"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