Our first overnight passage

After staying two weeks in in the informally over-organized environment of Georgetown we decided that it was time to leave when we started referring to the setting as an "Adult Daycare Center'. It wasn't that we didn't enjoy it, as we did. We simply felt that the bulk of the inhabitants were there as a destination, rather than a layover, between stops further on down the path. As such, we noticed a certain daily/weekly "routine" which began to bug us and which we could not find comfort within. For a short visit maybe,but not for much longer than we were there. So, we made plans to "escape". Little did we expect, at the time, that there were others with similar mindsets.

One morning on the Cruisers Net VHF program, one boater suggested that anyone interested in meeting to discuss their individual plans for going further south might want to meet on such-and-such a day to discuss their plans and thoughts for these upcoming passages. As our intent all along was to get at least back to the Virgin Islands, before heading on to a Summer storing place, we decided that this meeting might be helpful in figuring out how to move on down through some of the next few islands with the least amount of difficulty. As experienced southern passage makers, as well as novices were encouraged to attend, we felt the info would be very helpful to us as first-timers. Boy were we right! The first meeting was attended by nearly 40-50 folks, including some 10 or so with extensive experience in making these trips on a regular, if not annual, basis.

Several of the attendees were making plans to go to the same places we intended to go, so it was easy to group up with those of similar intensions. The meeting started with introductions of each boat & crew, with boating expertise duly noted, followed by a general discussion about doing these passages and what one could expect or at least hope to expect. Quickly this large group settled into a tight knot camaraderie with several like-minded smaller groups forming, in anticipation of the journey ahead.

After this first meeting, an additional session was planned a few days later for those still considering leaving, with a rough departure date scheduled for the next good weather window. That meeting was attended by approximately 30 boaters and, again, smaller groups were formed from within the larger group. We found a comfort with a group of folks who were planning on leaving with the next window, with most shooting for the Dominican Republic as their next longer-term layover, maybe up to a couple of weeks. Most of our group had similar intentions of continuing on with the next weather opportunity, to the Virgin Islands and beyond. This group consisted of about 18 boats. Once the weather presented the opportunity, the group shrank to a serious 15 boats.

The "escape", as we began to call it, began with a planned overnight sail race/rally from Georgetown to Long Island, a neighboring island of some similar size. This was a planned "event" for anyone interested from the Georgetown community, and was to include a fun awards party and dinner at a restaurant on Long Island, an overnight there, then a return to Georgetown the next day. Our group, self-named "The Georgetown Escapees" planned to use the event as our first leg of the departure from Georgetown, in our passage through to more southern latitudes.

The day of the sail race/rally dawned beautifully, and we all enjoyed a perfect sailing day, of 10-15 knot winds on a beam reach (directly at the side of our boat) with the all sails flying in a mass armada of boats leaving the Georgetown harbor at the same time, around 8:30 am. Some 35 eventing boats in all, we headed toward the intended "finish line", about 20 miles away, with those planning on the Long Island portion of the event turning right at the finish line, and those of us continuing on, maintaining our headings for further out, to our intended overnight staging location, Conception Island, about 15 miles beyond the finish line. Had the wind had a more favorable heading, we would have continued on to Rum Cay, some 10 miles additional. But most of the "escapee" group settled for the Conception Island anchorage for the night. We felt quite good about our "race" position, as we had passed several boats and were not passed by any. I guess all those summer days on Lake Wawasee in Indiana must have taught me something about the wind and the sails. Had we continued off to the event party, we felt sure we would have been among the top finishers of the race. However, we had destinations in mind, further on down the chain.

At Conception, our group had been pared down to about 11 boats. Some of our original group had decided, for one reason or other, to change their plans and join the party group at Long Island, some had developed mechanical problems and had to pull off to resolve them, and some may have never intended on continuing on at all. Regardless, there was now a group of dedicated passage-makers, heading, en masse, south in the morning. Some intended on shorter destinations before resting, some planning an all out assault on the Dominican Republic, straight through, non-stop.

The next morning, sunrise was beautiful and the departure was quick with little discussion, as it had been previously decided to head off early if the weather continued favorably. Once underway, it became apparent, whom the real die hard sailors were and who was more interested in "just getting there". We fell somewhere in between.

This leg (minimum 30-36 hours) had several variables to consider. The first part included an overnight passage (or two for those continuing on to the Dominican Republic without stopping) with some consideration to each crews' ability to handle overnight watch shifts and such. Since we had done overnight passages with Capt'n Mark on our first outage, we felt comfortable we could handle those long hours, although we weren't looking forward to them with much excitement.

We enjoyed a good sail for much of the morning and somewhere around noon everyone seemed to have re-charted their intended route to take advantage of what they, individually or collectively, felt was the best angle of attack on the changing wind and waves. Several of the boats felt more comfortable staying with their friends or with someone more experienced for the first leg of the passage. We chose, primarily, to consider the wind angle, the wave heights, and the anticipated changes in wind direction as we decided our route for the rest of this leg. As it turned out, we were one of two boats on a more northerly route, anticipating better wind angle on our approach to Mayaguana, our next short pull-off, should we need it, on our way toward the Turks and Caicos. The other boat, it turns out, is another Coloradoan, whom we hadn't know well, who was intended on sailing the entire distance, if possible. We guessed that, as we already knew, us Coloradoans always seem to "march to our own drummer".

All other boats chose a more direct route, which took them more into the wind, at a slower speed, for a shorter distance. We calculated the longer route with an expected slower first leg with an intended faster tack angle on the homecoming leg. Our primary contact in this group, the other Manta sailboat whom we had earlier befriended, questioned our decision with some surprise, and then went on the more southerly, slower, route. We were really happy with our decision as we arrived into Mayaguana several hours ahead of most and with pride in finding our skills in routing had prevailed, at least for this once. :)

Once at Mayaguana, we fell exhausted into bed, after a quick warm meal, a few boat chores, and inspection of our anchor's position, a hot shower, and got a couple hours of well-deserved shut-eye (4 hours), anticipating a late night departure onward to the Turks and Caicos. We needed to arrive at the Turks/Caicos in the early morning to be able to pick out the coral heads in the water and not run aground transversing the wide banks there.

We left at 11:00 pm as the lead boat, including three others, and headed out into open water again. The others had left earlier, while we were resting. The seas around the point of the island were rough and we took one wave completely over the front of the boat. Quite a sight to see us plow into a wave and have water come back across the entire width of the cat all the way to the cabin windows. We momentarily questioned our sanity, yet knowing we couldn't change our IQs at this point, we pressed on, anticipating calmer conditions once away from the point of the island. Sure enough, once away from the current-ridden point, the seas became much more manageable and, although still running at 4 feet or so, we continued across the Mayaguana Passage toward the Turks and Caicos, about 12 hours away.

The overnight passage across to the Turks/Caicos seemed longer than it actually was as we were now working on a relative second night without a good long sleep. Although we took watches of about 4 to 6 hours each overnight, to allow some rest for each, this didn't seem to give either of us the needed deep sleep our bodies craved. We felt alert enough, however to make sound decisions and to be able to navigate and respond to ongoing needs of the passage. The first overnight yielded much large boat traffic, including freighters, giant container ships, and even a couple of huge cruise ships coming and going in and around our charted route. Each time we needed to decide if their course was of any concern to us, as they cannot and as we're told, WILL not, alter their courses for us little-bitty sailboats. Then we must decide what, if any, actions we might need to take to avoid any collision potential. It can be a bit unnerving to make these decisions out in the pitch black of the night, trying to determine course angles of approaching vessels and, even with the aid of RADAR, decide if all will be fine if left alone, or if evasive action must be taken at once. Fortunately, no real issues presented themselves and we made a good passage without incident, which is usually the way it is, after all is said and done.

During our second overnight from Mayaguana, as lead boat, our duties took on an additional responsibility. Because we were in the lead, we were the first to see oncoming traffic and then to report it to the boats coming up behind. During Rick's watch, at about 3 in the morning, a couple of boats came into view which needed to be reported to the others. After deciding that these vessels were of no danger to us, we needed to let the others know of their presence and approach. This activity allowed me to stay alert with ongoing VHF radio traffic and discussion between the approaching boats and the others. Naturally, during part of this evening several small squalls approached and went over us, making visual contact with the approaching vessels difficult if not impossible. Thankfully, we had RADRA which allowed us to see them (except when they were temporarily blocked by the squall line). Some of the boats didn't have RADAR and were mighty happy to have ongoing communication from us as we reported on the approaching vessels position and kept them aware of what was heading their way. The night passed without anything serious happening and we made great time into the approach to the Turks and Caicos.

Once the sun came up, Rick went below for some shut-eye, his watch completed, and Suz continued to get us home, into the Turks and Caicos at the Sandbore Channel. At about 9:00 am we arrived at our waypoint outside of the tricky entry into the banks of the T/C islands. We were arriving at just the right time, as the coral heads, looming black against the bright blue of the shallow sand bank waters showed up easily and allowed us to avoid any difficulty. We made it across the shallows (only 10-12 feet deep) and hit the anchorage without difficulty at around 10:30. After a few quick boat chores, we made a quick lunch and we both hit the sack.We awoke at around 2:30 and felt "back among the living", thankful for a safe passage and grateful for our ability to even be out here. Tonight we're celebrating with a steak and baker! Hopefully we can stay away for the entire meal. We plan on staying here for a couple of days at least. The next opportunity for making the Dominican Republic isn't expected until around Wednesday or Thursday. Once there we will explore that lovely island for a while before continuing on Puerto Rico.

Stay tuned... More adventures just over the horizon.