September SITREP

Preparations and qualification sail, end of the season, and watching the Mini Transat departure

This September I spent 15 days at sea and everything about those days felt just right.  It is where Terminal Leave and I belong; the wind, salt spray, rain, and all of the elements in harmony.  Witnessing the natural beauty of the ocean reminded me of my passion for sailing and kept me going each day, despite the challenges faced offshore.

September began with more boat work in Kinsale, Ireland to prepare for the longest sail yet, one thousand nautical miles.  However, this work was different in the sense that the Terminal Leave was mostly ready to go after the recent delivery from France.  Jane helped me unpack the boat, clean her up, and repack everything with attention to detail on where each item goes down below.  I also went up the rig for an inspection and to run a new halyard.

The final few days before departure were actually spent in solitude at a desk and away from the boat.  There was one detail I had not focused on yet despite being on my to do list for months, I needed to learn how to do celestial navigation.  All the equipment and reading material was there, but the task seemed daunting at first.  Where do you even begin?  I just wanted to get back out on the water, not read endless pages of workbooks,  skimming through various tables, and making calculations! 

Learning celestial navigation was difficult to comprehend at first.  I had an instructional book I ordered online to try as well a self study course from the Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship; this American Sailing Association (ASA) 107 approved course proved invaluable.  The basis of this course is understanding the why behind the math.  By not using complicated, fill in the blank worksheets that are common to make errors by the user, this course drills in the fundamentals where all you need is a blank sheet of paper with room to write.

Even though I am new to the world of celestial navigation, I love the history behind the knowledge developed over centuries.  I find the seamanship aspect of it fascinating.  With a sextant, watch, almanac, and sight reduction tables I now have the ability to find my location anywhere on the earth.  When you think about how reliant we are on the satellites that provide GPS, it provides some comfort knowing I can now venture out on the ocean without modern electronics if necessary. 

Qualification Sail

Replay the tracker here: https://yb.tl/pgn2021

The big day this month started on 7 September.  That afternoon I cast off the lines and began my 1,000 nautical mile solo qualification sail on Terminal Leave.  This is required by the Classe Mini organization to compete in the longest races (level A) as a test of the boat and skipper.  There are predesignated courses on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts off France.  The Atlantic course consists of three marks that must be rounded, but where you start from is not specified.  While many skippers start from France, I was able to start and finish in Kinsale, Ireland without adding too many extra miles.

Leaving Kinsale on a mostly sunny day with a cool breeze of 18-20 knots upwind, I headed south east to start my journey.  My first mark was about 415 nm away at the Plateau de Rochebonne (3 depth markers within 8 miles of each other).  To get there I had to cross the Celtic Sea, traverse the entrance of the English Channel, round the channel’s main Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) off the French side, and negotiate the northern half of the Bay of Biscay….all very challenging places to sail!

Finally practice shooting the moon and stars with the sextant! Celestial navigation adds an additional layer of complexity to navigating these European waters.

Automatic Identification System (AIS) is all you can really see at night crossing the English Channel…trying to stay out of the big ships’ way!

The first few days consisted of both upwind and downwind sailing in breeze, rain each night and few small squalls.  During one rainy night sailing off the wind with the code 0, I was briefly down below and heard a loud BANG.  I thought for sure the rig was coming down, and if it hadn’t yet it was about to drop with whatever broke.  The running backstay is a metal wire attached to the mast but where the eye connects to the system of blocks at the stern for tensioning, the line finally chafed through and gave out.  I was able to turn up into the wind, furl the code 0 quickly, and take the pressure off the mast.  After a temporary repair, I was headed south east once again and on my way in the correct direction.

The Bay of Biscay, to my surprise, consisted of light winds and a few large holes of drifting conditions.  On the morning of day 6 at 0232 local time, I rounded the main Rochebonne buoy with a log of 462 nm.  From there I shifted to an easterly course to round the Ile de Ré just off the coast of La Rochelle.  This 50 nm leg was once again light with about half of the day light hours spent drifting in no wind.

Just had to fly the US Patriot Sailing spinnaker in perfect weather!

A lighthouse marking the SE edge of Ile de Ré

Just passed under the bridge to round Ile de Ré

Just after 2000 on day 6, I sailed under the bridge that connects Ile de Ré to the mainland which signified rounding the second mark of the course.  This upcoming leg was the longest at over 450 nm and heading back northwest towards Ireland.  Once again sailing through the northern half of the Bay of Biscay, rounding the TSS off the Ile d’Ouessant, crossing the English Channel, keeping clear of the UK’s Isles of Scilly TSS, then turning north and crossing the Celtic Sea towards Irelands south easterly coast line.

After a fantastic downwind sail with the spinnaker up in 15-20+ knots for most of day 10 across the Celtic sea, I finally approached the Irish coastline. At 2110 that evening, I rounded the third and final mark of the course at the Coningbeg Buoy with a log of 1,016 nm.  Now just a 70 nm sail to the southwest back to Kinsale…or so I thought!

With the Coningbeg buoy just 3 nm off land, my course was set southwest to essentially parallel the coastline within about 5-10 nm off land and passing multiple points that jut out.  At night with the moon already set, on port tack and close hauled in about 20 kts of wind, I started making my way through the uncomfortable ride. 

As the wind started to increase so did the waves.  Terminal Leave started dropping off the tops of waves as they got very steep.  It’s the feeling and sound the boat makes of crashing into the trough of the next wave that makes you wonder what’s going to give out first, the mast or the hull?  I was forced to tack out and head offshore.  Even with a negative velocity made good (VMG), it was much safer for the integrity of the boat.  The conditions warranted a double reef in the main, but it was a constant battle negotiating the seas.  At the top of the wave crest the boat would power up and accelerate, only to lose all that pressure in the sails after crashing into the trough with the wave blocking most of the wind from the shortened sail.

As you can see from the wind direction (wind speed and gusts images below), the majority of the larger waves were coming in from west to east and building across the Atlantic Ocean.  Then once they reached the relatively shallow waters along Ireland’s coast, they grew in vertical height.  Simultaneously, smaller waves were coming in from the south with the current wind direction.  This resulted in confused seas throughout the night hitting the boat from multiple directions.  Without the moon light, it was impossible to see the different wave directions until I felt which way they were carrying the boat at that moment.

Strong low pressure system moving across the Atlantic Ocean and NW of Ireland with a large cold front

Gusts over 35+ kts moving across the ocean for days generated significant energy in the water for big seas

22+ kts of sustained wind approaching the Coningbeg Buoy area (red box)

30+ kt gusts approaching the Coningbeg Buoy area (red box)

With the wind gusting over 30 kts and heavy rain, it made for a long night on a 21’ boat in the Celtic Sea.  These conditions lasted until about 0700 that morning when the front passed through and the wind dropped to 8 kts instantly.  However, it would take another couple of hours for the steep waves to finally be tamed. Just trying to get the boat moving in light upwind conditions with large seas was a whole new challenge.  There were a few instances where even with the sails filled, I was actually going backwards.

On 17 Sept at 1910 I pulled back into Kinsale Harbor and completed 1,120.75 nm in 10 days 2 hr 25 min.  That final night was a serious test of the boat and myself through strong wind, tall seas, and endless rain.  What a way to end the qualifier, a night at sea I will certainly never forget.

What is the equivalent to sailing 1,120 nm in North America? On the east coast, that is like sailing from Jacksonville, FL to Nova Scotia, Canada.  On the west coast, that is the distance by sea from San Diego, CA to Vancouver Island.  That is a lot of miles on a small boat!

This solo qualification sail reinforced the reason why it is such a crucial  requirement by the Classe Mini organization.  While some may call mini skippers crazy for sailing such a small boat solo across the ocean, there are significant preparations to make it happen with incremental tests along the way.  This was one of my tests, and I could not have done it without the previous experiences sailing in the southern Bay of Biscay from Spain, or the very technical Mini Calvados Cup races navigating the many challenges in the northern part of the Bay and English Channel. The combination of weather, currents, waves, rocks, and fishing boats makes me long for the open ocean.

End of Season

Upon arriving in Ireland, Jane once again joined me for the delivery back to France.  The Kinsale to La Trinité-sur-Mer sail is 350 nm and we experienced some of the best downwind sailing conditions of the entire season.  After the previous adventure, this sail went by quickly and easily.  Due to scheduling with the marina, in less than 45 minutes upon arrival we had the rig disconnected and hauled out by crane.  The following day we hoisted out the boat and put her back on the trailer for the winter.

Just as quick as this season started with getting into the water for the first sail, this season on Terminal Leave concluded.  I am in the process of packing up the boat and putting everything away in an organized manner so next spring we can hit the ground running when I return.

Start of the Mini Transat

On Monday 27 Sept, 90 skippers started the 2021 Mini Transat Race on the first of two legs across the Atlantic Ocean.  They departed Les Sables d’Olonne for a 1,350 nm sail to Santa Cruz de La Palma in the Canary Islands, then will venture across the ocean 2,700 nm to Saint-François, Guadeloupe for a total of 4,050 nm.

This was supposed to be my year, my race.  As I wrote before (see the Shift Fire! blog post), I had every intention of making the starting line this year.  However, due to the COVID restrictions delaying my entry into France (Americans were still not allowed at the time), I missed my first two planned races.  This prevented me from completing the required 1,500 nm of racing with the class and completing my qualification sail in time.  Since there were more sailors qualified than entry places available, it was not possible for me to even be considered for an exemption.

Instead of racing in the Mini Transat, I watched the start from the sidelines.  Experiencing the departure from the famous Vendeé Globe pontoon and seeing the boats towed out through the historic channel was simply incredible.  As much as I wanted to be racing, seeing the process was excellent education as I start planning for the 2023 departure.

I wish the best of luck to this years skippers and will be following them every step of the way on the tracker.  You can find the tracker link here: https://www.minitransat.fr/en/

Watch the boats depart Les Sables d’Olonne in this video

Thank you for your continued support and make sure to keep an eye out through Facebook and Instagram for more daily updates from this adventure!

Thank you to my sponsors for making this all possible: Fawcett Boat Supplies, Switlik Survival Products, Gill Marine, New England Ropes, Yankee Marine, Harken, Great Clips