Little Boat, Big Sea

[robertd]

Well guys I'm finally at a stage in my life where both CL 16 "Celtic Kiss" and I are living together in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia and I have the first two weeks of September for a much needed vacation. Now is the time for me to finally do the voyage I have long wanted to do and provided there aren't any hurricanes barreling northward from the Carolina's I'll be departing on a 154+ nm trip from Halifax to the Strait of Canso . The planned ETD is Sept 2 and will be budgeting for 7 - 9 days sailing along the picturesque NS coast.

For the past little while I have spent much time accumulating many items. My safety gear which consists of: handheld VHF radio, handheld GPS, charts and plotting equipment, Flare Gun Kit, running lights,flashlight, radar reflector, paddle, two anchors, 200ft of anchor line and 16 feet of chain, bailing bucket and sponge, floater coat and extra PF D's, cell phone, 2hp outboard, 2 sets of sails, spinnaker, two rudders and my logbook.

Sleeping gear will consist of: boom-tent, sleeping bag, pillow and foam mattress and clear garbage bags to keep them dry when not in use. Cooking and food supply will consist of: Portable BBQ and 2 small propane bottles,cooking pots, plastic utensils and plastic plates. Non-perishable foods including canned meats and soups, bottled meat, chicken, and maybe pork. Bag of potato's, fruits and vegetables, assorted dry snacks.
I picked the first part of September as it's usually a good weather window and am watching the weather reports quite intently now. I have also been asked to write about the trip for an upcoming issue of Atlantic Boating News magazine. So with that in mind, I've been spending a lot of time at SYC lately polishing the hull,cockpit and re-staining the seats for pics in the magazine.

Now here's where all of you come into the big plan. I thought it would be pretty slick to incorporate the importance of our e-group into the story. So I would kindly ask you to ask me questions about the particulars of the trip. I simply want to make sure I haven't over-looked anything so in a sense I am involving you in the trip planning process. As I've recently moved back from Alberta any local knowledge passed along will be much appreciated. I will be paying close attention to this site until my departure date and will gladly answer any questions you may have.

LET THE FUN BEGIN !!!!!!!!!!!


------------------
Robert
Celtic Kiss #2120

IP: Logged

[robertd]

SUCCESS!!!!!!

I completed my much anticipated trip aboard Celtic Kiss in early September. On one day in particular I recorded 23 nm in only 3 hours. Surfing down 12 waves at 9 knots in an open dinghy is a blast. Currently I am working on an article to be published in Atlantic Boating News Magazine which will be out later in the year.

[glenn]

Got any pics?

Probably saving them for the mag...

[robertd]

When I originally purchased my CL 16 "Celtic Kiss" I always thought it to be a great little boat to sail around in the big water. But after spending some time doing solo sailing in the Strait of Canso, NS and in Ghost Lake, Alberta my confidence in my little boat grew exponentially. Thus in 2000 I got the idea of sailing my little yacht along the Nova Scotia coastline from Halifax to the Strait of Canso. (150 nautical miles)
Much time and effort was spent ensuring that the boat was well equipped for such an excursion. Having already spent many hours on the water alone in "Celtc Kiss" I knew that seaworthiness was not an issue. So my prep time was mostly spent on navigation and food supply. The navigation was mostly done when I was living in Calgary as I wa once supplied with a wonderful website that provided me with every waypoint in the area. Thus I spent many hours sitting in front of my computer in Calgary entering hundreds of waypoints into my GPS. So I can honestly say that Don was a great help in my successful voyage. The GPS was strapped down to the seat on the port side, a compass on the starboard side and a total of 8 charts all neatly placed into a waterproof bag was tied to the mast for quick reference. The great thing about all the food, camping gear and personal clothing was that it provided me with a lot of ballast as it was all tucked into the forepeak. So for that reason the boat handled more like a keel boat rather than a sailing dinghy.

On my second day out the winds were light leaving Jeddore but soonafter the wind came up as had been predicted. Under a reefed main I was able to make it into Baltee Island where I ended up staying to wait out a gale force wind that was scheduled to pass through the area. This layover was a highlight of the trip as I found myself alone on a deserted island with a white sandy beach all to myself. I remember saying to myself. "AHA who needs Cancun?"

When it was time to get going again the added ballast proved to be invaluable on this particluar day when I found myself in in 25 knot winds and 12 foot waves. According to my GPS I was surfing down waves at 9 knots while I navigated between the many offshore breakers. The high seas were great in helping my identify the many breakers along that stretch of the coastline. This proved to be the most exhilerating sail I ever had in my life as my GPS told me that I had sailed 23 miles in only 3 hours. Sailing under reefed main alone under these extreme conditions and Celtic Kiss didn't take a drop of water aboard. As I was having a good day in high wind I didn't want to put any unnecessary stress on my gear so I set for shelter a bit early that day.

That turned out to be a good move as I landed in this small village of West Quoddy where I met three women who were most interested in sailing and of my adventure. As we became more friendly with each other I was offered to sleep in their house that night. How could I refuse that??

There were also 2 occassions which allowed me to set the spinnaker to help make up for light winds from astern. It took me a while to teach myself to sail the spinnaker sole but it can be done. When sailing the spinnaker I have embraced my "white cap" rule. If I see whitecaps the spinnaker stays in the bag.
My last night of the voyage was most interesting and a bit nostalgic. I was staying at the Canso Marina and payed a small berthing fee of $5. The guy in charge said to me that the rate is $20 for anything under 22 feet but he didn't feel right about charging me that much. So we settle on five dollars and I pitched my tent in the picnic are of the site where I cooked my last supper under an orange coloured full moon on a cloudless night. (Heavenly) It was a great trip and made I made great time as I averaged 30.6 miles per day.

On the final leg to my destination I had a very relaxed start as I didn't depart the marina until 1200. Interestingly enough a fellow in a Mirage 29 who I met the night before set out two hours ahead of me and was headed for the same destination as I had planned. I watched him leave Canso Harbour before I took to the chore of tearing down my campsite and re-packing Celtic Kiss.

Upon clearing the rocky entrance to Canso Harbour I could see my buddy out on the horizon. I didn't realize I was getting myself into a race but when all was said and done I made up great time sailing at 5.5 to 6.2 knots and soon found myself abeam of the Mirage 29. And to my surprise I zipped passed him and was tied to the Pirate Harbour wharf 30 minutes before he was able to take a mooring out in the harbour.

Surprisingly enough I was greeted by many friends and neighbours who had been following my trip. And the person I wanted to see the most, my father, flew across the country from Calgary and took my bowline. We all celebrated with champagne and beer on the wharf to celebrate a successful voyage.

Final GPS readings: Distance 185 miles
Max Speed 9.1 knots
Distance per day 30.6 m

As a precaution I purchased an outboard motor for safety reasons. When I was taught to sail on the Glenmore Resevoir in Calgary we could not use a motor. As the resevoir is used for the drinking supply motors are banned. Thus everything is done under sail. As a consequence I feel out of my element when under power. So in keeping with my purist sailing attitude I am happy to report that during the entire trip not a drop of fuel was used.


------------------
Robert,
Celtic Kiss #2120