Blog Updates

I am still in the process of updating this blog. I would like it to read from top to bottom, starting with the beginning of our trip at the top and ending at the bottom with the conclusion of our voyage. For now it starts were the last postings left off and it will read chronologically top to bottom starting with Thursday, May 14th. Some pictures have been added to the new postings. All of us from BrainWaves thank those of you that followed our journey and supported us in every manner along the way!

May 14, 2009 - Thursday
Today Ken and I went to the beach at Tobacco Bay. While he swam and set in the sun, I found a place in the rocks to paint. I spent an hour or so doing a gouache study of some rocks with a little sky and seascape. We came back to the boat and finished off the lunch meat of turkey. Just as we finished Deb and Don drove in on the scooter and asked if we wanted lunch. I decided to head over to Deb’s and finish the painting I had started yesterday. I forgot a hat and it was quite hot in the sun and I did a lot of serious squinting. I think I spent about three hours working on the painting and then headed back to the boat about 5:30 pm. Everyone was there and we decided to grill the rest of the venison hamburger for dinner. We had a good meal and a good time. The Johns went back to their place for the evening. Before Deb and Don left he wondered if we wanted to go over to their place and watch the Red Wings plan in their final game of the series. Don took Tom on his bike and then I took Ken on mine. I came back to get Deb only to realize just before I got here that I didn’t have an extra helmet, Ken still had it! I called Don and he said he would bring it over. In the meantime Deb was cleaning out the lower storage lockers. The cans were rusting, some food was spoiled and an boxes were wet and soggy. It looked like there was mold in the area and in some bags. While Deb re-bagged and re-tagged instructions on the boxed stuff, I took out the cans and cleaned them. We left everything out to dry. Don dropped off the helmet and headed back to watch the game. When Deb and I were done, I took her back to her place. The guys watched the game, ate some cookies and popcorn and enjoyed the drama of the playoffs. It was a good close game and the Wings won. In the meantime Don told me his headlight on his bike went out on the way home. So I took Ken to the boat first as he had just said goodbye to Deb and Don. Then I went back and got Tom and brought him back to the boat. I was glad I had my legs zipped on to the shorts and I was wearing my Browning coat. The wind was really howling and it was cool! I went to bed and read until about 12:30 am.

Outbound Ken - We're Leaving Too

May 15, 2009 - Friday
Ken was up at 6:30 and when I got up just before seven Tom was already up too. I took Ken on the scooter to the airport and he was able to check in right away and had to go. Hard to believe he will be in Michigan today! I went back to the boat and Tom was busy cleaning. He cleaned out the storage lockers and the head. We then stored the food that Deb and I had out back in the compartments. I threw out the last few packages of venison chops and then cleaned out the freezer from the mess they made. When we had everything done I took the scooter into town and did my laundry. When I got back Tom was cleaning again. I had to turn my scooter in, so I took Tom to Tobacco Bay and then I went up the hill and returned the scooter. It was a slow and painful walk back with my heel and Achilles’ tendon problem. It sucks! I’m stuck with walking the rest of the day and that just isn’t fun right now. As soon as I got the boat unlocked and inside, Don showed up with groceries for the trip, so I stowed these as he made another run for milk and to check on ice blocks. John and John showed up while Don was gone and had some more goods for the trip to put away. Tom came back and checked on the steering assembly while John was repairing some things in starboard cockpit locker. They rolled up the dingy and we put it in the V berth for the voyage. Don came and dropped off the milk and then headed back to his place. John and John walked into town to the visitors center to use the internet. Tom is taking a nap and I’m writing this, but seriously considering the nap idea!

We still plan to leave tomorrow and expect light north, northeast winds, so we will probably be motoring for a day or two. The trip back begins!

Tom was almost asleep and I was just ready to put down my book and go to sleep myself when we heard someone calling out in French. After four or five calls the hailing switched to English and called out “BrainWaves.” A boat was coming in, so Tom and I hurried to get dressed and get on deck. Tom got their bow line ready and in came Welcome III with Donna Turley, her brother and a friend. I had contacted Donna through an older blog of hers regarding our trip to Bermuda. She was very helpful and later we determined that she would be in Bermuda about the time we were leaving. She had suggested going to Captain Smokes, which Don was aware of and we did end up here for the duration of our stay in Bermuda. I think this place worked out great for us. I went ashore and talked to Donna and her brother a little bit about our trip and theirs. I went back to the boat to read and let them get settled in for the night. They have a crew member going out tomorrow and another coming in to replace her. The will set sail again on Sunday, heading to Newport I believe.

May 16, 2009 – Saturday
I was having a nice sleep in the cool and amazingly dry air when I heard a rat scampering about the deck. “I don’t know who you are but I want you off my boat” I called out. The rat had on gray shorts and merely laughed at me. Evidently Tom was able to get free of the duct tape I applied while he was sleeping last night! He had warned me that he always gets up at 5:30 am. I noticed he wore ear plugs, so I thought I’d duct tape him to the berth. He filled up both water tanks and we did a few other minor things to get the boat ready to leave. Don showed up with more food from his place and then left to turn in his scooter. John and John showed up and we all pitched in to finish getting ready to leave. As soon as we secured the jack lines and with some help from some of the people on the other boats, we casted off and were on our way. The sun was bright and the winds were very light as we motored through the cut and out to the south of Bermuda. We are currently in light rolling seas with waves 1-3 feet and following the southern coast of Bermuda. We have one more waypoint to clear and then we can set our direct course straight for Norfolk.

The winds died down about 10 pm and we had to turn the engine on to maintain speed. Without it we were traveling at less than 4 knots. The seas were very calm with waves under two feet although we still had some large swells around 8-10 feet with large long gaps in between them. During the night watches we saw two ships but both were quite a ways off and could not be identified. Our best guess was the first ship was another sailboat and the second a larger ship. We motored all night. I took some photos and short videos of Bermuda as we sailed along the edge of the islands.

May 17, 2009 – Sunday
The seas are still calm and the winds very light. We continued to motor along and maintain a good speed. There are still large swells and the clouds are beginning to build, yet it remains sunny at times and the temperatures are starting to rise. There are lots of Portuguese man-o-wars floating by, some large and some as small as your thumbnail. I saw a dolphin roll at the surface about 40-50 yards off the port side this morning just a few minutes after six am. Don sat in the stern and soaked his scooter road rash. We figured he would make good shark bait. We had pancakes for breakfast as cooking is relatively easy with the current conditions. The grill is acting up so Don took it apart and cleaned it thoroughly. It seems to work better so we hoping to be able to continue grilling some meals. We’ve seen very little life, including birds, which is surprising to me. Two tern-looking birds went by at a distance and a moderate size soaring bird came by close, but it was not big enough to be an albatross. A Bermuda long-tail followed by some other darker bird flew low and right over us. It’s 9:30 am now and everything is very calm, just rolling swells and the hum of the engine. Don, “Doc” John and Tom are all reading, John starts his watch in 20 minutes, so he is just up and making himself some eggs. We left out all the makings for the pancakes, but he woke up with eggs on his mind - so he made himself some eggs. A good breakfast for all and a good start for the day.

Don organized a game of Euchre and because Tom doesn’t play, he took the helm. And because Tom doesn’t play he made lunch, grilling hot dogs and making sauerkraut. And because Tom doesn’t play and we had to do a rubber match, he also did the dishes. Go Tom! During lunch Tom thought he saw “a whale or something” and we all jumped up and watched over the port side. Soon a dolphin rolled at the surface and then for the next five minutes we saw three and maybe four of them. They appeared to have found something and circled an area out away from the boat and then they were gone. After lunch and our close game of Euchre (the Halls were victorious) we all decided to take a swim. We slowed the boat to a craw and prepared to jump in. Apparently a million Portuguese man-o-wars decided to swim with us. They were everywhere, big and tiny. So, we motored ahead and watch them drift pass in groups. Finally there seemed to be a break and into the ocean we went. It was a cool refreshing plunge at first and then it felt just great. Obviously one of us always stayed on board. We washed our hair and enjoy jumping and diving in the water. John spotted a small turtle swimming nearby. Tom gave chase but he’s just a tad bit slower than a turtle underwater. (On land he might have had a better chance.) After the swim we used the “sun deck” shower to rinse the salt water off us. We had to lay on the edge of the boat to get the gravity feed to work as we had no way of getting the bag off the top of the deck. The water was very warm and it worked quite well. Don and young John stripped down for their final rinse. Don looked like he’d been in bad fight and lost with all his bruises and abrasions from the scooter crash. The swim was a refreshing break and something that would have been inconceivable during our first leg of the trip going to Bermuda.

It’s now just after 5 pm and the winds continue to be light. We are still motoring and expect to do so tonight as well. Don and I added 8 gallons of diesel fuel to top off the tank. We have been motoring about 20 hours total so far on the trip since we left Bermuda. The winds are expected to shift, but remain light tonight. Tom is planning on tacos for supper, so that will be a nice change to our menu.

As Tom slept, John and Doc made a great hardy soup for supper. It was delicious and nearly everyone had seconds. Tom got up in time to eat with us – but he still owes us a taco dinner and we won’t forget it!

May 18, 2009 – Monday
I knew it was going to happen and I even warned Don about it yesterday. Today was the day we paid in full for the calm nice sunny times of yesterday. The winds kicked in and the sky turned gray. Early in the morning I heard a faint call on the radio. Don and I were on watch, but he was below making some hot chocolate. By the time I got the volume turned up, the call had come in three times and I only caught part of the position called out, which seemed it might be our location. I could see no boat in sight and did no respond. Don thought I should have replied even if it wasn’t for us. After a few minutes I thought duh, who else was out here in the middle of the ocean! Then I wondered if someone was trying to warn us about approaching weather. Thirty minutes later a ship appear on the horizon to our stern and hailed us. It was a British merchant ship following up on a Coast Guard report that a sailboat was overdue and missing. Our reply and name confirmed we were not the missing boat and we thank them for their concern. It was good to know other ships were looking out for each other in situations like this. Soon the waves and swells grew and it made for a miserable day. Meals were skipped and sleeping was nearly impossible. John was feeling terrible and suffered the most. Don got sick as well. The head started acting up just to add to our problems. Instead of flushing it reversed course and began doing great impressions of a volcano! Oh joy! We entered our own little small gray world of rock and roll, wet and wild, sleep depravation and starvation. The winds were strong and resumed the heeling position. The humidity was not as bad as our trip going to Bermuda, but still it added to our misery. At night it was cold and keeping both warm and dry was hopeless. After my watch I would change into dry clothes to try and catch some sleep only to get up at the next watch and get soaked all over again. The only time we saw the sun was just before sunset when it dropped under the line of dark clouds, shinned on us very briefly and then it was gone. Bright orange and looking hot, John made a sizzling sound at it sank in the ocean. It was just a quick tease but at least we knew it still existed!

Carrier 77

May 19, 2009 – Tuesday
The winds died down toward morning and things begin to look a little better. I was on the night watch with Don and right at sunrise I thought I saw a fin slice through the water right beside me. A few minutes later I thought I saw another one. I was sure I was mistaken. Ten minutes later I saw the back of a dolphin arch out of the water and then for the next 15 minutes we had a least four dolphins riding our bow wave and swimming along side the boat. After that excitement died down we were hailed by carrier 77 and off to our starboard stern we saw the silhouette of an aircraft carrier approaching us. He asked if it would be OK for him to pass safely behind us. Don and I decided that would be fine with us! I wanted to ask for a fly-by, but settled for safe passage behind us! Boat actively got really hectic after that and there seemed to be boats coming from every which way as we approached the shipping lanes. Some fighter jets appeared and flew by us quite close and then off in the distance they did some dogfights and we enjoyed the show. The sun came out brightly and although the winds were not as strong they had changed and we were making good time. The day was much more comfortable and we were able to eat some meals as well. The head unfortunately gave up working entirely and we had to resort to empty cut-off pop bottle and a bucket.

Land Ho!

May 20, 2009 – Wednesday
The weather continued getting better on Wednesday and the temperatures rose quickly. We knew we were going to get into Norfolk that evening which certainly makes your spirits soar a bit. We continued to motor-sail so that we could make good time and get to port before dark. Once again the boat traffic around us picked up and especially as we were crossing the shipping channel. We heard on the radio that the Navy was conducting live firing and the coordinates seem to be in our area. Don called a Coast Guard ship and asked if our course was safe and we were assured it was. We were all keeping tabs on the various ships and at one point I spotted four square looking ships on the horizon which I pointed out to Don. Then Tom noticed that there were six of them. Soon the number grew to over a dozen - all still looking rather square. The binoculars reveled they were buildings. These were tops of the tallest buildings at Virgina beach - Land Ho! We slipped by a few more ships including a Coast Guard vessel at close range. Don contacted customs to tell them we were coming in and they requested we contact them when we were 30 minutes from docking. A customs officer was waiting for us on the dock. She was very pleasant and had been waiting quite awhile for us. She said she only lived 10 minutes away but didn’t know of this particular marina. We had papers to fill out and had to show our passports. She went through things in the cabin and examined our food. We got to keep nearly everything but had to throw out some grapes that came from Chile. She called in an agricultural specialist for further checking. His stay was brief and they both left us to settle in for the night. We arrived in Norfolk about 6:30 pm. Andy Walls brought over John’s PT cruiser and Don, Rod and Tom loaded into that while John Jr. stayed behind at the dock. John drove us over to Andy and Stephanie’s were they serve us a great dinner of grilled asparagus and chicken with an Oreo cookie type pie (Andy’s favorite) – it was very, very good! John went back to get his son and the two of them ate out and stayed at a motel for the night. The three of us took Don’s van and headed back to the marina. Thanks to three ocean-soaked brains and a good memory on Tom’s part, we found our way to the dock and we spent a good night on the boat. I had hoped to sleep in the cockpit so I could stretch out, but even with the canvas up, the dew was too heavy so I stayed below.

Morning in Norfolk

May 21, 2009 – Thursday
Thursday dawned with bright sun and warmer temperatures again. There were very light winds and it was a perfect day for decommissioning the boat. We removed the sails first and laid them out in the parking lot to dry. We washed down the entire boat, cleaned the cockpit covers inside and out and when they were dry took them off and put them away. We removed the boom vang and boom and what we could of the canvas framework. We took out all the perishable food, cleaned out the storage lockers and washed all the areas we could, including the cockpit cushions. We finished in about 5 ½ hours and by 12:30 we hit the showers to clean up, change clothes and then hit the road for home. We all decided we would prefer to drive straight through instead of spending a night on the road. The closer we got to Michigan the worse the weather became and we drove through a fair amount of rain toward the end of the trip.

Home is the sailor, home from the sea.

May 22, 2009 - Friday
I arrived home about 5 am, my wife Susan's birthday and just 45 minutes before she had to get up for work. Surprise! Don and Tom still had another hour to drive to get to Petoskey. I slept for about thirty minutes and then got with Sue so we could talk while she got ready for work. I crashed later in the day, but even then only slept about three hours. I guess I was waiting for my watch to start! It’s good to be home!

I heard from John via email and he reported “John and I made it to his house in Novi about 8PM on Thursday and I drove back to Charlevoix on Friday. We arrived about 1PM. No speeding tickets. I'm back working 3 days a week and putting up with the cold, rainy weather. Sure was nice in Bermuda.” Indeed it was!