Category Archives: Bluewater Sailing

Offshore Challenges

Captain Tom, happy to be underway.

Bang! Boom! Crack! Slam!

Oh shit! What was that?

We were about 100 miles offshore, due east of the Chesapeake Bay, and the boom just snapped off the mast.

Glory’s crew: me, Tom, Mary, and Eric.

I was on Glory, my friends Tom and Mary Mitri’s Mason 44. Also on board was Eric Cole, another longtime Glory crew member. Eric and I have sailed together several times in the past, not only on Glory, but also on Eric’s 31ft Cape Dory, Kestrel. We were riding the Gulf Stream, en route from Hilton Head, SC to Marion, MA. We had been enjoying an almost perfect afternoon; 20-25 knots of following wind, 6-8 foot seas, the boat was cruising along consistently at over 8 knots. These are conditions that I’d call spirited or lively, the kind that you hope for.

All in all, things were pretty great. It was late afternoon; the 4 of us just finished having some snacks. During which, we discussed the plan for the overnight: sail configurations and watch schedules. It was decided that we would reef the mainsail before dark. The winds and seas were predicted to increase a little overnight, with even higher winds and seas forecasted for the following day.

Tom Chilling before the ruckus.

With the watch schedule about to start and all 4 of the crew on deck, it was the right time to reef the mainsail. Reefing the main is just making the sail smaller, which makes the boat easier to handle. And if the conditions were to worsen, the sail wouldn’t be overpowered, which would be uncomfortable at best and quite dangerous at worst.

To start the process of reefing, Tom was pulling in the mainsheet; the sail was pressed lightly against the spreaders, sheeting-in the sail would elevate the potential of unwanted friction between the sail and the spreaders, which could cause some unnecessary wear or possibly even a tear in the sail. As Tom sheeted the mainsheet in, with the rest of us watching, preparing to perform our designated reefing duties. It happened… Bang! Boom! Crack! Slam!

The mast, where the gooseneck was attached.

The boom had just separated from the mast. This is not something that is supposed to happen. The large gooseneck swivel that holds the boom onto the mast sheared right off. A lot of noise and a sudden shift in the boat’s movement alarmed us all. It took a few moments for us to realize what had just happened; everyone was calm as we assessed the situation. It was quickly determined what had happened; now we had to figure out how to deal with it.

The snapped-off Gooseneck.

We dealt with it in a very calm, professional manner. In retrospect, I am pleased with how we all responded. We talked through what had happened, realizing, yeah, it sucked; however, no one was hurt, and the boat was still quite functional, albeit without a mainsail. From there we figured out what needed to be done, and we did it.

The boom was lifted and secured. You can see where the boom should be attached to the mast.

The first thing we needed to do was to get the mainsail pulled in. Glory is equipped with an in-mast furler, where the mainsail rolls up inside the mast. Getting the mainsail took a bit of work since the boom was no longer attached to the mast; the alignment that makes the in-mast furler work was out of alignment. Though it took a fair amount of prodding and adjusting for us to be able to get the sail in, we did it. After the sail was successfully furled into the mast, we were able to catch our breath a bit and assess what else needed to be done. Keep in mind that the wind is still blowing in the 20’s and the seas were still rolling us along.

View forward after we secured the boom and started heading towards Lewes, DE.

After a bit more deliberation, it was determined that we had to lift the boom a bit; all of its weight was sitting on the boom vang. At this point, the vang was keeping the boom from jutting forward, possibly ripping the vang off the boom and/or the mast, which could cause more damage. We needed to relieve the pressure from the vang by lifting and securing the boom. We used a spare halyard and the topping lift to pick up the boom about a foot, releasing the weight on the vang. Then we secured the boom, lashing it to both port and starboard, while keeping it suspended off the vang.

With the boom now secure, it was time to determine how to proceed. We had several choices; we could continue on our original course, which we probably would have, except that the forecasted conditions for the next day were expected to worsen. With our now limited sailing ability, that choice was easily eliminated. Closest landfall was the Chesapeake about 100 miles due west, though I’m not sure exactly where we would have landed. Another choice was to head to New York, 160ish miles north, going through the Narrows, the East River, and the relative protection of Long Island Sound without stopping en route to Marion. The other choice, the one we ultimately decided on, was to head to Lewes, DE, which is at the mouth of the Delaware River, 120 miles northwest. Heading straight to the Chesapeake was the shortest distance; however, we would have taken the weather on the beam the whole way. Easing north a bit to Lewes put the weather on our aft quarter, making for a much more pleasant and faster (speed, not total time) sail.

Fortunately, this all happened at around 4pm in bright sunshine with all 4 of the crew on deck. If it happened in the middle of the night with limited visibility and fewer personnel on deck, it could have gone a lot worse.

A welcome site the Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse,
Lewes, DE.

Why did it happen? Who knows, the boat is nearly 40 years old. My friends have had the boat for 14 years, and they’re not sure when the in-mast furler was added. The rigging is inspected regularly. Conditions weren’t calm; they were the type of conditions that Glory was designed to handle with ease and should not have caused such a dynamic breakdown. I’m sure age is a factor; beyond that, we don’t know.

Glory, still looking pretty, even with her detached boom, on the town pier in Lewes, Delaware.
Wing-on-wing, using the jib and the staysail.

We were rewarded with 2 nights, 1 full day in Lewes, which is a lovely town, before heading to Marion in very benign conditions. Excluding the last 24 hours, where we had some nice following winds, sailing wing-on-wing with the jib and staysail. Other than that, we motored.

Doing the Atlantic- Chapter 1, Am I available?

This is the first chapter in a multi-part blog about me fulfilling one of my life’s ambitions- sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

I wrote this journal as things unfolded, I started writing at home soon after Captain John’s initial email. I continued writing throughout the planning, while on planes, at the house we rented in Lanzarote, daily on Avocet as we sailed across the Atlantic, in Guadeloupe, and finally at back at home again. I wrote this because I wanted an unedited fresh as-it-happened memory of one of my life long ambitions- to sail an ocean. Read along, I hope you enjoy reading about my experience, parts of which are thrilling, some are boring, many are exhausting and a couple of them are even a bit scary.

Atlantic Ocean Crossing

January, 29, 2022 – February, 21, 2022

S/V AVOCET

John Slingerland- Captain / Boat Owner
Jens Bergen- Crew
Dennis McCarthy- Crew
Peter McCarthy- Crew

AVOCET:

https://www.britannica.com/animal/avocet

Any of several large shorebirds belonging to the genus Recurvirostra, family Recurvirostridae. Avocets have boldly contrasting plumage, long bluish legs, and a long black bill upturned at the tip.

Wikipedia

https://g.co/kgs/mH4R3L

The four species of avocets are a genus, Recurvirostra, of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin recurvus, ‘curved backwards’ and rostrum, ‘bill’. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian word avosetta. 

John Slingerland’s Avocet is a 1988 Oyster 41 Sailing Yacht-

https://oysteryachts.com/heritage-yachts/oyster-sj41/

According to the Oyster Yachts website there were 27 of these Stephen Jones designed yachts made from 1980 through 1987. Which is not quite accurate, the placard on Avocet claims that she was built in 1988, a year after the production dates stated on their website. The placard also states that Avocet is hull #23 (of 27), built by Landamores Yacht Builders in Norfolk, England.

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Last week I got an unexpected email from John Slingerland, owner and captain of the sailing vessel Avocet, a 1988 Oyster 41, “I may have a spot open departing Canaries 1/15 to Guadeloupe”.  Which I responded- “I will run it by the boss, get a feel for how she feels about it. I will try to get back to you tomorrow”. I did talk to Colleen and kids about it, and they felt, as I did, the timing was perfect. EVOO one of our restaurants was, due to COVID, still closed, we were well staffed and there was nothing too important that I would miss at home. I didn’t have too much going on, I could make this work. I was very excited and hopeful to get the opportunity to cross the Atlantic, WHOOP, WHOOP! 

Fuck yeah, I was available! Crossing the Atlantic has always been a dream of mine. I would even call it- as my wife Colleen gives me a “what the fuck are you talking about” eye roll- a “bucket list” item. I, like every other sailor, has dreamed of crossing an ocean.

A couple of days later I received another email from John- “In regard to the January 15 planned departure, one of the other planned crew had to bow out, and another is only 50/50, and in a watch and see mode. All understandable, all COVID related issues. This is a tidal wave that is lifting (or sinking) all boats in hopefully only the short term”.

I thought- Sucks for them, great for me!

With the all of the previously planned crew bowing out, John needed to shore up his crew for the longest leg of his “North Atlantic – Western Mediterranean circumnavigation”. He reached out to Jens Bergen, a longtime Avocet crew member, who had already done several of the other “circumnavigation” legs with John. He also asked me to see if my brother Dennis was available; which I did. Jens was in as long as we left after January 24. Dennis, after work and family consultations, was also available. I am elated to not only do this trip, but to have the opportunity to do it with my brother and long-time sailing partner Dennis will make this trip even more special.

Before we got to 4 committed crew members, John had floated the idea of going with 3, we were all so amped about crossing the Atlantic that we readily and ignorantly agreed, if that was the case, to go with it.

Now with the crew set, we now had just over three weeks to mentally and physically prepare for the trip.

~

John is in the process of bringing Avocet back to the U.S. after a stint of sailing and exploring the northern Mediterranean; Portugal, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Albania, Italy and Spain were some of his ports-of-call. Avocet spent a year “on the hard” in Montenegro due to COVID-19. As soon as the travel restrictions were lifted John spent the summer and fall re-fitting Avocet. And with the help of various crew, including his wife Marcia and Jens Bergen, he began the trip from Montenegro back to his home port in Boothbay, Maine. He made stops in Sicily, Sardinia, Mallorca and Gibraltar before, in October, Avocet made it to Lanzarote, where she is once again “on the hard” getting a few minor repairs and an insurance survey.

~

I have sailed with John before, a delivery from Blue Hill, Maine, to Beverly, Massachusetts, in 2015. The Marblehead – Halifax Ocean Race in 2017, as well as the first and probably shortest leg of his trip to the Mediterranean in 2017 from Beverly, Massachusetts to Newport, Rhode Island. I have found John to be a very knowledgeable, passionate sailor, a solid captain, an affable watch companion and an inspiration to my sailing aspirations.

In my opinion Avocet is a gem, she is well laid out- with wide teak decks, a solidly built typical ’80s racer/cruiser hull design- wide beam, small transom, shortish waterline and a low free-board. Below decks she is all class, teak everywhere, a sea-berth, handholds where they are needed, 2 heads, ample storage and a feeling of seaworthiness. All in all, Avocet was made to do exactly what John was using here for- long distance ocean passages, with some coastal cruising to quiet anchorages or to hip lively marinas.

~

When John sent out emails looking for crew for all of the different legs of his Mediterranean excursion, I tried to join in. Unfortunately, for my sailing life, I was way too busy with the other aspects of my non-sailing life to be able to figure out how I could get some time onboard during the first half of the trip from Maine to the Mediterranean. I did get myself on as part of the crew for the last leg of his trip from Bermuda to Maine. That trip is still scheduled for May, 2022; hopefully I will still be able to make that happen.

~

When I got John’s email, because of COVID 19, my current work situation is very different than it was 3 years ago when John was initially looking for crew members. I, with the help of my wife and business partner, Colleen, own and operate 3 restaurants, Which due to the pandemic we have temporarily closed one of them and drastically changed how we do business in the other 2. These actions, though they suck in many ways, have given me more free time than I have ever had as a working adult, and it’s blissful; I hope to never go back to 70 hour work weeks again. In my free(r) time I have not only spent more time with my wonderful family, which I would never give back, we have had a great couple of years. I also have upped my sailing, this past summer I sailed quite a bit on my friends’ and neighbors’- Tom and Mary Mitri’s boat, Glory, a 1988 Mason 44, which like Avocet, is a well built, ocean capable, late 1980’s boat. We sailed around Buzzards bay a few times and did a delivery up to Camden, Maine. I also Sailed on Alliance, a J-122 out of Newport, Rhode Island, doing several practice sails as well as the Stamford-Vineyard race, a 240 mile race from Stamford Connecticut to Martha’s Vineyard and back. So, John’s email came at the right time, I can take the time off. Colleen, knowing my love of sailing and my ocean crossing dreams, quickly gave me her blessings to do it. Keep in mind she and our kids will lovingly give me shit for abandoning them for a month for the rest of my life; I’m thinking it will be worth it.

Glory
Alliance