Gwynn Island to Hampton Roads: Greed for Speed

Sailing fast is addictive.  The feel of the boat speeding up as it rides a gust or as it surfs a swell is truly exhilarating.  With GPS at the helm, there is also the numerical satisfaction gained in seeing your speed rise -- 6.5, 7.2, 8.3 mph!! Wheeeee!!

The girls loved it when the boat was heeled over, and they practiced their knots while playing "windsurfing" down below.

Note the use of the 'heaving line knot' at the pole

Sailing on days like today is dynamic with much trimming of the sails, reading the water for  approaching lulls and gusts, and careful attention responding to these wind changes.   The physics of sailing is interesting, and when sailing in higher wind, it gets even more complicated.  This is something that will have to be addressed in another post.

For today's post, the sailing term "weather helm" is important.  Weather helm refers to the boat's tendency to turn towards the wind in certain conditions.  To a certain extent, weather helm can be helpful and can even be used to stop the boat as the boat heads directly into the wind.  Weather helm can be decreased by reducing the mainsail, and we did this a lot, furling the mainsail in and out with the wind changes.

It was during a huge gust and while I turned the wheel in response to the corresponding weather helm that we first started hearing a creaking sound coming from the steering mechanism.  The creaks were infrequent, but continued for another hour or so till a final creak resulted in COMPLETE LOSS OF STEERING POWER!!!  I had visions of drifting around in the bay and being towed in by Sea Tow.  Luckily, we were in a relatively safe spot, far from warships and other such dangerous obstacles, and Jamey pulled out the super duper emergency tiller (O steel pipe, how awesome you are!)  He sailed another 12-15 miles with this tiller and spoke of his nostalgia for sailing with a tiller. 

The emergency tiller

Once at anchor, Jamey found the problem.  A snapped steering cable.

I'm "afrayed" we have a problem

The cable connects to the rudder via this mechanism called a quadrant

This is where the cable snapped

We had a great day of sailing.  Jamey keeps saying that.  Of course, right now he is outside in the dark working on the cable.  He tells me that I did not break the boat and that the cable had likely been fraying for awhile.  "It's not your fault," he reassured me.  "The only fault," he continued, "is our greed for speed." 



WHERE WE STARTED: Milford Haven close to Gwynn Island, VA

WHERE WE ARE: Hampton River, Hampton VA

THERE TO HERE: around 44 miles, 9 hours, Jamey and Nancy at the helm

ANCHORING: We are anchored in the heart of Hampton in a Coast Guard designated anchorage right next to Hampton University.  Hampton is so boater friendly that it offers complimentary water, trash disposal, internet, and bicycles to anchored boats. 

SPOTTED:
- 1 bald eagle
- 20+ brown pelicans, happily diving and then flying around with fish in their beaks (the pelicans are welcome evidence of our progress south towards warmer weather)
- dolphins in 3 separate sightings - the first time, one of them was so close that it looked like a giant sideways crab pot that suddenly appeared at my bow causing me to slightly bear off to avoid hitting it, the third sighting was of a large pod that sailed with us for awhile
- 1 schooner
- 1 large warship

The warship