May 2017: From Nassau & Palm Beach to Bermuda

The following documents the first leg of the NAP crossing, a “catch up post” summarizing the past week that we’ve been at sea and mostly off the grid.  We are of course able to communicate with satellite phones if needed, and also text messages via our Garmin inReach device.  Both have come in handy for occasional “ops normal” reporting, as well as a few, mostly minor, technical assistance items that popped up along the way (with James at Yacht Tech (LINK), who was very responsive and helpful, as was Bob Senter, aka "Lugger Bob".)

Our NAP inReach Tracking Site

We also try to post at least a daily message to the NAP inReach tracking web site (LINK)….when you visit there to view our track and current position, if you look in the left pane and expand it by clicking on the arrow (>) you will see a list of the messages we have transmitted along the way.  Or in the map display, message boxes will appear along our track – just click one those for quick status updates when we are otherwise incommunicado.

On Tuesday morning, 16-May @ 0830 we got a weather forecast at the captain’s briefing, and it was good enough to make launching on our planned D-Day a “go”.  Relish, departing from Nassau 200 miles further to the southeast, sortied at 1100 on the 16^th so as to make the planned rendezvous with the fleet on the following day at 1300.  Initially seas were mostly calm, later eventually building to 4-5 feet, but it was mostly a downhill ride with following seas and a pushing wind.

The Fleet at the Rendezvous (RZ) Point

On Wednesday (17-May) at 0800 the 5 vessels comprising the main fleet (Angela, Moxie, Aleoli, Roam and Tivoli) departed their Palm Beach Garden marinas, headed south to the Lake Worth Inlet, then turned northeast towards the RZ point.  Just before 1300 they came within VHF and AIS range of Relish, and the rendezvous proceeded without issue.  While weather was generally good with sunny skies and temps in the 80’s, wind was kicking up and the seas gradually built up (as predicted) to 6-8 feet with nasty 6 second intervals. Everyone was holding on to something.

Roam and Tivoli throttled back a little to get a more comfortable ride and fell back into their own two-ship formation, while the rest of the fleet continued at their planned speed in a standard diamond formation with spacing at one mile intervals (using two each of the VRM circles and EBL vectors on the radar set.) 

Our Revised Routing

We also had modified our planned route so as to run further north up the U.S. coast before turning east towards Bermuda.  The reason for that was twofold:  first to take advantage of the Gulf Stream’s pushing currents for as long as we could; and secondly to find the most comfortable route possible that still allowed all boats to make the journey with adequate fuel.  By extending our route even further north than originally planned we added about 100 miles to the journey but were able to minimize the time spent in that pressure gradient that kicked up those 8 foot seas. (There was no truth to the rumor that Bernie was trying to avoid the Bermuda Triangle.)

The lumpy sea state didn’t prevent a few of the boats from deploying their fishing lines and the Gulf Stream produced some nice Dorados (Mahi).  Relish caught her first fish without the benefit of a fishing pole – a very unlucky flying fish had the misfortune to launch itself at the top of one of the bigger waves and came to a sudden stop on her fly bridge (about 20 feet above sea level.)

Fishing Lines Deployed in Lumpy Water

As the sun set each of the boat the crews rigged for night running and settled into their overnight watch schedules, typically rotating helm duty at 3-hour intervals to stay fresh.  All boats reported ops normal conditions for vessel and crew.

Thursday (18-May) dawned with gradually improving sea conditions and it didn’t take long for fishing lines to be deployed once again.  Aleoli and Moxie hooked up with several Dorados again, as well as a couple of Marlin.  Relish also hooked into a Marlin, but with only relatively light tackle (40-50#) that encounter eventually ended up in a break-off.  Angela had one rod & reel on board and also gave the angling a shot – but during a span of inattention she got spooled by a clump of sea weed, and that was the end of her fishing charter.

A Really Nice Dorado for Peter

Around mid-day we got another weather update from Commanders (LINK), confirming that conditions would continue to improve on our revised routing.  At this stage of the journey we were averaging better than 8 knots.

While we did not encounter significant traffic volume on any of the days we were underway given our distance from any land mass, it wasn’t unusual to encounter the occasional freighter with a CPA that was a little too close for comfort.  In such circumstances Bernie (on board the lead boat, Angela) would hail the ship and coordinate a safe pass, always confirming which vessel would alter its speed and/or course.  The few we encountered were always communicative and cooperative.

By daybreak on Friday 18-May the ride was considerably smoother than the previous few days and we all got a chance to appreciate relatively flat and deep blue seas, with air temps in the 70’s with mostly clear skies as well.  And that made for even better fishing conditions.  Aeoli boated a gigantic Dorado measuring over 60 inches, Relish did almost as well with a fat 40 incher, and Shar aboard Moxie reeled in an acrobatic and absolutely gorgeous Marlin. The flat sea conditions also brought out a large pod of playful bottlenose dolphins who rode Relish’s bow wave for a short while before peeling off and speeding south.

Radio chatter from Aleoli:  Stefan is doing his best imitation of a Russian oligarch muttering nearly incomprehensible phrases, and then…

Radio chatter from Angela:  Oxana – who speaks fluent Russian and French – responds with a rapid litany of real Russian.

Reaction from Aleoli:  Oh sh*t.

Of course there are other things besides fishing that require attention on such a journey – the obvious helm and navigation duties, including station keeping on the other boats in the formation, but also periodic engine room checks, minor maintenance here and there, fuel management tasks, and weather routing updates just to name a few.  It can be surprisingly busy at times, but crew members also have to be diligent about getting their crew rest in advance of their watch shift….eventually you get really good at sleeping at odd times.  Trying to do that in rough seas in the forward stateroom is another matter entirely – seatbelts required – and at those times crashing on the salon couch is a better option.

We Had a Number of These Gorgeous Sunsets

As of Saturday morning, 20-May we had covered 570 nautical miles from Palm Beach and 770 nautical miles from Nassau, with another two and a half days to go to reach Bermuda.  Overnight watches were completely and blissfully uneventful with light winds and seas that continued to be smooth under mostly clear skies with temps in the low 70’s.  The graveyard helm shift shared fishing stories and tips to while away the time, and most of the boats had lines deployed once again by 0630.  Our last weather briefing called for at least one more day of benign weather, but after that we would likely run into the next pressure system that was forecast to kick up the winds and seas for the last day.

Sunday 21-May brought us another beautiful daybreak, once again greeting us with light and variable winds and calm seas.  The fishing lines were deployed before 0600, but fishing activity was light at best.  We were approaching a new time zone, although nobody was quite sure where the line actually was; so Bernie picked an arbitrary time and we all set our watches forward 1 hour.

Close Proximity Maneuvers in Thankfully Smooth Seas

Bob’s satellite phone aboard Moxie had gone Tango Uniform, a fairly frustrating situation since it was essentially a new unit. Stewart, crewing aboard Aleoli, is an electronics expert and had been in communication with Iridium about possible solutions.  One of those involved applying a software update to the phone, requiring Aleoli and Moxie to delicately maneuver in very close proximity to each other to transfer a thumb drive to allow Bob to apply that update.  It was a tricky dance to bring two heavy boats within a few feet of each other on the high seas, but Stefan and Bob handled it beautifully.  Unfortunately none of this resolved the phone problem, and ultimately Iridium suggested shipping a replacement phone to one of our next ports.

Radio chatter from Bob on Moxie:  Hey, we just passed a floating Fedex box a while back, do you think maybe they or Amazon will deliver out here?

Much later in the day, right at sunset, Relish’s port side fishing rig went off again, and this time Silvio was available to man the rod to reel in a nice 30” Mahi – his first ever, so a great conclusion to a fine day.

Nice Fish Michelle!

Our streak of glorious early mornings came to an end early on Monday, 22-May as a line of showers appeared on radar about 12-15 miles north of us and moving our way, along with a washboard sea surface making it feel like we were boating on a waffle iron.  We welcomed the prospect of a free fresh water wash down, but just a couple hours later they had dissipated considerably – all we got was some light mist, grey skies and a freshening breeze that brought the lumpy water with it. But none of that prevented us from deploying the fishing lines once again before sunrise. 

Radio chatter from Michelle on Relish:  Fish on!  Oh, wait…never mind…it’s a bird, not a fish.

The fishing reel clicker went off but Relish unfortunately had tangled with an overly curious sea bird rather than a fish.  Donning gloves and slowly pulling in the line, we were able to capture the very unhappy gull and untangle its wing from the fishing line without damage to the bird or the fishing rig.  Relish’s total catch count was now 2 flying fish, a seagull and 2 nicely proportioned Dorados.  On the other hand, both Aleoli and Moxie were having consistent success reeling in Dorados, so we would still have plenty of fresh fish for our upcoming pot luck dinner in Bermuda.

By now the main fleet had traveled 900 nautical miles on this initial leg, with Relish logging about 1100.  The seas churned up further as the day progressed, eventually getting back into the 4-5 foot range, before settling down a bit later in the day as we neared Bermuda.  As we came into sight of land our formation fell into a single file with closer spacing in preparation for the approach to St. George’s Channel.  After waiting for a large freighter to exit the harbor around 1730 at the request of Bermuda Radio, we all motored over to the check-in pier and processed through customs.  It was a slow process with 4 crews in the line, but the customs personnel were courteous and professional.

A bit of a tip for other folks who plan a sortie to Bermuda….there are several forms they ask you to fill out in advance and forward to them via email, some reasonable (e.g., crew information), some not (e.g., almost an entire inventory of what’s on your boat.)  We all did that.  And we still had to complete the same forms manually when we arrived for inprocessing.

 

Med Mooring is Never a Boring Exercise

Once all that was done we motored the short distance to the nearby St. George’s Dinghy & Sports Club marina and “Med-moored” our vessels in a neat row just as the sun set. We were exhausted but happy to be securely tied up in an impressive looking row of Nordhavn yachts.  After hooking up passerelles or planks, cleaning up and then grabbing a short meal, we all crashed into our respective bunks for some much needed – and uninterrupted – sleep.  

Weather wise Tuesday 23-May was a delightful day in Bermuda – bright sunshine, temps in the low 70’s, some fair weather cumulus and a steady 10 knot breeze out of the east.  During the night the fleet’s other two boats, Roam and Tivoli, had arrived and processed through customs, so now all 6 vessels were together once again.  Bernie made the rounds to each boat at the docks to hand out some very cool trinkets from PAE...shirts emblazoned with our NAP logo, and some very nice Nordhavn coffee mugs and flashlights. 

View of the Harbor from Our Docks

This was maintenance day and all crews went to work giving their salt-encrusted vessels a much needed bath, as well as oil changes for the main engine.  (The big L1276A Lugger on the N55’s and N60 take 44.1 quarts of oil….yikes.)  When Michelle and Robert took a dinghy ride back to the wharf to offload used oil they witnessed a young mother and father and their SIX children – 3 boys and 3 girls roughly ages from 3 to 11 – disembarking from a 9 foot dinghy…..now that’s a hearty seagoing family.

We also made our list of needed parts to order for delivery at our next port (Horta in the Azores) and made re-provisioning run to the local market.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and socializing with the other members of the fleet.  Our next door neighbor at the dock was Cameron McColl who had piloted his gorgeous N57 Jura to Bermuda from BVI, and would now join our NAP fleet for the journey to the Azores. 

Wednesday 24-May was a holiday here: ”Bermuda Day” which is an annual celebration on the island marking the unofficial start of the summer season.  Thousands of people crowd the streets of Hamilton to celebrate Bermuda's rich heritage with a parade, music, dancing and other festivities that stretch long into the night.  This year it also coincides with the 35^th America’s Cup racing events, a battle for the oldest trophy in international sport. Racing starts with the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers on 26th May and the top Challenger will meet Defending Champions in June.

View of Dock from the Pub's Pot Luck Dinner Event

That evening all the crews gathered at the marina’s tavern where we had graciously been given space to host our first Pot luck dinner; each boat brought a couple of side dishes and Bob manned the grill to cook up some really fresh and tasty Mahi.  It was a great way to end the day.

The latest weather reports indicate that conditions would go to hell on Friday, which was our planned departure date; so it appears we’ll be hanging out in Bermuda for an extra day or two.  In addition to TRWs, we’ll have winds in excess of 25 knots with gusts to 40, and when that happens here you have to leave the dock and anchor out in the bay. 

Tied & Rafted for the Fuel Truck at the Wharf

So, early on Thursday morning 25-May, all boats departed their Med-Moorings and headed to the long concrete Penno wharf to meet the fuel truck.  With the longest leg of the crossing coming up, and with fuel priced at $0.81 per liter (about $3.07 per gallon), each boat topped off their tanks.  That took half a day, and then we headed just across the harbor to drop the hook and wait out the approaching weather. 

Aleoli took the opportunity to have a diver clean its running gear, and Relish was hunting down a plumber to help with reconnecting its ice maker.  (They had experienced a spectacular fresh water plumbing failure under the galley sink the night before departing Nassau, which required plugging the pipe feeding the freezer.  But egg cartons and muffin pans make reasonably good ice trays in a pinch.)  But even with all that going on some crews launched a dinghy and got some more quality time in St. George and Hamilton.

Walking to Wahoo's for Dinner

As of Friday morning, 26-May, the local forecast read:

Marine Synopsis - 

 Strong winds and moderate to rough seas persist ahead of a cold front. The front will bring showers, gale force gusts, and a risk of thunder by noon. The front will pass early this evening and conditions rapidly settle overnight. Light to moderate winds and moderate seas then remain through the weekend as high pressure builds.

Today - 

  Winds south-southwesterly 20 to 30 knots gusts to 40 knots, with the strongest winds in any thunderstorms...  Isolated showers early becoming scattered to widespread with a risk of thunder and fair to poor visibility by noon... Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 ft... Outside the reef 6 to 11 ft, increasing during the afternoon...  Sunrise: 6:15 am.

Yuck. Hopefully this will be a restful down day assuming the anchors all hold well in the coming blow. We’ll check weather forecasts fairly frequently to monitor the conditions, keep an attentive anchor watch, and weather permitting perhaps get a final round of shopping in.  We haven’t decided yet when we’ll depart for Horta but tomorrow afternoon is looking more promising.