"The best-laid plans of mice and men / Often go awry"

I have been contemplating for days, the best way to share how my original plans of staying on Armadek changed twelve days ago.


Recently having been reminded of some of the greatest works of poetry - this morning as I'm listening to yet another batch of rain fall in Spain -  a Scots poem "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough" written by Robert Burns in 1785 came to mind.  


The romantic idea of experiencing something through nature is as old as time, which is why at least in America we often remind someone who is working non-stop and keeping up with every responsibility and expectation almost to the detriment of their joy to "stop and smell the roses." 


As I began planning this trip four months ago, I began researching, studying, and investigating (as anyone who knows me knows I can do on almost an obsessive level) every possible option until I felt I had the best laid plan that met all of my criteria.  As with anyone who is a planner nothing pleases us more than when things start falling into place once we decide what direction we will go, and things did for a time.  


While many things in life look fantastic on paper, the reality can actually be something quite different.  Once on the trip, I took note of a few things that were not quite in alignment of my expectations  but I pressed on in order to stick to "the plan."  Finally, there was a deal breaker, at least for me, so I turned a corner and didn't look back. No plan.  


One of the goals or criteria I had at the onset of this adventure was to learn to sail, and that is exactly what I am now doing.  I've enrolled in a sailing school http://www.farosailingschool.com/ and successfully completed the first class.  The school came recommended, but I didn't have time to do any research, I just showed up. 


The only plan I have now is to complete the next week of class.  


Experiencing nature, is understanding that the very beauty that we appreciate whether it's the Grand Canyon or a gazillion stones deposited on Chesil Beach 10-thousand years ago was not the result of the best laid plan, but by change is that is constantly going on in nature.  It's all around us.  Sometimes the best plan, is not to have one. 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter / Feliz Pascua de Reyes

Ithaka - C.P Cavafy

As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in front of you. Hope the voyage is a long one. May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind— as many sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars. Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich. Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Translated by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard

(C.P. Cavafy, Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Edited by George Savidis. Revised Edition. Princeton University Press, 1992)

Safe

La Coruna as the first destination port after leaving Falmouth proved very elusive as the skipper decided to push ahead another twelve hours to get around Cape Finisterre to arrive in Baiona.  The first mate spotted the vague shadow of land far off on the eastern horizon about 6pm.  About that same time the sea swelled despite a harmless "maritime" 13 knot wind.  Hour by hour the height of the waves increased as well as the wind.  The last recorded gust before all the meters stopped working in the pitch black of night was 53 knots- which is gale force 10.

Ignorance can be bliss, and there were times that night that I wish I had been ignorant to the severity of our situation. Knowing your life depends on the strength of every single line (rope) holding... under more than the maximum stress and load allowance... or if one single thing had gone wrong or broken, we would almost certainly not be here today to write this blog. I can only describe it is that it's like being on a roller coaster for twelve hours that never stops and only increases in speed and severity and you can't get off.

That experience forever burned several impressions into my mind - the power of the sea, the power of prayer, (the first mate said it was the first time he had prayed in forty years) and how preparation, planning and flexibility are absolute requirements to sail, never mind long passages at sea.   I can honestly say the horizon of my life has been truly put into perspective.

Last post until we get to La Corona

We arrived in Falmouth this morning.  It's a charming seaside town.  I only wish we could stay longer.  I think I could live here, I already picked out my house and boat :) Ok, back to voyage at hand.  

The original plan was to arrive in Falmouth and wait for at least a four day fair weather window to open before we crossed the Bay of Biscay which is approximately 500-hundred nautical miles.  We anticipated having to wait several days, but as luck would have it, an enormous high pressure has developed to the west and began moving in today. We plan to sail with the current early in the morning, this after pulling an all nighter last night, implementing our watch system. 

 

The Bay of Biscay is shallow, so while the tide is not strong, winds play a significant factor, so we will be sailing on a far west arc.  The flip side of this wonderful weather...no wind.  We don't have enough fuel to motor across the Bay of Biscay so we will have to sail, even if there is no wind.  The point is...in a perfect world we will arrive in La Coruna in four days...but having said that, nothing is perfect in the nautical world.  

Next post will be in La Coruna, Spain or somewhere in Portugal depending on where we land.  

Cheers, Mate! 

Bon Voyage to Armadek, Skipper and Crew

How sailing - at least according to one salty sailor - is like war

     This morning on the dock in Falmouth, Gary and I met Bob Burns.  Bob went around the world, single-handed, in his 36-ft. steel, junk-rigged schooner.  478 days at sea, logging 31,700 miles.  

     We did some small talk about the forecast, the weather and how the high pressure was moving in over the Bay of Biscay. Then I asked him about his travels. He said, "sailing is like war."  Of course I followed up and asked him what he meant.  He said, "well ten percent is pleasure, 75-percent is boredom, and fifteen percent is sheer terror."

Hunter at the Helm, happy to be at sea

Beautiful Country house along Falmouth Bay

Trinity House Monument to all the lighthouse crews over the years

Portland Bill, Dorset, England

The famous Portland Bill Lighthouse

The famous Portland Bill lighthouse has been keeping ships safe along the Dorset coast since 1906. It is still in working order but is now fully automatic. Crew of Armadek passed Portland Bill on April 6th, 2011

Setting sail for Falmouth in less than an hour (10 am GMT)

Update - lows stalled over Portland. In protection of harbor and marina recorded a gust of 26 around midnight. We all prepared for our watch schedule, but Skipper made the call at midnight to wait until this morning.  Too many factors.  Dangerous area. Wind didn't subside as early as predicted.  First time for three crew members to experience night sailing.

Coast guard report indicated early yesterday morning that the gale 5 and 6 winds would subside "later" which the nautical translation of that means over the next 12 hours.  So early and generous expectation was by 10pm.  Gale force 6 winds subsided 2 hrs. later, but by then tides changed directions. We will be underway at 10am GMT for a continuous 30 hr sail to Falmouth. Won't have cell or internet signal until we pull into port there. Look for an update no later than Friday morning - that means blog, FB, twitter, (and for family, text and calls so pass along to Mom, whichever sibling reads first) If the high remains in place we will immediately prepare to cross the Bay of Biscay.

Am learning so much!  Weather rules, you can not be rigid in staying on a schedule or you will compromise either beating up the boat or beating up the crew.  My days being a weathercaster and the few meterology courses I took at the beginnning of my television career are coming back to me, but still have much more to learn.

End of being storm bound in Portland in sight.

After being storm bound in Portland for two days we set sail for Falmouth tonight at midnight.

Chesil Beach Controversy

The creation of Chesil beach is open to question as the largest pebbles are found on the eastern end and the smallest at the western end.  Traditionally longshore drift deposits the largest pebbles at the western and smallest at the eastern end.  (map and photos courtesy Google)

So there is some question as to whether or not Chesil beach was indeed created by longshore drift that connected a far reaching island to mainland England at Weymouth.  However it was created, it is a magnificent sight.  Walking on a beach and over dunes of nothing but the most perfectly polished stones makes one marvel at the nature and power of tides.

The boys having some fun

Gary and Paul striking a pose on dock of Portland marina.  City of Weymouth in background. To the east of the marina the famous Chesil beach - England"s longest tombolo created by longshore drift.  

The Needles

• A dangerous stretch called The Needles

The White Horse of Osmington Hill Weymouth, Dorset

Difficult to see because of distance and overcast skies, but a huge white horse was cut into the hillside in 1808, or possibly a little earlier.  A report in the Universal Magazine in 1808 said, "An equestrian figure of His Majesty has lately been formed in the chalk on Osmington Hill..."  According to the website wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk, "it is the only horse with a rider, representing King George III. It was cut into limestone, but is whitened with chalk. It over looks Weymouth Bay, just east of Weymouth.  

Our voyage so far

If you look to the right of the map about a third of the way down you'll see Southhampton.  Friday we sailed down the channel to the Solent and then went left |(your right just off the map) into Portsmouth Harbor home of Her Majesty's Naval Base.  The base is the oldest surviving dry dock in the world and the oldest in the Royal Navy originally by Henry VII in 1495.  The base is also home to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where we saw HMS Victory and HMS Warrior.  The HMS Warrior was the first ocean going Ironclad and was completed in 1861.  We sailed back to Southhampton Saturday and then back down the channel and docked a Marina in Cowes on the northern tip of Isle of Wight.  This morning we motored against the tide down to the needles and then to open water.  Winds were coming from the S-SW most of the day but the the tide turned with us and we made it to the little shoe of land you can see south of Weymouth and docked in Portsmouth Habor.  Tomorrow we will sail over one hundred nautical miles which requires an overnight passage all the way to Falmouth which is on the most western area of the south coast of England. 



Saturday

Crew sounds bites

"The sea is a beautiful sea foam green here against the gray skies" - Lisa Goodwin

"I've never seen so many boats at one time on the water" - Craig Erdrich

"I've never seen the Solent to empty...the last time we were here we were one of 18-hundred boats competing in the 'Round the Island' race." - Captain Brian Dixon

"There is no such thing as an accident" - RYA Instructor Stan Davis

"I've never seen a dancing helmsman" (referring to Captain's daughter Rachel dancing to a song on the radio yesterday."

"It's more relaxing sailing Armadek than racing a dinghy."  Rachel Dixon

Why I may come home with an English accent

Over fish and chips at a marina in Cowes last night a single word spoken by either an American or Englishman (I don't recall which) invariably led to an explanation of the meaning of the word and how it's pronounced.  The crew is made up of three Americans and three Englishmen.  In just a few days, I am already finding myself saying, "yeah, yeah" in agreement or as a response that means a polite "ok or "got it" (which sounds much more glamorous with a British accent) and the English are saying words like "cool" and "awesome".  The captain said, "I wonder if at the end of this I'll be more American or you guys will be more British."  We all laughed.

Sailing the Solent

Crew Member Lisa Goodwin

Crew member Paul Thorton

Crew member Candice Hunter

First Mate (second in command) Gary Sunderland

Man over board drill - RYA Instructor Stan Davis, crew member Craig Erdrich

(Left to Right) Rachel Dixon, Captain, Emma Boaden

Captain of Armadek Brian Dixon at the Helm on the Solent

Two questions I've never been asked by a customs agent before...

So I land in England (this was last Friday) the English gentleman who sat in row 30 with me for the seven hour flight was a delight and we continued to converse as we walked down the breezeway toward customs.  He was citizen and had not been required to fill out the customs form for entry so we said good bye as I made my way toward the customs line and he said, "I'll see you down in baggage claim."  It was about 6:30 in the morning and I knew he was excited to quickly gather his bag to arrive home in time to take his son to school that morning so I honestly didn't think I would ever see him again.  Sitting in row 30 meant there was already a long line of people who had already made their way off the plane before me.

I finally make it to one of the four counters. As it happened I was on the very end where there was glass over- looking baggage claim.  I smiled and handed the custom's agent (who happened to be woman) my passport and my customs form.  She glanced over it.  The only part I hadn't filled out was the address of where I would be staying.  The Captain (Brian) had e-mailed it to me in the event I wanted to mail some gear rather than pack it, but I couldn't find the email on my blackberry so I left it blank.  I had left that portion blank many times before, or just jotted down the name of a hotel, etc. and breezed through customs so I didn't think anything of it.  

Not this time.

She looked up at me and said, "what is the address of where you will be staying?" I explained the Captain of the yacht Armadek was meeting me at the airport and that I would only be in England for a week before we set sail to Cyprus.  Nothing reaction.  Then she asked, "how long have you known him."  I thought...hmmm that's quite an odd question, if not even a personal question coming from a custom's agent.  Unfortunately, I had only known Brian for three months...and I thought to myself in that split second...why would that matter?so why is she asking me this?  So I said, "for quite some time now."  No reaction.  Next response.  "Well how did you meet this man."  Now alarm bells were going off.  The truth is I met him on the internet, but the fact of the matter is that once you are in the sailing world there are dozens of well-known trusted sites that connect people from all over the world.  With the line of questioning I just knew I could not tell this woman that the man I was meeting was a man I met on the internet.  So I explained that I was positive he was waiting for me and that maybe I should call him to get his address for her.  She said, "I'll go talk to him, you can sit in the room over there and wait."

Not good news.  I didn't leave the counter...the odds of ever getting out of those little "custom rooms" and getting in the county seem to be slim. I thought, I need an address.  There is no way I came all this way and I can't get into England!  I looked below an my Row 30 was looking up from baggage claim with a look of "what's wrong...what's going on."  I motioned for him to come up the stairs.  Through the glass, I some how communicated I needed and address for my customs's form.  So he holds up his iphone and I frantically type into my blackberry some very foreign looking address.  "Thank you" I mouthed through the glass.  Whew! I have an address! It seemed like an eternity before she returned.  She had paged Brian and spoken with him by phone and verified not only all of my information but all of HIS information.

Later I learned, customs in England is cracking down on the high number of arranged marriages where the woman is then granted citizenship in the UK simply by marriage.  Who would have thought that a custom's agent in England suspected that I had agreed to an arranged marriage!!!!  We all have gotten a good laugh over that since.  

A few things I've learned

- We don't have the same humor as the English

- A store called Tesco is the equivalent to our Super Wal-mart

- Lindor truffles, Swiss and Belgium chocolate much more affordable here.  Thinking of stocking up.  Oh, that's right I already did.

- I love ginger beer.  Which is actually like root beer but made with ginger.

- Gammon steak is basically the equivalent to cured ham.

- I never realized provisioning a boat for six people was so much work and would require three spilling over carts of food.  If I never go grocery shopping again...I think I'll be fine with it.

Monday March 28

It's still Sunday evening...but I'm trying to catch up on my blog.  Alarms are set for o'dark hundred.  Yes, that's slang for long before the sun comes up...or just too plain early. (face lighting up into a smile even as I think about it)  That's like saying one can get up too early on Christmas morning, only difference there's time to nap on Christmas day. 

We will load up and drive the five hours to Shamrock Quay on the coast.  It's almost surreal.  I have been planning and preparing for this for three months and working on improving my sailing skills on vacations over the last two years, but after spending a few days with our Skipper and Captain Brian Dixon the amount of thought, time and planning he has put into this voyage is almost unfathomable to me.  Only a yachtsman or yachtswoman (in the true sense of the word) who has spent their entire life sailing or taken a "voyage" could understand.  

In less than two months I will have added over 3-thousand nautical miles to my sailing log.  I know I will have an entirely different perspective of sailing, weather reports, charts, and navigation but hope that no matter to what level I master sailing - even someday to the point it all comes as natural as breathing  -  that I will still keep my love for the built-in sense of order and discipline that's required for true seamanship.

Rugby - A real man's sport

A traditional English Breakfast

It's more like a feast!  

Saturday morning I rolled over and opened my eyes to be greeted by a crisp spring morning. The bed and pillows were so comfortable, consciously aware I would soon be sleeping in a pitching bunk at sea, I buried deeper under the covers to relish the feeling of the comforts of a bed that wasn't rolling.  I took in the morning air.  It was filled with the smell of breakfast...the smells that make you throw the covers back, jump out of bed, throw a sweatshirt on and head downstairs to the kitchen to see what's cooking.  

My other two crew mates who were also staying with the Captain and his family were already up.  The entire family was up...they had graciously let me sleep off my jet lag and breakfast was served.  Brian's wife Jill had prepared every mouthwatering dish you can possibly imagine.  English sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, potato cakes, croissants (I had two) toast, fruit, and pastries.  

Since then, we have had roast, yorkshire pudding, fresh scones with fresh creme and strawberries, apple pie with fresh custard, rhubarb pie, berry trifle filled with an extra layer of custard, and crumpets.  Jill has been the most amazing and welcoming hostess.  It has been a complete joy to spend the last three days in their home  along with their daughter Rachael and son Mark. 

If it had been up to me and not the English half of my ancestors, I don't think I would have ever made it to the colonies. 

The Dixon family made this a birthday to remember

Have been trying for an hour to figure out why the blog keeps wanting to turn the pictures sideways and now my computer battery is about to die...but I promise I will get this figured out so you don't have to turn you head to see my pictures for the rest of my adventure.  My birthday was so special this year for so many reasons and will write all about it tomorrow.  

Day 2 - Customs and meeting the Captain's family in person.

An eventful 24-hours!  Will write more later tonight as the Captain and family along with two other crew members are taking me out for a birthday dinner in about half an hour so just jumping in the shower.