5 Days And 4 Nights Offshore: Catching Mahi & Learning Lessons
This week, the journey resumes on day three of our offshore sailing passage from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. Along for the journey was my old college buddy, Dave, and my new friend, Jesse, who we met in Key Biscayne.
On day 2 of our passage, we brought a Mahi up to the side of the boat…and lost it at the last second. On day 3, we don’t make that same mistake. This time, when the line goes tight, we stay patient. We bring the Mahi up to the side of the boat, gaff him, slice off a little sashimi, and talk about all the delicious lunches, dinners, and, uh, breakfasts(?) we’ll make from this Mahi. Even Akiva wants a piece!
On the evening of our 3rd day, the wind dies off a bit in the afternoon, and we flip the motor on for a while. We even get visited by a flying fish who not-so-fortuitously landed on deck in the middle of the night. Dave explains the anatomy of a flying fish, and how their body allows them to “fly” for as much as 40’ at a time. And what’s better…they make great Mahi bait!
The wind piped back up and clocked around behind us, so we ran wing-on-wing downwind for a while. And after 5 days and 4 nights of offshore sailing in the Gulf Stream, we finally get to yell: LAND HO!
Also after 5 days and 4 nights of offshore sailing in the Gulf Stream, the boat needs a few repairs. Fortunately, nothing crazy, but—while the friction tape fix on the rudder feedback sensor held up fine enough—it does need a proper fix. We also lost the adjustment screw that controls the height of the tiller. The biggest loss from our passage was our 45# stainless steel Mantus anchor, despite my best efforts to prevent this. An expensive mistake…
During this passage, we also had our scariest on-deck experience yet. During the middle of the night, we woke up to Jesse hollering that the autopilot wasn’t working, and the sails were backwinded, the boat was out of control, and all hell was breaking loose. We took control of the tiller, but still couldn’t command control of the boat. Next, we tried to released the preventers in order to allow the sails to jibe, but an improperly tied knot made it impossible. Thinking quickly, I let the jib fly to de-power the boat a bit, and scandalized the main sail…which set off a string of events that ultimately allowed us to get the sails down and regain control of Arabella.
All that on my 40th birthday!
I’ll definitely be more careful about making sure our lines are properly tied off to the cleats onboard (or I’ll add a jam cleat and a fairlead in front of all cleats on deck—we shall see).
Another lesson learned on this passage: I need a light wind sail. I’ve been in touch with Robbie Doyle of Doyle Sails to figure out the right design for Arabella. I really want to be able to make miles in light winds, and it looks like a Genoa (or a ballon jib, per Atkin’s plans) would allow us to do just that.
Tune in next week, as I dive into boat repairs while awaiting Robin’s return.
--------------------------
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Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin's Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel's gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
--------------------------
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Steve Denette: The 5th-generation farmer who built the 38ft wooden ketch Arabella from the stumps of his family farm, now pioneering big-wall climbing in Newfoundland.
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This week, the journey resumes on day three of our offshore sailing passage from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. Along for the journey was my old college buddy, Dave, and my new friend, Jesse, who we met in Key Biscayne.
On day 2 of our passage, we brought a Mahi up to the side of the boat…and lost it at the last second. On day 3, we don’t make that same mistake. This time, when the line goes tight, we stay patient. We bring the Mahi up to the side of the boat, gaff him, slice off a little sashimi, and talk about all the delicious lunches, dinners, and, uh, breakfasts(?) we’ll make from this Mahi. Even Akiva wants a piece!
On the evening of our 3rd day, the wind dies off a bit in the afternoon, and we flip the motor on for a while. We even get visited by a flying fish who not-so-fortuitously landed on deck in the middle of the night. Dave explains the anatomy of a flying fish, and how their body allows them to “fly” for as much as 40’ at a time. And what’s better…they make great Mahi bait!
The wind piped back up and clocked around behind us, so we ran wing-on-wing downwind for a while. And after 5 days and 4 nights of offshore sailing in the Gulf Stream, we finally get to yell: LAND HO!
Also after 5 days and 4 nights of offshore sailing in the Gulf Stream, the boat needs a few repairs. Fortunately, nothing crazy, but—while the friction tape fix on the rudder feedback sensor held up fine enough—it does need a proper fix. We also lost the adjustment screw that controls the height of the tiller. The biggest loss from our passage was our 45# stainless steel Mantus anchor, despite my best efforts to prevent this. An expensive mistake…
During this passage, we also had our scariest on-deck experience yet. During the middle of the night, we woke up to Jesse hollering that the autopilot wasn’t working, and the sails were backwinded, the boat was out of control, and all hell was breaking loose. We took control of the tiller, but still couldn’t command control of the boat. Next, we tried to released the preventers in order to allow the sails to jibe, but an improperly tied knot made it impossible. Thinking quickly, I let the jib fly to de-power the boat a bit, and scandalized the main sail…which set off a string of events that ultimately allowed us to get the sails down and regain control of Arabella.
All that on my 40th birthday!
I’ll definitely be more careful about making sure our lines are properly tied off to the cleats onboard (or I’ll add a jam cleat and a fairlead in front of all cleats on deck—we shall see).
Another lesson learned on this passage: I need a light wind sail. I’ve been in touch with Robbie Doyle of Doyle Sails to figure out the right design for Arabella. I really want to be able to make miles in light winds, and it looks like a Genoa (or a ballon jib, per Atkin’s plans) would allow us to do just that.
Tune in next week, as I dive into boat repairs while awaiting Robin’s return.
————————–
Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv
Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38′ wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin’s Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel’s gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they’ve built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
————————–
If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help
Acorn to Arabella’s wishlist:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority
TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They’ll kick 10% our way!
To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions!
https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com
FOLLOW US:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella
Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com
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