Our first overnght in the boat

[ehall686]

I suggested to my wife "lets' do an overnight on the boat it will be just like camping". It's  A CP-19 that we just got this year, it's our first boat.  So the next few days were all about getting things ready to put in the truck or to stow away on the boat in the v-berth. I also went to the marine store and picked up some circle cottar pins that were missing from the rigging. I did the check list gas for motor, Lights working, mast tied down, stays tucked away check, check, check.  Load up, hook up the boat, and take off for the first overnight trip.

We picked up my dad and took him out for a sunset cruise that first night. It went well we stayed close to shore within a mile or so and took him back to the launch about 1½ hours later.  While my wife shuttled him back to his assisted living home I was to move the boat to a secluded beach up the road "I'll meet you there."  This was my first singled handed sail granted it was only 2 miles buy hey the wright brothers got into the record books for 120 feet.   As I backed up got the boat turned around and started to motor away I was about 200 yards away from the dock and I started to unroll the jib I got it all the way open and I did a wrap around the winch then the jib falls to the deck; it came untied at the top! So I motored all the way to our first night anchorage.  As I anchored in rolling waves, faced the boat bow out into the waves and set the anchors fore and aft.  We had a few drinks watched the lights on the bay and as my dad says hit the hay.  We woke up to the bay smooth as glass, Light winds out of the south and blue skies. We Lowered the mast, retied the top of the furler, fix every thing back up, ate some breakfast and lifted anchors and raised the sails and slowly drifted off the shore in into the bay with no motor.

2 hours in to the sail things got thrilling; I had the sails to the wing and wing catching all the wind we could and moving faster all the time. My wife said look behind you it was one big black cloud and you could see the ribbions of rain coming. It did not take long for it to catch up with us, first the rains came then the waves we were up on the top of the waves and literally surfing down the waves I still had all the sails up full.  My wife informed us we just hit 7.5 mph on the GPS!  I came about to head for a sandy shore line and the jib  gets caught on the anchor hanging on the front rail. My wife takes the till as I make my way to the bow to get the jib free.  I get to the front and all I hear is ripping sounds from the sail. I get it free and roll up the sail. As I scoot back to the bow I tell her that I am going to start the motor.

I get that going and now would as good of a time as any to reef a sail for the first time. I drop the sail and pull out the boom to rap the sail around the boom and the motor quits! We are now heading for a rocky shore line with no power at all. Back to the stern to get the motor started, the rain is pouring down I'm wearing a cowboy style hat at it is running off my hat like water off a ducks back.  The gas line is off the motor attach the line restart the motor and get away from the rocks. Back to the main sail and roll it up and reset the boom. Lift the main and we are in business. Look at the GPS and we are about a mile and a half from a small sheltered bay, let's go for it!  When we throw in the anchor we are 9 miles from our start point and it is upwind we are going nowhere soon.  I called my son and he's going to bring the trailer to us to pull out there.  In the mean time we sat back and enjoyed the waves. Even with two anchors set off the bow in v the waves pushed us over 30 feet towards the beach.  What a ride that was.

What never occurred to me was to check the weather report on that whole mental check list.  I checked it out when we got back and this is was it was:  Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots, waves 2 feet or less (nice evening/night). Next Day, Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts of 25 knots, Chance of waterspouts, scattered showers; Waves 5 to 8 feet.

I was reading a couple of days later The Handbook of Trailer Sailing by Robert Burgess and a passage caught my eye.  "For those who know how to handle their boat, stronger winds and higher waves need not be something to fear'.  'Stronger winds can provide some of the finest thrills in sailing."

I think that when you are out there and unsure of what you are doing it gives you an even more of a thrill with sailing.

Eric #71

[Bob23]

Eric:
   Great report. Glad you and your wife (and boat) are safe. I bet you'll check the weather report from now on, eh? Of course, if you had checked the weather report, you'd have missed a great adventure! Maybe reef a little earlier next time.
Bob23

[Billy]

If you are ever drifting and you motor quits, drop your anchor. Then you can take your time trying to fix the motor, or reef and never really be in any danger of running aground.

And you could just go below and ride the storm out.

A good anchor and rode can be a great thing.

And reef early. Sometimes in big wind you sail faster reefed because you are not over powered. These 19 sail better flat than heeled over too far.

[crazycarl]

Hmmm...motor quiting at just the wrong time...drifting toward a rocky shore?  Sounds like one our misadventures.

I've had days like that myself.

Glad everything worked out ok.                                                             

                                                            Carl
                                                            s/v Miss Adventures 

[Joseph]

Congratulations, Eric, on your first overnight liveaboard. Spending a first night afloat is a great achievement. In our civilization overnight rest is culturally associated with the need for steady ground and being able to spend a first night over water, particularly in a small boat, is a great step towards freedom at sea...

When afloat, the weather forecast is ignored always at great danger to the boat and crew. It is as essential as knowing about shores, currents, depths and tides. Also, the choice of an anchorage should be based on the forecast as much as the charts. Particularly beware of anchorages with in-coming waves. Anchors are unlikely to drag in the absence of waves, it is the pulsating pull from the anchor caused by the pitching of the boat in big waves together with a rode with not enough chain (pulling the anchor at an angle) or all chain (of limited elasticity) that most often causes them to drag. Favour anchorages on the lee of land (and not with a lee shore!) where there will be less or no waves to contend with.  I recently had a related experience while cruising the islands at the mouth of Colpoy's Bay in the Bruce Peninsula (west shore of Georgian Bay):

I had anchored for the night in clay bottom in the middle of Kidds Bay (an open bay on the west shore of White Cloud Is.). The forecast was calling for SW winds reaching 20 kn starting after midnight.  In those winds the N tip of the bay would be a lee-shore, but the S tip of the bay would still protect the boat from the wind. I decided to swing to my faithful Belgian Bruce (15 ft of chain and Nylon rode) with a 10:1 scope. Just in case I also set the dragging alarm in the GPS... At 3:00AM I was awaken by the alarm. The wind had picked up from the SW as forecasted but the boat was being hit on her starboard bow by 2 ft waves and - according to the GPS - the anchor was dragging 2-3 ft per wave... To cope with the incoming waves I decided to deploy to starboard (towards mid-bay) a second anchor from the bow. The GPS indicated that the second anchor solved the dragging (even the Bruce stopped plowing) and I was able to sleep the rest of the night. What had happened was that although the wind did pick from the SW, and the boat remained protected from these winds, the waves that developed in the fetch of southern Georgian Bay after reaching the S tip of the Bay were veering E (into the Bay!). In retrospect I should have predicted that and should have deployed two anchors from the start (or better, should have chosen another nearby anchorage with no waves). Or maybe not... because in boating as in many other aspects of life: "All's well that ends well"...

Again, congrats.

J.

[ehall686]

cruising the Bruce Peninsula Joseph, That must have been nice waters to cruse in, for the moment I'll have to live through your experience on that one. My wife and I spent our Honeymoon on the Bruce 20 some years ago, beautiful place but we were stuck on land.

We did not get picked up until the next day so we spent two nights on the boat the second was when we were dragged towards shore when anchored.  Yes, that is another thing that I will be studying up on is anchoring. I had out about 30 feet of rode with 2 feet of chain to the anchor. it was about 2 in the morning when I jumped over board and pulled the boat out away from shore and reset the anchors.  Drag alarm in the GPS? I wounder if mine has that? It is not a marine gps but it has a lot of features I will have to look, it sounds like a nice feature.

My wife was yelling during the sailing during the storm, that "we don't have the experience to do this", I was yelling back "that we are getting it right now!" everything worked out and my wife is already looking forward to the next overnight trip.
I will be paying much more attention to weather report from now on. I have a friend that has been sailing for 30 years, he says that you should sail in all kinds of weather to learn what to do. The next foul weather experience I have I'm going to make sure he is with me.

Eric #071

[Joseph]

Just to jog your memories back... here are some pics from our "expedition" to "The Bruce" last June (not much from my Comp-Pac though, because I was taking the pics...): https://picasaweb.google.com/jose.campione/BrucePeninsulaJune29July42011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOyO1t75s9GyYw&feat=directlink

Anchoring technique has always been tops in my books and my anchors (I have four, all of the best possible quality - Chinese copies tend to be made in soft steel!). When I was instructing for ASA I used to ask my students if instead of sailing they were taking a flying lesson and had the option to learn only one manoeuvre which one they would choose. Invariably they would say: "landing". And I would reply... "exactly!". When everything else fails (even onself!) an anchor may always save the day (or the night)... BTW, a good rowing dinghy is also mandatory to be able to deploy additional anchors without moving the boat.

The dragging alarm in the GPS is extremely useful. Yes, one can set bearings and an anchor watch to the same purpose, but I usually cruise-sail alone and I like to sleep. Sounder alarms can also be set for the same purpose, but they are somewhat less reliable as they depend on reduced depth and not actual change of position.

Cheers!

J.

[ehall686]

Thanks for reposting your photos J, I just came onboard last month so everything is new to me here and learning new things everyday on the site and on the water.

[Salty19]

Eric,   Great story.  There truly is a lot to think about in the sailing world, buy it sounds like you're already miles ahead of the average novice.

Don't feel too bad about it...we've all forgot the check something important like the forecast.  Live and learn, right!

I'll repeat advice from a week or so back about the jib halyard. Get a new one with a spliced shackle.  Will never come loose again!!! Good idea for the main halyard too.  Splices not only won't come loose but they also will not catch in wires/rope/sheaves or interfere with raising the halyards fully.  Got one from defender last year for $56...that was a smoking deal so shop around as prices are double and triple that normally.

[jthatcher]

"we don't have the experience to do this", I was yelling back "that we are getting it right now!"    what a great line!     i will have to remember that one..    we bought our first sailboat this spring ( c - 23,  Adagio)  ,  and we have slept on it a number of nights throughout the season, but only at the dock   next year we will have to take it out overnight.    great story..  I hope that you have more to add through the fall.   jt