Historic Passage Data
The table below shows Isbjorn's passage data from previous trips. It's sorted chronologically, but the table is interactive, so play around with it! It'll be updated in real-time as we fill-in data on future trips. It also Includes the actual YB Tracker map that shows the route we really sailed. Speed is speed-over-ground as sailed, not VMG.
Total Miles Sailed: 17,565
Average Boat Speed: 6.4
Average Miles-Per-Day: 154
(Updated June 25, 2017)
Passage Log Blogs
Isbjörn, Summer 2017, TRANS-ATLANTIC!
Legs 5-6-7-8: BVI-Bermuda-Scotland-Sweden
Isbjorn sails downwind, wing on wing on starboard tack, one reef in the mainsail and the genoa sheeted to the end of the spinnaker pole, furled in just enough to keep the foot flat and not banging around as she rolls in the gentle swell.
All of the ARC Europe boats are heading towards Portugal so Isbjorn is all alone bound for Scotland. Here is an update discussing lone sailing in lumpy seas, chilly cockpit showers, and a boat-wide clean-up!
Part Two of Isbjorn crew 'Mac's' trans-Atlantic blog, part of his round-the-world by land and sea journey. "The strongest winds we saw peaked at 44 knots, with 34 knots sustained over several hours, which are really strong, creating 15 to 18 foot swells. That is classified as a gale. It was a big weather system on a small boat in the middle of the night, and I enjoyed the adrenaline-charged thrill of being at the helm on night-watch during part of this. It was a “Lieutenant Dan” storm, if you remember Forrest Gump. As reported previously- an ocean is a damned awesome thing, y’all."
The following is an excerpt of our crewmember Kevin 'Mac' McMahan's travel blog, hardtravelin.net. "I walked out of my Texas ranch on May 1 with my pack on my back, hitch-hiked to the train station, rode the Amtrak to New York City, hopped a cruise ship to Bermuda and here I am on Isbjorn, ready to sail across the Atlantic with y'all."
Last update from Isbjorn's first Trans-At with Andy and Mia!
Dolphins occasionally streak by the boat and we kill the steaming light, letting the darkness settle. The ocean is itself black under the black night sky, and the dolphins GLOW. No exaggeration. The phosphorescence is so thick in these parts that anything that stirs up the water leaves a fluorescent trail...
Andy, Mia, and the crew expierience dying wind but are determined to not start the engine. Whales show up less than 100 yards from the boat and new friends are made over the VHF. All the while Mia is making delicious dinners to keep the crew well fed! Check out the latest update as Isbjorn crosses the Atlantic Ocean from Bermuda to the Azores.
Low, grey clouds overhead. They're moving off to our right, carried by the chilly northerly wind. A few hints of blue sky are visible to the north. Thane & Brenda are on watch. It's dry outside, but cool. They're in fully foulies, gloves & wool hats. The wind has a bite to it, especially without the warming sun overhead. It's a proper North Atlantic day today.
Isbjörn, March 2017, Leg 4: BVI-Grenadines-BVI
The last Caribbean trip for a while and it is a bit bittersweet! Crew joined us up in Trellis Bay, BVI and the plan to stay there for the night changed quickly. The wind swung us around a bit too close to a nearby boat and since we had to re-anchor anyway, we decided to head over to Spanish Town straight away where we had to clear out of custom before departing the BVI.
...Sideways to the wind, the mainsheet is at the knot. With wind in the sail, we start to accelerate. I think we can thread through the first two moored boats, then jibe and slide out into the channel. Just beyond though lies the inner reef, in the center of the mooring field, right where we’re pointed...
Photo by crewmember Nick W., taken from the masthead!
“You know, most people don’t love ocean sailing anyway. It’s something you endure to get to where you’re going.”
Sometimes. But sometimes it’s the entire reason you go from A to B - to experience the highs and lows, the joy and anguish of sailing over the horizon and into that ocean wilderness. I actually do love it.
Today is ‘Day 0’ of our final Caribbean passage for almost two years, until our return in 2019. Isbjorn is bound for the Grenadines for the second time in 2017, a change in our original schedule, which had us going back to St. Barth’s and on to Dominica. Why the change? Because the sailing passages will be longer, and having been once in the Grenadines already this year, we felt compelled to return. They are a neat place.
Isbjörn, March 2017, Leg 3: Grenada-BVI
The fastest trip so far on Isbjorn! Our intern Liz joined us a few days early in Grenada and helped us prep the boat for departure. Crew Todd, Reed, Harry & Leon met up with us in Prickly Bay, Grenada and we spent the first day and night on anchor planning the trip and geting to know Isbjorn. The diesel tank needed to be topped up but the the fuel truck was late so we headed up to St. Georges and filled up before setting sails to St. Croix.
Weather was excellent, with 15 -20 kt on the beam making close to 400 nm in 48 hrs! First 200 nm day for Isbjorn! The trip was full of surprises, started with a birthday cake for Todd who celebrated his 50th onboard!
Prickly Bay is wonderful. It’s huge, fringed by reefs around it’s edges and filled with a myriad of cruising boats of all types, from the two-masted steel schooner behind us, to the tiny European 26-footer we saw in at the dock. Beautiful houses with immaculate gardens surround the waterfront, and postcard-worthy palm-fringed beaches beckon just off the bow. A catamaran anchored near us has a rather noisy chocolate lab onboard who has a real disdain for passing dinghies - he sounds the alarm anytime someone moseys past within a few hundred yards. Mia thinks he is annoying. I think he’s cool.
It’s been a long time! Andy and I were first in Bequia and to the Grenadines in 2009 during our trip on Broadreach. We sailed a 50’ Beneteau with 11 teenagers, a month long sailtraining camp starting in St. Martin and finishing in Trinidad. We truly fell in love with the smaller islands in the southern Caribbean, but since then I have not been south of St. Lucia. It was about time!
Isbjörn, February 2017, Leg 1: BVI-Antigua
The first trip of 2017! Crew members Kevin, Tom, Irena & Vlado joined Isbjorn in Trellis Bay, Tortola in the BVI! We knew going into it that it would be an upwind trip, and it was! After a quick sail over to Spanish Town where we cleared out, we set sail for Ile Fourche, a small island just north of St. Barth's. Ile Fourche is one of our favorite anchorages, nothing ashore except great hiking and turtles swimming around the boat! From there, we sailed the few miles to Gustavia and St. Barth's, enjoyed some cold drinks and a 'Cheeseburger in paradise'. The last leg of this trip was to Falmouth, Antigua and the sail was just spectacular, almost full moon and the islands of St. Kitts, Nevis and Statia to our starboard. A great start to the year!
This time last year was quite a different story. Mia was back in Sweden still, and I was reeling from the failure of our first two legs of 2016. We were meant to go from BVI-Grenada on Leg 1, only to make it halfway there (in similar, rough & windy conditions) when the roller-furler jammed and failed, forcing us to turn back. Then the mainsail split down the middle from luff to leech on the way back. We limped back to Tortola were we’d come from two days earlier, my pride wounded and the boat in need of repair.
We got underway around 1500, starting with just one reef in the mainsail and the small genoa. The forecast held true - easier trades closer to 15 knots, backing to the ENE as we neared Antigua and lifting us closer to the mark the whole way. The moon was one day from being full, so we had a spectacular night at sea, the best possible conditions you could hope for on an upwind sail - enough breeze to keep us sailing fast, but easy enough swells to keep the cockpit dry and a moon bright enough to read by.
Crew arrived next day. Mia & I had some last minute projects left to do on the boat, and didn’t want to go ashore to meet the gang until it was done. Our planned noon rendezvous turned into 1pm, and left our crew member Kevin on a wild goose chase! In the end, Kevin found Tom, and we found the both of them at the Loose Mongoose on the beach in Trellis as soon as we landed in the dinghy. Vlado and Irena turned up shortly thereafter and we started the shuttle service out Isbjorn.
Mia & I decided early on that we’d extend our time in Sweden - off the boat - right to the bitter end. We knew it’d make it slightly more stressful when we finally did return to Isbjorn, having allowed ourselves only two days to get the boat all setup before crew arrived. And that was if our long flights went to plan (they did). In the end it was worth it, but (almost) everything went smoothly.
The last trip of the year was south from Portsmouth, VA to the BVI with ARC Caribbean 1500 This was the first time for us to actually sail in the event that we have managed for many years now! The crew, Ed, Bruce, David and Tom, arrived during the week leading up to the start that was scheduled for Sunday November 6. Due to a favorable weather window, the start was scheduled for a day early and it as a bit running around on the docks to get everything ready for departure.
Our final night at sea was, no-joke, a career night for me. I’m not sure if the crew realize just how spoiled they were that night. Isbjorn blasted along under her brand-new 140% genoa and full mainsail, close-reaching in calm seas at 7-8 knots in just 12 knots of breeze. There was nary a whitecap on the water, just a gentle swell from the east, and it was calm enough to have the hatches open down below.
For a selection of photos from the entire passage, check out our Facebook page by clicking here.
It's been a loud night onboard Isbjorn, literally! Yesterday afternoon the wind got lighter and lighter but enough wind to keep sailing. As it got even lighter the only course we could hold and also keep the sails full was around 220T - we tried for about an hour. Sailing in the wrong direction is at least better than motoring.
0500. Wind SW at 8-12 knots, and Isbjorn is going smooth on a close reach at 7.5 knots. This is the first time the wind has been forward of the beam since leaving Hampton Roads!
It's very strange in our little isolated bubble on Isbjorn to be getting news in chunks from afar, and I'm sure the fleet feels the same. Interestingly, last year while the yachts were at sea, the Paris terrorist attacks happened. Makes you realize how connected you are ashore, and how nice - but weird - it is to be so disconnected.
This blog has nothing to do with politics. We're just all curious on the big day today!
0545. I'm taking my first solo watch of the trip. Typically I don't stand watches - rather, our crew pair up, Mia takes a solo watch & I'm on-call, the crew doing three-on, six-off rotations. Tom, though, is majorly seasick and hasn't taken a watch since Day 1. For a while Ed & David and Mia & Bruce did 4-on, 4-off, but it's finally calmed down a bit so they're getting a needed break.
Hey Everyone! Liz here! Andy, Mia, and Dennis are on their way to Tortola in the Caribbean 1500 (as you may have heard). This is the first time Andy, Mia, & Dennis have done a rally on different boats! Here is an email from Isbjorn to Sojourner!
A very short update - as of Saturday, November 5th, Isbjorn will be headed back to sea with the Caribbean 1500 rally! Follow our progress on 59-north.com/logbook, or view the entire fleet on carib1500.com.
See you in Tortola! Photo is my dad making landfall in Tortola last year!
Isbjörn, July/August 2016, Legs 6,7,8,9: Canadian Maritimes
Annapolis-Lunenburg/Lunenburg-St. John's/Newfoundland Cruising/Halifax-Annapolis
The final leg of the Canadian summer started in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. This was the forth time Andy & Mia have been up there, twice on Isbjorn and once on Arcturus. Lunenburg is such a sweet little town with everything a sailor could want. The trip south was fairly uneventful with some upwind sailing towards the end before we entered the Delaware Bay and sailed back home to Annapolis
We've officially been headed enough now that the Chesapeake Bay is out of the question. In Lunenburg, we plotted two routes on the chart, for each scenario, and had always kept the Delaware option in our back pocket. I had a hunch that south was key in this leg, so we kept going that way and I'm glad we did.
0900 Wednesday August 10. We're sailing again, close-reaching on the port tack now, careful to stay south of our rhumb line in anticipation of a SW'ly shift as we approach the Chesapeake. It's beautifully warm outside now. The sun is strong enough to require the bimini again, but it's not the humid, stifling heat of the Bay. Yet. We're far offshore, 155 miles SSE of Nantucket and 275 miles E of Cape May, 10,000 feet of ocean under our keel.
Hey all, friend of the crew Rory Finneren writing. I was pleasantly surprised when Andy contacted me yesterday via his YellowBrick from offshore. He asked if I could post blogs during this passage since Liz, who would normally do so, is currently onboard. Recently having returned home to Taiwan after my own 5500 nm offshore voyage from Tahiti to Alaska, I'm happy to help. Here is the latest from Andy & the crew of Isbjorn, homeward bound to Annapolis from the cool fog of Nova Scotia.
After a fun and relaxing week up in St. John's, Newfoundland, David and Dough arrived a few days early to explore the town before departing south towards Lunenburg. Dan, our 3rd crew, sailed with us up from Lunenburg and stayed onboard during the stop over in St. John's. As we departed, the fog rolled in pretty quickly and we had a nice cruise down to St. Pierre, arriving early in the morning in thick fog. St. Pierre really surprised us and the crew, amazing food, great hiking and the deserts people just could dream of.
We last left off after a magical ‘recce’ past mythical Sable Island. While the scenery was dramatic and the mood aboard Isbjorn at perhaps an all-time high, the actual sailing left much to be desired. We’d been motoring for almost 24 hours through a very flat calm and very heavy fog. That all changed after our visit to Sable.
"It's like hearing about this legendary place, and not totally trusting that it's really there. Then when you see it for yourself, and it really does exist, what a cool feeling!"
Isbjorn makes a fog-bound entrance into the tiny French outpost of St. Pierre & Miquelon. The crew finds lots of brie and wine ashore, and the battered hull of Oman Sail, the MOD70 trimaran that capsized in the recent Quebec-St. Malo trans-Atlantic race. It was the foggiest passage of Andy & Mia's career.
Zero dark thirty. I'm on radar watch at the nav station. Thus far, the coast is clear. Our new crew David is on deck, fighting off the first signs of seasickness. The fog has come and gone all day. Just now its rolled in thick, visibility down to zero.
Isbjörn, May, Florida-Annapolis.
After Andy's sister Kaitie's wedding in Key West, Mia, Andy, Liz & Thierry rendezvoused at Pam Wall's house to record the first episode of the new TV show! Then, crew joined Isbjorn on the canal across the street for the return voyage north to Annapolis. We tempted fate and left on a Friday - which I won't do again! Rough, upwind conditions dictated the trip, but it was punctuated by a calm ride around Cape Hatteras and a good finish!
The final post from the Florida-Annapolis passage, PLUS an update on the many improvements Isbjorn is currently undergoing in the boatyard in Annapolis.
Another beautiful, sun-drenched morning! And yet another day of headwinds! So much for leaving on a Friday...Etienne, this is your fault ;) All kidding aside, we've had a pretty good trip thus far, it's just been painfully upwind!
Isbjorn is taking a rest for the night. Check out why!
Since I emailed in this morning, we've received the WX update I was looking for from WRI, and it basically confirmed my analysis of the GRIB forecast I got earlier. They sent a fantastically detailed outlook, which I won't include here, but their conclusion was basically what I'd hoped for earlier.
'Variable' is the word for the weather on this passage north from Florida to Annapolis. Since departing Friday morning, we've had it all - light downwind sailing, light close reaching, heavy downwind sailing and currently even heavier close reaching, which later today is going to become a dead beat to windward.
The full crew is here and we're preparing for our chart briefing dockside tonight in the canal by Pam Wall's house, just off the 17th Street Causeway in Ft. Lauderdale. The weather looks marginal and constantly changing, so we're keeping a close eye on that (and keeping options open for a potential detour to Savannah or Charleston).
It's been a fantasy-camp of sorts since we got to Florida the other day. Both Pam and Etienne are heroes of ours, so it's super-cool to hang out together now as friends. I still have to pinch myself that we're so lucky to get to do all this! We visited Etienne's shop yesterday down past the airport, and after our little sunset sail, he joined us at Pam's house for a wonderful meal Liz and Mia cooked up for us all. Then we spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and listening to Pam and Etienne tell stories.
Isbjörn, March 2016, Puerto Rico-Havana-Key West.
After a few weeks to reflect and digest our five-day visit to Havana, Andy (finally) publishes a lengthy write up on what it's like to visit the once-forbidden Cuba. Lots of photos included, so scroll down to see the gallery!
Mia & Andy share some photos of what it was like to sail to Cuba this year! Feel free to share these galleries with your friends and family - if you've sailed with us and would like a high-res, un-marked photo of any of the below, email us!
The sun is rising just off Isbjorn's starboard quarter. Greg and I are on watch, one hour yet to go. This is the best watch, the transition from night to day, another 24 hours in the bank.
Greg and I are on watch. I just had my second cup of coffee, and Greg just re-appeared from the galley with his. Isbjorn is meandering along the north side of the shipping lanes in the Old Bahama Channel, about three miles off the Grand Bahama Bank, sailing slow with just the mainsail up (the jib was slatting too much).
A happy crew on Isbjorn today despite the lack of wind the last 12 hours. As forecasted the wind was predicted to get light during the night and it did.
Aboard Isbjorn it's all fun and games. We just wrapped up a scrambled egg breakfast and are sailing wing on wing at 8.1 knots. By the time we hit the 48 hour mark, we'll have sailed 350 miles, a blistering pace. And it's effortless!
This post is long overdue, but it’s the first chance I’ve had to sit down and write it. I’m typing this from the nav station on Isbjorn. We’re anchored in Grand Case, a pretty little bay on the French side of St. Martin. The wind is gusting down over the hills to the east, hitting the mid 30’s in the big puffs and whirling us around on the anchor. It’s Easter Sunday. Note: Scroll down to the bottom for detailed photos with captions on the whole repair.
Isbjörn, February 2016, RORC Caribbean 600 Race, Antigua.
It was a disappointing result, having to abandon the race 3/4 of the way through, but before we even hit the dock we decided we'd be back in 2017! The whole thing was an absolute blast! What a cool experience to push the boat that hard, for that long. Paul Exner is the man!
Scroll ahead to the 6:45 mark for the Caribbean 600 coverage. Cool stuff!
This post is long overdue, but it’s the first chance I’ve had to sit down and write it. I’m typing this from the nav station on Isbjorn. We’re anchored in Grand Case, a pretty little bay on the French side of St. Martin. The wind is gusting down over the hills to the east, hitting the mid 30’s in the big puffs and whirling us around on the anchor. It’s Easter Sunday. Note: Scroll down to the bottom for detailed photos with captions on the whole repair.
I’m going to write a recap of the RORC Caribbean 600 - which I’ll say now, without a doubt, was one of the absolute highlights of my sailing career, even despite having to retire before the finish - but first, I’ll get straight to the higher point I want to make with this blog post. As of this morning, it’s official that Isbjorn will be back at the starting line of the 600 in 2017 in Antigua, hell bent on not only finishing the course, but winning our class. We’re changing our passage schedule to do it, and I can’t wait.
Isbjörn has retired from the RORC Caribbean 600 race due to a potential rudder problem. Sailing back to Antigua where Andy will evaluate. More updates to come...
Isbjörn is well under way in the RORC Caribbean 600. The first 3 boats have already finished the race, with the trimaran Phadeo3 breaking the record from last year and finishing in just under 32 hours, impressive!
There's just over 24 hours to go until the start, and less than that until Isbjorn leaves her anchorage in Falmouth and heads for the line. As I write, Paul and the crew are ashore having breakfast while I'm tidying up the boat, charging the batteries, making water and getting her ready to go out sailing today for a quick practice before tomorrow's race.
This morning, over coffee, Paul is preparing for his weather briefing. The RORC media team is doing a feature comparing us to Phaedo, the fastest boat in the fleet (a MOD 70 trimaran who sailed the course in 33 hours last year). They want to hear our weather briefing and will film it for the race website. We'll also be doing a video blog during the race, which The World Sailing Show will be using after the race in a TV production!
Clint and I bid farewell to the last of the Leg 2 Isbjorn crew on Thursday and have been hanging out in Falmouth Harbour ever since. It’s my first time here, and I must say, quite the place. But before I get to that, we’ve got to describe how we got here.
Isbjörn, January-February 2016.Virgin Islands-Dominica-Grenada...& Back! (Actually, Virgin Islands-Virgin Islands-Antigua! Read below about our misadventures & changed plans...)
The second leg of 2016. This one was supposed to start in Grenada, but when we got turned back on Leg 1, we ended up back in Tortola! Thanks to an awesome crew who changed their travel plans to join us for a fun island-hopping leg to Antigua, with a stop in Ile Fourche & St. Barths!
Clint and I bid farewell to the last of the Leg 2 Isbjorn crew on Thursday and have been hanging out in Falmouth Harbour ever since. It’s my first time here, and I must say, quite the place. But before I get to that, we’ve got to describe how we got here.
Contrary to the first leg bound for Grenada, this leg, improvised at the last minute to salvage a neat trip for the crew, got off to an awesome start and has been going splendidly. Greg, Ryan (from Leg 1), Andy (an old friend from high school) and Mike rounded out our crew, and Clint is still here as mate (otherwise known as the ‘Wanker on the Anchor’). We’re six dudes now, and missing the charming female influence of Cissi…my ukulele playing is missing the accompaniment!
Strange weather pattern. Departed Road Town at 1930 last night, sailed off the anchor. First time since leaving the Bay we had big genoa on! North wind on departure as Low moved over us.
If you read the last post you’ll know that halfway south to Grenada, the boat broke. Amazingly, aside from three deliveries I canceled before the boat ever left the dock (thanks to crappy boats), I’ve never had to turn around on an offshore trip before. But, as I’m all too aware, if you do this stuff long enough, things are going to happen, even to the best of us.
Our first leg of 2016, and one filled with drama! Heavy weather on the way south tested our mettle, and then in the middle of the night, the furler jammed & forced us to divert back to BVI. The very next morning the mainsail blew out across a seam from leech to luff. A quick turnaround in the BVI and a new furler and mainsail and we were back in business!
So, what the hell happened!? I’m writing from the nav station on Isbjorn, docked at Nanny Cay Marina in the BVI. We’re supposed to be 450 miles south of here in Grenada.
Another update from Andy. He is sending me short and sweet texts from our YB tracker we have onboard.
Anyway, Isbjorn is heading back to BVI after yesterday's jib jam. Andy has a feeling it may be more than just a jam and we have learned to follow our feeling and always put boat safety first.
The update from Andy today, including a few comments from the crew:
A quick update from Andy and Isbjorn. He called me this evening around 1900 AST. When they rolled up the jib to tack over to head for the island of Guadalope (the planned stop on the trip south), the headsail jammed. Andy is not comfortable to continue upwind in the dark with a potential issue so they have turned "back" on a broadreach.
"Hi Guys! Sat phone still not working. It's very rough and very windy - the Trades are kicking! 25 knots close reaching, touching 30 overnight. Gorgeous weather, huge moon and friendly puffy clouds. Boat hot and wet below with leaks in the head skylight. Please write a blog Mia! "
Last night in Soper’s Hole was another ill-advised attempt at taking convenience over comfort. Ryan is meeting us in a few hours at Soper’s Hole and it would have been so much easier to wake up in the place we’d meet him. But anchoring amongst a crowd of boat’s in 70-feet was probably never going to work, and we should have had a Plan B in the first place.
Isbjorn, Caribbean 1500, Portsmouth-BVI Passage, November 2015
Paul Exner writes to the crew of Isbjorn to debrief the successful passage south in the Caribbean 1500.
We say this until we’re red in the face, but a passage south from the US East Coast can be brutal. The weather challenges in the fall – with late season hurricanes and early season winter gales – are mighty, and choosing a weather window is a mix of both skill and luck. You’ve got to know what to look for to make a break for it crossing the Gulf Stream. Beyond three or four days though, the forecast accuracy breaks down and it’s somewhat of a crapshoot.
"Paul is the boat whisperer," joked Rik & Walter, two of Isbjörn's crew members. "Every time we'd think we had her dialed in, and Paul would pop his head up and start pulling the sheets and Isbjörn would speed up by half a knot! It was incredible!"
Paul Exner, honorary skipper of Isbjorn for the 1500, sends in another update from at sea. They are blasting along under spinnaker in perfect conditions and settling into life at sea as a group. To say Mia and I are jealous is an understatement...
Crewmember Walter Rush sends in the first update from offshore. Isbjorn has had a windy few days, replete with spinnaker sailing and sail repairs to be made. 'The Real Deal,' as Walter puts it!
Isbjorn is firmly in the Gulf Stream now, making good headway in the middle of the fleet. While I've not heard directly from the boat, I'm guessing (and hoping) that Paul and the crew were patient enough during last night's calm spell to wait out the wind and not turn the motor on. Yesterday they were at the front of the pack that started early Wednesday morning, but today they've drifted back towards the middle, probably because everyone else motored through the calm.
Isbjorn, to my chagrin, was the first boat to report a ‘casualty’, so to speak. Shortly after leaving the marina, Tom cut his finger badly enough to require stitches. They made a slight detour into Little Creek where Tom was treated. He was back aboard and Isbjorn headed offshore by 0600 this morning, so in the end it was a minor injury and a short delay.
On Thursday, November 5, the Caribbean 1500 program will feature a private screening of 'Around the World with Jean du Sud' at the Commodore Theatre in Portsmouth, by sailor, filmmaker and inventor Yves Gelinas. Yves is a guest of the rally this year, preparing to sail his famous Alberg 30 south to Martinique, and will be on-hand tomorrow to introduce his film and do a live Q&A with the rally participants afterwards, a rare and truly exciting opportunity. The article below was written by Yves and republished with permission from his website, capehorn.com.
A fall passage to the Caribbean from the northeast US is undoubtedly one of the more challenges offshore undertakings, both once at sea and indeed during the preparation stages. Here at the Caribbean 1500 headquarters in Portsmouth, VA, we write about the weather every year – about how difficult it is to find a weather window this time of year, as we’re squeezed between the winter gale season and the end of tropical cyclone season.
We had an awesome day on a brisk, cold fall Sunday, tacking around, tuning the rig, etc etc. Even go the spinnaker up for a while in blustery conditions, and had a fun time trying to get it back down again before we ran out of Bay!
Isbjorn, Lunenburg-Annapolis Return Passage, July 2015
Photos from the second trip with crew aboard Isbjorn on our passage south from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to Annapolis, MD. Crew onboard were Andy, Mia, Rachel C., Matt M, & Andy's Dad Dennis Schell.
Isbjorn is back in Annapolis after her first two successful voyages. A total of 1,629 miles sailed over 11 days, 3 ½ hours at sea. Feels good to be home in Pennsylvania, but I already miss the high seas! Enjoy the final post from Leg 2, and scroll to the bottom for a selection of photos.
Upwind sailing highlighted the last 36 hours of our offshore passage as we beat down the NJ coastline. Thanks to Rory Finneran for managing the blog!
Halfway home from Lunenburg to Annapolis. We sailed through cold sunny weather, lots of wind, not so much wind and beautiful sunrises! Thanks to Rory for managing the blog!
The first post from the return voyage to Annapolis. Thanks to Rory Finneran for managing the blog while we were at sea!
My dad decided to join us at the last minute. As I write, I'm back, yet again, at the Sweet Indulgence Cafe in Lunenburg, waiting for him to arrive by taxi from the airport. Isbjörn is on anchor in the harbor, with Mia and Rachel aboard just chilling out. Matt is somewhere in town doing a last-minute wander.
We're just hours from departing Lunenburg now for the return passage to Annapolis, and Tropical Storm Claudette is making me re-think our departure plans. Matt, one of our crew, went to the Fisheries Museum this morning, and it's all the tour guide was talking about. I had seen a small depression on the GRIBS yesterday, but apparently sometime this morning it officially got a name.
I'm still sitting in the Sweet Indulgence Cafe in Lunenburg, and just met Rachel, one of our new crew for the next leg. Feels weird to have such a quick turnaround, but that's the nature of it I guess!
Isbjorn, Annapolis-Lunenburg Expedition, July 2015
Of course one of the greatest things about ocean voyaging is exploring your landfall! My dad and I used to wonder, especially after particularly challenging passages, if we did it for the sailing, or did it for the payoff at the other end. I’m still not sure there is a clear answer to that. It’s obvious a bit of both, and the challenge of getting to that far-off land under your own effort over such a comparatively long time is what makes it so cool, and so unique in our modern time. The average air traveler will never have any concept of how large the world actually is. We ocean sailors know better.
I love sailing into a harbor, especially at night. Moitessier once wrote that he prefers sailing into a harbor at night because nobody is watching, and you don’t have to worry about folks thinking you’re showing off. Sometimes you are, of course, but to me, it’s more about the joy and challenge of coming in under sail than anything else.
Sailing from the hot & humid Chesapeake northeast past New England & on towards Canada has been exceptionally exciting in terms of the changing weather and the cooling water temps. We're at sea now for almost five days. You could fly the route in a few hours, but experiencing the gradual change in climate as we cruise along at a jogging pace is what truly makes ocean voyaging a special thing. It really IS a long way from home when you realize how much the weather's changed and watch it do so gradually. We're not in Kansas anymore.
After the rescue, we continued motor boating for nearly the next 24 hours. Unlike the previous week on the DelMarVa rally, where we scooted out the Canal and down the Bay at a cool 8 knots, riding a fair tide the whole way, we bucked the tide this time, making only 4-4.5 knots under power nearly all the way to Cape May. When we did finally get within site of the ocean itself, the wind was on the nose and light.
We took turns at the pump as Someday’s owner Dennis searched in the bilge to find the leak. There was a good 3-4 feet of water sloshing around, but we kept ahead of it with the huge pump. Me, Sean and Mia took turns, while the rest of my crew kept the boats apart, and Sheila, Dennis’ wife, communicated with the USCG and Tow Boat/US.
This is the first in a multi-part blog series about Isbjorn's first offshore passage from Annapolis to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. There are loads of photos in the galleries at the end of each post. Start with this one, and follow along. Normally I do this from at-sea, but we forgot the email device for the sat phone! So here it is now, in one big dump. Some of this I wrote on the boat at-sea, some of it after we arrived. Enjoy! -Andy
Andy and the crew of Isbjörn have no email at sea so they won't be posting blogs while offshore. However, the Yellowbrick tracker can post to Facebook, so check there for brief updates now and then. Also, Isbjörn's position is updated every four hours at 59-north.com/tracking. - Rory
The final push before departing for Lunenburg. Thanks to all our friends and to my dad for helping us get the boat ready!
Isbjorn is north of 50 degrees north and continuing! Read about accomplishing boat projects at sea, rolly-waves, and varying visibility.