SSCA Cruising Station
News From Cruisers:
- a recent post from Werner Shefer:
Hi Evan & Karen
I just picked up the mail from Francesco. Thank you so much. The letter arrived probably a few days ago but I have been over to Moorea and just came back. It is a part of cruising live. My mom sent the letter of from Switzerland on the 14 January 2010 and it finally made it to us. Lots of water has gone past our keel in the meantime.
Tahiti is a real meeting place for cruisers from all over the world and some stay here for a long time. The Happy Hour bar here near the anchorage is a great place to catch up on news. Very French the whole place with a charming Polynesian influence. Some great hiking as well, unfortunately most guided tours. Papeete is a large town and very busy.
I liked Moorea, more laid back and a stunning scenery with good hiking. The water is clear and great for snorkeling. Surprising is the high wind and large sea in between the islands.
Like I said. A must for cruising but I can see the problem. There is more than one American Boat here wondering how to get back to the States the easy way.
There is none!
Francesco was approached the day before if he could take on a cruising station and he thinks maybe next year.
Cathy should be back in a few days. Great! Grandson is doing well. Our next stop will be Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora.
I m glad to be able to move again.
Thank you again. Maybe we will meet in New Zealand one day.
Best Regards,
Werner - a recent post from Werner Shefer:
Hi Evan & Karen
It has been a while! I hope it is all well. We have moved on from the Galapagos to French Polynesia and at present sitting in Papeete, Tahiti.
Visiting the Marquesas and Tuamotu Islands was a wonderful experience. So different to each other. Have you ever cruised these waters? If you have not it would almost be a must even though it is a long way to get here.
I am stuck in Tahiti for four weeks. Cathy,s son and wife produced a gorgeous little grandson the other day and she just had to go to England and see him! There is no time to get bored here. As usual there is always a list of must do hanging on the wall.
One thing I nearly forgot was that letter you may still have at your place. This could be the time to get rid of it. I think I have a good contact here to have it sent to.
c/o Francesco Cannoni
Tahiti yacht Agents
skype: francesco.cannoni.tya
E-mail general@tya.pf
Please let me also know how much it cost to send for reimbursement. I know this is a big favor to ask so if it gets to difficult just let me know.
I have also noticed that SSCA has no Cruising Station in Tahiti. Francesco would be a great contact. He is a yacht agent here, sailing background, family here, speaks fluid french, english, italian. A lot of american boats use his services already.
Anyhow, thank you for storing my mail. Keep in touch.
Best regards
Werner Schefer
- a recent post from Celestial Trip:
Hi everyone,
We wanted to document our great time in the Dry Tortugas and let you know about our engine failure so here's some late-night reading for you!! I hope to get it to our website as well but this was easier right now! We have shut off our phones but hopefully we'll get internet along the way.
As we've found since starting sailing in October, the East Coast trip has been one of running away or staying ahead of bad weather. Earlier, my mom said, "Wouldn't you have rather gone in the spring?" (I love it.) As usual, we chose our trip to the Dry Tortugas, leaving from Key West based on a weather window. We chose Tuesday, but went with Monday, Jan. 25, massaging the day to accommodate two friends sailing with us to the Dry Tortugas. Jamie and Laura had Monday and Tuesday off so they wanted to sail the 70 miles with us and take the ferry back on Tuesday. Because of leaving Monday, we got pounded by a cold front coming through and we were beating into high winds and heavy seas that turned back both the Dry Tortugas passenger ferries that day. Celestial was awesome. We never went less than 7 knots, hard on the wind and pounding thru very confused seas with a triple reef main and just a 1/3 of a jib.
Jamie did great, she helped steer the boat with a smile you could see a mile away. She was pointed high and going over 8 knots in the calmer water behind the Tortugas reef. She commented on how balanced Celestialwas with a light touch on the huge wheel, she had complete control. Her friend, Laura was a little more seasick but a good sport. Later we found out the storm hit our anchorage in Key West with a fury, so we were glad to not have to endure it worrying about us or others dragging anchors.
The girls loved their day and a half swimming and basking and looking around the fort. The only drawback was neither of them had contacted the ferry ahead of time to verify that they could get a ride back. So we started to worry that we'd have to sail them back for a 150 mile round trip!! But the ferry showed up and they ‘snuck' on, expecting to pay if needed but not wanted to be denied passage to Key West!
We stayed two more days, enjoying the historic Fort Jefferson, the beach and the sun but knowing there was no fresh water and another front coming through by the weekend, we needed to move on. Celeste was able to go snorkeling for her first time in a tropical setting. She enjoyed discovering her first live conch and swam for over two hours until we got nervous and went out in the dinghy to make sure she was ok. Which of course, being the aquatic denizen that she is, she was totally ok.
As we were getting ready to leave, Scott called me over to the side of the boat to see a huge fish, probably 4 feet long, swimming under the boat. It was so big, it kept setting off the depth alarm as it swam underneath. Scott got out his face mask and saw that it was a grouper. We think it hangs out under the fishing boats that anchor there, looking for scraps.We left the Dry Tortugas at noon Thursday, Jan. 28, in 18-23 knot easterly winds, gusting to 26, but we knew most of our run would be downwind. The down side was that the winds were directly against the Gulf Stream. We crossed the Gulf Stream in order to get close to Cuba and out of the current as quickly as possible. But then we had to cross it again in the Yucatan Channel to get to Isla Mujeres. The result was very high speeds and very high seas. As a matter of fact, we set a new 24 hour speed record of 211 miles with a maximum speed of 13.7 knots. All of this with a triple reef main and a number 3 jib. Celeste and Scott will always remember watching the bow wave, blasting off the side of the boat with a roar of white foam, glistening in the light of a full moon.
We loved our AIS (Thanks again, Larry) as we identified and contacted ships to confirm that they saw us in their path. We realized later that we were in Cruise Ship Downtown Central as they ply the waters between Cancun, Mexico and ports in Florida.
It took us 43 hours to go 350 miles for an average of 8.1 knots fighting the Gulf Stream most of the way. We started to slow down nearing the Yucatan since we wanted to enter Isla Mujeres at dawn.
The reef off Isla Mujeres was only 13 feet deep with breaking waves on both sides and the marker that the chart showed to guide us in, was missing. So we had Celeste on top of the mainsail keeping a lookout for the most dangerous sections but Praise God, we made it through. The harbor itself was even shallower but without breaking waves and being well marked, it was easier to maneuver. As we were motoring in, there was a very loud noise like a hose blowing out and then the engine stopped instantly. Scott drifted the boat a little out of the channel and anchored, fearing the worst—a blown-up diesel engine.
After checking hoses, leaks, any visual problems, he determined that the engine compartment was excessively hot due to a regulator malfunction full fielding the alternator so that it was overcharging the batteries.
It evidently was so hot in the engine compartment that the automatic fire extinguisher discharged with a loud noise and filled the compartment with CO2, starving the engine for oxygen and shutting it down. In hindsight, this was a blessing, because the heat caused by the overcharging, would have caused other problems, maybe even a fire.
After disconnecting the alternator and letting the engine cool down some, we motored up to the anchorage area. Thank the Lord for looking after us once again.
Scott now needs to insert an engine compartment blower to vent the heat out of the boat. The other option is to deny his two girls use their computers and other electronics but mutiny has been mentioned so THAT isn't an option. It's really been too COLD for us to really be concerned about the engine heat up until now, although Scott was planning to look into it later.
Well, good on you if you got through it all. Have a wonderful Sunday and thanks again for showing interest in our trip