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2018 DELMARVA Reports |
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We started our 106 course in the traditional way, with all of
the students - Glen, Jose, Peter and Sarah, the mate, Doug, and the Captain,
Frank - eating a hearty meal at a Rock Hall restaurant and getting to know each
other. Frank had prepared a list of standing rules for the trip, including
the watch rotations and team assignments, and we reviewed these as well.
After dinner, the crew returned to Navigator and settled in for the evening. Saturday began at dawn with breakfast and cabin stowing,
followed by a discussion of how the navigation process would work. The
captain and mate explained how we would use our paper-based resources to prepare
the navigational plan and then use the electronics aboard to stay on track from
way point to way point. After this, the crew went through the boat, using
the 106 Procedures manual to identify the location of every cubby and hold and
the contents of each. Next, the crew came topside and we ran through the
procedures for raising the main sail, putting in and shaking out a reef and
flaking down the sail. With the wind behind us at the dock, sail handling
was tricky, but the crew was well up to the challenge. The use of
procedures for each step was reinforced and the crew rapidly saw the value of
step-by-step operation. After a quick lunch aboard, we returned topside
and the captain led all hands through the technically complex but
straight-forward process of rigging and de-rigging the whisker pole. Since
none of the students had ever seen a whisker pole in operation before, they were
very impressed with its dynamics and appreciative of its risks. Dinner
that evening was a last opportunity for the crew to spend time apart for the
next week and they took advantage of the time to call home, review procedures
and generally get prepared, mentally and physically. Sunday dawned warm, cloudy and windless. The brisk
southerly wind of the previous day had disappeared completely and the crew was
left with only the option of "sailing the iron genoa." After
some time near the marina to get everyone a chance to get a feel for how the
boat operated under power and a stop at the pump-out dock at Lankford Bay
Marina, we motored out into the gray mist, running down the navigation plan we
had laid out the day before. In the lower part of the Chester River, we
ran down a prescribed two mile run, then back up, to calibrate the knotmeter and
distance log. Our calculations found that the instrument was not out of
calibration and we noted the same in the ship's log. Because the captain
wanted everyone to have an opportunity to act as navigator, helmsman and student
skipper, we did not set our underway watches yet. We ended the day at a
mooring ball in Swan Creek Marina, coming in as the sun finally disappeared and
we tied up as the light left the day. Dinner that night was followed by
asession of navigation prep by all hands, getting set up to travel the next day
from Swan Creek to Summit North Marina, on the C & D Canal. The wind had returned the next morning, bringing with it more
clouds and wet weather. The crew was happy for their foul weather gear as
the boat pounded out of Swan Creek into a 20 to 25 knot wind. Once across
the Swan Creek Shoal, we turned north, rigged the whisker pole and with a full
main and poled-out genoa, sailed up toward the head of the Chesapeake Bay,
passing the tall ship Lynx on her way down. The crew made much of the fact
that we were sailing, while Lynx had to run on her motor, but the differences in
upwind and downwind sailing, particularly on a square-rigged vessel, were an
interesting discussion. Once we turned up toward the C&D canal, we
doused our sails and ran along, passing several tugs and barges as they made
their way to Baltimore and points south. Nightfall found us at Summit
North Marina, where we were able to take on fuel, pump out the holding tank and
take a slip for the night. One of the things one learns on a long trip
with a large crew is to always pump out when possible! After dinner
ashore, the crew completed the navigation plan for the run to Cape Charles and
turned in for the night. Morning found us underway for the Delaware River, once again
having departed before the sun arose. The wind had shifted from the South
to the North during the evening and was blowing between five knots and twelve.
While this was enough to sail the boat downwind, a major frontal passage was
predicted at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay for the following evening, just
after sun down, so it was necessary to make at least five knots over ground in
order to ensure that we were at Cape Charles before the weather degraded to the
point that coming into the channel there would become difficult, especially for
a tired crew after dark. Because of this need to maintain a certain speed,
we were often forced to assist our sails with a judicious application of engine
power. All through the day and into the night, after we had passed off
shore and turned down towards the south, we found ourselves having to set and
douse the "iron genny." Hours of sailing would be followed by
hours of motor-sailing, then, when the wind picked up, we could secure the
engine and sail in blissful silence. The crew kept a close eye on our Velocity Made Good and we
made the turn into the mouth of the Bay a little after 1500. We passed
under the Chesapeake Bay Northern Bridge span at about 1630, after giving way to
a large commercial fishing vessel who seemed a little unclear on the rules of
the road. As we all know, the rules always allow for deviation if the
"other guy" isn't acting appropriately, so we accepted our position
and reacted accordingly. After passing through the bridge, we sailed up
toward Cape Charles and arrived at the mouth of the channel just as the sun
dipped below the horizon, a sight we could actually see as the clouds and rain
that had dogged us each day had finally begun to lift with the approaching
front. We entered the Harbor of Refuge with the captain calling the turns
and the mate monitoring the chart plotter with a student at each location under
instruction. We entered the marina itself with the last glow of daylight
fading, identified a T-head slip that we could use and locked the boat in using
techniques from the 118 Docking class which three of the four student
crewmembers had taken with the captain. The practical ability to see how
those techniques could be used for a safe and controlled arrival went far to
reinforcing the lessons from the previous class. The crew snugged up the
boat and trooped ashore for a well-earned dinner before returning and falling
asleep, almost where they stood. The next morning, the crew slept in, not rising until almost
0630! Gear was stowed and the charts came out again as the crew planned
their trip back up the Bay to Annapolis. The captain and the mate took
turns going into town, returning with pastries for the crew and fresh provisions
for the refrigerator, respectively. By 1100, the crew was showered, the
navigation plan was formed and approved and the weather was reviewed.
Initially, the wind was predicted to be from the north, at 20 knots, before
dropping through the day and backing into the southwest. Because of the
possibility of strong winds on the nose, we decided to put in the second reef in
the mainsail before we left port, reasoning that we could shake out the reef if
it proved to be unnecessary more easily than having to put it in at sea.
After setting the main, putting in the reef and dropping the main, we traveled
over to the fuel dock to take on more fuel and pump out once again. The
mate took the control position for this trip and the captain manned the wheel.
With the wind blowing off the dock at fifteen knots, gusting occasionally to
twenty, the captain once again used the techniques taught in the Docking class
to reinforce the ability to handle a large boat in tight quarters under
challenging wind conditions. The crew who had taken the course previously
remarked that it was like getting the "masters class" in docking,
while even the Cape Charles dockhand was impressed to see what was, to him, a
new technique. After adding to one tank and draining the other, the mate
took control of the boat and ran us out into the Chesapeake Bay, while the
captain took the opportunity to loll around at the chart plotter, offering
suggestions. The wind rolled the boat heavily as we motored out into the
channel, but after clearing the entrance buoy and setting the sails, she settled
in and handled well. Unfortunately, the wind was now right on the bow and it
became necessary to tack our way across the rhumbline. First off to one
side by a nautical mile, then tacking and back the other way, we were having a
great sail, but having trouble with our VMG. Once clear of the channel and
free to maneuver, the captain ran the crew through Crew Over Board drills,
emphasizing and reinforcing the Maryland School's primary concept of stopping
the boat as quickly as possible, keeping the COB in sight and getting the boat
up wind in order to work down to effect a recovery. The crew quickly
understood how this practice made recovery safer and more effective in a big
boat on a big ocean. By the time the drills were finished, the wind had dropped to
the point where we could shake out the reef, set the genoa and sail up wind, but
the angle still required tacking around the rhumbline. The crew got
practice in tacking a big headsail around the inner stay, a significantly
different technique to simply allowing the genoa to blow across an open
fore-triangle in a sloop-rigged boat. As the wind continued to drop, it
eventually became necessary to assist the apparent wind with some judicious use
of the engine, allowing for a tight sail close-hauled on the rhumbline. As
the evening progressed and the sun dipped below the horizon, the captain again
called for COB drills, this time in the dark. Reinforcing the idea of
stopping the boat, we now had to maneuver toward the flashing strobe of the
pumpkinhead COB, a much trickier task. The crew quickly developed skills
at getting next to the COB and getting the rescue line on. Maintaining our track to Annapolis was easy now, as the wind
came from the port bow, so that just a little bit of additional boat speed from
the engine kept us on a close-hauled course. The predicted shift to the
south did not come, so the wind from the north stayed cold. Temperatures
on the boat approached freezing and the crew stayed bundled up while on watch,
with much tea and coffee consumed. Near midnight, the captain ran an
unannounced COB drill, simulating that the helmsman had fallen overboard while
the rover was below and the off-watch was asleep. Even these trying
conditions did not faze the by-now well-equipped crew and the COB dummy was back
on board and receiving his simulated "medicinal brandy" within ten
minutes, an excellent time given that the water temperatures were still well
into the highs 60s. The voyage continued through the night with the on-watch
team, monitored by the duty instructor, performing night collision avoidance
tasks with huge freighters, tugs both pushing and pulling barges and all sorts
of fishing and sailing recreational craft. Night time navigation skills
were also in practice, allowing for two and three bearing fixes off of lights.
Dawn found us sailing along, still assisted by a small amount of engine power,
but the wind finally worked around off our port quarter, bringing warmer
temperatures and the blessed relief of sailing without the engine. We were
able to sail up past the Thomas Point Shoal Light, where the student skipper of
the day sadly doused the sails and turned us up to our anchorage in the mooring
fields off the Naval Academy. The afternoon included review for the 106
exams, showers and shopping ashore for some and trips into shore for all aboard
the Annapolis water taxis for a dinner at the Mangia restaurant along the
waterfront after an obligatory stop at Pusser's for a taste of grog, well earned
by the crew for almost completing their circumnavigation. Saturday morning found the crew dropping the mooring ball
well before sunup and clearing the channel into the Naval Anchorage at the mouth
of the Severn. The main sail and genoa came out, the engine went off and
the crew performed a paper chart dead reckoning under the bridge and across the
Bay, turning around Love point and crossing their track to actually complete the
circle of their circumnavigation, the captain having secured the chart plotter
and requiring the crew to navigate with nothing but the depth finder, knot meter
and compass. Over the night, the wind had come up but the clouds had come
back again and, although it was warm, the sky was blanketed again. Just as
the crew came up the Chester River, the sky cleared for half an hour, allowing
the captain and crew to quickly perform a sun-based compass deviation exercise.
The crew noted that, while watching Captain Tursi's video on the subject was
informative, actually performing the procedure was invaluable in understanding
the process. The crew finally returned to Lankford Bay Marina at about 1400, having left 150 hours prior and having transited more than 400 miles in that period. The boat had spent less than 36 hours in port during that time and had traveled in all sorts of weather - warm, cold, cloudy, sunny, windy and becalmed. The trip was an exercise in working with an unaccustomed group of people, in challenging conditions, while living together in a small space. It is not an exercise that most people would accept, much less relish, but for Sarah, Peter, Jose and Glen, it is an adventure they will long remember and for Captains Doug and Frank, an experience that they find rewarding and satisfying. Captain Frank Mummert
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