The Figawi Race - an epic adventure of "Pull and Grind"

We are always proud to celebrate anything small – we finished, we didn’t get a penalty against us and we didn’t come last.  This year we finished 8^th of 13 in our division, but more importantly were close to those ahead of us. We can see there is the potential for doing better with further practice.

We arrived at Hyannis Marina Friday lunchtime and were warmly welcomed by the best dockhand we have experienced. When we arrived they welcomed us and gave precise instructions where to dock. This might sound simple, but most of the boats arriving were transients and unfamiliar with the marina. You can imagine with 100 boats descending nearly simultaneously chaos could ensue.

Getting out of Hyannis Marina

We weren’t quite certain how we get out of the marina since boats were packed in, rafted three deep and it needs the boat at the end to leave first for others to get out. Since this was a pursuit race we were concerned that the boats blocking the rest of us would be the faster boats. Since there start time could be an hour after ours, they could have been drinking longer the night before and not get out of our way. But no problem. Boats started their engines as if to say “get out of the way”. Quickly the first boat left and within minutes we were all out and heading to the start line.

 Flying our flags

Trying to get out

We weren’t exactly certain where the start line was, but other competitors told us that we would see it. And we did. 200 boats clustered was a give away.

Start

We did a good countdown to the start and made a good beginning to the race. But the winds were really challenging. There was a little confusion about the exact long and lat of the first mark, but we followed others in front of us and we found things just fine. The second mark was Green buoy #5 and it was in a position where there was a strong cross current. Not all had done their research on this. A boat just ahead of us was sliding down on to the buoy and because their heading was not pointing at the buoy they didn’t realize that they were getting closer and closer until it was too late. We saw what was happening and did a 270degree turn to avoid them and finished the 360degree to keep along the course. After pulling and grinding (watch for a new website by one of the crew) we were on course. Unfortunately that cost us a minute or two which was to be costly later. When they hit the buoy they tried to turn to starboard to avoid it and ended up being broadsided to the buoy. Hmmm, bad situation. And it was a charter boat – those credit card captains. We were looking for the boat later to be identified by a green smile on the port side.

Near Miss

As we were sailing on this leg we were almost hit by another boat. We were the stand on vessel and they were crossing us but chickened out at the last minute and attempted a tack right in front of us and came to a stand still. We made a quick move to avoid the boat, those hanging on the highside pulled up their legs on deck to avoid being crushed and we managed to miss by inches. I called out "protest" but at the end of the day didnt file anything. We just kept up with the positive spirit of the event.

Damage to boats

The winds were high with peaks reaching over 25kts. The seas were very bouncy and one of us soon started barfing. Unpleasant for them, and there was nothing we could do to help, but we had to keep moving. The winds were sufficiently high that one boat was dismasted (Agora from Constitution yacht club) and then later we saw Tonga, also from our Yacht club with what seemed like a broken boom. Hope nobody was hurt. The local cape cod paper’s headline was “Conditions ranged from brutal to near calm in challenging Figawi race."

Picture from Cape Cod Times.

Also in that article they noted that several boats hit green buoy #5. Happy to have only seen it and not done it.

Where did the wind go?

As we turned around the mark we flew the kite and were flying at 9+kts. Then all of a sudden all were becalmed. Some boats were getting fenders out to stop damage during drifting collisions that naturally occur. We dropped the spinnaker, tried a tight genoa and main and made a little progress but then could see a little air coming our way so quickly switched back to the spinnaker. We were without wind for about an hour and at one point we realized that it would take 8+hrs to get to the next mark. We were concerned we would miss our dinner at Straight Wharf Restaurant.

Damage sustained on PG

Fortunately the wind filled in and soon we were off again (and we did make dinner, and excellent dinner). However, it kept growing in strength and we decided to douse the spinnaker. If only I had made the choice 30 seconds earlier. The wind hit hard and we blew a panel out as we were bringing her in. Included in this event was dropping the kite in the water – we are skilled at that – one hand with a cut and blisters. We took a couple of minutes to remedy the situation and were off again. At least that gave us some boat fixing activity for Sunday.

Repairs

We safely made our way to the next mark green #15 and turned and headed for the finish line. Paying careful attention to VMG speed we made good progress on a few boats as we tried desperately to make up our lost time. With a reefed main and full headsail we were making great progress on this tack. But the belly of the sail was too full. So we started to tighten the outhall until there was a loud bang – the outcall snapped. Nobody was seriously injured, although one was bruised. So we improvised a fix and made it safely to the finish line. Yet more boat fixing for Sunday.

A sail number is necessary

As we were about to cross the finish line I remembered the importance of the Race Committee boat seeing our number to record our finish time. We have in mast furling so it was hidden. We scurried (with a broken outhall) to pull our full main to show our sail number just in time to get our race time recorded.

The Figawi Course

Not bad, but room for improvement – we are up for the challenge.

We didn’t come last – in our group we finished 8^th of 13^th. More importantly, we had a time of 5hrs, 26mins 40secs and were only 15secs behind the 7^th place boat, and 50secs behind the 6^th place boat, 1minute and 20secs behind the 4^th place boat and only 6 minutes from placing third. Additionally, one of the other boats that we “race” against on Wednesday nights, Sparkle Pony, had an excellent finish in Division B placing 3^rd with a time 16 minutes ahead of us. Maybe our rigging changes, and extra preparation and practice are making a difference.  Let’s see what we do next year.

Another notable performer from our Yacht club was Pressure drop that finished in first place in their division.

And the winner was!

When we got to our slip in Nantucket we were next to “Flagship” a Catalina 42. We chatted and asked how they did – “we won” was the answer. They won their division and the overall race. I guess that since we were next to them that makes us second, right? They were a great group who had encouraging words. “This is our 13^th Figawi, we have been disqualified, we have come last and now we won. Keep coming back.” 

And did they party with the trophies!

We will be back next year, for sure.

Sunday – Cocktail bar on Prairie Gold

We got some items to repair the spinnaker and outhall and rapidly got those tasks completed. Then it was cocktail hour(s).  Benson did and excellent job of mixing drinks and getting us all thoroughly into the Figawi spirit!

 Typical sight at Figawi

Monday – begin the journey home. Should we race again?

On Memorial day there is a race for boats leaving Nantucket. The conditions were strong winds again and since we had a limited crew of four including two who had been ill I decided not to include tough tacking in high winds. (As it turned out they changed the course to a beam reach for 10 nm which would have been perfect for us.) We did some beautiful sailing and then near Martha’s vineyard got hit by a squall. My left boot – the windward boot got full of rain water. Then as we neared Woodshole winds gusted to 37kts (well that’s what I saw but I wasn’t paying much attention to the wind speed). Fortunately we had anticipated this possibility and had both sails heavily reefed. We made it through fine and powered against 4kts of current to get through Woods hole and picked up a mooring ball in Hadley harbor for an hour for lunch.

 Hadley Harbor

Onset and the Canal

Thereafter we headed north in Buzzards Bay in thick fog with a tail wind and checked the spinnaker. The repair worked! We nipped into Onset and picked up a mooring ball for 6 hours. We made yet more cocktails, bbqed steak tips (awesome) then slept for a few hours. At 11pm we slowly made our way out – dense fog, no visibility for the skipper, radar on, no lights on the buoys and we slowly navigated a tight path to the canal. It was very disorienting and using compass to guide turns. Unfortunately we were at low tide so the depth alarm kept ringing and there was a two foot area that we narrowly missed – starboard, Starboard, MORE STARBOARD were the instructions. The navigator was spot on – great job Benson – and we were saved from a possible grounding.

Fog in Buzzards Bay

By 12:30am Tuesday morning, we were out of the canal and we sailed all the way home on genoa and main and did the canal to marina in 8 hours.

The next adventure begins

12:30 pm: Cocktails in hand. Time to plot tomorrow's Figawi courses and to take a nap. 108nm trip. the last half was great, the first half, too much motoring and crashing waves. Prairie Gold is flying her flags and there is a flag competition today!

11:21am: Hyannis in sight and the kite is flying!

8am: Through woods Hole

04:30am: In Buzzards Bay we caught wind so that we could sail. Close hauled sailing with Bacon and Eggs!

03:05am: Entered the Cape Cod Canal and transited without incident.

12:44am: Plymouth is off to our starboard. Making relatively good progress. Although the wind keeps on our nose as we turn from east to south. But at least its declining from 20 down to 12kts and the size of the rollers is declining.

Scopolamine patches are working well for those wearing them. 

There is one casualty who is not wearing a patch. But he is good natured despite the agony.

We expect to be at the canal by 3:30am

6:02pm Off to Figawi. Set sail from Boston at 6:02pm. Motoring straight into 20kts of wind. Seas are 2-3 ft and we are bouncing around. But we did have a beer at sunset.

Not last!

Wednesday evening was our first evening race for the 2016 season. We have not yet set a goal for the year but if its not to be last in every race then we accomplished that last night. Looking across the three divisions on corrected time we came second to last. Not last!

The evening was a fun time of peculiar wind shifts with changes in wind speeds from 3-20kts. Typical Boston inner harbor sailing conditions. The course was N2 (beneath) and we made a good start. The first upwind leg we sailed pretty well. But when we came downwind we had a spinnaker twist that lasted for oh so long. It was the first time that this crew had launched from the bow cabin with the genoa still up and lines got twisted. We probably lost several minutes in this part of the ride.

However, with three different race starts, and thus some faster boats starting up to 12 minutes behind us we were still in the mix of boats for quite a while in the race. 

The second upwind leg was sailed pretty well, and the final downwind deployment of the spinnaker was much better. We did finish over the line in last place in real time, but on handicap adjusted time we did beat one boat!

Its interesting to look at the handicap times across the three divisions and one can see a couple of clusters of boats after handicap adjustment – it will be interesting to see over time during the season whether we improve our skills and move forward in ranking or whether we will just stay at the back.  Regardless, it was a great evening on the water.

Coming into the race we considered this a training session for Figawi – but more about that in another post.

Skipper: Phil

Crew: Yolande, Joe, Dan and Benson.

Hauled, painted and folding prop attached

We took Prairie Gold (PG) for some work to be completed at Hingham Shipyard Marina. They were fast and efficient. I will return there when more work needs to be done.

PG was hauled Tuesday and by Wednesday noon her bottom had been cleaned, sanded and painted! Yolande and I went over and added a flexofold folding prop. Fingers crossed that the blades stay on! She is being re-launched today and we will sail her home tomorrow, Friday.

I can't say enough good things about Hingham Shipyard Marina. We got a call updating us every day this week. We dropped her off on Sunday and on Monday we got a call to let us know that she couldn't be hauled due to high winds. Tuesday we go the call "She has been hauled and is on stands, come over and do any work you wish". Wednesday we went did the work, and they had already completed theirs. Wednesday evening, we go the call - we will launch her tomorrow. During the Feb-April time period I had been trying to figure out where to take PG for this work and kept receiving responses such as "call back next month" or no response to emails from other marinas/yards closer to home. When I went further from our home port, Hingham was immediately responsive and set a tentative date and were pro-active in reaching out to me to confirm arrangements.

When we were at the yard yesterday we had a problem pulling the prop and thread problems on the prop shaft. The crew in the yard came over and offered to help (free of charge). Without them we would not have been able to put the new prop on. They were fantastic.

Often we complain about poor service. Hingham Shipyard Marina gets 10 out of 10 for great customer service and quality workmanship. I will return!

Two guys and a sailboat in search of craft IPA in Nova Scotia

Rudy and Phil had a discussion over coffee in the marina early in the spring about their desire to set-off on another of their great adventures at sea. Our last was the around the cape, a trip of 190nm. We wanted to sail longer and also to have a destination. So we hatched the plan to sail to Nova Scotia and back. When is a plan a plan rather than just an idea which is soon to be forgotten and de-prioritized by daily work commitments? We immediately blocked off the week May 8^th 2016 – it was now a plan. Upon a little further investigation, we had three candidate destinations: Yarmouth, Shelburne and Halifax. Given time pressures the former two were higher on the list. Since it would be a short stop Yarmouth came higher to the top of the list since it had town facilities immediately dockside. Included amongst them was a local brew pub.

Route and winds: Down hill both ways

A few days before departure and after consulting weather forecasts we decided on a mid Sunday morning departure. The weather looked promising with no gales expected and winds out of the south or southwest. Our float plan still included the three destinations which we would update on route based on our progress and updated return weather forecasts. We set sail at 10:51 am on Sunday May 8^th 2016 and set a waypoint at the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia with a course of 90 degrees magnetic.

Sails were up within the first mile, and by the time we left outer Boston harbor the asymmetric spinnaker was flying.  Given our theoretical hull speed of 7.4 kts we made good progress at an average speed of 8.2 kts for many hours. The going was fantastic making 143nm in the first 24 hours, a record for Prairie Gold, and included in this was a 1-2h period of 2-3 knot winds in which we tried to eek out a little forward progress. One day we will get 150nm!

We finally decided to head to Yarmouth – that local brewery was tasting better as every hour passed. It wasn’t until we actually arrived in Yarmouth that we decided to stop. We were contemplating heading into the harbor, taking a picture and immediately returning to Boston so that we could clock in a 500+ mile non stop voyage. With the brewery in sight we picked up a mooring and called the Canadian Border Patrol and entered Canada – all by phone. Arrival was at 6:30am on Tuesday having sailed 243nm under sail power only.

Canadian Courtesy Flag

After sleeping for a few hours we moved Prairie Gold to open docks and were set to head off to a marine store to make a purchase necessary for a repair. Before we left one of the locals associated with the marina came running down to the dock – “We don’t open until next week! But you can stay.” He then proceeded to help us by telling us where the marine store was (one block away) and where we could get lunch and a beer(s).

After a great lunch at Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brew pub” we went back to Prairie Gold, slept a few more hours and then disembarked by 7:15pm local time for Boston.

The weather looked very good, with sun in the forecast as well as winds of 10-20kts, initially on the nose but then from the north until they were forecast to drop to little to none by Thursday. The return trip was uneventful although initially the strong current slowed our progress and caused significant drifts away from our destination. But by the middle of the night the winds shifted to the north so we tacked and we were flying towards Boston. We arrived at the north shore on the Thursday evening and decided to pick up a mooring at Salem and sail into Boston fresh (relatively) the next morning.

Looking back after departing Yarmouth

We got back to Boston mid afternoon with Captn Bob waiting on the finger pier to catch docklines. I had left the Spot transponder on for the final day and he had seen our progress. It was great to see you there waiting for us Bob!

Wild Life

We had our share of wildlife experiences. On the way to Nova Scotia a sparrow joined us for a day. S/he became so familiar with us that s/he would be sitting on the seats in the cockpit as we were adjusting sail trim, gybing etc. We were concerned that we would kneel on it. Later I went into the saloon to start making dinner and who should I find on the stove? Who then tried to get into the bedding for a nap?

Stowaway

On our return journey we decided we need to fish. Unfortunately, our lure was of more interest to a seagull than to fish. We slowly brought the bird on board and managed to get the lure out of the bird and set it free. Although, Rudy did get a nip from the bird’s powerful beak.

Thursday morning the winds were so low that we motored a fair distance. However, the upside was that the water was so flat that we could easily spot wild life. We saw over 20 dolphins within the course of about an hour followed by a humpback whale about 200ft away.

Night watches: 2, 3 or 4 hours?

At the beginning of the trip we discussed how to do our watches. Given that there were only two of us we wanted to minimize fatigue at night so we decided to go for two hour watches at night and maximum flexibility during the day. Of course the difficulty is this prevents getting a sustained period of sleep, but we quickly managed to combat that problem by sleeping in the daytime when conditions permitted. However, effects of acute sleep deprivation were evident on the second night when while reefing the sails we inadvertently performed what we called a pirouette. Look for that in the sailing instructions classes!

The cold, sunset, late dinner

The most difficult aspect of the trip was the cold at night and finding ways to combat it. We ended up developing a pattern of trying to minimize the watches to manage the cold. By the end of the trip we were making ~8pm a special event when we sat and watched the sunset – a highlight of the evening. Then we would chat and begin to discuss dinner which we cooked for about 10pm. With intermittent radar scans and periodic 360degree lookouts we were able to spend about an hour beneath in the relative warmth of the saloon. This was then followed by two mandatory watches 11pm-1am and 1am-3am. Subsequently by about 3:30am twilight began which was soon followed by sunrise. It was so cold on the ocean at night that we really needed to manage the time spent above decks. However, this did reduce total sleep, although we caught up with flexible sleep during the day.

 Sunset - It's about to get cold

Nice to see you again

Breakage aboard Prairie Gold

When we arrived in Yarmouth we noticed a strange scraping sound. Quickly I realized there was a problem with the boom vang: The linkage pin that holds the vang to the base of the mast had been lost. We used zip ties to hold the vang in place and measured the dimensions of the missing pin with a Vernier gauge and headed to the marine store that was just a block from the docks and obtained a stainless steel nut and bolt which fixed the problem.

Celestial Navigation

 Sun dancing through the spinnaker

 Skipper having a fun time

Where did that come from?

Entering Canada and the US

My biggest concern about the trip was not the trip itself but the customs and immigration procedures for re-entry into the US. Canadian entry seemed to be simple and frequently consisted of making a phone call. This was indeed our experience. However, we had mixed messages about how to return to the US.  One set of information told us that if we arrived back at the weekend that we would have to wait until the start of business on Monday to clear into the country. After making several calls prior to the trip I found someone who was knowledgeable and very helpful. With their information re-entry was simple. We called a Maine number that is active 24/7. They took some of our particulars and then called a local Boston office. We then received a call from that office who relayed our information to a local Customs and Border Patrol officer who came and visited Prairie Gold at our slip in our home marina. Customs forms complete together with passport check we had been through re-entry.

Quarantine Flag

What’s next now that Prairie Gold is an internationally travelled sailing vessel? A couple of things come to mind. First, Rudy and Phil spent hours discussing sleep deprivation and ways to combat its effects and the best system for watches. We didn’t come to conclusions but we are committed to learning more. We are both Neuroscientists so there were periods of geekiness on Prairie Gold. Also I study sleep and the mechanisms of sleep deprivation-induced changes in memory formation and cognitive capacity. If any of you readers have connections to distance sailors who I could talk to about their procedures please leave me a comment or email to me. Maybe a sleep deprivation watch system blog entry is in the making. Second, having completed this trip its time to begin to plan the big trip over several years. My goal is to sail legs and have friends join me for individual legs and gradually make it around the globe. Time to plan the dates for the legs (months) and later to fill in the year.

Finally, it's time to get Prairie Gold hauled out of the water to gt her bottom painted and to switch out propellers for our new folding prop. Off to Hingham in a few hours.