vacation from her job as a police dispatcher for the Huber Heights Police Dept. The Alberg 30’s are
very sea worthy and strong, and this helped the
neophytes stay out of serious trouble. This is a
story/journal of the maiden voyage to bring the boat
from North Carolina where we found her, to Sandusky
on Lake Erie. Some experiences are scary, but most
are funny, especially looking back on them from 3
years experience. This is but the first trip, after
outfitting, practicing on Lake Erie and getting
married, we set out to see the East Coast and the
Bahamas, but that is another story.
Chapter 6 Karen becomes
a “Mast Monkey”
We join the intrepid
novice sailors on board StarChild anchored in the barge
turning basin just south of Norfolk, Virginia.
Wednesday, May 28
The
morning dawns bright and clear with the temperature in the
60’s, I stepped out on deck and think that maybe our bad
luck has left us
The wind
is a bit stiff blowing about 10 to 15 miles per hour, but
the anchorage is as quiet as could be. We rowed over to
talk with another couple who were moving around on their
deck. They had a pretty, older boat with classic lines much
like StarChild. Peter and Jodie on "First Light", had spent
the winter the Bahamas and now were on their way home to
Cape Cod. I was excited to hear their story because I was
looking forward to just that kind of life. Their vessel was
one that they had found sunk on land. They explained
that they had seen this neglected boat just sitting in an
empty lot and asked around about the owner. When they
finally located the owner and looked at the boat, they found
it in good shape with one exception, it was full of water.
It was sitting high but not dry, on land full of rain
water. They bought it and spent the next two years
refurbishing it. Peter was able to even salvage the
engine. They had done a nice job and the boat was
beautiful. Their love for the boat and their craftsmanship
was apparent everywhere you looked. The wood work interior
was smooth and bright as any new boat could boast, and the
brass and chrome shined from repeated polishing.
These two
are my idea of true cruisers, only going ashore for jobs
when the money ran low. They were living life the way they
wanted, going where they pleased when they pleased. They
never hurried, if the winds were not right they would sit at
anchor rather than waste fuel. In discussing the weather, a
subject of nearly all “Cruiser Conversations”, for them the
wind was still too high to move on. They were going to sit
tight, and do some varnishing on their boat until the wind
dropped down. We on the other hand, with a schedule decided
to move on toward Norfolk.
Now that
we were back on StarChild, we began to stow gear in
preparation for moving on. We came to the realization that
the Jib Halyard was still stuck at the top of the mast and
could not be used. As I pondered the situation, trying to
figure out how I could hoist myself to the top of the mast
to retrieve the errant halyard, Karen asked, “Could you
hoist me up to get it?” I said, “What?” I couldn’t believe
that she would be willing to be hoisted nearly 40 feet in
the air. “Sure, I can hoist you easily with the winch, are
you sure you want to do this?” “I would go up if you could
hoist me, but I don’t think you can lift me, and I know I am
not strong enough to pull myself all the way to the top.”
So Karen climbed into the “Bosun’s Chair” and I connected
her to the Mainsail halyard, and began cranking her up the
mast. When she could reach the top of the mast, she
untangled the Jib halyard, and signaled me to start her
down. She was on deck in short order. She said, “That was
fun, I only wish that I had taken a camera, the view is just
wonderful, and I could have taken a picture of the boat from
the top.” I called her a “mast monkey” and she is proud of
the designation. Not many sailors have girl type mates that
will go up a mast, I am a lucky sailor.
As we were
preparing to weigh anchor, a neighboring boater came over to
ask if we knew of a refrigeration company that might be
close by. He needed one because his freezer wouldn’t run.
We didn’t know of any, explaining that this was our first
ever trip. He went on that their freezer was full of meat
for their journey to the Bahamas and it had broken down
during the night and they were in a panic over the
possibility of losing all of their food. We sympathized,
but thought how lucky we were to not have any refrigeration
to break down. We survived all of our voyages happily with
a little ice in the ice box, a cool drink and occasionally
some meat for dinner or sandwiches.
We weighed
anchor and headed out and motoring north on the ICW. This
part of the ICW runs through the populated area of Norfolk
and Portsmouth Virginia. We enjoyed the sights along the
shore. The many bridges where interesting, some “high
rise”, with clearance for our mast, while others had to be
raised to allow us to pass. I marveled at the fact that my
little sailboat could cause such huge structures to raise
for our passage at my request. We sailed past all manner of
boat and ship, from aircraft carriers, to tug boats, to
pleasure craft. What with this being our first experience
in such an important port, and Naval Base, we were awestruck
and the impressions of those great war ships will never be
forgotten.
The wind
was blowing pretty stiffly, about 20 knots out of the East
but we were little affected in the protected channel. The
channel widens as we pass the Navy Hospital in Norfolk and
in the wider span of water the wind gets to us and the
water, making things much rougher. It is our intention to
spend the night in the shelter of the harbor and wait for
better weather before moving on. We motor on and continue to
look for a quiet anchorage out of the wind. No luck. The
only anchorage we find is in front of the Hospital on the
west side of the channel with nothing to block the east
wind. We ease in close to the hospital and anchor with
little problem in spite of the wind. The spot we choose is
close to a low dock that we could use to row ashore with the
dinghy.
What we
didn’t know was that the dock was on the grounds of the Navy
Hospital and could not be used by civilians. We were soon
learned that Government Property is not Public Property even
though the Public pays for it. A most pleasant MP
approached us in his Police like Golf Cart and asked us to
return to our dinghy and get off the hospital grounds.
Perhaps I can rationalize this by thinking that this
property is reserved for the use of Military Personnel as a
benefit for their service to our Country.
It’s a
rough ride in the dingy against the wind and we are glad to
be back on “StarChild”. We decide that it is too far to row
to any landing from this anchorage and have to move the boat
to a closer spot. We dread moving in the wind, but we need
some shore time, we haven’t been off the water except to buy
fuel for 3 days now. We weighed anchor and moved to the
other end of the anchorage with no trouble. A spot close
enough to row to the marina and their dinghy dock.
Being a
“seaman like” person, I had built a wooden dinghy,
distaining the inflatable dinghies that are nearly
impossible to row. This decision allowed me to not have a
noisy gasoline motor for the dinghy on board. The rowing
would give me some upper body exercise, and save the trouble
of carrying gasoline on the boat. StarChild is powered by a
diesel, and thus we only have safer less volatile diesel
fuel on board.
Dressed in
our foul weather gear we set out to row ashore. After an
interminably long pull against wind and wave we finally
pull into the lee of the sea wall surrounding the marina,
and find a dock where we can safely leave the dinghy.
Shedding our foul weather gear, we go for a walk in search
of a place to eat. Norfolk is an interesting and historic
city and we intend to return and spend some time exploring
it further. We soon tire of walking in the raw wind and
return to the marina restaurant. We had seen several
restaurants but none seemed to fit our mood. He enjoy a
wonderful meal, out of the wind and in a “room that doesn’t
move”. Sitting warm and dry a we watch the boats coming and
going all around us. After we finish dinner, we visit the
marina store and buy ice and charts of the Chesapeake Bay.
The original plan was for an outside passage from the
Chesapeake Bay to New York Harbor so I needed different
charts to navigate the Chesapeake. We reluctantly put on
our foul weather gear and row back to StarChild. The rowing
back is easier and much faster with the wind and waves on
our stern. With full stomachs and stretched legs we spend a
quiet evening below decks and out of the wind playing
“Scrabble”.
After an
uneventful night (a rarity for us) we wake to another
beautiful day but stiff winds. The weather report is
discouraging. An outside passage means open Atlantic Ocean
sailing, something we are not prepared to try. We had been
hoping for fair winds out of the Southeast so that we could
shave some time off our voyage by scooting up the Atlantic
Coast rather than the longer route up the Chesapeake Bay.
The wind has been blowing out of the Northeast for 2 days
now so the waves coming off the Atlantic are pretty big and
will take a day or two to lay down. There seems to be no
hope for us. The weather reports are forecasting 15 to 20
knot winds out of the Northeast for 2 more days. Our hoped
for route would take us dead into the wind, not a good way
to travel. We decide to see the Chesapeake Bay tomorrow
morning.
Distance
traveled today 11.0 NM
May 29,
Thursday
0800 we
headed out through Portsmouth and into the Chesapeake Bay.
The day was beautiful, but windy, and the water was rough.
Once clear of the harbor we set sail. I double reefed the
mainsail and ran with the Genoa full, making 6+ knots. We
planned on a long haul to Tanagier Island but when we
reached Wolf Trap Light we changed our plans. To get to
Tanagier Island would have required tacking into the wind, a
slow way to make headway, so we turned West toward Fleet
Bay. We had made over 50 miles on the same tack. A really
good days travel. We pulled in and anchored with two other
boats at 8:00 PM.
While
getting the inflatable safety harness out, earlier I
accidentally inflated one. Now I know how they operate.
The lanyard is very easy to pull. I learned how to deflate
and repack it too.
As I was
finishing my deck chores, I lit and rigged the lantern to
the aft anchor. While making a final check of the deck, a
sailboat came motoring by. It pulled past us in to
shallower water than I was willing to go into, and dropped
anchor. I didn't think anything of it, and went below for
the night.
Total 63.6
NM
Please click here for additional information
or if you would like to contact the
author of this article, Earl Lang, owner of the Acme
Bicycle Shop in Punta Gorda. Thank you!
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