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Monday, 22 October, 2012
Pam Hohmann asked me if I would tell my story about sailing down
to St.
Thomas, Virgin Islands, here it is.
In 1988 I was newly single, thinking about taking a buy-out from
my company
and doing what I loved to do, sail.
I took the buy-out and (of course) invested in a new Bayfield
32' Cruising
Sailboat. I cruised the Great Lakes, mostly by my self, because
I don't like
being responsible for anyone especially on a sailboat. I spent
the summers
around Mackinac Island and Lake Michigan. Loved it.
The last summer on Mackinac Island I dredded thinking about
putting my
boat away for the winter, and decided to go south. It was too
late in the
season to go up the St. Lawrence Seaway and down the
Intercoastal like I had
often thought about doing, so I found a boat-hauling company and
cut a deal
to take the "Laurie Ann" down to Oriental North Carolina, a good
jumping off
place to sail south.
It took about 2 weeks to fit the boat out for the ocean, big
change going from
fresh to salt water. GPS navigation was brand new. There were
only two or
three satellites in operation and the cost was prohibitive.
Fortunatley I hadlearned to navigate using a marine sextant. A must
for any sailor.
I pushed off in November, pretty much the end of the Hurricane
season, "
June too soon, October all over" is the general rule.
The sail-plan was to sail due east, get across the Gulf Stream,(
wash-board
rough in the Gulf Stream) and get to about 100 miles south of
Bermuda,
navigate to Longitude 65 and turn south which with the Eastern
Trade Winds
would put me on a "Beam Reach", the ideal sailing situation, the
boat healed
and trimmed to less than 10 degrees.
Took the first sextant noon-sight 3 days out and found I needed
more
Easting, I figured about 3 more days. Took another sight in 3
days and
started the turn South.
The huge seas were breathtaking, the ocean was no longer blue,
it was black,
deep ocean. The 50 foot mast, on the Laurie Ann, was lost in the
trough of
the huge seas, the peaks of the waves were about a half mile
apart and
building.
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The Laurie Ann started sliding down the huge waves and going
bow-first into
the ocean. Bad situation. I dug out a Sea Drogue I bought, in a
last minute
decision, that in reflection ,saved the day. Its a parachute
made up of nylon
straps attached to 200 feet of 3/4 " line. Its thrown over the
stern on the
centerline of the boat and firmly cleated.
In the bright sunshine I could see it working inside the wave,
holding the
Laurie Ann back and allowing the waves to go under the boat. It
slowed
everything down to about 3 knots, no more sliding down the
waves, I finally
got a couple hours of much needed sleep.
The southern ocean started settling down and I started
retrieving the drogue.
It took an entire day and I was exhausted by the end of it.
The winds began to die down, and the sea went flat. A dead calm.
I took
advantage and did catch-up boat- work. When the sun went down I
sat in the
cockpit and dozed and watched the amazing display of the stars
from horizon
to horizion.
During the night I began to smell this awful dead fish smell
that just wouldn't
go away. I thought it was probably a dead flying fish caught in
the rigging. At
first light I adjusted my safety harness and went forward
looking for a dead
fish, I leaned over the side and to my utter amazement there was
the
smell......a whale! It was just sitting there. Its flukes were
the length of my
boat. I got very rattled, wasn't sure what to do. It had an
articulating eyeball
and was looking directly at me. I stood there probably 15
minutes, all of a
sudden it blew out of its blowhole, and its not all sea water,
its whale-snot, it
came down all over the foc'sle and me. Its flukes came up and it
disappeared.If there was ever a time I needed a stiff drink, this
was it. (no booze onboard)
There was this sticky smelly mess all over everything. A breeze
began to
freshen and I was underway again. My son ( a Sea Captain) told
me the whale
was probably dying and was "bonding", the bottom of my boat
looked like
another whale. What if it had wanted to mate?
I got down into the "butter melts" where the weather was getting
warm, and
was looking forward to a landfall.
On the fifteenth night it began to get misty and there was
marine traffic on
the radio, Spanish. I saw some light flashes, and there it was,
El Morro Light,
San Juan, Puerto Rico. At first light I was in the channel and
looking for a fuel
dock. I had shaggy hair, stunk to high heaven with cut-off jeans
and fell over
when I jumped on the dock. After weeks of being in a crouched
position it was
an effort to stand up straight. I got a slip and slept for 12
hours.
I stayed in San Juan for 5 days then sailed overnight to St.
Thomas and that is
