Day Two Schooner Sail Adventure
July 3, 2007
Kathy woke feeling so much better. Captain Bart made her a gruel of oatmeal. It was warm and stayed down. Captain Bart made some hot water and put it in the two small thermoses so we could have hot coffee through out the day.The sun came out and the day turned bright and cheery, but still no wind to speak of so we had the motor running. Kathy checked the chart and we continued along the coast of Nova Scotia through the Atlantic Ocean. One calm time about noon we stopped the motor and Captain Bart and Kathy made us pasta with pesto sauce served with fried chicken breast pieces and salad. It felt good to have a hot meal. Paul swished the dishes in the ocean and Will wiped them with a Clorox wipe.
Two o’clock we crossed the 45th parallel. We had past Sambro Island, Halifax Approaches and sailed the open ocean. Kathy checked our position from time to time, pushed the switch to pump the bilge, and enjoyed the view from the cockpit. Captain Bart and Will checked our position frequently using the GPS and figured the changes needed to get us to the next spot. Who ever sat at the helm would steer the course using a compass and sliding the rudder stick, a carved mermaid, right or left. We went adjacent to Serburk on the coast, past the Fairway Channel buoy at Goose Island and on to the buoy of Whitehead Harbor.
Kathy served cheese, pepperoni, apple slices and chips for a 3:00 snack. Will napped. Paul entertained us with jokes. Here is one: “A man came into a dentist office and said he thinks he is a moth. The dentist told him he should see a psychiatrist not a dentist. The man repeated that he thought he was a moth. The dentist asked the man, why are you here? To which the man replied, the light was on.”
Paul told us all about his friend who had a great idea for a trivia game that he shared with a man who picked him up hitchhiking one day. This man stole Paul’s friend’s idea and made the game Trivia Pursuit making lots of money for himself. Paul went to the hearings and said that there was a mix-up on dates so the judge did not award his friend anything!
Bart took his turn napping; he would sleep maybe fifteen minutes or so then wake to check something then try napping again. Paul took the helm and Will too the watched. Kathy journaled.
Down below the deck is the cabin. There are two bunks, one on each side and two more that form a vee at the stern, front, of the boat. We stored our gear on one side of the vee bunk. A sheet separates the two areas. A small hall with a chemical toilet to one side and a hanging closet to the other is located just behind the sheet before the vee bunk. The vee bunk has a crawl space window to the deck. The galley consists of a propane stove under the chart table to one side of the cabin steps. To the other side is a cooler. Dry food is stored in the hanging closet under the bench.
Up the steps which we learned to go down backwards so you didn’t hit your head, is the bow, aft, or back of the boat. The space is about five fee by two feet with seating all around. The rudder is at the narrow back so the helmsman sits looking forward to see the compass and what is ahead. Under the back is also the motor and controls. The boat, a schooner, has three sails and a little red sail, the fisherman’s staysail that we put up when there was just a little wind to catch as much as we could. We move along at about five knots. Cliff you would have been beside yourself with wanting to move along faster! We would say, shhh I think that there is some wind. Or we would see the wind on the water and say, look wind. We would shut off the motor and see how fast we were moving, but most of the time it was not enough to go five knots so we would have to start up the motor again.
It is important that you always know where you are out here where all there is around is water. We check the chart often for our location, distance to the new location and speed. It is also important to keep on a straight track so we don’t loose time zigzagging around the ocean to get to each buoy or destination.
We took turns cleaning up a bit. We use wipes, not water which get thrown in the trash because they contain chemicals. Plastic also goes into the trash bag. All other garbage goes overboard. This was extremely difficult to do. Kathy would toss most of hers into the plastic bag or pass it off for someone else to discard of. To see a beer can float away, paper towels, banana peel was terrible. We saw plastic bags, Styrofoam, cans, and assorted trash floating by. Serendipity should come along. (Book by Stephen Cosgrove about fishermen who throw trash into the sea and the sea serpent, Serendipity teaches them a lesson.)
We covered in sunscreen and wore caps or hats to keep from getting burned. Beer stored in the bilge, wine under the bunk, little cans of soda, plenty of water and a little juice keep us hydrated.
As evening comes and the sun is lower in the sky, the cool ocean breeze picks up. We layer up putting on vests, jackets, clean socks and rain gear. A butterfly fluttered by on his migration north! We saw dolphin in the distance. A seal or sea otter past; all we spotted was his head when he popped up for air.
We finished off a bottle of wine. Will filled it with water and we dropped it overboard. The water is so clear that we could watch the reflection of that bottle way down in the water until it reached a depth where the sun does not go and we could see it no more. Would it drift on the currents to Europe or sink down and crash on rocks to become sand grains and glass shards to be found in years beyond by beach walkers along the shore of Cape Breton.
We set the sails wide like wings, the first time this season Captain Bart has sailed this formation. We cut the motor and only the wind pushes us along past the Nova Scotia coast. The evening is clear and we can see the coast of green and gray down to the bluffs of tan. We see at our distance from shore, about 15 miles or so, the inlets and bays, hills and homes, church steeples and lighthouses that dot the way. We made it to our bouy, PU. Kathy figured the chart to get us the next buoy, about 13 miles at a heading of 80 degrees. We are traveling at 4.4 knots.
At 7pm the day is still bright, the sun still shines and we are without motor. Kathy emptied the bilge. Waves are coming up stronger. Peaks and troughs rock the boat. Captain Bart is at the helm and we have the Fishermen’s staysail up to catch more wind. A bird flies over. A housefly rests on the mast glad to find a landing spot out here. We chase him off to become food for the fish. Paul made more hot water for the night’s coffee. The kettle is kept under the stove, under the chart table so there is a lot of organizing to do before we can get hot water. Kathy has some hot tea, the guys have hot coffee and we have cookies.
The wind brings more waves. Kathy goes below. The sound of water rushing past the hull and the sway of the boat is peaceful. Paul is reading; Kathy is journaling. Will is watching and Bart is at the helm. Will spots a double finned fish, maybe a swordfish. It was right in front of the boat and disappeared under the bow. Imagine the report: boat speared by swordfish!
We are bobbing along with Will at the helm. He sites the red buoy, a nun, dead ahead. It came up sooner than Kathy had figured so we are ahead of schedule. Next buoy is 5 ¾ miles at a heading of 65 degrees. Paul and Bart went to haul in the staysail. They stand on the roof of the cabin and pull in the lines to drop the red sail. Will said he feels like he is on one of those boats in Venus. It is like going into a skid, if it is going right you push the rudder into it. We are rocking pretty good now, heaving with the swells, water rushing past and the breeze picking up. Will yells out, “hold on” and we heave right. After our next buoy, we adjust our sails and head 65 degrees. Will is still at the helm. Bart is giving directions to Paul and the staysail comes down and gets tied to the deck. We are pulling 5 knots, tipped on our side riding the rail. Kathy went below and the rocking and rolling continued.
Kathy woke feeling so much better. Captain Bart made her a gruel of oatmeal. It was warm and stayed down. Captain Bart made some hot water and put it in the two small thermoses so we could have hot coffee through out the day.The sun came out and the day turned bright and cheery, but still no wind to speak of so we had the motor running. Kathy checked the chart and we continued along the coast of Nova Scotia through the Atlantic Ocean. One calm time about noon we stopped the motor and Captain Bart and Kathy made us pasta with pesto sauce served with fried chicken breast pieces and salad. It felt good to have a hot meal. Paul swished the dishes in the ocean and Will wiped them with a Clorox wipe.Two o’clock we crossed the 45th parallel. We had past Sambro Island, Halifax Approaches and sailed the open ocean. Kathy checked our position from time to time, pushed the switch to pump the bilge, and enjoyed the view from the cockpit. Captain Bart and Will checked our position frequently using the GPS and figured the changes needed to get us to the next spot. Who ever sat at the helm would steer the course using a compass and sliding the rudder stick, a carved mermaid, right or left. We went adjacent to Serburk on the coast, past the Fairway Channel buoy at Goose Island and on to the buoy of Whitehead Harbor.
Kathy served cheese, pepperoni, apple slices and chips for a 3:00 snack. Will napped. Paul entertained us with jokes. Here is one: “A man came into a dentist office and said he thinks he is a moth. The dentist told him he should see a psychiatrist not a dentist. The man repeated that he thought he was a moth. The dentist asked the man, why are you here? To which the man replied, the light was on.”
Paul told us all about his friend who had a great idea for a trivia game that he shared with a man who picked him up hitchhiking one day. This man stole Paul’s friend’s idea and made the game Trivia Pursuit making lots of money for himself. Paul went to the hearings and said that there was a mix-up on dates so the judge did not award his friend anything!
Bart took his turn napping; he would sleep maybe fifteen minutes or so then wake to check something then try napping again. Paul took the helm and Will too the watched. Kathy journaled.
Down below the deck is the cabin. There are two bunks, one on each side and two more that form a vee at the stern, front, of the boat. We stored our gear on one side of the vee bunk. A sheet separates the two areas. A small hall with a chemical toilet to one side and a hanging closet to the other is located just behind the sheet before the vee bunk. The vee bunk has a crawl space window to the deck. The galley consists of a propane stove under the chart table to one side of the cabin steps. To the other side is a cooler. Dry food is stored in the hanging closet under the bench.
Up the steps which we learned to go down backwards so you didn’t hit your head, is the bow, aft, or back of the boat. The space is about five fee by two feet with seating all around. The rudder is at the narrow back so the helmsman sits looking forward to see the compass and what is ahead. Under the back is also the motor and controls. The boat, a schooner, has three sails and a little red sail, the fisherman’s staysail that we put up when there was just a little wind to catch as much as we could. We move along at about five knots. Cliff you would have been beside yourself with wanting to move along faster! We would say, shhh I think that there is some wind. Or we would see the wind on the water and say, look wind. We would shut off the motor and see how fast we were moving, but most of the time it was not enough to go five knots so we would have to start up the motor again.
It is important that you always know where you are out here where all there is around is water. We check the chart often for our location, distance to the new location and speed. It is also important to keep on a straight track so we don’t loose time zigzagging around the ocean to get to each buoy or destination.
We took turns cleaning up a bit. We use wipes, not water which get thrown in the trash because they contain chemicals. Plastic also goes into the trash bag. All other garbage goes overboard. This was extremely difficult to do. Kathy would toss most of hers into the plastic bag or pass it off for someone else to discard of. To see a beer can float away, paper towels, banana peel was terrible. We saw plastic bags, Styrofoam, cans, and assorted trash floating by. Serendipity should come along. (Book by Stephen Cosgrove about fishermen who throw trash into the sea and the sea serpent, Serendipity teaches them a lesson.)
We covered in sunscreen and wore caps or hats to keep from getting burned. Beer stored in the bilge, wine under the bunk, little cans of soda, plenty of water and a little juice keep us hydrated.
As evening comes and the sun is lower in the sky, the cool ocean breeze picks up. We layer up putting on vests, jackets, clean socks and rain gear. A butterfly fluttered by on his migration north! We saw dolphin in the distance. A seal or sea otter past; all we spotted was his head when he popped up for air.
We finished off a bottle of wine. Will filled it with water and we dropped it overboard. The water is so clear that we could watch the reflection of that bottle way down in the water until it reached a depth where the sun does not go and we could see it no more. Would it drift on the currents to Europe or sink down and crash on rocks to become sand grains and glass shards to be found in years beyond by beach walkers along the shore of Cape Breton.
We set the sails wide like wings, the first time this season Captain Bart has sailed this formation. We cut the motor and only the wind pushes us along past the Nova Scotia coast. The evening is clear and we can see the coast of green and gray down to the bluffs of tan. We see at our distance from shore, about 15 miles or so, the inlets and bays, hills and homes, church steeples and lighthouses that dot the way. We made it to our bouy, PU. Kathy figured the chart to get us the next buoy, about 13 miles at a heading of 80 degrees. We are traveling at 4.4 knots.
At 7pm the day is still bright, the sun still shines and we are without motor. Kathy emptied the bilge. Waves are coming up stronger. Peaks and troughs rock the boat. Captain Bart is at the helm and we have the Fishermen’s staysail up to catch more wind. A bird flies over. A housefly rests on the mast glad to find a landing spot out here. We chase him off to become food for the fish. Paul made more hot water for the night’s coffee. The kettle is kept under the stove, under the chart table so there is a lot of organizing to do before we can get hot water. Kathy has some hot tea, the guys have hot coffee and we have cookies.
The wind brings more waves. Kathy goes below. The sound of water rushing past the hull and the sway of the boat is peaceful. Paul is reading; Kathy is journaling. Will is watching and Bart is at the helm. Will spots a double finned fish, maybe a swordfish. It was right in front of the boat and disappeared under the bow. Imagine the report: boat speared by swordfish!
We are bobbing along with Will at the helm. He sites the red buoy, a nun, dead ahead. It came up sooner than Kathy had figured so we are ahead of schedule. Next buoy is 5 ¾ miles at a heading of 65 degrees. Paul and Bart went to haul in the staysail. They stand on the roof of the cabin and pull in the lines to drop the red sail. Will said he feels like he is on one of those boats in Venus. It is like going into a skid, if it is going right you push the rudder into it. We are rocking pretty good now, heaving with the swells, water rushing past and the breeze picking up. Will yells out, “hold on” and we heave right. After our next buoy, we adjust our sails and head 65 degrees. Will is still at the helm. Bart is giving directions to Paul and the staysail comes down and gets tied to the deck. We are pulling 5 knots, tipped on our side riding the rail. Kathy went below and the rocking and rolling continued.
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