The final leg to Hampton
The alarm went off at 5 a.m., jolting me awake from a deep sleep. Reluctantly, I crawled out of the warm bed and to the main salon. My brother Neil was already awake and firing up the Nespresso. Neil and I were savoring our first coffee of the morning, enjoying the warmth of the mug […]
About the Weather
“A pocket of energy is in the Gulf of Mexico. The moisture and warm water temperature, along with the trough extending from Hispanola to the Bahamas will cause significant disturbance in the weather, possibly in the northeastern Caribbean.” The Exclamation Marks suggest possible lightning strikes along the sailing route south…… I listened intently before I […]
And we are off…
Today was the day. At 5 a.m. I was wide awake in the pitch blackness of the cabin. The silence permeating through the boat indicated no wind and calm conditions in the Salt Ponds Marina, in Hampton, Virginia where I had docked ILEANA for the past month. After much discussion among the Salty Dawg Sailors at the […]
Beach rescue 1971
At 15 years old, I was shipped off to Atlantic College in Wales, UK for my last 2 years of high school. Little did I know then how much of an impact that would have on my future. Atlantic College is an international school of about 300 students where high academic standards are expected and […]
We Have a Problem….
“We have a problem,” said Jeff. I had passed out on my bunk after finishing my shift at 1 a.m. when he awoke me. What now? I thought. The boat was gently rocking on the swells and the soft sound of slicing through the seas seemed to indicate the boat was moving well. I quickly slipped […]
I thought I escaped unscathed…
I ran into a fishing net with buoys sailing to Antigua off the coast of Barbuda. It was wrapped around the propeller, rudder, and keel. I lost all ability to steer. In the middle of the night, it was pitch black. The seas were rough, and the wind was howling. A strong wind and current […]
Red sky in morning sailors take warning….
Posted on November 11, 2024 by john.hagen12 The best shift on the deck of my sailboat is the 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. shift. Watching the sun come up and feeling the warmth on the skin with a gentle breeze is a special sensation after a night at sea. We were 350 miles north of Antigua. The winds […]
We caught a fish…well two at the same time!
A strong wind blew steadily from the Northeast. As we departed from the charming Jolly Harbor in Antigua, the sun was just beginning to appear on the horizon, its rays only faintly illuminating the sky. It was Barbuda, an island rendered iconic by the late Princess Diana’s fondness for its secluded shores, that we had […]