Forecasts

We all know the joke, how can the meteorologist be wrong so often and still keep their job?! They say it will rain and it's sunny, they say it will be sunny and it pours! Out on the ocean, it's no different.

We have friends on shore giving us weather information for our area as well as downloading Weather Fax broadcasts. The information was a total shot in the dark.

The wind speeds were always off, air pressures were usually close but still off, but the wind direction was pretty spot on.

My favorite was when we were stuck in the doldrums and our friends on shore asked why we weren't moving. "The weather app says you should have 15 knots of wind" yet we were becalmed for a week!

After a while, I stopped downloading the weather faxes too. It seemed that I could get a more accurate weather forecast by asking a passing seagull.

When we left Bermuda for the Azores, I didn't even bother to check weather forecasts. I checked to make sure no hurricanes were coming and then went to sea. Our friends kept telling us to head north of the rhumb line to avoid a massive high pressure system that would have no wind, yet day after day, the clouds said we would have wind and wind we would have. Winds varied between 20 and 30 knots for the entire week, while the forecast said we would have winds of under 10 knots where we were.

A week into our voyage, we did turn north because the clouds of a high pressure system appeared in the far off distance. I did not fear losing wind because I keep us surrounded by clouds that have wind. Storms, squalls, and good winds can all be seen by looking at the sky and reading the clouds.

This is how you get your forecast for what is happening now where you are. If you know how to read the clouds, you can even get hints about what's coming tomorrow and the next day! No data or internet connection required, just a barometer and a weather eye to keep you in good winds as you cross the ocean.

Ocean Navigator Mentality

​When we first started cruising, the goal was to cross the Atlantic Ocean. We wanted to sail to Europe via Bermuda and the Azores, to give us stopover points along the way. While our hearts were in the right place, we still were not mentally ready to go.

When we sailed out of the Chesapeake Bay, I viewed our position as "miles from shore" or "miles from the coast." I hadn't let go of land and was not ready to go out to sea, even though I really did want to!

We left the bay and hugged the coast as we made our way down to Cape Hatteras, where we were forced to move offshore to avoid the Diamond Shoals. The "Graveyard of the Atlantic", home to more wrecks than any other place in the Atlantic Ocean, extends a mere 14 miles out to sea. To be safe, I positioned us at 20 miles from the coast. 20 miles! And to think I was planning to cross an ocean!

We got wrapped up in a gale and spent the next four days hove to. The storm carried us 50 miles from shore and I started to get nervous! I feared that the storm might sweep us into the Gulf Stream and push us very far north while we were still trying to make our way South. When we reached 50 miles from shore, I took the helm and brought us around the cape and back into shore.

The valiant sailor who wants to cross an ocean returns to shore after an 8 day voyage, 50 miles from land...

We then hugged the coast all the way down to Florida. It was a mix of ICW down to Charleston, SC, where at one point we were several miles inland sailing on a freshwater river. Once we hit South Carolina, we began coastal hopping. We would wait in a town for the weather to be right and then hop out into the ocean to ride a cold front south. The winds were strong and we made the whole trip from Charleston, SC to West Palm Beach, FL under trysail and staysail! These strong winds carried us quickly, but never far from shore. The furthest out we got was still under 30 miles from land.

Then we made the great leap to the Bahamas! A mere 50 miles with land at your stern as you sail off over the horizon. This baby step came with much fear and trepidation since we were going to go offshore and away from land! I had my nervous panic the night before we left and Maddie calmed me down and talked me through it. The next morning, we left and in two days we arrived at West End, Grand Bahamas! A switched flipped in my head, but I just hadn't realized it yet.

We sailed from island to island, and the practice of putting land to your stern and sailing toward an empty horizon started to feel normal. It really clicked when we made the windward sail from Nassau to the Exumas.

This 37 mile passage took us 5 days and over 150 miles under our keel! We left Nassau and didn't see land for a week! When we arrived in the Exumas, the thought of leaving land behind and spending a lot f time at sea felt less scary. The world changed in perspective from "our position to land" to "our position."

When we left the Bahamas to reprovision in Florida, we left Staniel Cay behind us and sailed past many islands over the next few days. We arrived in Florida and anchored as if we were returning from a daysail. Arriving at land didn't feel impacting or emotional, it just felt like we were here so that we can leave again.

Then we did the big shove off when we left Florida for Bermuda. This was to be a 700 mile voyage that should take 7-10 days. There were no jitters or fears, no nagging feelings about preparedness or apprehensions about leaving land behind for such a long journey. We simply raised anchor and went out to sea. We sailed away from Florida and encountered no wind. The short trek took us 20 days to complete! In those three weeks, my grasp on reality changed.

I no longer view our position in the world as being relative to anything else around us. I no longer listen to weather forecasts, or anything that is not on this boat. When we go to sea, we are everything right here on our lonely ocean world with nothing but waves and clouds in sight. We are in the center of what we can see and we are moving forward towards our far off destination. We are not "miles from anything" because we are right here right now.

We look at the clouds for our weather forecast and we look at the stars for guidance (as well as our GPS). We are merely here.

When we left Bermuda for the Azores, there was just a feeling of peace. We sailed out of St. George's Harbor and didn't even look back to see the land disappear over the horizon. We had departed and our world was now the boat, and the boat is right where we are. We set a course for the Azores and relaxed as we crossed an ocean.

I look back on our first attempt to cross the Atlantic last year and realize the difference in mentality. Yes, had the weather been better, we would have crossed the ocean, but I would not have been as relaxed as I am now. I would have constantly been calculating how far from land we were instead of sitting back and watching the sunset over our little visible disk of ocean.

If you want to do blue water cruising, don't think of it as going far out to sea. Picture it as being right where you are. You should not base your perspective on some distant point of land, instead, your world should be focused around you on your boat; wherever that may be.

Cruising Snack Food

When you are between meals and still craving a quick snack, what should you grab? Oh! You can only grab from the selection you chose while on shore at a grocery store where you didn't think about this feeling, this sensation, this yearning for something to munch on?!

One of the best snacks that we have found is roasted peanuts that are salted and still in the shell. Now, I would much rather munch on cookies or candy, but if I did that all the way across an ocean my teeth would rot out and I would get fat!

By best snacks, we refer to a few requirements that must be met.

First, it needs to be tedious to eat. You can buy a can of nuts and pour out a handful and throw it into your mouth. You just ate a ton of nuts in no time, and at that rate you will run out! Having the shells on means that you need to open each one at a time. This will slow you down and make the snack more of an activity and less of a meal.

Second, it needs to be tasty. Who doesn't like eating peanuts at a ball game? They come in different flavors and salinity levels, so you can pick your favorite.

Third, it needs to have a manageable trash method. This is where cookies and candy drop the ball on cruising snacks. Prepackaged snacks tend to come in plastic containers or bags. As you eat them up, plastic trash will start to pile up in your boat. Cruising should be about sailing somewhere neat, not sailing to the next plastic recycling facility! Peanuts come in huge bags that can then be opened while at shore and placed into reusable mason jars. Now, as you eat your peanuts, you end up with a bunch of empty jars that you can refill at the next port. As you eat the peanuts, the shells will pile up, and you can just as easily throw them into your wake.

The shells are biodegradable since they are a natural product, so no major harm in tossing the shells over the side.

Eating the peanuts is fun, and so is watching the shells flow away in the wake. It takes time and takes your mind off of the fact that you are bobbing around in the middle of the ocean for the next few weeks!

Lastly, the price needs to be right! Pistachios meet all the same requirements as peanuts, until you look at the costs. Peanuts in the US can be purchased for $4 for a 2 pound bag, or $2 per pound. Pistachios can cost around $10 per pound! Since peanuts are so cheap, fun to eat, entertaining, and easy to dispose of, Maddie and I feel that they are a great cruising snack food for out in the cockpit.

What snacks do you like to eat while at sea? Let us know in the comments section down below!

The Power of a Sail

When people think of powerful boats, they probably picture something with a motor, something that can easily be quantified by a number written on the motor cover. There is no doubt how much power a center console has when it has three 300hp outboards bolted to the back of it!

I would like to propose a different illustration of power, the simple sail.

We have found ourselves at times in the ocean with considerable chip and no wind. We attempted for a moment to motor with the seas, but to no avail. Each wave felt like a wall, slamming into it would cease all forward motion, if not set you back! If we caught a break between seas, our speed would get up to 2 knots before the next wave struck. We were using 8hp of our motors 20hp, and it was hopeless.

Then the winds came and with our tiny staysail and double reefed mainsail, we were doing 5 knots steady, and at times reaching 7 knots! When a wave would come, the bow would plow through the wave making the sea erupt into a world of mists and spray.

This made me wonder, how much power does it take to pull a boat through these seas at these speeds? What number should be printed on the sail bag to let you know the power that lays inside?

This is an 18 ton, 45 foot full keel boat blasting through 12 foot seas under its small sails. Imagine the power available in the larger sails.

I think that when we imagine a powerful boat, instead of picturing a sporty speed boat, we should imagine those old pictures of square riggers and schooners with every sail they had available set in the wind! Stuffing sails, water sails, anything and everything they had was presented to the wind to pull them forward!

Orientation of the Head

All cruising yachts have a head (a marine toilet) located somewhere in the cabin. They might differ in size, shape, and where the waste goes, but they all have one important feature: they are mounted in the yacht.

This means that you can't just "move the head around" to suit your needs. You must sit there and use it where it is, no matter the conditions you are sailing in.

This is why it is important to choose a yacht that has a head oriented in an ideal location and orientation to make use at sea more comfortable.

Lets start with orientation. There are two obvious ways to orient the head, and a third that we will throw in because sometimes designers like to be "creative"! The first is to orient the head so it is aligned fore-aft with the yacht. The second is to orient the head so it faces athwartship. The third is some kind of diagonal orientation that exists between the first and second.

In the first orientation, as the yacht heels, so will the head and so will you on the head. Anytime you sit on it while underway, you will lean to port or starboard.

In the second orientation, the head is oriented athwartship and you will be facing the side of the hull, as you are aligned with the beam of the boat. On one tack, you will be reclined on the head, the other tack, you will be thrown off the front of the seat!

In the third orientation, any amount of heeling will result in you being tilted and thrown from the seat as you try and do your business.

Naturally, the third orientation (diagonal) might look nice while at a dock, but it will make life miserable every time you need to go. The second orientation (athwartship) will have you trying to hold on for dear life as you are leaned forward or back as the yacht heels over. The first orientation (fore-aft) is the ideal, where on one tack you lean to the left and on the other tack you lean to the right.

Now, onto the location of the head. While the goal of yacht design is to make everything feel "big and roomy", this is not what you want with the head. A large open head means that you have nothing to brace against as you go. Ideally, you want a head that is oriented fore-aft and something to brace your elbows against on both sides to hold you in place as you carry out your business. If you have a spacious head, you will find it hard to keep on the John as you will be flung from one side of the head to the other.

Remember, what you see in a boat at the pier will be heeled over like a fun house while at sea. Imagine trying to use a bathroom in a fun house. That is how cruisers do.