TLC for Footprint

With no late morning start, nor extra naps, first order was some tidying up, then a quick look at the list to prioritize the chores ahead. That seemed like work enough and we soon found ourselves taking a nap. It was NOT supposed to be like this. Eventually we surfaced for dinner, and got distracted by email and blogs, but the boat at least looked tidy and livable; we even put clean sheets on the bed. We were determined to do better the following day.

The solstice (here at 51.5 degrees North) makes for a very long day indeed; the sun came up at 5:20am and set at 9:58pm, and the twilight is so prolonged it never actually gets fully dark – even at midnight there is a thin line of blue to the North. This combined with clear blue skies made our time off so pleasurable. The weather has calmed down too… With our messed up (and excessive) sleep, and with the long days, we never seem to know exactly what time it is.

The following morning, we got up bright and early (oh, around 9:30am), and immediately started into our chores. For the most part, this meant tearing the boat apart and undoing all the tidying we’d done the previous day in order to access all the things on our list. We pulled everything out of the starboard berth to access the buoyancy tank and the Espar heater. We pumped water, fixed a loose connection, and aired the room. Kyle then went up the mast to check over things there: replaced the masthead light bulb and inspected the sheaves (main halyard sheave looks fine but no longer works under compression – to replace that we’ll have to remove the mast cap, so we’ll make do for the rest of the year). I re-affixed the enclosure track and some of the missing snap fittings that had pulled from the fiberglass. Kyle then attempted replacement of the centerboard control ropes. I think he did well to complete one today, the other will now be much quicker. This rope replacement is one of those horrible and frustrating boat jobs that requires cramming an arm into a space designed to shred an arm and then doing detail work with the tips of your longest fingers. A frustrating job, but the centerboard lift and lower mechanism is eventually working again. Kyle will leave me to put the rest of it together as he fixes the other side of the boat tomorrow.

The boat is still a mess, but we need it that way for tomorrow, and since it is almost dark we know it must be very late, so we are off to bed before picking up on a few more chores in the morning. I think we will do the remainder of the chores as we move around Ireland so it won’t seem as if we are ONLY doing chores. All the critical things have been done (or we need expert help for, and have to wait for an area with better services).

Passage Review

[Kyle]First the stats. St George’s, Bermuda to Baltimore, Ireland.

• Depart Bermuda: May 26 2010, Arrive Baltimore: June 18 2009
• Distance traveled (through the water):2800nm
• Ideal route distance from start to finish 2691nm
• Time under motor 6.1 hours (4 for battery charging, one for in and one for out of port). Approx 4 gallons of fuel
• Total passage time: 22 days 23 hours 50 minutes.
• Average miles per day - 121 nm
• Average speed approx 5kt.
• Max distance covered in one hour 8.31 (day 15, 27kt of wind). Maximum instantaneous speed we noted 13.2kts, which I can verify as I was at the helm and hand steering at the time. The boat showed no tendency to swerve during this speed and was very stable.
• Min distance traveled in one 1 hour period: 0.09 miles (day 9, 1.6kt wind) – We were still moving!
• Min distance traveled in one day: 73.23nm (day 9)
• Ships sighted (approx, from memory): 5.
• Propane usage: 1.5 tanks (approx 30lb), used for cooking and refrigeration.
• Water usage: We left with 180L in the tanks plus 150 in jugs. We’d intended to use the jugs for drinking water and the tanks for washing/cooking, but the jugs ended up being too cumbersome for easy access/pouring, so Maryanne tended to use tank water for her drinks. In the end we used 38L out of the jugs (for drinking) and arrived with about 60L remaining in the tanks (used 120L from tanks). We also used an additional 12L from the solar showers. We used our seawater tap at the galley for washing up (saving the freshwater for a final rinse only) so this helped reduce our water usage. Water usage was higher during the first few days due to the heat (drinking more cold drinks). Average use 7L a day (we think this is quite low). So we arrived in Ireland with much spare water, but this also saves us rushing around looking to get our tanks filled.

Achievements / highlights

• Broke 8, 9 and then 10,000 miles on Footprint – amazing one passage equates to a ¼ of all the miles we’ve done with Footprint.
• Seabird swims by us, several times.
• Dolphins! So many times.

Key moments of stupidity

• Not cleating the main halyard before I cut it! This caused hours of “fun” trying to recover it.

Items to repair/replace

• Autopilot Motor – we really should have had a spare, but we misunderstood the manufacturer phrase “no user serviceable parts” and somehow interpreted it as we had to replace the WHOLE autopilot and could not replace parts. I’m not sure how we made that leap, of course you can purchase spare motors and one would definitely be aboard in the future.
• Sticking drive leg, tight control lines causing resistance on steering – to resolve.
• WHAM radio remote mic (fails to recharge or work with rechargeable batteries)
• Centerboard control lines (chafed through, most likely during times being hove to after autopilot failure).
• Masthead light (still to verify, but may be same failure as on way to Antigua where the bulb broke from its bayonet fitting – not sure why this should happen).
• One handrail to fix/replace, and a thorough inspection of davits and mount required.
• Oven brackets rusting and screws not biting well – to replace/secure.
• Galley cupboard sliding doors – Perspex/plexiglass broken – to replace
• Enclosure snaps, chafe, and bolt rope bracket to repair/replace.
• Helm seat attachment fittings (holes enlarging and weld breaking from rocking back and forth).
• Speed wheel plug to find / replace (it floated somewhere in the hull during our flooding, and is not yet recovered/found).
• Leaks on all 4 hatches
• Main halyard sheave – suspect broken, it is no longer running smoothly.
• Espar heater – fuse replacement required
• Identify / seal leaks from stern lockers/rudder lockers into boat
• Identify /seal leaks from forward (hull deck joints?).
• Master Berth locker latches

I’m paraphrasing of course, but I remember Tony Smith saying something about how he did his North Atlantic crossing as he knew some idiot would try it sooner or later. While admitting that it could be done, he did not necessarily recommend it should be done. I think, having done a similar route ourselves, I would share the same sentiment. The boat seems to be a very stable design and even in conditions that were terrifying, both hulls seemed solidly glued to the water surface (possibly helped by our high loads since we live aboard). The boat also took several pretty bad hits from big waves and seemed to be able to just brush it off. However, an Atlantic crossing is definitely not for the faint of heart and I would echo Tony’s recommendation not to attempt it without getting very familiar with the boat and making necessary modifications prior to leaving. Some of the things we did that I consider invaluable were: Line control traveler/genoa tracks, and preventer. The enclosure and the helm seat were essential, as are jack lines and tethers. I also believe we would have had a real power consumption issue and would have to run the engine more (limiting range for emergencies) if we had not switched our incandescent lights to LEDs. We had also sailed the boat considerably before we left, and exposed ourselves to longer passages and rough weather. By the time we set off, we knew exactly where to place our hands and feet, and had a good muscle memory for all the activities needed to sail the boat essentially single handed.

I do believe that in 80% of the conditions in which a mono-hull would be uncomfortable, a Gemini remains stable and livable. However, the other 20% of conditions are also awful aboard the Gemini (possibly worse in a mono-hull). Movement is so bad at times that nothing can be achieved without holding on constantly and there are too many open spaces with no decent hand holds – especially when crossing from one side of the boat to the other (cockpit, foredeck and inside between hulls). Loose items are readily thrown around. Another disconcerting issue in rough conditions is the noise and motion; with the two hulls on slightly different wave patterns there is a lot of bending, flexing and creaking along with wave pounding, all of which can be nerve wracking. It is such a complicated shaped structure that although not concerned about the boat stability as a unit, I did spend several sleepless nights worrying about how much stress the parts working against each other could take.

I was hoping when we set off that we would be able to enjoy the days of solitude and reflection, but since conditions turned out to be so rough, (always a possibility we had to be prepared for) this really amounted to an exercise in endurance. The seemingly constant cloud cover prevented seeing the constellations. The forced hand steering towards the end of the trip removed any remaining opportunity to reflect on the passage.

Overall, I feel pretty satisfied with the voyage. It is incredible to be here in Ireland and to look out from the pub and see our boat anchored in the harbour. Because of the conditions on route, I feel like we earned it well and have no sense that we got away with anything by having an unusually easy passage, although I fully realized things could have been much worse. In fact, here is an excerpt from an email from our friend JD, “Dave and I have been following the blog and also plotting your position on ww.passageweather.com to evaluate the upcoming weather and sea conditions. I'm sure it’s no news, but you had your very own major low pressure system in tow for most of the trip. I looked all over the world and even in the Southern Ocean, the weather was not as severe as your conditions! How fitting that the first land you would see is Fastnet Rock (from the famous disastrous race in the 70's).”

Because I can’t know what would have happened if conditions had been worse or if something more critical had failed, I’m reluctant to recommend it to anyone else. I think anyone planning to make an eastbound temperate passage in a Gemini would need to be prepared to make an ocean crossing regardless of the boat type. It is almost inevitable that at least a few days (or more) rough weather is going to be encountered. I have no way of being sure, of course, but I have to assume for the sake of prudence that we got lucky to a degree with regard to breakdowns, etc. Even so, it still required a good bit of creativity and ingenuity (as well as a good stock of tools and spare parts on hand) to keep things from turning much worse for us. Our main philosophy is to inspect everything as often as practical in order to catch things early. This has saved us on numerous occasions, most often from things that start off as minor, such as seizing wire, cable ties or split pins breaking, of which we have tons of spares.

Maryanne and I have been planning this crossing for a long time and it feels strange to have suddenly put it behind us. The passage itself in many ways felt like a series of 30 mile sails between naps. Our furthest point from land was when we were 575NM from the Azores and Ireland, respectively, but since we are so used to sailing the boat out of sight of land, it never really felt like we were out that far. Once we wake up from our off watch, it’s a new (half) day and everything begins anew, so we keep sailing. What else are we going to do? The weather also provides a means of reducing the apparent size of the Ocean. Even though the whole thing is just a huge expanse of water at sea level, I keep a constant mental map of the weather patterns, which causes me to mentally subdivide the entire ocean into regions of wind and wave and high and low pressure systems so that our ‘region’ only feels like it’s 100 or 200 miles across.

I certainly could not have done it without Maryanne (nor her without me, I hope). Maryanne is not in any way someone who was dragged along for the ride but has been a full and valuable partner in the entire endeavor. She has a childlike wonder about the world and has a fun and cheery demeanor, but she takes her job as seriously as an old sea captain when things get dicey. I can leave her at the helm at night in frightening conditions knowing that she understands the responsibility of having our very lives in her hands and that she has the skill and knowledge for the job. She has always been right there in any kind of emergency putting the full force of her considerable intellect and talent into solving or helping me solve the problem. I sleep better knowing she’s out there with me, keeping an eye on things

It really wasn’t until enough of Ireland was in view that I could see it constantly and clearly that it began to dawn on me the magnitude of what we’ve done. I was able to gaze at the hills and realize that somehow, after all those years of thinking about it and planning for it, we had made it happen. They looked like any old hills, but there was something fundamentally different about them that I understood intellectually. These hills were not merely far away, they were on the other side of the ocean. Once we finally got ashore, it seemed like we’d come a long way indeed. The climate was different, the geology was different and everybody’s accent was different. At the pub in this sailor’s town, when even the salty sailors would buy us a round and introduce us to yet more people who congratulated us with pats on the back and warm handshakes, we started to get a real feeling for what we had done. Then, of course, we had checked our email and saw all of the good wishes and support we received, and began to feel like we had Mission Control behind us the whole way.

Baltimore, Ireland

Baltimore Scenes
Baltimore is a small village, almost at the southern tip of Ireland, with a large proportion of holiday/second homes and a large proportion of B&Bs, pubs and eateries, all centered into a very small waterfront area. There is just one small convenience store, no bank, no petrol station, and at least 3 sailing clubs/schools. The focus is the waterfront. There is an active fishing fleet (although clearly smaller than it used to be historically), and several ferries and eco-tour type boats leaving the small town harbour all day. On the water itself we see a constant stream of sailors (with all size boats), and even wind surfers and jet skiers. For us the water seems way too cold to get that close to it. Seals frolic around, and the sea birds follow the fishing boats. It seems everyone owns a boat of some sort here. It also seems very international here, where daily, French sail boats arrive to visit, along with British and Irish from further afield.

Baltimore's historical and unusual claim to fame is it was the site of a visit from Algerian pirates in 1631 who kidnapped a number of Baltimore citizens and took them away into slavery (it is assumed, they were never seen again).

After dreaming for days of a hot bath, and a comfy bed (and without the need for laundry, and cleaning before hand) when we arrived in Baltimore. We found and booked a B&B before we even left the boat (Thanks, Mom).

The morning after we arrived, we slept like teenagers, just getting out of bed long enough to eat Breakfast at 9am before returning for more sleep. I guess we must have been very tired. Eventually, we surfaced and made it all the way next door to the 1215 O'Driscoll clan castle, Dún na Séad ("Fort of the Jewels"), recently renovated from stone ruins into a beautiful home. The castle was lovely inside and out, and had a roof top walk with great views of the harbour.

Dún na Séad Castle
We then found ourselves back at Bushe’s bar for a quick bite to eat which turned into several hours (we abused their WiFi). Determined to find somewhere different to eat for dinner, we walked out of town towards Casey’s hotel, however when we asked for a menu, they just verbally offered us chicken, lamb, beef or fish and chips (no price list given). We ordered fish and chips and were none too impressed with the fish, the chips, or the price. Casey’s restaurant/hotel is in some beautiful grounds and has some stunning views into Church Strand Bay (just off Baltimore harbour) and a ruined church with the sun setting to add to the ambiance.

Church Strand Bay
Eventually we walked home for another 12 hours of sleep.

Again we surfaced for our Breakfast and returned to bed. What luxury! Determined to so SOME activity in the early afternoon, we walked just out of town in the other direction, back towards the bay entrance to see the Beacon known as Lot’s Wife. It was a very pretty walk past the waterfront and a smaller bay, winding along with wild flower borders on the road (dominated by beautiful, tall, purple foxgloves). Eventually, we left the road for the moorland trail, and this provided yet more stunning views of inlets and amazing sea cliff formations. There were plenty of wild birds on the cliff, and plenty of evidence on the ground of cattle having been around.


Baltimore Area Countryside and cliffs

Despite being a weekend, we shared Lot's Wife with just two other couples, each sat enjoying the views and seeming to enjoy each other with dreamy smiles all around.

Baltimore Beacon - Lot's Wife, guiding boaters into the harbour
The beacon itself is set atop huge jagged lichen encrusted cliffs (the pictures, as usual, don’t do it justice). The area is a geologists' Heaven, plenty of different materials, and lots of exposed layering.

We returned back off road for as far as we could manage (with no idea if we were on public trails or private property), but eventually had to climb a gate to get back to the road. Here, we were stopped by a distressed lady on a bicycle looking for her cows. Had we seen any? Now that we think of it, we did see two black cows over by the beacon, but way down on the cliffs – was she looking for two black cows? Yes she was, she seemed relieved to know where they were and that she would now not be cycling around the moors all day.

Back into town, Baltimore was now very different on a weekend than during the week. We came across a handful of vintage cars – the Rolls Royce and Bentley club were having a tour of the area, and had stopped in Baltimore for a bite to eat, we assume. Their cars were highly photographed by the many tourists (and Kyle). From there we found ourselves back into Bushe’s, but this time for the end of the BIG rugby match (Lions against Springboks). (Lions are a joint British/Irish team, and the Springboks a South African team). It seems we joined the game at the best possible time. The Lions were expected to lose badly, but had just started to turn the game around for a big comeback. Although they didn’t win, it made the local crowd happy to see that they just might have.

Kyle, being used to American Football, kept making the big mistake of looking away every time the ball hit the ground, or a play ended; he was expecting this to be “safe” as play would stop (as it does in American Football), and he assumed he had 30 seconds at least to concentrate on his soup before any new action, but in rugby they just keep playing. He kept missing all the great action.

Being mid afternoon, we were now ready for more rest. We nipped to the only store, picked up some snacks and a DVD and returned to our B&B for a hot bath and more rest. Later we left the house again, looking for Pizza, and bumped into our new friend Len. We were sidetracked into sharing more beer, and eventually joined Len again at his house for sunset and cocktails, along with dinner. What a great night, spent with meandering conversations in great company and a beautiful setting. Thank you Len. He returned us home, but with a stop for drinks and live traditional Irish music at Casey’s en route. We could not last as long as our new friend. We decided to turn down the next pub, and retired to bed. We thought we might watch our movie, but that never worked out (I think we managed 5 minutes before we were both sound asleep).

Maryanne and Len share a beer outside Bushe's Bar in Baltimore
The next morning, Kyle would never allow me to forget, was the Summer Solstice. We got up early, knowing we would be returning to Footprint and starting on the big cleanup and fix up. But first we had to watch that movie. Eventually Kyle performed his solstice ritual, and along with his head of hair, he also removed his beard of 26 days. The beard had been driving him crazy! When we finally made it to breakfast Kyle shocked the landlady, who could no longer be sure if Kyle had hair the day before…

We packed up and headed back to Footprint, and yet again we bumped into Len, now dressed in foul weather gear, and with Kyle’s new lack of hair, he didn’t recognize us at first. Even for me, Kyle’s new image was quite a change, very white.

When we made it back to the dinghy we found the actual harbour master at his post, and we checked in with him if we were here legally. He kindly assured us, called customs again for us, and assured us we were all official we were in the records, and we could remove our Q flag.

Kyle removes the Q flag and raises the Irish courtesy flag - with his new hair-free look
So now we are back aboard Footprint, about to give her the love and attention she deserves now we are fully rested.

Solstice Sunset from Footprint

Photos added

[Kyle/Maryanne] We've added a few photos to the previous posts since leaving Bermuda. Enjoy!

Holed up and Resting

Baltimore Beacon guides all sailors safely to harbour
Kyle and Maryanne Toast their arrival with a Guinness and a Murphy's at Bushe's Bar in Baltimore
Baltimore Village
[Maryanne]Whew, we are in a hotel/B&B and back on a reasonably normal (for a teenager) sleep pattern. We've had hot baths and plenty of beers and good food. All is well with the world. Our hotel provides forced relaxation, there is not even any internet available there. We're currently in the local boat friendly pub (they even offer free showers) for lunch and WiFi. The boat is out there at anchor, looking after itself until we are "ready" for the big clean up involved and to start fixing things.

We've finally caught up with reading (but not replying to) emails, and our blog comments. We'll catch up properly with emails in a week or two. We'll get around to posting some video too.

A BIG Thank you to all of you that commented in any way and those that have followed our progress with such obvious concern and support.

TO Scott on Split Decision - GREAT Job on the widget that shows the world where we are on our blog page - I wasn't expecting the Europe map to be visible - it looks great. I know how disappointed you are in our lack of fishing, and we've had a good chuckle at your frustration on our part. No TVP for you eh? LOL. For the most part Kyle and I are vegetarians, but we will eat Free range/organic produce where we can find and trust it. TVP really is great boat food (no refrigeration, easy); honest, really perfect boat food, but I see we'll not convert you. Thanks again for the Widget, and great to hear you got some sailing done now spring/summer is here.

We arrived in Baltimore to a rough wave-filled Harbour filled with pre-assigned mooring balls and no response from anyone on the various VHF radio channels. We eventually anchored and then rowed ashore in big waves and lots of wind. We checked in with the Harbour master office to find his son decorating - assuring us we didn't need to worry about customs/immigration. Eventually he called his Dad for us, who just asked for our details and said not to worry.. We found the local Guarda (Police) at the dockside hanging out in their car. We told them we'd just arrived and were looking for Customs/Immigration... "OH, don't worry, you'll be fine" was the response, which when we pressed they just sent us to the local pub for more info. YES - you hear me right, the police sent us to the pub for legal info.. Freaking Hilarious! You gotta love Ireland. We've left several messages and aren't 100% sure if we are here legally or not, but the beer is helping us discount any worries.

Once we gave up with the formalities, we checked in to our local hotel (Thanks Mom), had a really long hot bath, and a short nap, then headed out to the pub. There, we toasted our arrival officially and Kyle made a beautiful romantic speech telling me what a great first mate he has. (Naturally). At the bar, we met Len, a local Dr. who took us under his wing, bought us more beers than we planned to drink and then took us back to his house to watch the sunset and share some wine; this was great company and a wonderful welcome to Ireland; Thanks Len. His sunset views really must be one of the greatest in Ireland.

Stunning sunset from Len's house in Baltimore - WOW, our first night in Ireland
Today we slept again for hours (Surfacing for a BIG breakfast, before returning to bed), and now find ourselves back in the pub (Bushes) :-) What a terrible life we lead eh?

We expect to move on to Cork to get laundry and boat repairs done, and to meet up with Family visiting and we'll take our time to get there.
A Hot Bath is really welcome after so long at sea!

Arrived in Baltimore

Hi All, just a quick note to say we've arrived. Could not get anyone on the radio so we've anchored out... Looks like a rough row to shore to find Customs and Immigration and start our R&R.
Current Position: 51° 29.052 N, 009° 22.608 W
Thanks for keeping an eye on us :-)

Day 24 - Bermuda to Ireland

Fastnet Lighthouse

Weather: Gray, overcast. Big seas as water shallows and channels around Ireland.

General Comments: "LAND HO!" Kyle shouted around 0521 (GMT) this morning (at this latitude by then, the sun had already been up for an hour). Finally, we could see Ireland (well he could, I'm afraid I acknowledged him, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Kyle says I'm dead inside). When I finally awoke, it was to the cry of seabirds and a gray sliver of land filling the horizon (Ireland is definitely not the Emerald Isle today). Fastnet light is ahead of us, but still a tiny stick right now. We are all set to arrive and clear in by early afternoon. Very few ships around, but we are getting lots of Irish Coast Guard chatter (weather and basics) but not much else on the Radio. 

[Kyle]We are getting into shallower water, and the seas are building. Although winds are only 15-20kt, the waves overtaking us are 15-20'. It is not a good day for a day sail, and we are glad to be headed downwind and not into this mess. We are both very excited.

Food: I wanted to use the last of our Bermuda Free Range/Organic chicken so made Pasta with parmesean chicken... Tonight should be a pub food (with a Guinness perhaps?) if we can find an ATM, or the pub takes cards.

Progress: Yesterday we made 136nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 2783nm, and have 16nm (plotted direct course) to go.

Day 23 - Bermuda to Ireland

[Kyle]Yesterday the wind finally did abate as the storm left. In its place came fog and cold drizzly rain. The wind also shifted to the side no longer protected by the enclosure (brrrrr) so it made for some cold and miserable watches indeed. We did have a dead air spell after the frontal system passed, putting more pressure on our (hoped for) arrival time - certainly not by first thing in the morning.  We expect to see Fastnet light sometime tonight, probably during Maryanne's night watch (ends at 3am GMT).

Weather: I awoke this morning to actual blue sky peeking out between the clouds and shadows in the cockpit - will the sun stay? I hope so.

General Comments: After some fitful sleeping, convinced the boat was falling apart, it was a huge relief to find all well aboard Footprint. The fix we put in place yesterday is holding strong on that rear rail (whew). Of course not all is perfect. Our masthead light has failed, so we are sailing at night with steaming lights and an anchor light just to be sure we can be seen - once we get into harbor we can fix that with the spare bulb we have aboard (I assume). Not surprisingly, that centerboard is now failing to lift & raise, and the other board looks like it won't work for too many more tries - the line that controls it has chafed through - presumably from when we hove to. We have plenty of little leaks to tend to - but the worst is one, we assume, is coming from the hatch but that finds a path and drains down the chain plates where they attach to the wooden bulkhead. (Chain plates are the critical metal fittings that hold the shrouds, that support the mast at the sides).

Sailing conditions have been good and we even have the screacher back out.

Food: I experimented yesterday and made a delicious SOY/TVP Cottage pie... I was worried it wouldn't be spicy enough for Kyle (who loves chilis and curries, and adds Tabasco sauce to everything) but he loved it too; it is now on the regular list. To help save washing up I made it with just cans and dried food - it took maybe 10 minutes max of prep and cooking. It was so cold, it was perfect to have such a homey dish.

Progress: Yesterday we made 115 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 2646 nm, and have 146 nm (straight line) to go.

We know so many of you are following our progress and it is really comforting from our end.  We obviously don't check our standard email when offshore (we have a secret offshore account that only special people are told), and once we arrive it will probably take us weeks to catch up - so if you have sent us something, don't worry if you don't hear from us for a while. Today I wanted to send a quick thank you to Kyle's Aunt Linda so managed to get a message to us here at sea. She tells us she is following (with mixed feelings), but also many in her office are following our progress - so hi to Linda's office colleagues.

Day 22 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Mixed 1.5m seas, fog - cold; not the Caribbean.

General Comments: Did I mention how were were enjoying the relative calm yesterday morning? After 7 days of storms that interlude was wonderful.. Just after we'd sent our emails and Kyle was getting ready for his rig check I heard a TWANG (???) something under tension had just given way - gulp. The noise came from the back of the boat, I took a quick look and was relieved find the back stays connected - Kyle went to do his full rig check and immediately found the solar panel leaning down on one side - the cause? -  one of our hand rails had sheared. The starboard step, inboard "n" shaped handrail just broke cleanly as if cut about 3" up from the deck at the forward attachment point (and 1/4 above the welding for the clip on point). Connected also to the hand rail is the love seat and some of the dinghy davit hardware (and of course the solar panel). The main part of the hand rail had been pulled up and back (presumably by the forces from the davits?). Clearly, it would be crazy to continue sailing like this, but we still have a long way to go and it would also be crazy to tow the dinghy - we had to find some kind of temporary fix. We spent some time with tackle and lines until we could pull the rail back in alignment - we put the two pieces back together with some 1/2" PVC pipe inside to help guide that position and we've cinched it down with some good line and a Spanish windlass. So far, it seems to be holding. I have no idea why it would break in such a way. The dinghy is not that heavy (well within the limits for the davits) and it has a cover to prevent water getting in, but even if water gets in, the drain hole is open - so no extra weight should be in it. This happened in our calmest moments. I'm not sure if there was some inherent fault in that rail, or if somehow, some unexpected/unknown forces have broken it - for now it is a mystery and we'll have to seek help once we get back to land. Of all the problems we've had on this passage, this is the one that I expect to be the most expensive and time consuming out of our "fun" schedule to solve.  Grrrr.

Broken Handrail and Temporary Fix

Kyle adds: that we managed to pull the rail back into place using our windward preventer tackle with its 5:1 purchase and quick release clips on either end. We'd rigged it like this to help in recovering items (people) aboard, but it came in perfectly for this need - with a block clipped to each end of the hand rail and the tail line cleated once at the right tension we were able to then bring the parts together and then tie separate lines and a Spanish windlass securely before removing the "preventer" tackle.  We've added a vice grip at the base to hold the two parts in alignment too (secured separately to the boat in case it falls off). The fix seems pretty secure, but the real test was that we had another 24 storm forecast. We are (hopefully) in the last hours of that now and so far all is well. Yesterday the weather started to get rough again during dinner (we were expecting that 24 hour storm), and it was pretty bad through the night (it is really hard to steer in these seas). On my off watch, each time the boat pounded, slewed or rolled, I was convinced the dinghy was hanging off the boat by one increasingly bendy davit; I kept calling out to Maryanne to check on things, and she would assure me that everything was fine. We are also on a really fast point of sail (broad reach) surfing down waves. It is hard to keep the boat speed below 8 or 9 knots. This is great for getting to Ireland, but from the bed it sounds and feels as though the boat is way too overpowered, so apart from worrying about the dinghy I was now also concerned we needed to reef more than we already had (we were sailing with reefed main and jib, and winds were around 21kt - so all was just fine for the conditions)  In the end, I got maybe a fitful hour of sleep during my off-watch. By the time I came on watch, of course everything was fine, I had a fast night of tearing a grove in the ocean towards our destination.  It looks as if our arrival time is most likely dead of night.  We want to avoid this, not just because of entering the harbour - although it looks quite safe, but because we will have to clear customs and immigration and there is no benefit to arriving when they are closed (then we'd have to anchor and dinghy ashore in the morning) - We are hoping if we arrive in work hours, the marina will let us tie up there to clear customs - much easier.  Plus we've come all this way - it would be nice to enjoy the views on our arrival in Ireland and the entrance to Baltimore in particular.  To make sure we arrive in the day time we'll eventually have to slow down and coast slowly in. For now, we are making the most of the storm winds to get us as far as possible before they die off. We've just now managed to get full sail up (in 15kt of wind).

The good news is that neither of us has yet to be seasick on this passage. Given it hasn't happened yet, I assume we are set for the rest of the passage. The secret must be to set out on a calm day. I'll make sure Kyle takes note of that concept.

Kyle actually woke me up on my off watch to tell me he spotted a regular old seagull yesterday.... He was very excited.

Food: Mexican: Burritos

Progress: Yesterday we made 114 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 2537 nm, and have 258 nm (straight line) to go.

Day 21 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Ahhh, at last, calm... Seas are down to around 3' waves and gentle, winds are calmer (low teens, dropping less from time to time) - we even had full main and genoa flying for much of yesterday evening. Still overcast and cold (so wrapped up), but it is nice to be able to enjoy this calm; Kyle predicts it is just a brief lull before the next pressure system but he really is NOT complaining about the low winds, AMAZING.  Finally, we can leave the helm to tend for itself for 30 seconds, life is much better.

General Comments: In yesterday's rig check I discovered a hole in my welly (where the boot meets the leg) and we saw 2 ships yesterday. After one of many large waves hitting us, the rudder indicator stopped working and when Kyle went to inspect, luckily, it had just popped off its ball joint so an easy fix. (Kyle complained about this last sentence - he says "the weather in the last few days has been just horrible. As we've mentioned. Yesterday we had a particularly large number of breaking seas that came over and into the boat, probably an interaction with the slight current but very frightening nonetheless. Every time one would hit the boat there was an explosion of water and the boat would slew sideways 30-40 degrees before ending the skid. One of them managed to permanently stretch the life lines (most likely the same one that ripped off the enclosure track). The wave that broke the rudder indicator. Usually the only warning we would get is about 1/2 second of loud hissing before it hit - not enough time to turn the boat to a better angle. Every time I heard that hiss, my stomach would be up in my throat wondering what was about to come. Most of the rest of the time the waves were both impressive and frightening. It is not so much the peaks as the troughs that cause the effect as the boat rides to the top of the wave and you look down into the next trough from atop the helm seat on the boat, it feels as if you are sitting on a lawn chair on someone's roof and about to slide off onto their lawn. Then, of course, immediately behind that is another steep wall of water just as high again. It is always a surprise to both of us when a particularly large and menacing waves, that the boat just floats over uneventfully. Of course, the worst is when you can see the top 5 or 10' of water folding over into a breaker and you know the boat can't get out of the way in time - it feels as though we've been dealing with this for too many days now. Maryanne slept so well on her off watch repeated yelling didn't wake her, I actually had to go into the bedroom to wake her. Today seems like a huge relief.".

Last night on my watch, I spotted a sailboat flying it's illuminated spinnaker, I was just analyzing to determine if we were on a collision course and who had right of way, when the clouds moved and I discovered it was the moon I was trying to avoid!!! 

Aboard Footprint we have a large pump action thermos to allow us to have hot drinks throughout the day without having to keep boiling the kettle; we've not used it at all while in the Carribean, where we mostly have cold drinks at the ready, but need it now.  For the most part we've had a traditional glass/vacuum thermos but after several breakages I recently purchased a fancy stainless steel one... We'll after 4 hours in the pot the water is room temperature - terrible.  I'm not sure if it is the model, or simply the nature of the non-glass thermos but it certainly is NOT doing the job.

Kyle won't let me catch any of the rain water that keeps landing on us as he is seriously monitoring our water usage (we have way more than we'll need for the trip).... I'm tempted to mess with him but he checks so often there is no way I can sneak some in the tank without him knowing.

Food:  We kept it simple yesterday and for lunch we had mini-pizzas (bread rolls: split, covered and grilled) and for lunch some carton soup that I had left over from the USA (It expires June '09 so we'll have to have more of that on this trip).

Progress: Yesterday we made 130, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 2409nm, and have 395 (straight line) to go.

Our arrival destination is Baltimore, Ireland and we are secretly hoping to get there sometime on Thursday (18th), where we plan to seriously deplete the hot water supplies of one of the local hotels, sleep, rest up, and get our body clocks back on the same schedule.

Day 20 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Gray, very mixed and big seas (5.5m), winds still in upper 20's constantly, with occasional sustained gusts in the 30's; miserable. Worst of all it is very cold.  We each sit watch with at least 5 layers of clothing, with chemical pocket/glove warmers and are very pleased when our respective watches are over.  Kyle takes the worst of it, and I love him dearly for that. Based on yesterday's forecast, we are expecting calm conditions by Monday Night... and Kyle promises not to complain if there is no wind (We'll see). A wave last night smashed into the side wall of the enclosure and pulled it's track (that the bolt rope slides on) off - so now even colder to sit watch; and there is no hiding inside to warm up, since we have to be at the wheel with no autopilot and in these conditions.

General Comments: Leak resolved (it was just me leaving the rudder compartment door ajar (it caught on the swim ladder as I closed it and so did not fully close down). Of course, water in the rudder compartment should not find its way into the boat, but on the Gemini it does, and we have been living with the trickle for some time while frantically working out how to locate and stop it... This job now seriously moves up the priority list, but we need to be hauled out for it (decent access to this area is only really available from standing about waist high in water otherwise.  It took us around 4 hours to clean up after the leak, and to empty out the buoyancy compartment that was also filled with water (despite also having empty water bottles in there too).  All this did not help our progress towards Ireland. Aghhhh.

Food: More weevils found in another batch of Pasta - Must remember not to use that store in the BVI again (Or was it St Maarten?)!

Progress: Yesterday we made 100 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 2295 nm, and have 506 nm (straight line) to go.

Day 19 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: I woke up around 8:45 boat time to a blue sky above and the sun shining through the window... I stepped down from my bed and into a puddle of water - we have a leak somewhere in the Starboard hull and we've just finished pumping out the water. Now Kyle is trying to source the leak while I get this update sent out. I'm pretty sure we'll find it, and then we'll have to work out what to do about it. We pump out the bilges regularly (using the manual pump) and I did it around 3am this morning to clear the couple of quarts that pool at the bottom - but this is quite different.  Kyle would have found the water much earlier if we were not having to hand steer. For now we are hove to.  Since we are in strong winds the wind generator more than compensated for the electric bilge pumps/sump pump.

NOTE. although we have a leak, we are in no danger of sinking.

*UPDATE I think we've found the reason for the extra water (I'd left open the rudder compartment locker door last night) so we're cleaning up and keeping an eye on things... This has been an existing leak that we've never been able to source - and we're waiting for our next time on the hard to really solve it. Leaving the door open means that a LOT more water is pushed through this existing leak.

In the mean time, Kyle got thrown off his feet and smashed into his glasses. He lost his needed lens overboard, but at least we had a spare pair for him aboard to use. In the middle of all this, our VHF suddenly started reporting "BATTERY HIGH". A quick check of the system shows our solar controller is wet and has stopped working, preventing the batteries from overcharging. We have a spare, but for now this is not a priority so we've just tilted the solar panel away from the sun. For now (10:30 GMT), we're are cleaning up the mess from the leak. Nothing for you guys to worry about.. For us, it's not a fun morning so far, but I guess nobody said it would be easy right?

General Comments: Sick of the weather, although things do seem to be calming down we now have this leak to occupy us. Apart from that, the other news of the last 24 hours is we saw a BIG ship... actually it seemed to come over to check us out.  It was just passing at its closest as Kyle woke me for my watch - oh and that Rainbow leading to Ireland keeps on appearing just before sunset.

Oh, and we've crossed the mid-Atlantic ridge.

Food: Indian Curry and we broke out the jelly beans from the goody tub!

Progress: Yesterday we made 126nm, So far on this trip we have travelled (through the water) 2192nm, and have 605nm (straight line) to go.