RedHot and her handsome crew on the morning of the race.
Clockwise from front and center:
Scott Nelson, Larry Burris, Kent Darbyshire,
Mark Smith, Alberto Torres, Ben Miller, Tom Dickson
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Chicago to Mackinac Race Results
Kent flew back to Chicago last week to participate in his ninth Chicago to Mackinac Race. He raced on RedHot, a new Tartan 101 owned by his friend, Tom. RedHot kicked off at 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, July 11. She finished the 333-mile race in 2 days, 2 hours, 43 minutes, and 54 seconds, and came in sixth in her division. Way to go, RedHot!
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Crossing to Florida - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good
Kent and I enjoyed our respite at the resort at Old Bahama Marina at the west end of Grand Bahama Island. Our boat was provisioned and topped off with water and fuel. Just as importantly, we felt refreshed and ready to cross from the Bahamas to Fort Pierce, Florida.
We were up at 6 a.m. to get an early start. Sails were up by 7:30 a.m. in rough, confused seas. We'd expected a slow sail in 5 to 10 knot winds and calm seas based on weather forecasts. Instead, we started out with 10 to 15 knot winds an choppy seas. Luckily, the seas smoothed out and the winds lessened by mid-morning for a more comfortable sail. We motor-sailed for a good part of the day to increase our speed.
About 1:00 p.m., the Gulf Stream current started helping our speed, pushing us along from behind. We had less slippage to the west than we expected, which was good, and we moved along very quickly! Bangarang averaged 10.3 knots in the afternoon. The more we pointed up to Fort Pierce, the faster we sped along. We had a good, uneventful sail--until about 20 miles from Fort Pierce, FL.
The Bad
Fifteen miles from Florida's shore, we spotted some ominous-looking storm clouds swirling north of us. The skies grew darker quickly and the clouds began to move in a circular pattern, full of rain and wind. This was not good. We immediately dropped our sails and revved our engines away from the storm, heading towards the closest Florida shore. The storm overtook us and we were whacked by 30 to 35 knot winds and very rough seas. We'd strapped on our life jackets and I went inside the salon, holding on to Trooper. He was shaking like crazy from the sound of the waves crashing underneath our boat. Kent did a fabulous job at the helm during the storm while I tried to avoid being thrown around the salon (banged around in Bangarang?). This was not a pleasant experience. I was able to get pictures as the storm formed around us. I don't have pictures during the storm itself, for obvious reasons.
We made it as quickly as our engines could take us and about half an hour later, motored through the Port St Lucie Inlet into the Inter-Coastal Waterway. We anchored off in the calm shallows, shaken but safe. It was 5:30 p.m. We were exhausted. We drank our supper and watched the sunset, thankful to be in Florida.
The Ugly
The rough crossing in the afternoon had compromised our dinghy, which Kent had patched earlier. The dinghy was partially deflated and we were unable to take Trooper to land to go to the bathroom! Oh well! Amazingly, after trying everything we could think of (walking him to the bow on his leash, a stern potty talk, even peeing on a small rag ourselves to attract him!), he still refused to go. Trooper lasted 24 hours, and the next morning, he finally gave in and went (all over the outer salon) on the boat. Woohoo!
The next day, we sailed north to Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce, FL.
Kent and I enjoyed our respite at the resort at Old Bahama Marina at the west end of Grand Bahama Island. Our boat was provisioned and topped off with water and fuel. Just as importantly, we felt refreshed and ready to cross from the Bahamas to Fort Pierce, Florida.
We were up at 6 a.m. to get an early start. Sails were up by 7:30 a.m. in rough, confused seas. We'd expected a slow sail in 5 to 10 knot winds and calm seas based on weather forecasts. Instead, we started out with 10 to 15 knot winds an choppy seas. Luckily, the seas smoothed out and the winds lessened by mid-morning for a more comfortable sail. We motor-sailed for a good part of the day to increase our speed.
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| Leaving Old Bahama Marina in the morning to cross to Florida |
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| Winds lessened and seas calmed |
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| Lovely sail all morning and into the afternoon |
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| Kent and Trooper at the helm |
About 1:00 p.m., the Gulf Stream current started helping our speed, pushing us along from behind. We had less slippage to the west than we expected, which was good, and we moved along very quickly! Bangarang averaged 10.3 knots in the afternoon. The more we pointed up to Fort Pierce, the faster we sped along. We had a good, uneventful sail--until about 20 miles from Fort Pierce, FL.
The Bad
Fifteen miles from Florida's shore, we spotted some ominous-looking storm clouds swirling north of us. The skies grew darker quickly and the clouds began to move in a circular pattern, full of rain and wind. This was not good. We immediately dropped our sails and revved our engines away from the storm, heading towards the closest Florida shore. The storm overtook us and we were whacked by 30 to 35 knot winds and very rough seas. We'd strapped on our life jackets and I went inside the salon, holding on to Trooper. He was shaking like crazy from the sound of the waves crashing underneath our boat. Kent did a fabulous job at the helm during the storm while I tried to avoid being thrown around the salon (banged around in Bangarang?). This was not a pleasant experience. I was able to get pictures as the storm formed around us. I don't have pictures during the storm itself, for obvious reasons.
We made it as quickly as our engines could take us and about half an hour later, motored through the Port St Lucie Inlet into the Inter-Coastal Waterway. We anchored off in the calm shallows, shaken but safe. It was 5:30 p.m. We were exhausted. We drank our supper and watched the sunset, thankful to be in Florida.
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| Leaving the Atlantic Ocean and entering Port St Lucie Inlet |
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| Anchored in time to watch the sunset |
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| Pink skies |
The Ugly
The rough crossing in the afternoon had compromised our dinghy, which Kent had patched earlier. The dinghy was partially deflated and we were unable to take Trooper to land to go to the bathroom! Oh well! Amazingly, after trying everything we could think of (walking him to the bow on his leash, a stern potty talk, even peeing on a small rag ourselves to attract him!), he still refused to go. Trooper lasted 24 hours, and the next morning, he finally gave in and went (all over the outer salon) on the boat. Woohoo!
The next day, we sailed north to Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce, FL.
Part 3 - Sailing the Bahamas - The West End
From Water Cay, Kent and I sailed to Old Bahama Marina at the west end of Grand Bahama Island. It was a 73-mile sail so we had our sails up by 8:30 a.m. The winds were 10 to 12 knots in the morning but climbed steadily to 20 to 25 gusty knots in the afternoon. As a storm system grew near, we reefed our sails. Unfortunately, the reef line got wrapped around the boom and we had to partially drop the sail in moderately rough seas to untangle it. But we managed to fix it and made it safely to the West End, anchoring outside the breakwall since the marina was full. Drats! It was 6 p.m. and after a long day, we were too tired to eat supper. We made sure we had a reservation at the marina in the harbor for the next evening.
The next day, we pulled up our anchor and motored into Old Bahama Marina. The marina is attached to a lovely resort and marina guests are invited to enjoy the swimming pool, restaurant, and a bar. We really liked our stay there and took advantage of all the amenities. It as a great way to rest up and prepare for our next crossing from the Bahamas to Florida.
Next day, we cross to Florida!
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| Lots of commercial traffic as we passed Freeport on Grand Bahama Island |
The next day, we pulled up our anchor and motored into Old Bahama Marina. The marina is attached to a lovely resort and marina guests are invited to enjoy the swimming pool, restaurant, and a bar. We really liked our stay there and took advantage of all the amenities. It as a great way to rest up and prepare for our next crossing from the Bahamas to Florida.
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| Trooper and the Captain |
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| Dining on the beach |
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| We took a long soak in the pool |
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| Sunset off our stern at the dock in the marina |
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| Our shell collection |
Next day, we cross to Florida!
Part 2: Sailing the Bahamas - the Fish Stories
Continued from Part 1...
Kent and I sailed 35 miles from Sandy Point on Great Abaco Island to Water Cay (formerly Little Bersus Cay) as we continued our journey east to west through the Bahamas. We departed Sandy Point mid-morning, and enjoyed 12 to 14 knot winds and cloudy skies.
Kent put out his hand line in hopes of catching a fish as we sailed. He caught a 4 pound barracuda that he cut up and used for bait. Then he snagged a second barracuda that ate his lure and got away. Then he caught a nice-sized mackerel that had a big chunk out of its underside. We saw a larger fish take a bite out of it as Kent reeled him in. Didn't matter. Kent filleted it and we had fresh grilled fish for supper that evening.
After he filleted the fish, Kent baited out the leftover carcass on a simple rope line on our stern, just to see what might come by. Well, we were visited by a big 6 to 7 foot nurse shark! He swam by our stairs and around our dinghy, and made a few passes at the fish carcass. Then, after a couple of bites, the bait was gone. We watched him for about ten minutes. Kent assured me that nurse sharks are not aggressive and do not bite people, but I noticed he didn't go in for his usual post-sail swim!
At Water Island, our dinghy engine started to give us problems. So Kent had to row the dinghy to take Trooper ashore. As they walked along the sand, he saw fresh turtle tracks about about a dozen nests of eggs. He also discovered a huge conch cemetery and found a nice one to add to our table centerpiece. Rowing back to the boat, he spotted another nurse shark, perhaps 4 feet long. No swimming for me!
The next day, we headed for Old Bahama Marina at the west end of Grand Bahama Island....
Kent and I sailed 35 miles from Sandy Point on Great Abaco Island to Water Cay (formerly Little Bersus Cay) as we continued our journey east to west through the Bahamas. We departed Sandy Point mid-morning, and enjoyed 12 to 14 knot winds and cloudy skies.
Kent put out his hand line in hopes of catching a fish as we sailed. He caught a 4 pound barracuda that he cut up and used for bait. Then he snagged a second barracuda that ate his lure and got away. Then he caught a nice-sized mackerel that had a big chunk out of its underside. We saw a larger fish take a bite out of it as Kent reeled him in. Didn't matter. Kent filleted it and we had fresh grilled fish for supper that evening.
After he filleted the fish, Kent baited out the leftover carcass on a simple rope line on our stern, just to see what might come by. Well, we were visited by a big 6 to 7 foot nurse shark! He swam by our stairs and around our dinghy, and made a few passes at the fish carcass. Then, after a couple of bites, the bait was gone. We watched him for about ten minutes. Kent assured me that nurse sharks are not aggressive and do not bite people, but I noticed he didn't go in for his usual post-sail swim!
At Water Island, our dinghy engine started to give us problems. So Kent had to row the dinghy to take Trooper ashore. As they walked along the sand, he saw fresh turtle tracks about about a dozen nests of eggs. He also discovered a huge conch cemetery and found a nice one to add to our table centerpiece. Rowing back to the boat, he spotted another nurse shark, perhaps 4 feet long. No swimming for me!
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| Our delicious grilled fresh fish supper |
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