roller reefing line up there and helped him pull it in. Needless to say, the genoa now has a major tear rendering it next to useless. Happiness was not in abundant supply and I tried to make myself very small. Being small to begin with, the cat was no where to be seen – smart cat. I do have to add here, that when Jim began speaking out loud again (instead of muttering) he was very polite. Using just that small amount of genoa we made about 4 kts SOG through the night and the auto pilot would hold intermittently. By 11:00 am the wind had dimished to about 25 kts true and we went back to little piece of genoa and 1 reef in the main. However, as the seas were still 10-12 feet, the auto pilot would not hold and hand steering was again the name of the game. Jim could handle the boat for about 30 to 40 minutes then he would need a break. I could only steer under these conditions for about 10 minutes. It wasn’t a matter of anticipating the waves but of strength. After 10 minutes my arms were shaking and I couldn’t do it any more. (Remember, I lift weights.) This I found scary. Jim can’t steer forever, and I, well I couldn’t give him much relief. I found myself loosing faith in the boat. Around 12:30 am the wind diminished to about 20 kts true and the seas calmed to 4-6 feet and the auto pilot came back on line. At 0430 on Monday, 11/8 we pulled into the Beaufort harbor and threw down the anchor. The next morning Jim informed me I had navigated us directly behind the Coast Guard and about 10 feet from a sand bar. Good. On our 3rd date when he took me sailing in a storm I navigated us (What’s a chart? Which is the water and which is the land?) into Fire Island Inlet and parked the 21 ft. venture sloop right behind the Coast Guard and about 10 feet from shore. Wanna scare me again? See where I put you next time!

At 10:30 that morning, after a few hours of sleep, we moved over to Town Creek Marina where we are now. The sail cannot be repaired – it’s got over 42,000 miles on it (43,463 on the hull by the log) and is just falling apart. Jim has gotten an estimate from a local guy ($4000 - $6000 and 2 weeks), but we really want to have the new one made in South Africa by the guy who made the original sails. I would say 42,000 means a good product. It will take them 3 to 4 weeks to build the sail and ship it to the US so we shall have it sent to friends in West Palm Beach. In the mean time we’ll use the storm sail (only a little bigger than the unripped part of the genoa) or the jenniker (parachute silk type of sail). I shall cut up the old sail and make a waist pack for myself and roll bandages for future sail tears, though even with my super sewing machine, I couldn’t have repaired this. (Not enough room under the arm to fit the sail to sew it since it was not at or close to an edge.) The people at Town Creek Marina can fix the engine without having the boat hauled and both engines should have new oil pans and engine bolts by midweek. We found that the guy who was supposed to repair a vibration in the starboard engine two years ago in Charleston, SC had cranked the engine bolts down until the oil pan was sitting on the stringer. I’m sorry – I have heard this description but I really don’t know what it is so can’t explain it except to say that is what caused the pan the crack. The port engine oil pan had been sprayed with salt water at one point and is rusting so since we are having one done, we’ll have both done.

Jim spent time on the phone with Raymarine about the auto pilot. They agree it isn’t right, but feel that adjustments can be made by him here to correct it. He has made some, but we won’t know if that is enough until we take it out again. Apparently there are more adjustments that can be made and an upgraded remote control we may have to invest in. It used to be that night watch was no big deal. We each took 3 hour shifts. During those 3 hours you would set a timer for 15 minutes. Since nothing could get from the horizon to us within 15 minutes, a scan every 15 minutes assured us there were no other boats or whatever in the area. If there were lights, you simply stayed up that 15 minutes to be sure we got safely past it. Now, we have to constantly watch the auto pilot to be sure we stay on course. Since it goes totally bonkers when you tell it to sail to a specific point, we can only program it for a compass course. That means, with 20^o variations either side of the desired course, you constantly have to check the GPS to watch for drift. Now night shifts are not just annoying, they are stressful and tiring. I’m hoping that the adjustments will get the auto pilot working correctly (the old one never varied more than 2-3^o and never gave up due to wind or waves!) and I can go back to having faith in the boat!

Stats around Hatteras: max wind: 38.8 kts true

max boat: 16.5 kts through the water

average boat: 6.4 kts through the water

trip: 251 nautical miles

time: 37:33 hours

water temp in Beaufort Inlet: 64.2^o F

Regards,

Roxanne, Jim, Shadow

Dawn Dancer

roxanne@farrell.fm