44:40.12N 63:36.36W
Nimble Ape II
Chris and Jules Stanham
Thu 12 Jul 2012 22:15
Although we are currently surrounded by familiar places such as Dartmouth, Yarmouth, Truro and Goodwood, we are in fact in Halifax, Canada and still on the wrong side of the ocean. Initial hopes of being gently nudged home by a kind wind lasted about one day following our departure from Norfolk,Virginia at 1.30am on Tuesday, July 3.
Fuelled by a final meal at the local Norfolk steakhouse, where the three guys demolished a sizeable cow between them, we finally headed out into open ocean under a full moon. I lucked out by landing the 6 to 9 watch twice a day and my first sunrise was an array of turquoise and flame colours.
Soon we had enough wind to sail and the fun and games began. Following discussions about angles, triangles and poles, the cruising chute was rigged in a fashion never before seen on Nimble Ape involving every line on board, a preventer and several ties. The first problem then arose with the discovery of water in the bilge, but after a few minutes of looking into various nooks and crannies, Ricardo and Barra figured out the problem and all was well. I couldn’t escape my birthday even at sea and an unexpected cake appeared from the oven in the afternoon.
Cruising chute weather followed all night, making for a night rolling around unpredictably in the huge aft cabin listening to the usual cacophony of winches, chains and mysterious clanking. Ricardo discovered the joys of the forepeak and the sound of the notorious shifting anchor chain nearby. He then fixed it.
All seemed benign, though overcast, as I came up for my watch on Independence Day at 6am with winds of about 11kts. I was left alone for maybe 10 minutes before Barra arrived to speculate about the darkening sky to port. We watched it fairly unconcerned until the first lightning strike shattered the illusion of peace. Next came sheets of rain before the wind arose out of nowhere and the sail was split in two. Ricardo had the sail in the boat before I had even dug my finger nails out of whatever surface I was attached to.
The prospect of an ocean crossing without our biggest sail was less than satisfactory, so the decision was made to divert to Halifax for repairs. In fact, the rest of the day was much less exciting - the highlight being Drew turning a lighter shade of green after chopping potatoes proved more testing than his exploits on the foredeck during the storm.
The next few days saw some good sailing, during which time Ricardo decided we also need a new main sail, and a fair bit of motoring. Ricardo also continued his exploits in the galley. Usually at his most frenetic in mid-morning, he will suddenly disappear down the hatchway. Shortly afterwards, we will be ducking as various off-cuts and discarded vegetable parts come flying from down below before the aroma of something inappropriate at breakfast time comes drifting up.
Barra, meanwhile, continued to tell me to ‘watch it’ or ‘be careful’ every time I come within a foot of the side of the boot, which is basically every time I get up. I suppose presenting Chris with the boat in Falmouth without me might be a bit embarrassing. Meaningless conversations erupted spontaneously during the monotony of motoring. One of the more memorable involved an attempt to explain plurals in the English language to Ricardo – a conversation which resulted in me having to eat my hat after Barra was later proved right in his insistence that scampo is the singular of scampi.
Fog proved to be our next hurdle. Descending on Thursday night, it stuck around doggedly for 12 hours making for a difficult night with radar deployed. It appeared again briefly the following night as we neared Halifax with an extra layer of clothing and sea temperatures many degrees cooler than the Chesapeake a few days earlier.
No charts meant a cautious approach, staying well out into deep water before turning in at sunrise on Sunday. After a long night shift, Barra suggested lowering the DuoGen to charge the battery as we turned on the engine – not the usual way of doing things. We all have our moments. The entrance proved straight forward and we elected to go alongside in the city centre. Ricardo took her smoothly alongside and we stepped ashore in Canada! Repositioning the boat slightly later in the day, I made the fatal error of stepping off the pontoon and finding myself aboard with Ricardo, with Barra and Drew ashore along with other ‘interested’ (nosy/hoping for disaster) spectators. My deep phobia of causing any sort of berthing incident in a public place was immediately activated as Ricardo stated it was the perfect time to practice manoeuvring. No, that would be on a deserted island against a sponge pontoon with no wind/current/boats/witnesses. So I refused, Ricardo refused to take the helm, we drifted and people started gathering hungrily. Needless to say, Ricardo eventually did the honours.
So, Halifax has been a pleasant diversion. We even borrowed a car today (Wednesday) to take a look around Nova Scotia which was very beautiful – though somewhat lost on Barra, who, on approaching another sparkling stretch of water surrounded by vivid greenery, could only observe ‘oh look, another lake, more trees and some rocks’. There are plenty of restaurants and pubs, a bustling waterfront and it is also the site of the largest man-made explosion at the time in 1917 when two ships collided. 2000 people died, an anchor was blown three miles high and the harbour bed was exposed. Unsurprisingly, you have to search for mention of the incident on the many historic notes and plaques in town.
We have successfully met with the sail maker who, as we speak, is making us a new cruising chute and main sail. Having already sailed in the region of 1000 miles in sort of the right direction, the diversion has not been a complete disaster and we hope to set off again sometime on Friday.
Jules