Miles Traveled

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

Again mostly terrific (but yes cold - force 10 snow storm on June 4th) but we almost lost the boat there, in a terrible stupid mistake. Just plain dumb luck and an absolute unwillingness to give up saved the boat.

Wow, what happened? Anchor drag?

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Amapola

We sailed weekends on the Chesapeake Bay for about 10 years on our Tayana 37, Yab-Yum. In 1999, we sailed/cruised from Annapolis to our new home in Southwest Florida. We found Yab-Yum's near 6' draft no match for the shallow Gulf and Caribbean water so we decided to give up sailing for cruising and bought a trawler Amapola.

My boat draws 6ft too. I think a keelectomy is in my future...

How did you find the transition from sail to power?

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Victory49

My daughter had over 2600 bluewater miles by the time she was twelve and is building her first boat this winter.

That is great to hear. What type of boat is shel building?

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by ADMPRTR

Wow, what happened? Anchor drag?

No. We were given a xerox copy of a chart of a harbour we were told was 'one of the prettiest in Iceland'. We entered that harbour a bit tired after a long day sail and were both eager to get the anchor down. But we both commented that it did not look exactly like the chart. Then we bounced over a set of rocks and then another, and there was a swell lifting us up and dropping us hard on the rocks. We tried to motor out and sail out and just could not get out/over the rocks. About this time we received a forecast for a force 10 storm that would blow right into this harbour and make it a lee shore. I finally managed to dinghy out a couple anchors and winch us out sideways. Our steering gear had been mangled but I managed to bend a couple bits into rough shape and Jerry rig the rest.

We sailed 24 hrs with that jerry rig to the next good harbour. We were lucky there as there was a shipyard refitting ex-soviet trawlers with a machine shop that could make anything. They fixed us up better than new for almost no money.

Our lessons: #1 we make mistakes when we are tired and need to take special care, and #2 its happened a couple times to us that the surroundings don't seem to look exactly like the chart and everytime we are best stopping immediately and sending the dinghy in to sound and explore (or just turn around and go back to sea).

It turned out that the chart we had been given was of a proposed harbour expansion and dredging project, that had not taken place yet.

[Astrid]

When I was 12 (about 21 years ago) sailed with my father and brother from Iceland south until we could catch the northeast trades to Panama; then through the canal, west towards Hawaii until we had favorable winds to go North until we could catch the westerlies towards Vancouver. Being the youngest, I only stood watch during the daytime; helm was manual and we used celestial navigation the whole way.

[Astrid]

What harbour in Iceland was it? There are some that were deep once upon a time, but due to volcanic activity are no longer so.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Astrid

What harbour in Iceland was it? There are some that were deep once upon a time, but due to volcanic activity are no longer so.

Borgarfjorour Eystri 65 31N 13 48W

In fact we did not find it all that attractive.

East Coast Iceland and I don't think there had been any recent volcanic activity, unlike say Vestmannaeyjabaer where recent volcanic activity had recently reshaped the harbour and the rocks were still warm.

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

Our lessons: #1 we make mistakes when we are tired and need to take special care, and #2 its happened a couple times to us that the surroundings don't seem to look exactly like the chart and everytime we are best stopping immediately and sending the dinghy in to sound and explore (or just turn around and go back to sea).

It turned out that the chart we had been given was of a proposed harbour expansion and dredging project, that had not taken place yet.

Oh gosh. I bet it was remote too, huh. Thank goodness you saved yourselves and the boat! So it wasn't a case of being in the wrong place but the place not even existing? I bet you wanted to hunt down the person who gave you that chart.

I know with myself that mistakes usually happen at the end of journey when I am tired and hungry. That is one reason why I have avoided night passages.

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Astrid

When I was 12 (about 21 years ago) sailed with my father and brother from Iceland south until we could catch the northeast trades to Panama; then through the canal, west towards Hawaii until we had favorable winds to go North until we could catch the westerlies towards Vancouver.

How many years did you sail with your father at that time? It obviously made a positive impression as you are still on the water.

[Astrid]

Borgarfjörður is rather shallow. The marina there has a depth of only about 3m and the entire fjord is subject to considerable storm activity coming in from the Iceland Faroes passage. I think you were lucky, as well as skilled and stubborn to get your boat out of there.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Borgarfjörður is rather shallow. The marina there has a depth of only about 3m and the entire fjord is subject to considerable storm activity coming in from the Iceland Faroes passage. I think you were lucky, as well as skilled and stubborn to get your boat out of there.

Yes, lots of luck involved. Some good and some bad.

We got caught in the 'old harbour', where there was a harbour development plan that was apparently abandoned (just looked at it on google earth and its still the same as when we were there). The 'Marina' (thats a pretty fancy term for a bit of breakwall and some fishing boat docks) was under construction when we were there - no docks and no space to anchor.

I don't 'blame' anyone but ourselves for this mishap. Its our responsibility to be careful, and the folks giving us the chart were just trying to be helpful.

[Target9000]

100 miles and counting. :P

[Astrid]

We got caught in the 'old harbour', where there was a harbour development plan that was apparently abandoned (just looked at it on google earth and its still the same as when we were there). The 'Marina' (thats a pretty fancy term for a bit of breakwall and some fishing boat docks) was under construction when we were there - no docks and no space to anchor.

I think there has been sporadic work done there since the Second World War, but not much since about 2001 when the marina pier or whatever one wants to call it was deepened to its current 3m. There is practically no shelter there and it is not a place in which I would want to try and ride out a storm.

[rubyjean]

I have one circumnavagation, 2 RT's to Hawaii, and many trips to Acupulco and back. Last summer the entire west coast. Somewhere around 50,000 KnMiles are in order since 1979. Now 63 and looking for more,will die at sea someday. isn't life life good..........Michael...

[maxingout]

I've don't at least 33,000 miles in the circumnavigation of Exit Only. How many more miles than that, I have no clue.

I have been sailing on and off since 1978. Now if you want to know how many miles I have sailed in my mind, that would be about a bazillion miles.