We left Halifax at 0730 on Monday October 22. There was no breeze so we motored past Chebucto Head before we were able to raise any sail. By noon the wind filled in and the rest of Monday and and all day Tuesday were great sailing days with a 15 to 20 knot breeze from the SW. We went through a variety of sail combinations to keep the boat comfortable (full main, 1 reef, 2 reefs, main down, and various increments of furled jib).
On both days we had great sunsets and the sunrises on Tuesday and Wednesday were just as spectacular.On Wednesday morning at 0700 we were at 39 degrees 49.426' north and 61 degrees 25.218' west and 308 miles from Halifax. Not bad, two days of over 150 miles each. Sailing was lumpy as we were in a southerly meander of the Gulf Stream with southwest winds although the winds seldom appeared to exceed 25 knots. Early in the day we saw some significant seas, estimated at 20 feet, but these subsided to 10 foot swells with the occasional oddball wave that would break over the boat and soak anybody in the cockpit by mid morning.
It was that afternoon that the mast came down. It happened very quickly and there was no clear first point of breakage. Both spreaders on the starboard side broke from the mast and the backstay parted. My best guess is that the top spreader went first, then the rest. We were close reaching at the time so everything went aft and over the port side of the boat.
We immediately set to work making the boat safe (I love my bolt cutters). The starboard upper and intermediate shrouds were cut away and dropped over the side. The mast had broken in two places, once at each of the spreaders. The top section was dragging in the water with top of the forestay still attached. The bottom section was still standing and the middle section was hanging down from it, supported by cables and halyards. After the shrouds, the remnants of the backstay was cut away and allowed to sink. Then the pins on the forestay were removed and the forestay, furler, and number two jib slowly sank into 1000 fathoms of water. The top section of the mast was lifted aboard, and while my first instinct was to cut it loose and drop it overboard as well, we were afraid that the middle section would crash to the deck if it was gone so we lashed everything secure and prepared to motor home. A storm jib was hoisted upside down on the stump of the mast and we were soon making 5.5 to 6.0 knots in the southwest breeze.
As soon as the boat was secure we called the Rescue Coordination Centre on the sat phone and advised them we had been dismasted but everyone was ok and we were under engine and heading to Halifax. We said we were not declaring an emergency, just letting them know of our situation in case something else went sideways in a hurry. They requested a call back every four hours with status updates.
At 1700 we were at 39 degrees 13.00' north and 60 degrees 39.08' west. A quick fuel calculation showed we had enough to get within 50 miles or so of Nova Scotia if the conditions stayed the same. We advised RCC of this and did not request assistance at this point. The updated weather forecast they provided said we should expect 15 knot north easterlies for a day and a half. That blew our fuel consumption calculations all to hell. At that point we knew we had nowhere near enough fuel and advised RCC. They were awesome in their support. They made a broadcast of our situation and we had offers of fuel from a car carrier, and LNG carrier, Spirit of Canada (thanks Derek) and finally a vessel named Sea Swift. We chose Sea Swift since it appeared we could rendezvous without them altering course too dramatically.
We made radio contact with Sea Swift at 1800 on Thursday and had them in sight about an hour later. If you have never transferred cans of fuel from a 300 foot tanker in a rolling sea, at night, it is hard to describe. The officers were very professional, but for some of the crew, it was a great adventure. The first thing that happened when we got alongside was the flashing of a dozen cameras as everyone felt the need to take our picture. The crew was Chinese so communication was an issue. They actually thought we might come alongside, even though they were rolling three to four metres side to side in the swell. We convinced them that this was not a good idea and they tossed us a line. On the second try we got a 25 litre barrel of fuel aboard. The first one went away with the line that was tied to it. They then lowered another one. They offered one more but I wanted to get a bit of distance between the two boats so we declined, but not before we sent a bottle of single malt scotch back on their heaving line.
At the same time they were coordinating a fuel transfer, RCC dispatched the Sir William Alexander to meet us in case we ran into further problems. All night Thursday we made poor time motoring into the wind and into the one to two metre seas. At 0500 on Friday we had VHF communication with the Alexander and at 0630 we were alongside. They graciously slowed and put us in their lee to break the wind and the waves.
This is how they looked to us.
This is how we looked to them.
Once we were in calmer conditions we poured one of the cans of fuel from Sea Swift into the tank. Not sure what was actually in that can. It was not diesel in the sense that we are used to seeing. It was dark and smelled more like stove oil. It wasn't long before we were making smoke and we decided not to use the second can. Instead we requested some clean fuel from the Alexander. They sent us down three jerry cans. The transfer was simple, we were getting good at it. In the meantime, burning the first can did a job on the injectors which at this moment are being rebuilt.
Friday and Friday night were great. In the lee of the ship it was sunny and warm during the day and relatively calm at night. We could talk with the crew when they were on the aft deck and on Friday night the moon rose full.
At 0845 on Saturday we were only 55 miles to Thrumcap. It was looking like a 2200 arrival at DYC. We were looking forward to getting home, despite the disappointment, and I was particularly looking forward to arriving after dark. I wanted to sneak in without being seen, get home and shower and sleep, then go back and deal with everything the next day. But it was not to be. At 1240 the engine overheated and we had to shut it down. I know now that the heat exchanger failed but at the time we did not know what had caused it. All we knew was that the coolant was gone. We hoisted our storm sail upside down again and in the new southeast breeze were making four knots.
We advised the Alexander what had happened and rather than watch us sail slowly to Halifax, they called the cutter Sambro to tow us the rest of the way. We appreciated the tow, especially the 13 knot surfs, but down inside, I really would have preferred to arrive under our own power.
Sambro took us to the public dock in Sambro Harbour for the night and then finally on Sunday afternoon, towed us back to the club where we went straight to the service dock and pulled out the remains of the mast. Now, two weeks later, it is in the hands of the insurance company. Hopefully the boat will be fixed in time for spring launch and next October I'll try again.
Many thanks to the staff of the Rescue Coordination Centre, the officers and crews of Sea Swift, Sir William Alexander, and Sambro, and special thanks to Jim, Harvey, and Stuart who stayed positive and in good spirits throughout our great adventure.
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