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1999
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We found that even in the most uncomfortable of situations, three hours was bearable with a crew of three. It allowed six hours, more or less of rest before the next time on watch. The only complication was that the hours of each man's watch changed from day to day. On a two day voyage, this problem is insignificant because the first day in harbor is spent mostly just resting and cleaning up.
The following is exerpted from the ship's navigational log. The wind speed is noted in Beaufort scale, as is the sea.
| T i m e |
H e a d i n g |
W i n d |
S e a |
W e a t h e r |
D i s t a n c e |
Position and Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26Oct 0640 |
305T | SE/3 | 2 | S6 | 4.3/4.3 | Chart 507; Let go ropes, heading to gates of Pirita, RPM 2000, running lights on |
| 0733 | 264T | SE/3 | 2 | S6 | 4.6/8.9 | Paljamaare North Bouy |
| 0812 | 271T | SE/3 | 2 | S6 | 6.0/14.9 | Suurupi 2 traverse |
| 0907 | 250T | SE/3 | 2 | S6 | 6.0/20.9 |
0900: 59d 30.16m N 24d 22.6m E GPS 0907: Suurupi 1 traverse |
| 1048 | 250T | SE/3 | 3 | S6 | 11.1/32.0 |
1000: 59d 28.2m N 24d 0.95m E GPS 1048: 59d 26.5m N 24d 0.00m E GPS - Laheare ule oaserolil No. 509 |
| .. and so on. We averaged between 7 and 8 knots at about 80% of the maximum power/RPMs from the engine in light winds and moderate seas. On the second day, the 27th of October, the winds had clocked all the way around to SW, and eventually to W, increasing to Beaufort 4. Then, around noon of the next day, the seas began to increase.. | ||||||
| 27Oct 1000 |
243T | W/4 | 2 | V/7 | 19.7/66.5 (3 hours) |
58d 23.3m N 19d 29.4m E GPS; land off Starboad bow; switched on the starboard fuel tank so that we are running on both tanks |
| 1235 | 248T | NW/5 | 4 | V/4 | -- |
1100: Gotsua Saudo S top, depth 10.2 m 1235: course changed to 248T to avoid island shoals |
| 1300 | 248T | NW/5 | 5 | S/5 | 21.0/87.5 | 58d 14.00m N 18d 54.7m E GPS |
| 1600 | 248T | NW/5 | 5 | S/5 | 20.5/108 | 58d 06.1m N 18d 54.7 E GPS |
As you can see, we continued on with decent headway even when bucking fairly rough seas (5 Beaufort, about 4 meters or 12 feet). We were hanging on for all we were worth because, without the sails, the boat rolled considerable and violently. We found all the drawers that didn't latch well, and all the storage places with loosely packed contents during this time.. everything that could was banging about. We also avoid eating, even drinking so as not to change being seasick. There were only three of us, and the loss of even one watch would have been more than anyone else would have wanted to bear.
We tied up in Vastervik, Sweden on 28 October at 0105. At least 30 minutes was spent looking for a safe dock to tie to. We eventually settled on the town's quay for fishing boats. As it proved, this was the correct choice because this is where we were going to be rigged.
The totals for the trip were 278.6 nm in 42.4 hours,
averaging 6.57 knots. The total fuel consummed was about 350
liters (92 gallons): 8.3 liters/hr (2.2 gallons/hr). This
works out to 1.26 liters (0.33 gal) per nautical mile with
the engine running at 80% full power.
Getting Her Rig and Sails
A few days were spent improving various problems that showed up during
the passage as we waited for the rig and sails to arrive in
Vastervik. A seal around the companionway
hatch was added. Cold water had been dripping on the helmsman in the
pilothouse whenever the spray from the bow landed on the
pilothouse. The diesel heater would periodically snuff out when a gust
of wind hit. The manufacturer (Dickenson) recommended putting the
float valve athwartship. A local rigging and sail shop installed
proper lifelines (we were still running with the nylon rope that had
been tied on in Riga).
When the rig arrived from Karlstad (Skarven Mast) with the sails (Eric Brolinson, also of Karlstad), the spirits lifted. At last, Mother of Perl would become a sailing vessel. There were a few complications in that some of the chainplates for the shrouds were not installed in Riga. A local welder did a beautiful and efficient job, even staying around to build a mount for the radar antenna and a few other details. The rig, stays, shrouds and sails all fit! (Well, almost, the jib was a tad too long for the forestay.)
The only mishap was at the fuel dock. We managed to fill the aft head cabin and bilge with diesel instead of the port side fuel tank. The confusion of an extra unconnected deck plate over the head was solved with cold chisel and sealant. But the cost off 300 liters of fuel that needed to be pumped out and disposed off, plus a special cleaning crew made this error a bit costly.
By midnight of the following Tuesday, we were absolutely certain that the boat was ready for the voyage back to Estonia.
Her First Sail
It was unseasonably warm. There was light wind from west, and boat and
crew were ready to go. So what if it was midnight, pitch dark, and we
were inside a foreign archepelago. With radar on and search light on
deck, we motored away from the dock and raised sails before we were
out of the harbor. There were a few twists and turns (and gybes)
before we reached the last of the islands and set our course over the
north end of Gotland and ENE to Tallinn. But wind was steady (as was
the course) and we sailed. For the first time, S/V Mother of
Perl was under sail alone.
As we settled down to our 3 hour watches, the weather became even finer. By dawn, we were experimenting with balancing the sails to see if it was true that the Spray hull steered itself. At first, the longest that we would let her take her own course without adjustment was about five minutes. (I was later to discover that she could go several hours with only a five degrees of course variation.)
With wind dead astern, we found that we couldn't keep the jib filled because of the shadow caused by the mains'l. (During the Atlantic crossing, we discovered a double-reefed main solves this problem.) For next 36 hours we rolled along with following seas. It was a comfortable roll, unlike the heavy pitching that we had encounted when motoring to Sweden.
As the sun was getting low on the second day, we rounded into the Tallinn Bay. It was pitch black as we approached the breakwater wall of the Pirita harbor. We had only motorsailed while in the Vastervik archepelago and during the final two hours of our approach to Pirita. The passage had been a respectable 44 hours for the distance of approximately 280 nautical miles; an average of 6.4 knots. While in the open waters of the Baltic, we had not once had to tack or gybe.