It’s been another busy, in a good way, 2 weeks for the Admiral and Captain of S/V Che Figata. As we published our last blog entry we were continuing preparations for the passage to Antigua while also getting ready to have some fun attending a number of events, including the Annapolis Sailboat Show and the Hylas Rendezvous sail to Saint Michaels MD (our feature photo show Che Figata at night in the small harbor outside the Saint Michaels Marina), and seeing dear friends, Kathryn & Tim Norman who drove 3 hours from their home in Virginia to spend the day with us in Annapolis. We are happy to report that we had a terrific time! Being in one place, and with most of our pre-passage repairs and maintenance behind us, we were able to really enjoy all of these experiences, particularly our time with friends. It also helped that Jill was not working full time as she was during our stay in Annapolis last year and that COVID restrictions have been somewhat eased.
That is not to say that it was all play. Jill continued to pre-prepare meals for our passage to Antigua and Zack continued to inventory our spare parts and navigation charts (so he could fill any gaps) and also made sure that our ditch bag has every thing we need in the highly unlikely event we should need it. (BTW, as the name implies, the ditch bag is the bag we will take with us if we need to abandon ship in case of an emergency — it includes flares, flashlight, emergency water supply and food rations, a med kit and much more. Of course, our life raft has additional supplies including additional water and rations. We have to be prepared!). Finally, after nearly 20 years as customers, we switched our mobile service provider from Verizon to T-Mobile. After one surprise $1,600 bill earlier in the year due to international long distance charges (silly us, we turned off our cellular service and activated “free” WiFi calling but didn’t realize we also had to place our phones in airplane mode), we realized (better late than never) that Verizon wasn’t the most cost effective option for a couple traveling outside the US for 7 months out of the year. Still, the remaining items we checked off our “to do” over the last few weeks was more intermittent, giving us ample free time for play.
We should add here that not everyone was doing double back flips over our activities during the past few weeks. Specifically, our younger two children (ages 31 and 28), were still on our family phone plan. With our switch to T-Mobile we have severed the phone plan ties with them and they are on their own! In fairness, we can proudly say that both are totally self-sufficient and off the payroll. Their gratis inclusion in our “family plan” was the last vestige of their youth! In full disclosure, cutting this cord may have been more difficult for us (or at least Jill) than for them!
We are currently in Hampton, VA. We sailed here over the course of two days (Sunday, 10/24 & Monday, 10/25) following the conclusion of the Hylas Rendezvous. Though the wind was mostly on our nose, we got in some sailing toward the beginning of the trip and anchored off a lovely spot, Sandy Point, MD, with just 2 neighbors Sunday evening. We got going again early the next morning and arrived in Hampton at 1:30 PM. Other than the squall that decided to pop up with winds gusting to 25 mph just as we were about to turn into the Hampton River from the James River to reach Bluewater Yachting Center (we can’t seem to approach a marina without a squall over head), the trip was largely uneventful. For those curious, we decided to wait out the squall and sailed around the James River for about 90 minutes until it passed over, delaying our arrival to 3:00 PM. Always much nicer to dock with winds blowing at a gentle 5 mph when you have the choice! Shortly after we arrived in Hampton, Jill had to fly to Boston for a board meeting (having trouble cutting cords is a common theme with Jill) so she left Zack unattended for a few days. (Such a dangerous thing!) The trip was somewhat fortuitous though in that the closest airport to Hampton is in Norfolk, VA, just 10 -15 minutes from the home of our friends Eric and Danelle. As you may remember, they are the owners of the Hylas 46 Santosha and Eric is coming along with us as crew on our passage to Antigua. They invited us to spend the night on October 26 in advance of Jill’s very early flight the morning of October 27 which gave us the opportunity to do lots of laundry, enjoy their company (complete with a delicious home cooked vegan meal — kudos to Danelle) and considerably shorten Jill’s 5:15 AM ride (courtesy of chauffeur Eric) to the airport. Eric and Danelle get a huge shout out for their hospitality!
We are now in the 48 hour countdown for our passage to Antigua. We started monitoring the weather closely on Monday, October 25 and it looks like we have a nice departure window sometime between Saturday (10/30) and Sunday (10/31). This gives the seas a chance to settle from the gale force winds moving across the mid-Atlantic on Friday (10/29) and would also put us well ahead of a significant weather system forecasted to form late on November 3, building on November 4 and lingering through November 5 or 6. Interestingly, the forecast calls for uncharacteristically light winds once we cross Cape Hatteras meaning that motoring or motor sailing is highly likely during portions of our sail down South. (Very different from our passage last year which, you may recall, we described as feeling like we were in a front loading washing machine!) The recommendation, therefore, is that sailors use their fuel judicially, motoring at lower RPMs to ensure sufficient fuel for the entire voyage. (Not really a problem for us because of our fuel tank capacity.). That begs the question of whether we wait for better winds before our departure. Unfortunately, based on the forecasted trajectory of the significant storm system mentioned above, the current advice is that if we miss the October 30/31 weather window we sit tight until after that weather system passes and the seas calm which would delay our passage to ~ November 7 or 8. And, of course, at that point there is no guarantee of more favorable winds. Needless to say, we do not intend to miss this window! Better to have light winds and motor than gamble with the future weather. You know, one bird in hand is better than two in the bush!
With less than 2 days remaining, we are in the home stretch. It is time to get our PCR tests. We are required to have a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure. We are also required to keep a daily medical log on every Che Figata crew member during our passage. That entails documenting daily temperature checks as well as any symptoms (or lack thereof) and treatments. And we will also do our final provisioning for the trip. This mostly includes fresh produce, fruits, luncheon meats and cheese and dairy items (eggs, yogurts, etc.). (For the record, the meats, cheeses and dairy products are for the two non-vegans about the vessel. We didn’t want anyone to think that Jill went back over to the dark side.). Once we provision, Jill has a few more dishes, including her famous “Oh so garlicky white bean hummus,” to prepare. (If you haven’t asked Jill for this recipe yet you should — it’s a winner!). While Jill is cooking, Zack will be tying up his loose ends including heading up the mast for an inspection and figuring out our SSB radio so we can participate in the daily SSB calls (during the passage) among the participants of the Salty Dawg rally. These calls are mostly to provide a nice distraction during 9 – 12 days at sea. When you are in close quarters with the same small group 24/7 for 9+ days, it’s nice to exchange banter with others. It also gives Salty Dawg participants an opportunity to brag about the fish they caught. (Apparently, the Salty Dawg participants take their fishing underway very seriously and can be quite competitive about it.) And, yes, though we are poking fun at these daily check in calls (they actually occur twice a day), they also allow everyone to share information and help trouble shoot the problems that invariably pop up during a long passage. (Something always goes pop!)
Just two closing comments. First a reminder: If you are interested in tracking us during our passage, paste this url into your browser: https://my.yb.tl/CheFigata. We are now transmitting our location every 2 hours so you will be able to see where we are no matter how far off shore we sail. It’s actually pretty cool! Second, by popular demand, here is the dinner menu for the voyage — as we have said many times, just because we are underway, doesn’t mean we can’t eat well:
— Dinner #1: Pad Thai with crispy tofu
— Dinner #2: White bean chili with jackfruit with corn chips
— Dinner #3: Linguini with creamy cashew cream sauce and caramelized baby Bella mushrooms and a Caesar salad – this is a fan favorite!
— Dinner #4: Jill’s homemade marinara with Beyond Meat meatballs and a Caesar salad
— Dinner #5: White bean & avocado salad served with garlic chips over a bed of arugula
— Dinner #6: White bean and tomato stew served with a hearty bread
— Dinner #7: Mushroom spinach soup served with a hearty bread
— Dinner #8: Amy’s burritos dressed with avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa
— Dinner #9: White bean chili with jackfruit with corn chips (okay, Jill is entitled to some repeats!)
— Dinner #10: Jill’s homemade marinara with Beyond Meat meatballs and a Caesar salad
— Dinner #11 (just in case!): Impossible Burgers topped with caramelized mushrooms and onions and served with homemade sweet potato fries. (If we are at sea this long we deserve a decadent meal!)
Though we’ve focused on dinners, Jill will start our day right with avocado toast and steel cut oats!
So bon voyage to us! We will publish our next blog entry after we arrive in Antigua and get settled.
