Gale Force Winds & Broken Autopilot! Offshore from VA to MA
This week, we’re setting out for a 4-day offshore run from Norfolk, VA back to Mattapoisett, MA—where we launched Arabella almost two years ago to the date! Our good friend George joined us for the passage.
We learned an expensive lesson about securing our anchor before heading offshore, so I took the time to carefully secure our 65# Mantus—it’s the only anchor we have left after losing the 45# on our run from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC.
The first day of our passage was spent mostly under motor. We decided against raising too much sail because a gale was predicted to blow through later that evening, and we didn’t want to get caught in 35 knots of wind with too much sail up. We came up with a plan of attack for the blow, and settled into our watch schedule.
Around 10:30pm, the winds began to switch, and I yelled for Robin and George to come help me reduce sail. Robin and George got the jib put away, and George helped me reef the mizzen…but not before the auto helm got overpowered, and the rudder feedback sensor shattered into a million pieces. Hello again, hand steering…
After the storm passed and the winds settled down a bit, we unpacked the experience of being out in a gale. 35 knots was the highest we saw, and Arabella handled it well. It was a great “first storm” for us to experience. But the second storm wasn’t far behind us—thunderstorms met us off the coast of New Jersey, and we got hit with hail and high winds one last time on this journey.
The winds switched again, and we ended up running downwind past the south coast of Long Island. I rigged the jib on the whisker pole, and we ran wing in wind for a full day, perfectly balanced. It was almost like we had a working autopilot! Plus, it was finally calm enough to do some trawling…and to cook a good meal!
Seeing the clay cliffs of Block Island was a welcomed sign that we were close to home again. We sailed right into Mattapoisett after 4 days at sea. Home again, home again, jiggity jig…
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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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Acorn To Arabella
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, we’re setting out for a 4-day offshore run from Norfolk, VA back to Mattapoisett, MA—where we launched Arabella almost two years ago to the date! Our good friend George joined us for the passage.
We learned an expensive lesson about securing our anchor before heading offshore, so I took the time to carefully secure our 65# Mantus—it’s the only anchor we have left after losing the 45# on our run from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC.
The first day of our passage was spent mostly under motor. We decided against raising too much sail because a gale was predicted to blow through later that evening, and we didn’t want to get caught in 35 knots of wind with too much sail up. We came up with a plan of attack for the blow, and settled into our watch schedule.
Around 10:30pm, the winds began to switch, and I yelled for Robin and George to come help me reduce sail. Robin and George got the jib put away, and George helped me reef the mizzen…but not before the auto helm got overpowered, and the rudder feedback sensor shattered into a million pieces. Hello again, hand steering…
After the storm passed and the winds settled down a bit, we unpacked the experience of being out in a gale. 35 knots was the highest we saw, and Arabella handled it well. It was a great “first storm” for us to experience. But the second storm wasn’t far behind us—thunderstorms met us off the coast of New Jersey, and we got hit with hail and high winds one last time on this journey.
The winds switched again, and we ended up running downwind past the south coast of Long Island. I rigged the jib on the whisker pole, and we ran wing in wind for a full day, perfectly balanced. It was almost like we had a working autopilot! Plus, it was finally calm enough to do some trawling…and to cook a good meal!
Seeing the clay cliffs of Block Island was a welcomed sign that we were close to home again. We sailed right into Mattapoisett after 4 days at sea. Home again, home again, jiggity jig…
————————–
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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