Wishing Them the Best

It's a bit different for all the families of the EYE crew this year, having their sons away during the holidays.  They are loved and missed.

We wish them all the joys of the holiday, and fun and safe travels througout the year.

It looks like this adventure was inevitable :)

Christmas at the Stewart's in 1999.

Alan opening one of his gifts from his GrandPop

Santa brought Alan his first sailboat

Key Biscayne to Berry Islands

317 miles during 17 Nov 2009 to 23 Dec 2009

www.spotadventures.com/trip/view/?trip_id=184266

Marina on Great Harbor Cay in the Berry Islands

Marina on Great Harbor Cay in the Berry Islands

(Note the BaTelCo Tower)

View from Space: the Bahama Shelf

Aerial of Great Harbor Cay (www.skypic.com)

Aerial of Great Harbor Cay (http://marinas.com)

Leaving USA: Crossing to the Bahamas

Yesterday the high temperature in Key Biscayne, FL, was only 67 F. Where did the warm 80 F weather go? Heading for warmer latitudes, the EYE crew departed Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne at about 2:00 am today and said goodbye to the USA for a while. The temperature was 61 F. By 2:00 pm they were within 2 miles of Ocean Cay and were approaching South Cat Cay.

Since the launch in Hampton, VA, the SPOT messenger has worked very well; it has been easy to follow the track of the WTP. It is a good thing we do not need to predict how the winds will be blowing and where they will be next because that would be difficult. Not surprisingly, the wind forecast has changed since yesterday for the waters between Miami and the Bahamas. Here are the more recent SailFlow wind forecasts (1pm, 4pm, 7pm) for the Bahamas.

The map (below) from the University of Miami illustrates the speeds of surface currents in the Atlantic.

http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/atlantic/spaghetti-speed.html

Wind and the Gulf Stream

Wind Forecast as of 1:00 am December 21

The above wind forecast according to SailFlow is for the Biscayne Bay area.

North wind: The EYE crew posted "...we're waiting out several days of north winds. When the winds blow out of the north and interact with the north-flowing Gulf Stream, they form steep and close waves that make a crossing uncomfortable...."

East wind: Wind out of the east would be a head wind; the crew would have to tack into the wind.

West wind: The crew would rock and roll on a downwind run if the winds are out of the west.

South wind: The crew would sail on a reach across the north-bound flows of the Gulf Stream and the wind.

The crew may be looking at other data and better data for winds over the Gulf Stream. Nothing else taken into account, and assuming the SailFlow forecast is meaningful, the SailFlow forecast suggests that maybe the wind the crew has been waiting for may arrive at 4am on December 25th --Christmas Day.

The forecast suggests a window of perhaps 12 hours with winds out of the south or southwest on Christmas Day.

Posted Draft of Pending Route

SPOT Track Since Leaving Coconut Grove

Usual/Recommended Crossings Shown on BlueChart

All I want for Christmas is.... a global expedition for youth education?

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Picture above of Alan’s berth with Christmas stocking hung.

We are pretty excited seeing the EYEcrew’s SPOT tracking online as they left their recent home mooring in Miami at the Coconut Grove Yacht Club. Alan had called early Thursday from the Home Depot (still buying supplies) to tell us they would be sailing by afternoon. They’ve crossed Biscayne Bay and will hold for weather before crossing the Gulf Stream.

The Miami Herald

Read article here...

Shaken ... Not Stirred

"Twenty-something trio to teach A-B-seas"

Reporter Kenny Malone from WLRN / Miami Herald News is on the local NPR News team serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, the Palm Beaches and the Florida Keys. He visited the EYE crew and sailing vessel W.T.P. to post an audio report on the WLRN / Miami Herald News website.

Listen to it here... http://www.miamiherald.com/943/#

In this interview Kenny Malone tries the Fruity Pebbles cereal onboard the W.T.P., Alan Stewart explains advantages of a pressure cooker, and we learn (and are not surprised) that Adam Domanski prefers his powdered milk shaken --not stirred.

A "Mom" Post

As excited as I am about this adventure, as a Mom, there are certainly some worries, my biggest is 'man overboard'.  So, today I'll  take advantage of having this Blog and put up a “Mom” post regards safety. 

One of the last things we gifted Alan the day before they left Virginia was a safety clip and tether. Alan said the crew was planning to make them for themselves, but we still felt better knowing Alan had one from the beginning, and one that met the special regulations detailing the required construction and hardware specifications for approved harnesses for offshore travel.

How important are these? And how/when should they be worn? Well on the ‘Messing About in Small Boats”  website/forum there was this post:

“whenever I have sailed offshore, I have sometimes felt that skippers are a bit melodramatic in the routines they set for how to clip on. One in particular told me that the second I poked my head through the companion way I was to clip on. And on returning back down below, not to unclip till the last possible second. Now I see why.”

This was followed by this frightening video, of a crewmember just finishing his watch and unclipping to go down to the cabin.

Another safety article Paul and I like is by Captain Mario Vittone about hypothermia and flotation.  Hypothermia can happen in summer conditions and warm waters, it's not only about cold water.

One of the points made is:

"It is impossible to die from hypothermia in cold water unless you are wearing flotation, because without flotation, you won t live long enough to become hypothermic."

His 3 rules are these...

(1) When working on deck, wear flotation.

(2) If you witness a man overboard, getting the life ring directly to them is critical (vital step one must do it). So make certain that all-important piece of safety gear is not just on your vessel, but readily available and -NOT- tied to the cradle.

(3) When working on deck, wear flotation. (I said that already? Well, when I quit reading search reports that end with experienced mariners dying because they thought they understood cold water I ll come up with better advice.)

Ok, I"ll get off my soap box now :)

Alan's Life Aboard

Below is an email Alan wrote to some family and friends.  It really describes living on board the William T Paquette:

What is it like living on-board the boat?  I am really enjoying it and we learn new ways to make our lives easier every day sometimes on an hourly basis. We rotate shifts during the day and night. On Watch you are steering the boat, On Call you are doing anything the person on watch needs help with like checking charts, changing sails, filling water bottles, etc. Then you are OFF where you can sleep most importantly or anything else you want. Then you are COOK making meals if it is time to, washing dishes, cleaning the cabin and if you clean and don't need to make food then you are essentially OFF and can sleep or if more help is needed with sails you jump in.

It is working out very well so far. During the day we take 3 four-hour shifts and at night we take 4 three-hour shifts so no one has to stay up for too long. As you might be able to tell, life happens pretty fast living under shifts like that and there is constantly stuff that needs doing of fixing or working on.

Early on when it was cold and we were running the engine a lot, only the person on watch wanted to be "up top" on deck and everyone else was "down below" in the cabin where it was warm so we tied a string to the ships bell which is in the cabin and the person on watch could ring the bell with the string if they needed help with something. Thats just one example of things we have figured out while underway.

I have my own "space" (see picture) that has a bunk, a shelf, and space under the bunk to store things. Overall I have a very small but cozy space to keep all my stuff. Adam who has the quarter-berth opposite to me sleeps with his guitar in its case since there is no where else to keep it. Overall the boat is narrow for its length and it makes for a living space that is small but functional. We also find that it is just the right size that it forces you to clean up anything out of place otherwise it is very difficult to move about. I like having a place for all my things and don't mind not having a lot of stuff at all. Stuff seems to be the enemy of cruisers. Living on board is a lot like backpacking only we carry around our kitchen and bathroom and beds with us. Unlike backpacking, we don't have to worry about weight so much; we can carry stoves, cans and lots of water.

We have a bathroom (a "head" on a boat) and it pumps to a holding tank which we pump overboard when we are at least 3 miles offshore as per the US rules. Elsewhere there are no rules (from what we have heard from experienced cruisers) and I expect we will adopt a "when in Rome" attitude to our waste probably with the exception of trash which it is also LEGAL to dump overboard (with the exception of plastic) when at least 12 miles offshore, again in the US.

What Don't we have?  Here are some of the things we don't have compared to a normal modern home.
    - no refrigeration
    - no microwave
    - no oven
    - no air conditioning or heating
    - no TV
    - a shower (plans are in the works)
    - running water

What we do have is a propane stove-top with 2 burners a frying pan and a pressure cooker. We have a cooler that we can fill with ice that will keep things cold for about 5 days but we are trying to live without it if possible. We also do not have freely running water; rather, we have sink faucets with mechanical pumps. To wash dishes we use a saltwater faucet driven by a foot pump. For cooking, rinsing dishes and for drinking water we use a freshwater faucet driven by a hand pump. We have a shower that is not hooked up yet and we plan to hook it up to a saltwater foot pump as well. For now, showers while underway are taken on deck with a bucket.

What are we eating?  We eat pretty well despite not having refrigeration. Rice, oatmeal, pancake mix, lots of beans, canned meat (tuna, corned beef, spam, dried sausage) and veggies and fresh fruit and BREAD whenever we can buy them. We also caught a nice big fish last Friday (a Spanish mackerel) which we cooked and ate for lunch. It was our first fish catch and was our first meal from the sea caught and cooked onboard. Very exiting. Trevor is a great cook and usually makes elaborate and delicious meals. We are also exited about using local ingredients to make food onboard especially when we leave the US.

Batteries. We have a big bank of golf cart batteries that power our rechargeable items (phones, computers, VHF radio and flashlights) and also our cabin lights and GPS unit. We have solar panels and a wind generator mounted on the top of the mast to re-charge our batteries. The engine also charges the batteries when it is running but we seldom run the engine and never when offshore unless absolutely necessary so it is not a major source of charging our batteries. We are still learning about our power consumption and how much we use versus how much we can make.

Communication. We have a ham radio that we will be able to use to send emails when we are offshore as well as a blackberry that can receive and send emails whenever we have cell phone coverage. So far the blackberry is working very well and as soon as I get the radio email set up I will be able to email more regularly. We also have a satellite phone that should allow us to make phone calls from anywhere in the world.

Well, that's a little about the boat and what its been like so far. I'll be writing more updates soon so stay tuned.

In case you didn't know, you can track us in real time by going to http://www.eyeotw.org and looking on the right hand side at the map ("Where are they now?") Also on the eye of the world homepage is a link to "Alan's Crew Journal" where I will also be posting updates.

I miss everyone back at home and want everyone to know that I am having an awesome time! I can't wait to leave the US on our floating home and do some REAL travelling. I have email access of course so EMAIL ME please.  It is also possible to send me stuff, i just need to know in advance and I can give you the address and instructions to send a letter or package to our next stop for them to hold for me.

Love Alan

A Note on the Log of the Spartina

The EYE of the World crew has a growing number of friends and supporters in the sailing community; for example, Steve Earley who sails a home-built John Welsford-designed Pathfinder called Spartina.

Following Steve Earley's blog, "The Log of the Spartina," is always a good thing. The sailing! The photography! Steve is a master of knowing how to savor and share the entire cruising experience from anticipating and planning, to enjoying sailing adventures, to looking back with appreciation. Check out Steve's blog.

This past weekend, while wearing an EYE tee-shirt, Steve wrote about refinishing work on the Spartina, recalled the original building experience, and continued his support for the EYE crew.

Thank you, Steve!

Thanksgiving, Ham Radio, Miami, etc ...

We were pleased to see that the crew of the EYE enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving Feast.  Alan tells us Trevor is a great chef and brings quite a bit of creativity and ingenuity to their meals. I think Alan is eating better than he ever did in college.

An article in a local Maryland newspaper was published about Adam and the EYE, titled ‘Potomac Native Sails the Globe for Education’. You can read the article here.  We've heard the EYE has been getting some press in the Miami area as well. 

While in Ft Lauderdale, Alan passed the 2 exams needed to get his Ham Radio license. This will allow email communication via radio called ‘Sail Mail’ when they are between ports and have no phone or internet connection is unavailable.

We also heard about a shopping expedition in Ft Lauderdale. Evidently the West Marine store is huge. Alan said it was like shopping in a large Lowes or Home Depot. They were able to find the equipment needed to fix the stove and oven on the boat; they are changing it out to run off propane. In the interim they have been using a Coleman camp stove on the galley counter, but it is not gimbaled (swivels to adjust to the lean of the boat while underway) and will not work well for them once they leave Miami.

The Eye plans to stay in Miami for a couple of weeks while Adam completes the final requirements for his PhD from NC State University.  This would be a great time to mail the guys Holiday gifts. I’d just check first to verify a mailing address where they can receive a package.

The First 1055 Miles

The EYE crew docked the yawl, Willam T. Piquette, in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on 11/21/09 having covered 1055 miles from Hampton, VA, with brief stops in New Bern, NC, and Charleston, SC, along the way. Off the coast of Georgia, they passed almost within hailing distance of Dawn Stewart who was kayaking in the area of Sapelo Island. The crew is currently enjoying very warm weather in Fort Lauderdale --rather different from the weather back in Hampton, VA.

Alan Stewart, serving as captain of the Piquette, will be taking an exam this evening toward qualify as a HAM radio operator.

UPDATE: Alan passed both the 'Technician Test' and the 'General Test'. (We knew you would, Alan.) He is now officially a HAM and a member of the local HAM club in Ft. Lauderdale. He will receive his HAM call sign from the FCC in a few days. Congratulations Alan!

The First 1055 Miles at SpotAdventures

Map created by SpotAdventures:GPS Geotagging

It's Raining, It's Pouring, the Old Man is ....

The ‘William T Paquette’ and crew look to be tucked in at a dock right where the ICW begins its turn off the end of the Cape Fear River where the River spills into the Atlantic. We’ve been told they plan to stay on the ICW for a few days due to the weather.  Rain, rain, and more rain, up to ¼ inch per hour, 8-10 inches at the coast, and with flood watches throughout the state.

The marine forecast for the area: The remnants of Ida will absorb into a developing low pressure system offshore the Carolinas today. The low will move up the coast and will be off of Cape Fear Thursday morning. High pressure moving into New England will interact with this low to produce gusty northeast winds and rough seas much of the week. Easing winds and improving sea conditions can be expected by the weekend.

I just noticed the guys have started to post on their individual logs on the EYE’s website  (I wish there was a way their home page could indicate when they have each made a new posting).

Trevor at the helm motor sailing along

Trevor’s posting really speaks to the excitement of the last weeks for him, and brought back lots of the emotions many of us felt on the dock at Gloucester VA when they waved good bye.

Adam’s last post describes the crews expected schedule while underway, taking watch and cooking shifts. I find these details of daily life very interesting to read about.

And Alan, the serious and contemplative member was his usual verbose self (we love you Alan) :)

North Carolina Coast

Alan sent me the picture above while sailing from Beaufort Inlet to Masonboro Inlet off the NC Coast yesterday (Monday).

This morning he called and said that they had a really nice warm day, and good tail winds. The wind vane actually did all the steering for about 7 hours.  I had to ask Paul what a wind vane was, he said "a Wind Vane Steering System is like a tiller pilot except that it uses the wind direction to keep the boat on a line -- even if the wind direction changes a some. (A geometry teacher's delight, I would think.)

The tail winds do mean that there is more pitching and rolling around.  Alan said no one was seasick, but they all did have occasional moments of feeling a bit queasy.   And they loved watching the dolpins swimming and playing along side them for much of the day.

Then he relayed a story about their anchorage. They came into Masonboro in the dark, at full on low tide. It is a narrow inlet with rock jetties on both sides. Once inside, the deep channel is very narrow with shallows all around. While looking for a quick anchorage for the night, they grounded in the sand, and could not release with the motor on full power. So they rowed out to a day marker and used the anchor wench to get free. The photo below shows their tracks getting into the inlet, and I assume getting settled at anchor.

Last night, Paul met up with Adam who had returned to Raleigh to meet with his school advisors as he gets ready to finalize the last of the requirements for his PhD degree from NC State. Paul had a box of hardware Alan wanted that he gave Adam. Adam assured us that they all had their eyes on the weather and were watching the news regards Hurricane Ida to figure out what impact Ida weather might have on their routing. Currently they plan to stay in the ICW until that all resolves. The other’s are planning to motor sail up to South Port where they will pick up Adam later tonight (Tuesday).

I noticed a new link on the EYE of the World website that includes pictures the crew has taken on their phones, this is under the SPOT tracker. As a Mom, I especially liked seeing these, looks like they are eating well.

H.F. Radio On Board

www.hfradio.com
Many thanks to Don Melcher of "HF Radio On Board" for his generous help toward putting together a high frequency (HF) single sideband (SSB) radio system for e-mail, weatherfax, and radio communications. Alan has obtained the required Ship Station Radio License and a Restricted Radio Operator Permit from the FCC and is planning to test for his HAM license while in Miami. Don Melcher is the founder and owner of "HF Radio On Board" and draws on a background of 45+ years involvement with ham radio and sailing. Thanks, Don!
More about HF Radio On Board, transceivers, modems, WinLink, Airmail, and antennas when the equipment installations are complete and the e-mails are flying.
--Paul

Happy Birthday Liz

MORE Pictures

The EYE crew has been very lucky to have made some wonderful friends over the year while dry docked at Crown Point Marina, in Gloucester, Virginia. For example, Chris and Karen, have basically adopted them.

They also selflessly donated folding bikes for the journey, and even held a fund-raising dinner at their house with their friends and neighbors. I’ve also heard Karen fed them very well during their various boat work weekends over the past year.

Below is a slide show of the Bon Voyage that Chris sent us. It had some very nice graphics which unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep in order to post the slide show on the blog, but I was able to keep the pictures showing them making their goodbyes and leaving the dock in Gloucester.



The Friends and family of the EYE would like to also express their deep appreciation for all the help and support given by Crown Point Marina and the wonderful community of sailors there for all the help, support, and friendship they extended to our crew.

Batteries Charging

The EYE seems to be making really good progress getting to New Bern for the weekend as planned.

Alan texted us the picture below from his phone.  He's got the battery monitor all hooked up now.  The solar panels and wind generator seem to be doing their share of keeping the batteries charged, and they are starting to see how much power things use, and how well they replenish the power.

Alan said that next they plan to finish wiring up all the navigation lights (they are running temporary lights now).  And he mentioned their needing a frying pan, and getting the boats stove converted to propane soon, they aren't able to easily cook on their temporary coleman camp stove while underway.

Another picture from Alan (below) with an explanation of the power generated to the battery banks. The 12.5 amps shown above shows the power generated from the motor. The 7.1 amps below is power that is generated solely from the solar panel and wind generator.

More Great Pictures

Our adventurers waving good-bye

This shot is from Trevor's Dad, who took some absolutely beautiful shots which can be seen HERE.

And, they made the newspaper. Read the article HERE.

On the Move through Virginia

A friend of ours (and a photographer) who sails his own homebuilt Pathfinder sailboat named Spartina, and who keeps a sailing blog of his weeklong adventures, sent us these photos of the EYE taken at 11:30am through the the Great Bridge locks, and at 12:00 at the Great Bridge bridge lift.  Thanks Steve.

There They Go

It was a weekend of excitment and a touch of sadness as we all gathered in Hampton Virginia over the weekend to suppport our "Guys" as they embarked on their big adventure.  Parents and siblings, friends new and old, and even a few classrooms of school kids who are part of the educational program were all there to wave them a "Bon Voyage". 

Our sailors, Adam, Alan, and Trevor, also joined by friend Liz who will sail with them through the month on the way to Florida, before our 3 take off for other parts of the world.

Slideshow of photos taken by Alan's family.

After seeing the guys off, and having returned to Chapel Hill, we got a text message from Alan later that night telling us they were anchored for the night off Portsmouth VA (as planned) and that the pillow we'd insisted on buying him was 'verrrry nice' :)