Racing from Castine to Camden

The most impressive feature of the Castine to Camden race was the fog. Visibility was down to a couple hundred feet at times and as we short tacked along the shoreline to stay out of the current and in the breeze. Boats and rocky shorelines loomed out of the mist. We were crossing tacks with several of our competitors, glad to see we were holding our own with much larger and more “modern” boats. For the most part the breeze was light, we carried half of our rather large crew to leeward much of the time, though occasionally it would breeze up and we got everyone up and out on the windward rail. We were all in foul weather gear and those on navigation were glad enough of the below decks nav station.

The great thing about displacement boats that use the crew as ballast is they sail with large crews when the wind is up. When it is down much of the crew may be relegated to the chase boat but it happens with surprising rarity. Often this is because we prefer a convivial atmosphere to whatever edge fewer people might give.  The downside to this is it is best to replace dead weight with live, movable weight. Prior to every race the boat is emptied of her contents. Most of the things that make a cruise safe and comfortable have to go, cookware, food, luggage, anchors, spare parts. Everything not essential to winning a race is packed up and moved off the boat to be replaced with crew.  In this way a catboat can be sailed flat which significantly reduces weather helm which in turn increases speed. So these very social boats are also fast boats when they carry a large crew.  When Silent Maid arrives at a race location there is a good deal of work to be done as the boat gets a new sail and is emptied out. Preparing for the next passage takes the same amount of work as the process is reversed. There isn’t much time for tourism as we campaign this boat.  Keeping track of all the stuff is the most difficult aspect of the whole thing.

Silent Maid was racing with 16 aboard. There were seasoned sailors who gravitated to specific jobs ranging from the tactician at the top end of the experience scale to the rail meat who may be neophytes or simply glad of any spot on board. All are important to the success of the enterprise. All have something to contribute. All are aware of the unique opportunity they are experiencing as the stunning yachts and landscapes appear and disappear in the mist. That they are functioning as an efficient pick up team is evidenced by the sound of the gun at the finish. Silent Maid is the first boat in her class to finish.  She would also be the first boat when the handicap system was applied.

Padanarum to Castine

It took four long days to get from South Dartmouth to Castine, Maine. On the first two we sailed as much as we could, the prevailing breezes being with us, but by the afternoon of the third day it was apparent we would have to put the pedal to the metal if we expected to race in Maine. We motor sailed down wind, maintaining 7.5 knots in some lumpy seas along the Maine coast. This rock strewn coast dotted with light houses and covered with pine trees is beautiful and we were very glad to have the visibility as Silent Maid rather noisily surfed by rocks and trees. The first night we made Boston and anchored in Hull bay. The second saw us on a mooring in Kittery and the third in the Sheepscot River. Each morning found us up with the sun and each evening we were seeking a mooring in the waning light. When the afternoon breeze came in it was behind us so we had good sailing until the decision to switch on the motor had to be made.

As we made our easting the shoreline the sandy features of the Cape Cod area gave way to more and more rocks. These all had surf at their edges but were capped in a variety of ways, some had wild life, sea birds or seals, some had pine trees and some had structures. The best structures were lighthouses of course and the worst were mediocre examples of modern home building. It is difficult for architecture to improve on the pine tree. The light houses succeeded mostly because they left the trees alone for the most part. All in all the structures that let the surrounding environment envelop them were the best. That takes a little time so my judgment of the modern structures may be a little unfair.

We arrived in Castine around five with a steering quadrant that needed another repair but a crew that was in pretty good shape. The gear teeth on the quadrant are cast in three segments and attached to the quadrant itself with studs. These had been lightly peened to keep them in place. Too lightly. Pete was steering and reported a hard spot in the steering and a clunking sound. I went to check and found one of the segments in the bilge. I was able to stick it back on and wrap a string around it to hold it in place. We
 arrived a day early to see what resources were available in Castine. The problem was we were arriving just as all shops are closing for the day. There was some thought of getting the quadrant to a machinist or welder first thing in the morning but that seemed destined to fail. We needed a repair that could be done on the boat that night. I came up with a plan to lightly countersink the quadrant and head over the studs. Pete got the task of locating tools while I started disassembling the gear. At this point Sandy arrived and offered to help. He almost immediately produced a wrench set then set about locating welding shops as a backup. Pete located a person at the yacht club with a home shop where he was able to borrow the necessary tools. John found a fish and chips place with carry out. Christian assisted in this. We were swatting mosquitoes and banging away at that quadrant by flashlight until about 9:30. No one complained. We might not have listened anyway. By 10:30 the steering gear was reassembled and we were ready to race. That’s a helluva way to finish a cruise. We did have that classic moment when I got to hand the helmsman a piece of the steering gear though.

Padanaram

 It isn’t just about boat speed. There are many ways to lose a race. I put it that way because usually the crew making the fewest mistakes wins. In our Padanaram race with Kathleen we had speed. Silent Maid led everywhere except where it counted, on the last leg to the finish. I confused two marks and insisted we round the wrong way then realized my error so we had to round again in the right direction. Racing can provide a good way to acquire a little humility and so it was in this case. All that can be done is admit the mistake in hopes that this will prevent it happening again.  Kathleen’s crew sailed a good race and were in a position to capitalize on her opponent’s mistake.  We are now tied one all and meet next in Pleasant Bay.

     Meantime we are sailing for Maine. Christian, John, Pete and I are the crew. We have a tight schedule and must get as much as we can out of each day.  At the time of this writing we are a day and a half into this cruise and have cleared Cape Anne bound for Portsmouth, New Hampshire tonight. We spent last night in Hull Bay outside of Boston.   Since clearing the Cape Cod Canal the breeze has been favorable, we used the motor in the mornings until the wind filled in. The crew has settled into a sailing routine, using some time to clean and come up with improvements to the boat.




Photos by Peter Corbin

A Bumpy Ride

Silent Maid's departure from Edgartown was quick. There were no thoughts of harbor tours, it was roll out of the bunk, fire up the engine and get underway. Coffee can be made and drunk in motion as well as at rest. Well almost.
Once clear of the moored yachts in the outer harbor we rounded up to set sail. The sail had a reef already in and another quickly followed with a third right after that. The wind instruments hovered around 20 gusting to 25 and boat speed was around 7.5. Once we hit open water the sea was jumping and the spray flying across the foredeck. The boat was buttoned up and happy for a bit of breeze. The three reefs made steering light work, I am ever mindful of that quadrant now.

The sea was really up off the entrance to Woods Hole as the current raced out into Vineyard Sound. At this point we really buttoned her up with the cabin doors closed for the first time. Silent Maid was thriving on it as we punched into the seas and current. In the relative calm of Woods Hole we needed the engine to stem the tide. What a dramatic and treacherous place that is with current washed rocks just outside a serpentine channel. It was with some relief that we entered Buzzards Bay and started a long beat to the Northern shore.

We shook out two reefs as we tacked along the shore and by the time we reached South Dartmouth we were comfortably sailing with one reef in flat water. We toured the harbor under sail, much to the delight of the boat workers, who seemed to be the only people around on a Thursday, then sailed back out of the harbor for a leisurely lunch with the boat drifting and the sheet fully eased, lunch was as unlike breakfast as possible. After lunch we furled and motored in to tie up at Marshall Marine’s dock. We were visiting the home of the Sandpiper and Sanderling.


Photos by Peter Byar

Harbor Tours

     There is nothing like succesfully maneuvering a sailing vessel at close quarters.It is the most basic form of seamanship and in a harbor full of sailing vessels it is when a sailor's pride is most on the line. The boat must be sailed with confidence, speed equals maneuverability.  The most must be gotten out of each tack, a foot closer to that pier could be the difference between clearing a schooner's bow on the next tack or having to dip her transom. Decisions need to be made in a timely way and care should be taken that confidence does not become hubris. Whether sailing a narrow marsh creek or a crowded harbor the seamanship is the same but we tend to value the opinion of our peers better than that of muskrats and herons. Sliding off a mud bank is better than accounting for cracked wood or plastic. Best to get the crew work tight in the marshlands before taking it into the crowded harbors. We take our practice where we can.
     When we came into Vineyard Haven we sailed to the head of the harbor reaching in and then out again before rounding up to take sail and follow the launch to our mooring under power. I had wanted to depart under sail but we needed to visit the town dock for water before continuing and doing that under sail would not have been prudent or even sane. That would be confidence becoming hubris and leading to disaster. So we found a space to hoist, tacked back to the head of the harbor and made our farewell to Vineyard Haven in fine style.
     Edgartown was another matter. Here the harbor master's office gave us clear direction to our assigned mooring over the radio. After running from East Chop to the outer harbor we beat into the inner harbor. A close study of the chart preceded our entrance and the crew was well versed in the necessary tasks. There was sufficient channel space to pick up speed and tack but none of that space could be wasted. Once our mooring was located we sailed up and down the channel near it, figuring out the relationship between wind and the considerable tidal current. We would have to round up head to current  with the boom well outboard to spill the wind. Doing this would require sailing between two moored boats, right under the transom of one. The sail could be rendered inefficient but not neutral so it would have to be doused quickly. The mooring would have to be picked up and secured immediately.
      With the information collected and the crew assignments given it was time to give it a try. Rounding up the boat drifted to a stop at the mooring and the pennant was aboard. It took three to get it on the cleat because an attempt was made to get it in the chock before securing it costing a few precious seconds. To depower the sail, the gaff was scandalized even before the topping lifts were taken up. It was a bit of a drill but all straightened out in short order as the sail was lowered and pulled inboard simultaneously. That is a fine way to enter a new harbor.


   
     

Steering Committees

There is a good bit to catch up with. While I was in Philadelphia Silent Maid raced in a New York Yacht Club event. Midway through that, off the rocks at Beavertail, the steering quadrant broke, the arms snapped cleanly. There was a short drill, fortunately the boat was pointed away from the rocks, and with the motor on she moved directly into the wind until a launch gave her a tow. It was clearly time to take the development of the emergency steering gear a step further.

When the rudder was built provision was made for the attachment of a pair of tackles to an eye in the top. Now a pair of pennants could be made up to lead from the aft cleats around to a fair lead on the transom where a tackle could be set up on each side. These could be kept on deck at the ready and attached to the rudder with a snap shackle if needed. Very quickly. At rest they are a great way to keep the rudder centered with no strain on the steering gear at all. A new quadrant was readily available and by the week's end the boat was ready to go once more with the crew a little more willing to reef when the boat starts saying to, even in a race. Next winter we will take a second look at the engineering of that system.

Now that we could steer again we set sail for Woods Hole where the Historical Museum was hosting us. Once again the hospitality we experienced was wonderful. Woods Hole is quite a unique community with oceanography at the center of it. What a great place for dinnertime conversation. Saturday night after giving a talk about Jersey Catboats at the library we were invited to dinner with 15 other people  I felt like I was walking in the foot steps of some great sailors, Slocum and  Hiscock come to mind, sailing and giving talks for my dinner. Sunday we set sail three times with members of the museum on board, the breeze was good and the company better but we were sure tired by the end of the day.

At this writing Silent maid is on a mooring in Vineyard Haven's inner harbor surrounded by schooners. Rowing around this harbor one gets the impression wooden boats are doing quite well in New England. Half the boats in this crowded harbor are impeccably maintained wooden boats. We are on a mooring off Gannon and Benjamin's shop where something interesting is always happening. Being here one gets the feeling Silent Maid has made the "A" list of our little world. 

Stripping Paint

For someone who seems almost proud of his gruffness Newt can be a very patient man. For days he has been removing paint from the original Silent Maid using an infrared heater and a scraper.  Occasionally he takes a smoke break and now and again he will share what he knows with a museum visitor but he is mostly learning exactly how big Silent maid really is as the paint comes off with a 2 inch scraper.

Every repair and alteration Maid has endured over the years is now apparent. The short sections of planking that have been replaced and the refastening she got as her original steel nails rusted away. These are the reasons the paint is coming off, it wasn't in terrible shape, and was not that thick, so someone else must have done this job not too long ago. This time we will document what we find with a series of incredibly boring photographs and a description of what's there. Boring unless you need the information contained in them.
Because the boat has been refastened we will not be doing anything beyond painting to the exterior of the hull. The bottom paint will be replaced with a house paint of the proper color to protect the wood better in an indoor environment and reduce toxicity. The jury is still out on whether any attempt should be made to reinforce the boat's structure or if a cradle should be relied on for this entirely. The hull does show an alarming degree of flexibility, but a well designed cradle may take care of this.

Museum boat cradle design presents challenges. If the boat is displayed the cradle should disappear visually, the idea is to showcase the boat not the means of supporting it. Chunky brick outhouse structures are out of the question then. Figuring out a good way to support Silent Maid will give the paint removal crew something to contemplate while performing a rote task.