Orion is in Bermuda....again

[John Stone]

Fantastic Jim. Well done. BZ.

Get some well deserved rest. Love to read your report when you have the chance to post.

And happy July 4th!!

[Steve Laume]

Well done and a welcome home.

I kept watching the winds based on where you might have been. It looks like it would have been an interesting passage. The last day or night must have been a hot motor boat ride back to the barn. You seem to get that every year.

Once again, great job and rest up and enjoy some good long showers, Steve.

[John Ring]

Well done (again), and welcome home.

You remembered to bring back some wahoo tacos, yeah?

Cheers,
John & Sarah

[Capt Hook]

Does anyone know if Vice-Commodore Walsh has survived surviving his voyage?

[Jim Walsh]

Following are some notes taken directly from my log book, and a few pictures, of the return trip.

6/27 8:00am. Cleared customs. Wind 25k from the east. Went directly to the Powder Hole anchorage, snuck up close to an islet and put two reefs in the main. I would have to proceed through the cut under power since it faces east and the wind was coming from the east.
Once I cleared the Mills Breaker buoy I was able to shut down the engine and set a partial staysail and yankee in addition to the double reefed main in 33k winds and large sloppy seas, 7 to 9 feet according to the Bermuda Radio weather reports. Once I was adjacent to Kitchen Shoals buoy I was able to ease my sheets and really started making time, 7.5k consistently. The Monitor was at the helm and had no issues whatsoever. There was a lot of spray flying and both the "Wanderbird" (which had been anchored beside me for a few days in Convict Bay, she had a delivery crew of five and was headed back to Newport R.I., having come up from the Virgin Islands) and the schooner "Black Watch" were heading 330mag with me.
By 8:30pm the seas were 5 to 6 feet and I was able to roll out the full Yankee and staysail in 20k while maintaining 6.5 to 7 knots under a full moon. I had just done 60 miles in 11 hours.

[Jim Walsh]

The return trip continues.

6/28 2:45am. As normally occurs when doing well the wind veered from east to west. I was now overpowered and partially reefed the yankee. I saw 8 knots for the first time ever prior to reducing sail. "Selkirk" is two miles distant on the same heading. I can see her running lights occasionally. AIS is great.
7:00am wind SE 22 to 27k. Speed 6.4-7.2 seas 6 feet and lumpy. Course 330 to 360mag.
I'm only 15 miles west of my rhumb line. Not bad. I'm 110 miles from Kitchen Shoal in 21 hours. I furled the staysail as it was interfering with the yankee. Big rollers out of the east and one broke within feet of my starboard aft quarter and just threw 5 gallons of water into the cockpit. Timing is everything.
11:00am wind 25-26k, best course is 360, speed 6.9-7.5k. Seas 4 to 6 feet but lots of "action" i.e. I must be in one of the counter currents spun off from the Gulf Stream. Too bad due north is the best course I can maintain.
7:00pm wind is down to 20k, speed 5.5-6k seas now 5 to 8 feet, course 10 to 20 mag.
7:30pm just tacked, on port tack, heading 270-300mag. Looks like rain on the horizon.
Currently 180 miles north of Kitchen Shoals in 33 hours.
9:30pm and my course is 300mag. Still looks like rain on the horizon but non-threatening (meaning I didn't see any thunderheads or indications of a squall) Lots of shipping in the area. Hope they behave themselves. I can see the moon occasionally.

[Jim Walsh]

The return trip continues.

6/29 3:00am, course 330-340mag, speed 6k, wind 18. Making wonderful progress, no shipping, back to sleep. (I have two timers, I set then for between 1/2 hour and 45 minutes, when they go off a take a good look around and note the speed and course. If there's nothing noteworthy I don't enter it into the log and get some more sleep until the alarms go off again in a half hour or so)
6:30am, course 330-340mag, speed 6.4k, wind 19 from the SW, seas 3-4ft., overcast.
10:30am, course 320-330mag, speed 6-6.5k, wind 18 from the SW, seas 3-4ft., moving along nicely, great course! The sun is breaking through thick clouds, I am now 235 miles from Kitchen Shoals in 48 hours. Woo hoo!
12:30pm, course 320-330mag, speed 6.7-7k, wind 19k, some widely scattered showers, hazy sun, moving along nicely.
7:00pm, course 335mag, speed 6.5+, wind 19, seas 3-4ft. I am 7 miles east of the rhumb line and 40 miles from the half way mark. I've done 47 miles since 12:30pm and all to the good. Very damp and humid. Had chicken and Stove Top stuffing. (Noteworthy since it's one of my favorites, I marinate my chicken breasts in Italian salad dressing for a day or two, cook them in a pan on top of the stove till they are fully cooked, make some stove top stuffing along with the chicken in the same pan and when it's done I've only dirtied one pan. The left overs go into the ice box and taste great chilled for later use)
11:30pm, course 350-360mag, speed 6+k, wind 20k from the west, seas 3-4 ft.
Moving along nicely, lots of stars and a lovely full moon.

[Jim Walsh]

6/30 1:30am, course 340, speed 6, wind 15, seas 3-4,
Lots of lightning to my east, perfect where I am, stars, moon.
3:00am, course 270, wind 17k from the north, speed 4.6k, seas 3-4ft. The wind shifted and had me sailing east. I tacked but the best course I can attain is 270. I am at the half way point. (Meaning I'm about 325nm from Noank on the rhumb line course)
6:00am, I'm dead on the rhumb line, nice, course 290, speed 5.5, wind 18k. Clear skies, not a cloud in sight.
10:00am, course 300-310, speed 6k, wind 23k from the north, seas 3-4ft. Beautiful sunny day, wind direction not so much....
Noon, course 290mag, speed 5.5k, wind 16k from the north, seas 3-4ft.
The weather is delightful, the direction, yuck!
1:00pm, course 275mag, speed 5+, wind 18k still from the north, seas same. Time to tack. New course 40-50mag,
2:00pm, course 30-40mag, still doing 5k with wind speed down to 15k
3:30pm, course 20mag, speed 5.5k, wind 16k from the northwest, seas 3-4 ft.
Since midnight I've only made 50 miles toward home, I'll tack back west before nightfall and hope the wind will veer east or west, this north to NNW wind is not fun. Weather conditions are delightful, that's worth a lot!
5:30pm, my iPad Navionics ap says I'm 235 miles from my slip. Too bad I'm tacking against a headwind.
6:30pm, had to make a call to YM Express, hailed two times on ch. 6 and 9. Never responded but altered course. Real jackass.
(This container ship was traveling at 22.5k, which is the fastest speed I've ever encountered offshore. From the photos you can see how close he was to me)
No response after four bridge-to-bridge calls, that's rediculous. A 22knot killer!
Three more ships, one will pass within one mile of me, one within two miles of me, and the third within nine miles. Gotta watch them like a hawk. I have five ships within thirty miles of me. Talk about shipping lanes, this is a superhighway.
9:30pm, course 310mag, speed 3k, wind 13k, seas still 3-4 feet. Wind is veering slightly in my favor!
10:30pm, zero wind, heard pieces of the offshore forecast, 5 to 10k, becoming southwest. NOT HERE.....started the engine, doing 5-6 knots at 1,800rpm.

[Jim Walsh]

The journey home continues.


7/1, 8:30am, shut the engine down. By 9:00am the wind was up to 14k from the north, course 280-300mag, speed 6.2k, seas 3ft. rollers
I'll spend the day tacking close to the rhumb line so I don't lose all I've gained.
Bright sunshine and I'm out of the Gulf Stream for sure, the sea is much less a cobalt blue. Wind variable 10-15 knots. Not a good sign.
10:15am. The wind just died. Position 38.24N 69.27W
This is not good nearly 200 nm from home. Started the engine again.
1:00pm, oily calm, just saw four pilot whales,
3:00pm, oily calm continues
5:30pm, shut engine down, checked fluid levels, belts, everything else. Made supper, started engine. Zero wind.
9:00pm. Zero wind. Seas have flattened completely. Oily calm.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Captain Jim:

Thanks for the posts and photos. Really nice

"File comment: Very poor seamanship exhibited by this container ship which never responded to FOUR bridge-to-bridge calls on the VHF."

I think this may well be the real world application of "the law of gross tonage".

[Jim Walsh]

A couple more photos of a persistent calm taken on July 1st.

[Jim Walsh]

7/2 6:00am, oily calm continues. I'm entering the canyons on the continental shelf, I've gone 90 miles in about 15 hours.
6:30am, huge school of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. A few came by for a closer look but most were very businesslike and ignored me. Feeding is important. My visibility is down to 1/2 mile. Heavy fog. Nice to have radar to take a peek at what might be out there.
9:20am, zero wind. I'm going through Block Canyon, zero wind, visibility up to two miles.
11:00am, zero wind, getting hot. Sun showers are great inventions!
Noon, zero wind, 57 nm from Endeavor Shoal off Montauk. Would be nice to be under sail but the diesel sure is handy in these situations.

Throughout the day the wind never returned. I just continued my progress under power. I saw more dolphins, Bottlenose and Atlantic White Sided. I saw several groups of Humpback whales and six groups of at least four Pilot Whales who were very busy feeding and were very cautious as I approached. I tried to stay at least a half mile away from them. I saw only one shark on the surface and nothing ever approached the spoon I was trolling.

8:30pm still an oily calm as I approach Montauk. There is a solid fog bank surrounding the Point so I will soon be relying on my instruments. I'm running from one fixed aid to the next so I can verify my position at each leg. Closing land is always stressful.
The fog closed in to the "impenetrable" variety once I got within five miles of Endeavor Shoal off Montauk Point.
I ran from one fixed aid to the next and had my radar and chartplotter synchronized so I could spot anything out of place....another vessel. Everything went well and I had the tides in my favor which really helped going through The Race.....
I dropped the hook in West Cove at Noank at 3:00am. The fog was so thick I didn't dare try to go the last 300 yards to my slip. I was afraid of running into a telephone pole masquerading as a channel marker.
I slept for three hours and at 7:30 am the heat of the land started to break up the fog so I crept in to my slip. I may have had a boats length visibility by this time.
The log when I started the trip on 5/28 was 6,755.5nm and on 7/3 was 8,389.7nm.
That's a 1,634.2nm journey, start to finish.
The trip down was 793.5nm and the trip back was 840.7nm.
I had no gear failures and I managed to keep myself intact also. It doesn't get better than that.

[Capt Hook]

Jim, thanks for the report.