Annapolis to Norfolk: Headsail issues and high winds

This was an unexpected trip for me.  I had planned that my crew member from the Maine to Annapolis leg would move the boat to the start point for the Caribbean 1500.  That will not be happening.  He and I decided that he will not be continuing wth my ocean sailing program.  I had a long fall weekend planned while my kids were off school to just do stuff around the house and gave it up to move the boat.  I bought a one-way ticket to Baltimore with 5 days before I had to be back at work.  In that time I wanted to get a few things done on the boat and find a weather window during which to sail her 150 miles to Norfolk at the mouth of the Chesapeake.  It blew south for the first 2 days which gave me the opportunity to shop at Bacon Sails and Fawcetts, finding things I would have searched for.  I also had riggers, a canvas maker and a mechanic on the boat helping me get the boat ready.  I was spending so much money I did not know if I should laugh or cry.  I was naive of me to think I did not have to do this trip myself.  The work in Annapolis needed to be done.  Even more importantly, I needed the experience of the high winds I was about to face to gain an appreciation for even more preparation I need to do.

It looked worse in real life

The wind change for which I'd been waiting occurred overnight.  It had veered to the WNW, perfect for traveling south.  It would turn out to be the highest wind I have seen with this boat, and bigger seas than I thought could develop within Chesapeake Bay.  At least I put in a reef before leaving the dock.  The jib furling line got away from me, letting the entire jib out.  I was overpowered, burying the rail and hitting 9.2kn while the anemometer peaked at 33kn.  I was eventually able to blanket the jib with the main and furl it back, but it took a bit of planning.  I needed first to develop the sea room downwind of me.  I would need to set the boat going downwind with room to continue that course before I got into waters that were too shallow.  And I needed to set my preventer so that the boat would not jibe, sending the boom crashing across the boat, as I was focusing on trying to bring in the jib.  It was a pain to set because of how it secures to the mid-ship horn clean.  After getting on the other tack in preparation to blanket the jib I did not set it and did jibe as I was getting everything ready.  To furl the jib I had to let out the sheet as I tried to furl in.  I only had a horn cleat to belay the jib furling line and was having a difficult time controlling my release of the sheet to coincide with furling of the sail.  Somehow the amount of slack in the sail became too much and both the port and starboard jib sheets end up wrapping around the forestay.  Now I have to go up on the bow, which, don't forget, is pitching up and down, and try to coax the jib back around the correct way.  I have to take advantage of moments when the jib gets blanketed by the main to guide it because when the wind fills it I have no ability to influence its direction.  I think some other boat was watching as this was going on, too.

It was much calmer with the genoa put away,  Winds now 25-30, seen 33.  Speed 7.2kn.  I have a slight fear of my genoa, not knowing how I could use it without having it all unroll on me again.  I really did not want to have to repeat the above procedure for bringing it in.  I was going downwind and still flying along over 8kn, so I just sailed with reefed main.

After some rest and food, I decided to try the staysail.  This was when I first appreciated the necessity of running backs.  I have a removable inner forestay which can be quickly set using a high-force lever.  I was able to set the sail, but something was clearly not right.  The inner forestay seemed to be slacking then tightening again.  This was happening because the forestay attaches in the middle of the mast and once the sail is attached, it pulls the center of the mast forwards until the mast snaps back.  Running backs are lines that attach to the center of the mast and prevent the mast from being bent forwards.  Mine are made of 11mm Endura braid with a 14,000 lb breaking point and attach to the mast the same place as the inner forestay and run aft to one of the back corners of the boat.  We had just built these running backs in Annapolis, but had decided that the fitting on the boat where I had intended to attach them was not fastened with sufficient strength to the boa.  I could just imagine rthe running backs ripping out the fitting and ripping the back corner out of my boat.  Since I was not ready to use the running backs, I could not use the staysail and was once again stuck sailing without a headsail.

It was not until 10 hrs into the sail, at 2030 that I first saw 20kn--so much quieter, but lasting only a moment.  By this time I had taken to spending my time either huddling under the dodger or sitting inside at the nav station, watching the radar, AIS and instruments.  A handful of times a wave would dump a garbage can full of water into the cockpit, flooding it 6 inches, but then draining quickly.  I seemed to avoid getting soaked myself, but it still got colder as night fell.  I eventually remembered I have an Espar heater and soon had the cabin nice and toasty, making the brief trips outside easier.  By 0200 the wind had dropped down and was consistently in the teens.  I risked putting out a little jib, this time running the furler line through a block and then around the horn cleat in order to maintain tension, and even then it was difficult to control.

My log identifies these issues at 2030:
1. where to cleat traveler, consider jib furling cleat
2.  should not be without jib.  cannot go up wind, but do not need to now
3.  faster than anticipated.  will arrive before dawn
4.  wind is a lot.  just dropped below 20 for the first time!.  that was short-lived
5.  running backs incomplete.  do not want to use mooring chock

It would have been very nice to have a secondary winch so that I could gradually deploy the jib.  Of course I could have switched to a port tack (with the sail on the starboard side of the boat), thereby making the port side primary winch available to the jib furling line.  I could then have use a rolling hitch to hold the furling line while I took it off the winch and moved it back to its cleat.  Then I could tack back and start going the right direction again.  But that would have been a lot of work, would have made me go in the wrong direction for a while, and could have failed miserably if the rolling hitch did not hold.

I was not prepared for my boat to go so fast.  I thought it was going to take me at least 21 hrs to get to the mouth of the channel which led to Norfolk.  Since I left at 1000 earliest I would arrive was 0700.  Instead I arrived at 0415.  I could see the freighters on my AIS, going through the channel at 10-20 kn.  I was going to be run down if I went in there and I did not want to be outside of it in the dark and my first time through.  So I hove to, a maneuver that basically parks a boat.  I fought to stay awake until the sun arose.  Motored through the channel with a 20kn headwind and an opposing tide, but in daylight.  Was able to sail again once inside and saw dolphins.  Possibly the most intense experience of my life.

We are pulling the boat before the trip.  Just wanted to see the bottom after hitting those rocks.  Rather than pay for a slip and a diver, I will be paying for a haul and the repair.

from C & D Canal

from Buzzards Bay