The first night that I spent at sea I knew something had changed. My first night at sea was from midnight until 4am, alone at the helm during a Gulf Stream crossing and full moon. I was on a strange boat, with people I had only known for a couple days, having taken a crew position blindly from an internet ad. But during those watches in the middle of the night, I found something within myself or something found me, and I knew this was the next chapter in life. That trip turned out to be fraught with disaster almost from the start and the lessons learned will help me to not make the same mistakes.
During that trip we experienced power systems failure, charging failure, communications and navigation failure. We had water intrusion (with failing power for pumps) and a complete failure of planning by the boat captain(owner). We were 3 days NNE off the coast of Port Canaveral Florida directly into the Atlantic when the decision was made to make our way to the Abacos. We made landfall at night (another mistake) with the only navigation being my Iphone 5 with under 10% battery.
Things break at sea, things that shouldn't break. Sturdy things, new things, old things, doesn't matter they break constantly. This general boat rule applies even more so to boats ocean sailing and making passages. You plan for things to break, carry spares, and backups for those spares. You repair, MacGyver things and you move on, because you had planned for it. Well the major problem with this trip was lack of planning. See the owner had installed several systems critical to the boat prior to departure, the "improvements" were impressive on paper, however none of them functioned as expected. He had changed everything from steering, power, solar, communications etc without ever unplugging from the dock and testing it. The same person installed it all and it was all jury rigged, wired backwards and messed up from the start. If I learned anything from this trip, it was not to make this same critical mistake.
That being said on with the update.
Kainoa Shakedown Sail
Since I had installed several new things on the boat and replaced or improved many aspects of the running rigging I figured it was time to take Kainoa out and run her through some sea trial. We had new ground tackle that hadn't been wet, that shiny anchor just screaming for some corrosion. New blocks to improve sail shape and other rigging, plus that new fuel system I redesigned and various other things to test out. The weather wasn't ideal for a leisurely sail with winds around 19 to 20kts sustained with occasional gusts, squally and whitecaps with waves 3' near shore and 4' further out, however it was a great day for a "drive it like we stole it" sail. It was Saturday August 17 and we planned on being gone for a couple days .
We left the dock later than I expected but without incident, engine fired right up, crew untied the lines and we were off. Boat loaded with provisions including a small bottle of Pyrat rum to be sipped when at anchor later that day. We motored out through Boot Key Harbor, past Jessica's work as she waved in her bikini to her coworkers and sipped on a cocktail. We left Boot Key Channel and the safety of the harbor, in search of a little adventure and excitement to break the cycle of just work, work, working on the boat. So here we were with fingers crossed hoping all these new improvements would hold up to the test.
We entered the Atlantic and set a course SSW to run almost on a beam reach with the wind ESE, the goal was to sail out and show the kids the change in the water. The Atlantic near shore is beautiful, clear, clean and an emerald green color, but the water out away from shore where it is several hundred feet is a deep blue that is almost hypnotizing, like watching a bonfires flames. We pointed her into the wind, with Colby and I on deck and Jessica at the helm. Colby and I raised the main sail and it began to get stuck on what remained of the lazy jack system I removed. (I hate that system more and more and am glad it's gone) it took some whipping of lines, cussing and sweat to get the halyards untangled, all the while bobbing up and down directly into the wind and waves. Again we attempted to raise sail and were dealt another challenge! The Mack pack, which is part of that same system wouldn't allow the sail to raise all the way to the top. We lowered the sail again and Colby held it halfway up while I grabbed the rigging knife and made short work of the canvas, releasing the sail to travel to the top. Sail raised, halyard tightened down and the familar sound of the main popping as it fills with wind and Jessica fell off on a port tack.
We cut the engine and enjoyed the silence for a minute before preparing the jib to test out the new blocks and rigging. One of the main problems I had found with the boat was the blocks were not positioned right to give the head sail shape. They needed to be moved forward which would normally be a quick adjustment IF the previous owner had not decided to setscrew them into place. I had bought new Harken blocks at work and knew this would help improve sail shape, I had no idea how much but I knew she had more in her than we had seen.
Our boat is a heavy boat for it's size. It's not beamy (wide), she's not fat, she is big boned, but with a great personality! All kidding aside, our boat isn't meant for light wind and racing, it's meant for sailing in the ocean and being somewhat comfortable. I knew this when we bought her but I wanted a boat that I felt comfortable with my family on. In our past sails we had seen this lack of speed and been somewhat disappointed with the performance, even knowing this boat wasn't a racer. In the past with the way she was set up we had seen a top speed of about 4.5kts but an average of around 4. These speeds are dismal and would make crossing any ocean an almost seasonal event. The previous owners appeared to be very engine dependent and not really into sailing, I was starting to wonder if this was just the nature of this boat. That was until we deployed the jib ;-)
The boat locked in and within seconds we were being propelled forward, almost as if the rear of the boat was being pushed along like a toy in a bathtub. I glanced down at the GPS (another new addition) and saw we were going over 6 kts. I was able to fine tune the sail a little more and at one point we hit 7.6 kts! score one for the home team. We sailed for a couple hours almost directly away from land, set the auto pilot and all sat in the cockpit with the biggest grins as we enjoyed the up and down movement of the open ocean. The kids enjoyed the deep blue color of the water and the increase in swell that sent their stomachs dropping as we fell off the backside of waves. I love that feeling when your stomach drops like going down the first hill of a roller coaster. After a couple hours we tacked and made the run back, not towards land but to our anchorage.
The sail back was uneventful and we spent the time enjoying the sights, sounds and feel of the ocean again, tasting and filling our lungs with pure salty air. It was a good refreshing reminder of why we are working so hard, sometimes it is easy to forget.
At work I was able to pickup a new GPS to replace the older and smaller one that came with the boat. Working at West Marine has many advantages and buying things far below retail is one of the big ones! Kainoa now has a shiny new Garmin 740s plotting her course and helping navigate our way and I love it. The touch screen is responsive, with the interface easy to use and explain to the rest of the crew. I used the 740 to point us to our next destination, the Gulf of Mexico where we would spend the night. We sailed for Moser channel, under 7 mile bridge and into the Gulf. It was a couple hours to get to our destination and the water was full of lobster pots floating everywhere. These have a tendency to snag props, rudders and force you to jump in the water and free your boat with a knife. I am happy to say we managed to not snag a single pot thanks to the watchful eyes on deck.
The Gulf side is completely different and is very shallow, with the average depth around 7ft during our trip. It's a little unnerving to look down and see the bottom and know there isn't much room between the bottom of your boat and the sandy, seagrass carpet below. We dropped sail and headed into our anchorage. I prepared the anchor on deck and Jessica pointed the boat into the wind. I released the anchor letting the 55lb Rocna hit the bottom with a thud, let out some chain and watched it dig and set almost instantly. We were anchored in 6ft of water and I let out several ft before attaching the snubber and pendant, it ended up being right around 60ft of chain laying on the floor with almost 100 left in the locker and 100 of rode attached to that. Jessica backed down hard on the set and confirmed we were "home". It's a funny thing traveling around in your home and always sleeping in your own bed.
We enjoyed the sunset and I sipped some of that Pyrat rum in celebration of our day. We had dinner and settled in for a movie after dark. We watched Olympus Has Fallen and afterwards enjoyed the night sky and watching lightening in the distance. I didn't get a deep sleep, but I did get a good sleep. I couldn't help but think about the snubber and pendant that I spliced together, hoping I did a good job, since it was holding us ;-)
We woke up, had a great breakfast with eggs, sausage, tortilla shells, hot sauce, coffee, orange juice, watched the sun rise in the sky and enjoyed the fact there wasn't a single human being anywhere within miles of us. We saw dolphins, sea turtles and rays all from our house. Just then there was a call on the radio and it was our friend from the harbor Charles who had been out sailing as well. He was requesting our coordinates and was going to stop by on his way back. A couple hours later Charles arrived with his wife Hillary and our other two friends Zach and Kurt. They anchored near us, jumped in the water and swam over for a visit. Hillary somehow even managed to swim over a large portion of carrot cake without getting anything wet. We all sat on Kainoa and spent the time just relaxing, talking and enjoying being away from cars, sounds and just life in general. It was getting late and Jessica had to work the next day so we figured it was time to pull anchor and head home. We knew if we left too late we would be getting home at night and the wind and weather was getting a little snotty. The trip home was a very good test of the fuel system because between the lobster pots and the wind being directly on our nose we were almost forced to motor the entire way home. We weren't too upset because again this was a chance to really work the engine against the wind and current. We pulled the anchor, throttled up the Yanmar and pushed water back to Marathon.
We arrived back at port just before dark and I backed the boat into the slip, tied up and plugged in. It felt like I just tethered myself back to the grind and I missed the high of sensory overload I get being in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes you've gotta get lost to find yourself. It brought an end to a great weekend with the family and with our Kainoa. Our boat now feels like our boat, we all had that moment during the trip where she became ours. I can't wait to see what lies ahead.
PROJECT UPDATES
The port window in the bathroom is complete with the help of our friend Zach, it was well beyond my skill level and involved fairing the fiberglass and some creative carpentry work. What should have been a simple rebedding project was once again complicated by the previous owner and his love of 3M 5200 as well as shabby workmanship.
Solar panels are ready to be wired after our sea trial revealed they will not be in the way of the rigging while sailing. On the to do list today involves getting the set screws to permanently affix them to the boat. Wiring the panels will be a fun exercise in drilling holes in the boat ;-0
I ordered and received the plugs to UN plumb my old water heater and put in place the original caps. This will also improve the circulation of coolant in the motor and reduce a point of failure (the water heater or one of it's hoses) Since moving to the tropics I have had no need for hot water!
I had mentioned in the blog post about removing the lazy jacks and mack pack from the sail. These in theory allow you to just drop the main into a sack and it falls all perfect and fairytale like then you just zip it up. In reality, at least with our fully battened main, it was a nightmare that involved snags, hangups and frustration. Without them up and down is a breeze, no pun intended. A neighbor was nice enough to give us a sailcover he didn't need anymore and we will be able to sell the mackpack and lazy jack rigging to some other sucker that buys into the fairytale.
Some woodwork upcoming, along with some more wiring and rebuilding the windlass. I will make sure to take plenty of pictures of the work and post them on the blog. I am also thinking of doing posts almost daily with the days events, however I fear those will get boring and people will actually lose interest. Let me know what you think.
I am now moving to things on the list like new safety gear and have purchased a couple more offshore inflatable jackets with harness built in as well as type I vests for both kids. Assembled a ditchbag, flashlights on vests, distress beacon, floating VHF, Jack lines etc.. These are all things I hope I never have to use, however I'm going to make sure they are in good working order or new before any major trip.
Speaking of trips. Jessica's employer will be closed down for 10 days in September and depending on the weather and situation we are planning on making a much longer trip. Sept and Oct are the peak of hurricane season and you don't know what's going to happen between now and then, but if it's something we can pull off and we aren't tied up in the mangroves weathering out a storm or waiting to see if we are going to get hit, we will be going somewhere.
From the desk of the S/V Kainoa
Cory
