It was pitch black at 3:00 AM in the morning. The singlehanded race had started at 10:00 AM the previous morning but the winds had been light, so the progress had been very slow. My 51 foot Hanse was barely moving through the water. There were no stars or moon to help guide me. The only light was from my instruments which I used to direct me to the next mark which was about 15 miles away. Suddenly, the entire sky was lit up with lightning followed by a loud boom which was thunder only a second later. It was so loud that it shook the boat. The lightning strike must have been very close and this was followed immediately by another terrifying flash of lightning and thunder that seemed closer. A huge gust of wind came out of nowhere that threatened to push the boat flat against the water. My knot meter registered this gust at 27 knots. Inside the boat I heard a loud crash from something that was not properly stowed away as the boat heeled at an alarming angle. The boat speed went from 1 knot up to 7.5 knots in a matter of seconds. This had all the makings of a nautical disaster as things were rapidly spinning out of control.
2 days earlier
The Lake Ontario shorthanded racing series (LOSHRS) was up and running again after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The skippers meeting took place in person on Friday, August 19, 2022 at the Port Credit Yacht Club. To encourage attendance, there were three bottles of rum that were raffled. This is probably the most effective way to encourage attendance by sailors, and as a result the meeting room was packed. The sailing instruction were reviewed as was the course for the 100 mile overnight sailing race.
The race was to begin at 10:00 AM Saturday August 21, 2022 but there was very little wind.
The first mark was the Fogh mark about 4 miles offshore. The wind picked up slightly and after about an hour, I rounded the mark.
The next mark was the Gibraltar point mark which was about 16 miles away. I was one of the last boats to round that mark. My boat seems to get slower and slower as I continually add stuff. Over the past while, I have been loading up my boat with generator, washing machine, dishwasher, watermaker, air conditioner, and I had enough fuel, water, and food to last me several weeks. My plan is to sail the boat to Antigua in the fall with the Salty Dawg Rally that leaves from Hampton Virginia on November 1, 2022, but I wanted as much experience as possible singlehanded racing as this 51 foot boat is still relatively new to me. My plan is to gain as much experience as possible to improve my sailing, and singlehanded racing in Lake Ontario is a great way of doing that. A 51 foot sailboat is a huge boat to manage by yourself especially when it comes to things like reducing sail in stiff winds or docking without taking out the dock or smashing a hole in the boat. When there is no one around to help when the conditions change, you have to rely on yourself and your own experience to guide you through. This adds a level of excitement, anxiety and uncertainty that all single handed sailors are familiar with, and keeps on drawing us back to more single handed racing.
The next mark was returning to the Fogh mark, and many of the boats put up their spinnakers. My spinnaker does not meet the requirements for racing and so I am not permitted to use it. This may in fact be a lucky thing as it is over 2000 square feet and very difficult to control when the wind picks up. Sometimes when I am not racing, I just cannot help myself and will put it up just to see what happens. This is OK if you’ve got a huge strong crew to help bring it in but remains challenging when you are by yourself and your intention is to get back to shore intact. Fortunately, the decision as to whether I could use it was out of my hands as I drifted along behind the rest of the racing boats in light winds…..
I rounded the Niagara mark around midnight. The winds continued to be light, as I headed for the Burlington weather mark. This was about 30 miles away. My GPS predicted that I would be there sometime on Monday as I was barely moving. When it comes to sailing, things can change so I was not terribly concerned but I was starting to get somewhat tired. It is hard to stay awake especially when the boat is bobbing around with little wind. As I was by myself and there were no other boats around, I cranked up the stereo and listened to country music to keep me awake.
I was barely awake when the first flash of lightening lit up the sky. One second later when the thunder shook the boat I was definately awake. When I was suddenly hit by a gust of wind of 27 knots, I was totally awake and had to make some decisions. The rain was pelting down horizontally. Everything happened so quickly that I did not have time to put on my foul weather gear and within seconds I was sopping wet. The rain was pelting my eyes making it difficult to see anything. My boat has fractional rig which means that most of the power comes from the main sail. From my experience sailing to the Bahamas and back this year, after around 22 knots, I usually put the first reef in the mainsail to reduce sail. After about 30 knots, I put in the second reef. After 38 knots, the third reef goes in and the jib gets furled. After 46 knots, the sails come down, I turn on the engine and hope the best…..
It is said that the best time to put in a reef is the moment that you think about it. Fortunately, I can do all of this from the cockpit. The waters were starting to get rough and the boat was heeled over. On my last boat, I would have had to get on the deck at the mast to begin the reefing process. In doing so, I would run the risk of getting washed overboard. This was one risk I did not have to worry about in my Hanse 508 and I released the main halyard, put in the first reef, and then I tensioned the halyard from the cockpit, all in less than a minute. The boat was sailing much better under reduced sail and I was moving along at around 7.5 knots hoping that the winds would stay this way for a while.
As with all sailing stories, things never remain the same and the weather conditions change. In this case, the storm passed just as I was thinking about putting in a second reef. The wind settled down to about 16 knots. I was still moving along nicely and had visions of reaching Port Credit Yacht Club in time for breakfast. When the wind settled down to three knots, my boat was barely moving again. I drifted around the Burlington weather mark hoping that I did not drift into this massive structure as there was a very slight current towards it.
I finished the race as one of the last boats at around 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon. The winds were light at around 4-5 knots. I took the sails down and motored into the Port Credit Yacht Club. Peter Hager was there to greet me and helped me dock the boat. Peter has been working tirelessly on my boat along with Pat Sturgeon, getting it ready for my trip down south to Antigua this fall. I was reminded how lucky I am to have such great friends as them. After docking the boat, I fell asleep in my air conditioned stateroom understanding that the price of being slow is worth it………
It was certainly an interesting race with some scary weather on way to Burlington. Jersey Girl was keeping an eye on you with AIS. Glad you finished safely with more understanding of the mighty Ileana gained.