Made it to the US

Arrived in Florida Last Week with Terminal Leave

After about 4 months in the water and thousands of miles later, Terminal Leave is back out of the water for a little recovery. Last week I arrived in Stuart, Florida and completed the 1,300 nm delivery from Guadeloupe after completing the Mini Transat. Below is an update from the past few weeks.

*Terminal Leave hauled out in Stuart, FL and waiting for the trailer to be shipped back from France*

On 7 December, Jane and I departed Marigot Bay, Saint Martin together on Terminal Leave. The autopilot was working once again and the wind was starting to fill in. We had originally wanted to stop at multiple islands along the way, but were about a week behind schedule at this point. We decided to sail 800 nm non-stop up to the Bahamas to have a few days on anchor in some secluded areas. This would be our longest sail yet together and not a short delivery for many sailboats.

8 Dec: The first few days were beautiful downwind sailing

We had the ocean mostly to ourselves and hardly saw any other boats around for much of this delivery. With the spinnaker up we were knocking out the miles.

Later that evening, the wind increased to the mid twenties and the seas grew. I spent much of that night hand steering as we were surfing down waves and trying not to wipe out (we did a few times of course). Eventually we dropped the spinnaker to reduce the risk of breaking the sail, the boat, and ourselves. We were cruising after all!

The seas grew and became quite confused, tossing the boat around from multiple directions. Luckily we were on a broad reach, so even with two reefs in the mainsail and a reef in the jib, we were hitting speeds over 10 kts. Our course had us on the windward side of the islands to reduce the distance sailed and deep water, but it also made for uncomfortable conditions for the next few days. Not only were the seas rough but it was also overcast and cloudy for most of the delivery.

As we approached the Exumas, we briefly reached cell service once again. We had been monitoring the weather throughout the trip through satellite communications, but now could see an updated and detailed forecast. The weather was about to deteriorate within the next 48 hours.

Instead of pulling into George Town to clear customs and anchor off one of the cays in the area, we kept sailing. At this point, what is another 125 nm on top of the 800 miles we were just finishing? Our main goal shifted from anchoring in paradise to finding a protected marina to ride out the incoming front.

On 12 December, this now became a race against time. Our goal was to get into Nassau before the strong winds over 30 kts reached the area in the next two days. With the code 0 hoisted, we reached over to the next bit of land in the Exumas to get another forecast update and search online for a protected marina to dock the following day.

The following morning just after sunrise we passed through a narrow cut 30 miles SE of Nassau. Jane was on rock watch while I drove through this shallow area. Even though it was difficult to see much in the choppy water, it ended up not being too challenging since we timed it for high tide.

That afternoon on 13 December we pulled into Palm Cay Marina on the SE side of New Providence in the Bahamas. This marina has a narrow entrance and protected by large condo buildings, which would be perfect to block the incoming winds. Surrounded by large charter catamarans and center console powerboats, Terminal Leave was quite the sight among these much larger boats. Many people stopped by to see the boat since we were next to the fuel dock and in front of the marina cafe. [Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello, it was great meeting you all!]

Riding out the weather in Palm Cay Marina

As we waited for the front to pass through with sustained winds over 30 kts and plenty of rain, we once again needed to fix the autopilot. After having water flood the autopilot pump area for a second time, we were able to pull the system apart, dry it out, and reassemble the pump motor. While the water ingress was frustrating, I am fortunate this did not happen during the race and have learned a lot about this autopilot. The challenge here is the design of the life raft hatch letting water in slowly and the placement of the autopilot pump motor on the hull.

Confined spaces working on the autopilot down below on *Terminal Leave*

Enduring the endless rain in the Bahamas between boat projects

As the front passed through, the boat did great riding out the weather in this protected marina. Unfortunately due to this delay, Jane had to fly out for work that was starting up in Florida. I spent a few more days at the dock waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. If I had left right away as it cleared up, I would have spent over a day beating upwind in 25 kts of breeze and the northerly wind would have made for a choppy Gulf Stream.

On 20 December I departed Palm Cay for a 220 nm delivery to Stuart, Florida. The morning was overcast with the wind filling in. As I left the marina, my little 3.3 hp engine was just strong enough to propel Terminal Leave through the channel and into the wind. The gusts initially were up to 26 kts.

With two reefs in the main, I began sailing upwind as gusts were peaking at just over 30 kts. This was above the forecast but manageable. The real challenge was dodging rocks and shallow water as I sailed through a narrow cut, but with a high tide I was not too worried. Despite the strong winds all night gusting into the thirties, at least I was sailing on a reach. With the main and jib both reefed, we made great progress all night.

By morning, I was off the coast of Freeport, Grand Bahama Island for one final weather check before heading across the Gulf Stream towards Florida. With the winds softening, I became worried about the amount of time it would take to cross. I wanted to reach Stuart, FL before the sun set that evening.

I hoisted the A2 spinnaker and started moving quickly again. As the wind jumped back up to the mid-twenties, I switched to the reefed A3 reaching spinnaker. The wind speed steadied around 23-25 kts, but remained shifty with the angle. The reaching spinnaker launched me west towards Florida.

After flying the spinnaker all day and surfing the waves, I finally saw land in the early afternoon. Averaging over 10 kts of boat speed helped chip away at the miles.

As the Florida sky line slowly rose above the horizon, it became an emotional experience. This was my first time seeing the US since August and the first time Terminal Leave was back in home waters since 2021. Hard to describe how it felt as we approached the end of this stage in the journey across the ocean.

With the wind angle not cooperating and the current not pushing me as far north as expected, I finally dropped the spinnaker close to land. I sailed the final ten miles north just off the wind as I continued to race against the approaching evening.

21 Dec: Final few miles towed to Stuart, FL

A few miles out from the St. Lucie inlet, I contacted TowBoat U.S. who I had previously emailed before I departed the Bahamas. With a high tide and setting sun, I followed the tow boat into the channel. The NE wind made for some serious waves hitting the shoreline. I kept my sails up and surfed down the waves as I passed through this narrow inlet. Having the powerboat close by and the local knowledge, gave me some peace of mind. Once through this dangerous area and in calmer protected waters, the powerboat towed me about three miles to the marina.

Just after sunset, we pulled up to Port Salerno in Stuart, Florida and tied up next to the travel lift slip. Jane’s dad Syd was there to catch my lines since he lives just down the road. I was relived to have made the final few hundred miles and to be back in the US with the boat. The next morning I pulled everything out of the boat and Terminal Leave was hauled out.

22 Dec: Final moments in the water before being hauled out

Back on land for the first time since August and first time in the U.S. since April 2021

Terminal Leave is now safely out of the water for the winter. She will go back into the water this spring when I sail the boat back to Annapolis, MD. The trailer is currently in France as we were waiting for a more reasonable quote to ship back to the US. If you want to help with these post-race costs you can still donate HERE or email me directly at peter@pgnoceanracing.com

As this season comes to a close and the Mini Transat now complete, we have a lot of post-race events coming up soon. If your club or organization is interested in a presentation about this experience and U.S. Patriot Sailing, reach out now! Terminal Leave will also be stopping all along the east coast this spring and early summer, let us know if you want to be a part of this campaign.

Finally, the detailed After Action Report blog posts will be completed soon now that I am back in the US. Looking forward to sharing more details and videos from the second leg of the race!

Follow the delivery on instagram @uncomfortable_cruising

Listen to podcasts? Check these two out!

The Baltimore Banner article https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/article/annapolis-sailor-triumphs-in-the-battle-for-last-WY2FGVA4XNET5AHN4A7NEH75KE/

Thank you to everyone who is following along and supporting this mission! We are grateful for the community that has rallied behind this campaign and I am proud to represent the USA and U.S. Patriot Sailing in this international race. We have reached the 57% goal for fundraising for the campaign but your donations to support this campaign are still needed, with changes in flights, logistics costs, and additional unplanned expenses that have added up quickly. Any support is greatly appreciated! Please click the Donate button below to support!

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