First Long Passage

svliahona0
1 day ago
3 min read

Time was coming for our very first long passage. 1500NM from Hampton, Va to Saint Martin in the West Indies or Windward Islands.

We decided to join the Salty Dawg Rally, with a group of seasoned sailors who offer guidance and support while on passage. This was a good decision on our part as we had workshops such as safety at sea. They also offered an informal inspection and guidance to ready the boat for this passage.

It was a chance to meet and greet others making the same journey.

Four days before departure the crew started to arrive to attend some of the workshop sessions. Provisions were brought on board and stowed away, duty assignments and watch schedules finalized.

On November 4th we pushed away from the dock and headed out to sea. Wind was brisk and we moved steadily, even with a washing tub of waves as we exited the Chesapeake Bay. As we turned south the wind slowly started to dwindle until we were left with no choice but to start motoring. It was not an ideal situation this early in the trip.

We had motor for 24 hours through the Gulfstream - the current that travels South to North carrying warm and clear water. Soon after the wind started to finally increase, we had clear skies, beautiful wind and were able to shut down the engine. As the day progressed the wind steadily built until that evening we found ourselves in 30-35 knot winds with gusts up to 40-45 knots This built the seas to 8-12 feet at a short interval (meaning steep waves in high winds.) Under a postage stamp of sail we were still able to maintain 5-7 knots of speed, which is average for Liahona. She was kind and gentle in this setup.

Later in the evening, I had everyone on watch duty tether in and wear a life vest. Ee closed the companion way door but left the hatch open enough to watch the radar.

As I was sleeping, I heard a sudden roar and a wave broke over the stern of the boat and filled the cockpit. I got up and checked with the person on watch to ensure safety and his response was "this cockpit drains really fast". He was subsequently hit with a squall. When I checked on him again he said, "well, I had my fresh water rinse".

A good crew with a good attitude makes any passage easier and fun.

The following morning we had wind slowly subsiding and the waves were also abating. The rest of the day was uneventful.

The following morning I was awakened by crew saying we were being hailed by the US Coast Guard.

As I got up to listen to the radio I heard them call for the boat Liahona again and I answered 4 souls on board and boat and crew are OK. The Coast Guard C-130 crew asked how l knew the answer before the question. I told them I used to fly on those planes when I served in the USCG. It turns out there was another boat named Liahona that was overdue on their arrival to Bermuda. Through many text messages to Miriam I was able to get more information and passed it on to the Coast Guard.

Later that day a new weather report was issued by our weather router about another system coming off the United States. I made the decision to head to Bermuda to avoid more bad weather. This was a good decision as once we were safely in the harbor in Bermuda we experienced 40 knot winds in the harbor.

While enroute to Bermuda, two crewmanhad to leave the boat due to schedule conflicts. I was able to arrange for two new crew members to arrive in Bermudato help me complete the journey.

We stayed in Bermuda for four days, did a small provision, refilled our diesel and water tanks and departed for Saint Martin. We had light winds again but were motor sailing as we worked our way south and as far east as we could, so we could catch favorable winds to our destination.

The remainder of the trip was very uneventful. We arrived in St. Martin on November 20th, a sixteen day journey that tested, challenged and improved my captain skills.

While on passage we also had some fun fishing 3 Mahi Mahi were caught and 1 Blue Marlin. The Blue Marlin we threw back. The Mahi was some delicious filets and tacos.

The equipment issue was an altenator belt I replaced while under way.

With a good crew and having a sound boat I am confident we can go anywhere.