This one is from March of 2009, but I found some more photos today to go with it.
Besides, old sea stories are always worth repeating, right?
10 March 2009
TINS:
Example: Q: Do you know the difference between a "Fairy Tale" and a "Sea Story"?
A: 1. One begins, "Once upon a time..."
2. The other begins with, "This is a No Sh&**$#" or ..."And there I was."
Both may contain the same amount of fact and fiction.
I might offer, "How is this for a build up?"
To that you might reply in one voice, "GET ON WITH IT!"
Ok, the place was the Caribbean Sea. The Ship; Strike Trawler Deyo, DD-989.
We were on our second Counter Drug OPS mission for 1992, and we were having a rough time of it. Flight quarters at 0530, lift off at 0545, fly until 1245 (missing breakfast and lunch) Relaunch at 1300 and secure from flying at 1700.
Fish call at 1730, the Ship would slow to two knots and the crew given the opportunity to fish. Hence the affectionate nick-name "Strike Trawler" Deyo. A big fishing boat with 5 inch guns and missiles. And a hundred fishing poles.
Each week or so, we would pull into some fabulous island for food and fuel. Usually Gitmo and Roosey Roads, but sometimes someplace cool. Like Curacao. (Pronounced kur-a-sow)
We pulled into Willemsted, moved up the river just past the swinging bridge, docked at the highway crossing.
By the bridge
As we entered, I spied a hundred foot Ketch, docked by the down town. It's still there, I saw it a year or two back.
Anyway, my buddy Lee and I went out on our normal reconnaisance for cheap beer and family style entertainment.
We approached the Ketch and hailed the American Captain, who was kind enough to invite us aboard and offered us beer. Of course, the Captain was hoping to get us to sign up for the day trip, $45.00 and two Planter's Punches with lunch thrown in.
The Captain of the Charter Vessel
After my third free Polar Beer, I noticed that business was a little slow. Especially since the Captain admitted that only six tourists were signed up for the next day.
I made like I was the world class sailor, and talked mucho grande about how I could get a number of genuine Sailors and return for a gran tour of the island, maybe at the reduced price of $25.00 per? With all the beer we could drink???
Yes.
So Lee and myself continued drinking the free Polars, and concocted a plan of plans. We stumbled back to the Deyo around 2200 (Ten PM for you Land Lubbers).
Up and down the length of the ship we did traverse, but only 15 or so takers for this non-ship approved trip. None of the Airdales would have it, either,
Homo's.
(I mean that in the French way, Un homme, meaning Man.)
Next day, me and sixteen Men from Deyo sauntered up to the Sailing Ship. The six civilians watched nervously as we filed aboard, we hoped we looked like Piratical Desperadoes, as the Maidens were trying to press themselves out of view.
As I was the leader of this motley crew, I offered our assistance in getting underway and in the handling of the vessel at sea. Seaman La Mattina, of Deck Division took his place at the helm. Myself and the rest strategically placed our selves by the halyards to heave and pull the sails into place. We were underway by 1130, the trades-breeze was gentle from the East and the main brace was spliced.
Glory.
I had never felt so good to be a Sailor..
Me in front of green shorts, yelling for every man to "heave and pull with a will!"
My friend Lee Bonawitz, heaving on a Main Halyard;
We were like Rock Stars for a day onboard that small ship. I think the six civilians began to warm up to us when they could see how competent the Destroyer Men were, on an old sailing vessel. We began sailing to the Northeast, looking for the cove that the vessel's owner lived.
Three meat barbeque.
And all the beer.
And we continued heaving and pulling. The paid crew just got out of our way and took a break.
You can kinda see the civilians hiding out in the upper right corner, by the helm.
I think they were getting a kick out of us taking the ship over.
I have more pictures, just have to find and upload.
We pulled into a little bay, and we swam ashore for the barbeque. A little snorkeling and frolicking, and back to the City Dock. We arrived around 2200. Tired and shagged out from the best day at sea, ever.
UPDATE July 2011
Me heaving a halyard
Cheesy pic 1 Deyo Sailors Sailing
Close up cheese
The Guy in red went to OCS later that year. No idea what his name was.
Owner of the Boat invited us to lunch, since no dinghy, we had to swim in for our free grub.
Aaargh; Ye must swim for lunch! Aaarggh!
It's not too far...
From the pointy end of the boat
Heading back to Willemstad
Enjoying a sunset at sea with a Polar Beer Buzz
Mission Complete. What a great day on the water in the Spanish Main.
Next morning; we are revivifying and recovering from our hangovers. Seaman La Mattina is in the pink shirt.
We pulled into a little bay, and we swam ashore for the barbeque. A little snorkeling and frolicking, and back to the City Dock. We arrived around 2200. Tired and shagged out from the best day at sea, ever.
The ship was completely out of beer and rum. We all went back to Deyo with real sea stories, and had terrific hangovers for the morning.
This time we go back to the Musket Cove regatta, the Round the Island Race. It was a beautiful day for sailing but we made some critical mistakes which took us out of the competition and into a pleasure cruise.
Tough duty, indeed.
Pretty much what it looks like; Mucho Fun!
WE finished about last, but we were back in time for barbeque's and beer.
This is a busy week, we have Spousal Unit's Dad and friends down for the Turkey and we are a happy crew.
The J.O.B. is the same as ever. I need to sell about twenty Life Policies before the end of December. Just Term policies, so it should be easy, right?
I have gotten involved with Facebook. Very dangerous place, I have been in contact with about ten people from the distant past. As one friend commented, "Dude, that was like, two lifetimes ago..."
Hmmm. Wondering what it might look like on film, with cooler people:
I still don't think I have accomplished enough on the fun front.
These videos are time consuming to publish, so that is my excuse.
Today is Thursday, I have about four more days of freedom before I return to the J.O.B. and become a wage drone for my boss once again. My tasks for the day are to visit the boat yard and dispute a small bill, vacuum and clean the floors of the house and finally, take a nap with Mao Cat and his sisters Malli and Saffy.
Looking forward to the nap.
I have a number of videos from the trip, some are crappy due to weather or are just plain stupid. The weather ones are dull from being nothing new. Bad weather is bad weather, its just that if you are in the ocean you tend to get wet from inclement skies. No running home to a dry warm hearth, we have to learn to endure the motion and dampness and hope to get a dry berth for the too short period of rest.
.
We were tied to the Customs and Marina Office Pier
Stewart the Customs Dude lectures Skipper while Bear lurks
GPS view of Coff. Bear is still lurking
After we cleared customs we went to the fuel dock and filled up. We would depart from Coff's Harbour at 0300 the next day for the final 200 miles of fun.
I am exhausted. I have just finished the 28 hour return trip from Sydney and feel whacked.
The final trip from Fiji started on 23 October in sunny conditions. Once we cleared the outer coral reef we encountered 25 knot winds from the south east and confused seas which were quite ugly.
Not a problem, just 1500 miles to go and I was not a happy camper. In fact, I got sick (with full puking over the lee rail!) first real illness since the Ramsgate trip in the English Channel in 1998. Yewgly!
We reefed in the head sail (reduced sail area) and the main and when the winds backed to the port quarter we began to settle into a very comfortable reach on our course to Australia. I soon felt much better and drank plenty of water to rehydrate and stand my watches. The night watch saw us doing about 6.5 knots on average with Heidi steering admirably. It was a little bumpy but not too unpleasant. We were finally on the way to the new home.
The second morning had the seas still confused and a strong 18+ wind, but the boat and crew was settling
into a routine that would see us through Thursday with fair winds and following seas. The nights were bright with a full moon and steady winds, in fact we averaged 7 knots for three nights in a row. This meant 150 mile days for the passage and our routine was quite pleasant. Except for our refrigeration completely failing on the third day we were having a legendary sail!
Oh, the fridge... All the fresh food had to be eaten up and that was going to be tough. You can only eat so much ground beef and salad. We concentrated on eating up the veggies and let the meat spoil which was sort of bad but not health wise. Dinners became a scavenger event with the search for black beans, corned beef and cans of Irish stew. I actually enjoyed our mismatched dinners which were usually quite delicious. The fridge turned out to be not so much a loss except for no milk and no cold drinks.
I drank filtered water from the tanks and did not have coffee or tea. Usually, I had a 3/4 liter bottle of water on each watch so I was well hydrated. I also took stugeron to keep the sea sick bug at bay, I only had one more sea sick issue on the next to last day, but it was not as ugly as our first evening.
By the way; I make it sound like I was debilitated from my first evening Mal De Mer event... I was feeling a bit uncomfortable but was still standing my watch. It was after a quick dinner of chicken soup and bread when I suddenly felt the urge to chum for fish. I was definitely sick for about fifteen minutes and soon felt much better. After my off watch nap I was completely back in form and the Stugeron did the job keeping me able and willing to face the challenges.
The night watches were a real pleasure, my favorite time of sailing. We had a beautiful full moon for most of the trip and usually good winds that did not exceed 20 knots. With double reefed main and sometimes reduced head sail we really cooked along in a very comfortable manner. Indescribably good to be more exact. A person on night watch can really do some reflection and deep thinking about where you are heading and have been both physically and metaphorically. The ocean water winks and flashes back at you with bio-luminescence as the miles tick away. I wish my camera could have recorded these images to share with you, the reader.
The seventh day saw the winds go away and we began to motor in order to maintain our 6 knot average passage speed. We had 130 gallons of diesel so we were sure of at least 600 miles of motoring range. It just so happened that we had 600 miles to go! Saturday evening was calm and we motored through the night.
Sunday, the eight day was even more calm with the sea being like glass. We started the day with a bit of laundry and had the rails covered with drying t-shirts and shorts. I commented that I really appreciated sunny calm days on the ocean and was glad for the calm for the flat seas and a chance to read and relax. Of course, my words brought out a vicious squall in which the winds went over 30 knots with a complete washdown of the boat in fresh rain. So much for calm...
Sunday evening and Monday morning brought out some more winds that kept us going towards Australia but there were some definite changes in the weather patterns, we were being affected by the continent and we were not having as much of the trade winds. This meant winds from the West becoming more common. In fact, we were getting some strong westerlies with rain which slowed our progress to about 3 knots. So I took a nap. Usually, after I snooze for about three hours I will find the weather changes for the positive and it did, indeed. I took over the watch with winds being more favorable and us traveling 4 knots towards Coff's Harbour. As my watch progressed, our speed picked up to over 7.5 knots, apparently aided by an ocean current which was in our favor!
This situation continued to the point where we had to actually de-power the sails at 0400 to slow us down so we did not arrive in the dark.
We approached Coff's Harbour with a lovely clear sky and calm winds and wrapped up our 1500 mile trip in the proper way with the sun behind us. Not too bad considering we had only been underway for ten days and I was expecting hard weather and a fourteen day passage. We tied up at the Customs dock and checked in.
Stewart, our Customs and Quarantine agent, was very nice and polite as he inspected the vessel and documents. Then he kindly took the remainder of our eggs, bread, sunflower seeds, dried milk and milk products, raisins, dried fruits, etc. It was quite a large bag of good food that were taken away with the authority of the Australian government to keep Australia safe from contaminants. At least he was nice about it and we complied fully.
We were allowed to go ashore, so we took Beaujolais over to the fuel dock and refueled. Then we went to our overnight berth and cleaned up and went ashore for some liberty. We kept it safe and sane and only drank about ten beers each along with a fine Indian dinner out in town.
Reveille was held at 0300 and we were underway for our final 200 mile excursion to Newcastle, which was to be the new home for Beaujolais. After leaving the harbor I was directed to go below or the second watch which I gratefully accepted. At 0700 I was back on watch in a cloudy rainy sort of morning. But we were in the Australian southerly current so we were hauling along at 8.5 knots. Since the wind was on our nose we were motoring. But at over 8 knots, so our mood was bright despite the ugly weather.
My first night watch was 2000 to 2300 (8:00 pm to 11:00 pm) and the winds were picking up over 20 knots off the nose and the seas were reacting to a "wind against current" situation, which is to say not optimal. Very doubleplus ungood.
When I returned to watch at 0200 it was worse. The winds had increased to a high of 37 knots, we were having to hand steer to keep on our course of 240 magnetic. And the winds were from an easterly direction causing huge ocean swells to collide with the already confused and bumpy seas. And it was dark. With a blinding rain, we were unable to see any of the many commercial ships heading north and south in our area.
We. Could. Not. See. Anything.
At 0300, we were hit by a breaking swell on our port side which blew out the plastic side curtain and filled the cockpit with cold water. I stood there soaked from the waist down and my feet were in a standing puddle, ankle deep as the cockpit drains did their thing.
Roger called from down below asking if I had called to him, I replied that I had not called to him but had said "F&^%*!!!"
I could not react to seas and steer away from danger, I could only try to hold our course in the gusting winds and hope that we did not get knocked down or flattened by one of the house sized breakers. This was not how I hoped my last turn at watch would be on this voyage. Actually, I was wondering if I would ever go sailing again. Certainly not off the Australian Coast, anyway...
My watch was supposed to end at 0500, but since I was already soaked, cold and awake, I might as well make it to sunrise. Besides, we were only ten miles away from Newcastle Harbour which is a commercial one so I knew that weather would not be an issue to us arriving. Roger was up at 0600 and joined me in the cockpit and took the helm for our approach.
We were a two miles out and could finally see the entrance lights in the brightening gloom of rain and misty winds. At a mile and a quarter I called Newcastle Harbour Control to let them know we were going in the channel when we were instructed to not enter the jetty; "There is a large Commercial Vessel making its way out and you need to stand clear."
"Well, ok... but it is quite bumpy out here so if they expedite we will comply", I replied.
Sure enough a large ore carrier came out and we stood off. As soon as the ship turned east and left the breakwater we shot in like a bullet heading for the calm of the harbor and tied up at the marina with no further ado.
That was it.
Roger and I shook hands and I congratulated him on his Pacific crossing, one more check off on his bucket list. We cleaned the boat some, reset lines and took long, hot hollywood showers.
Janice, Roger's wife was soon at the dock and we went to a cafe for breakfast and coffee. A surprise for the Skipper was his two daughters with three grandchildren in tow to welcome Roger back to Australia. What a homecoming!
Champagne and coffee and loud family conversation filled the salon of the busy sailboat. While all that was going on, I tried out my cellphone and found it worked on the Aussie Cellnet. So I called the Spousal Unit and let her know I was safely in port and celebrating with the family, but feeling like a fifth wheel wishing she was there with me.
It really was a wonderful morning seeing Roger's family (They have been acquainted with Spousal Unit and I from 14 years ago in London) There were two new children since my last visit in 2008 and it was great to see everyone again.
The last day saw a long three hour drive to Sydney on Thursday and I said my goodbye's at the United departure terminal to Roger and Janice. Just a quick hug and handshake and an exchange of "Thanks" and I was gone.
Twenty four hours of flying and I was home at midnight, Thursday. It was like I had never left.
So, that was that. Cook Islands to Beveridge Reef, Niue, Tonga and Fiji. Then off to the land of Oz.
We did a skype chat with Roger last night. The latest news is that Nadi has been getting rain and that work on the boat stops whenever there is precipitation. Apparently, only topside varnish is left and it is vital to have dry weather.
So the final word is that there is no way we can leave by even Monday.
I called Qantas and got my flight pushed back to Saturday, which gets me to Fiji on Monday at 0510. This saves me from a couple nights in the hotel and I get to be with the Spouse and kitties just that much longer. The Meezer's know that something is up...
This evolution is not unlike how it is in the Navy, although there is less wailing and gnashing of teeth. I remember how it was going to sea on a Spruance Class destroyer (Deyo, DD-989) that was in and out of mini yard periods while trying to perform the mission.
Believe me, there was much screaming and yelling, and always some maintenance project seeming to keep us from departing on a planned date. But we always sailed on those dates ordered so I think much of the stress was self induced just because that is how the Surface Navy works.
Funny how memories from 18 years ago are so vivid. Believe me, I feel no stress about this trip other than dreading the 24 hours of travel. Cold beers and tropic sunshine await me, and when we do leave it will be the routines of sailing 24 hours a day in the blue Pacific Ocean.
T-minus 4 days until I am outta here. Here are some pictures sent to me with progress of paint job.
I should be underway for the West by Saturday, I wish I did not have to go back because the home front is nice for all the goodies and I like being with the loved ones. The kitties are going to be angry!
Beaujolais was sanded down, a filler used to smooth rough spots and then was primed for the two part paint which is mixed and sprayed. After the first coat, a blue paint is used to find any anomalies which are sanded and repainted.
Today, Beaujolais will be lifted from it's hole and placed on stands for painting the bottom with anti-fouling paint, two coats worth.
After the paint has cured, Beaujolais will be back in the water and heading around the point to Lautoca for final clearance out of Fiji. I will meet the boat there, get an afternoon and evening of rest and be off the next morning for Australia.
I'm hoping for fair winds and following seas, it will be fifteen days underway, unless we make some stops in New Caledonia or Chesterfield Reef. It will be a good time.
P.S. I am looking forward to seeing a new boat! Beaujolais has been getting a complete refit job which has been in work for the past four years. Everything from standing rigging to the heads has been replaced or completely redone.
As for last weekend, The Spousal Unit went home to visit her family (Planned before I suddenly came home), so I took the Barco over to the NAS Jax and hung out with my fellow retiree buddies for Friday and Saturday nights. This included a really nice trip up McGirts creek on Saturday afternoon, South of Timuquana Bridge with three passengers. It gets so dense with forest by RInghaver Park that you would not know the boat is only a quarter mile to the West of the NAS Jax runways. Plus; having friends aboard who haven't seen this waterway makes it a real treat.
It was strange, getting underway from the Yacht Club Marina on Friday evening and leaving the NAS Marina on Sunday morning with only me to pull lines and tie up. Good to see I can do all that alone, but it is not fun being on the river solo. I never could understand why anyone would want to single handedly cruise any kind of vessel, even though it is done all the time.
Any day on the smooth water in 80 degree sunshine is a good one, right?
Well. So we come to this. Most of the story is already told and all that was missing is the rest of the pictures.
We departed Tonga for the three night run to Fiji and it was like the other times. Clear, a bit of squalls, here and there but mainly not as much wind. There would be a bunch of motoring. I don't mind, since motoring means heading on the right course but using the diesel costs about three bucks a gallon.
Two nights later we were in the Fiji group, but we still had another 24 hours before we could arrive a Savusavu, which along with Suva is a major check in city.
Unfortunately, we arrived on a Saturday so we had to pay extra for the check in process. And they made us wait about two hours before we could start.
Copra Shed was a great host. They helped us get the officials out to us and even did our laundry for $9.00 U.S.!
One funny story about Copra Shed; They have a nice Yacht Club (Click on this link to see a great photo of the club Savusavu YC), beer is cheap and all the cruisers go there and get good and loaded while socializing and playing chess. Sunday morning a radio call goes as follows:
"All cruisers monitoring this net, this is "So and So" (Boat Name unimportant), I have to report that my dinghy was stolen between 0200 and 0800. Anyone having any information, please call me back on this net. Out"
Roger and I looked at each other in glee. We knew that this person was probably one of the really hammered folks we left at the club. We snickered that he probably misplaced it.
About five minutes goes by and another boat comes up on the net with a question; "Where did you leave the dinghy?"
We hooted and laughed on Beaujolais.
Our victim came back and said that he had tied it onto his boat at 0200 and went to bed.
The reply to that was "Look on the dock. Your dinghy is tied there. Maybe someone borrowed it."
Naturally, the victim was super pleased that he got his property back. But I think the locals and a few others were insulted to be accused of stealing.
We think the guy got a ride back to his boat because he was so hammered and forgot that someone gave him a lift in his own dinghy. It was funny to us, at the time...
We met with several boats from the past voyages, most notable was Sojourn. They came back to Beaujolais where they asked if we had a guitar on board. We did. There was a great sing-along where we slaughtered Jimmy Buffett songs until the wee hours. I have video, but am unsure if it should see the light of day.
I wonder if we were bothering the other boats with our bad singing? Since we departed Savusavu the next day, we shall never know...
Last look across Vava'u Harbor
We borrowed some charts from this boat. What a beauty!
Customs Wharf
Heading electronically out of harbor
We looked forward to rain. It would mean adding water to tanks.
I never tire of looking at these odd limestone islands.
Notice how the sea dissolves the lower edges
The blue line is our intended track. The green is our real heading!
The rains never came. But we still had about a hundred gallons of water.
Land Ho! Fiji.
It was exciting to be in such a large island group. We still have one night to go.
On our approach to Savusavu, the biggest squall yet welcomes us.
It was a real soaker, we got at least twenty gallons of fresh water.
