June 1

Greetings everyone. This evening I attempted to contact Indian Summer as promised. However, I did not have much luck.  On the 3rd frequency I was able to hear some of what Emerson said but he could not hear me.  This is what I think I heard.  Their Lat at the time was 33 N and Longitude 68 W.  They had traveled 200 miles so far and I think they may be under motor at this point but all is well.

Len had contacted Dale by satellite phone this morning and reported that they were having a beautiful sail cruising at about 8 knots and enjoying life.  I will try again tomorrow and again on Thursday.  Hope I have better luck then!

Smooth sailing Indian Summer.....

Suzan

Leaving Bermuda

...Right now!

departure

At 8:00am Sunday morning Emerson and I took the return crew to BWI.  Everyone was in great spirits.  Len has certainly assembled a great group of sailors for this journey.  They had dinner aboard Indian Summer last night and spent the day (Monday) touring St. George and getting to know each other.  They are departing this evening in light winds.  The forecast for the return trip is for the light winds to continue.  They worry they may have to spend too much time (more than any sailor would like) motoring .  The water maker will not be working for this return leg so they will be conserving water.  I will be trying each night to contact Indian Summer by SSB and will post their progress on the blog.

Until tomorrow.....

Cheers

Suzan

Preparing for Departure

We are preparing to go to the dock for water, then we will go to the
customs dock. The dinghy is stowed and ready to go to sea. Dan will
join us at the Customs dock.

Nightfall

The sun has gone down, and the crew of Indian Summer is well fed (on
Chicken Tetrazini; kudos to Susan for that). The temperature is
pleasant and there is a gentle breeze blowing from the northeast. The
weather charts show mostly light winds for the next few days, so we
are crossing our fingers for enough breeze to propel the boat without
the engine. We are planning to depart in the late afternoon tomorrow.

In Bermuda

We just arrived!

On the Plane

Mladen, Robert and I just boarded our flight. Let the journey begin!

My Bags are Packed

The crew for the return of Indian Summer will rendezvous in the morning and ride with Suzan to the airport. We are all looking forward to a great sail. The forecast conditions for the early part of this week look good, winds 10-15 knots. By Thursday we could see a cold front coming off the US coast, so we'll keep an eye on that. Our current plan is to depart Bermuda either Monday evening, or Tuesday morning.

Week in Bermuda

Len and his family and crew will be touring Bermuda this week. We will resume updating this blog when Indian Summer departs from Bermuda, around June 1st. I will be joining the boat just before departure, and my wife, Suzan, will be doing the radio work shoreside. Thanks for following the voyage here!

Bermuda

Indian Summer arrived in St. George at 11:30 this morning. They had an
excellent sail, and the crew is well. Some of the crew began touring
the island by scooter this afternoon. They will all rendezvous for
dinner at 7:00 this evening. Congratulations to Len and his crew on a
very successful voyage!

Bermuda Weather Today

Indian Summer should arrive in Bermuda today. Below is the weather that they should find there:

Winds west-northwesterly 5 to 10 knots, veering northwesterly 8 to 12 knots this afternoon... Isolated early afternoon showers with mainly fair visibility, clearing east... Seas inside the reef 0 to 1 ft... Outside the reef 2 to 4 ft.

Getting Close

Indian Summer is about 99 miles out from Bermuda. They have had a
great sail, making 7-9 knots with a good breeze. They expect to arrive
tomorrow, mid-day.

Whale Ho!

I just spoke with Len on the satphone. They spotted a humpback whale while we talked! It surfaced several times, and blew it's spout as it made it's way across their track.

Indian Summer is currently about 300 miles out from Bermuda and expects to arrive mid-day on Sunday. Her current position is 34 55 N, 69 10 W.

The watermaker on board has stopped working, so the crew is conserving water. All of the crew is doing well.

Spinnaker

Tonight we made contact via SSB. I could hear Len fine, but it was
hard for him to hear me. Indian Summer is doing well, making 8 knots
under spinnaker. There is some weather coming from astern, so the crew
is about to strike the spinnaker.

Quiet in the Atlantic

The weather conditions at sea today are very gentle: 10 knot winds at
the sea buoys that are reporting. Len is probably wishing for more
breeze. The forecast is for 10 to 15 knots from the SW today, which is
a good direction for the course of Indian Summer. They should be
beyond the Gulfstream by their next report.

In the Gulfstream

Our radio contact didn't work out, but I received the following email from Dale:

"Hi Emerson!! Len was unable to reach you with the radio and so called me on the satellite phone. They are all doing just fine and are motoring in the gulf stream at 9 knots. The water temperature is 81, but the air is cold. A small squall is coming and they are all preparing right now. They enjoyed Susan’s Turkey Tetrazzini and just LOVED it. At their currant speed their ETA is 6am on Sunday."

Gulfstream

All is well as Indian Summer is motoring in the Gulfstream tonight.
More details soon...

Offshore Weather

The winds piped up to near 20 knots last night, according to a NOAA weather bouy. The conditions were perfect for Indian Summer, so she is probably making good time. The winds are expected to get lighter over the next 24 hours, and then pick back up on Saturday. We will get to hear tonight at our next check-in how Len and crew are progressing.

Light Winds

The winds tonight, just offshore where Indian Summer is sailing, are becoming very light (less than 5 knots at Chesapeake Light).

Out to Sea

At 6:15 Indian Summer is passing through the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel and heading out to sea. The winds are light, from the east so she is motoring. She will see the edge of the Gulfstream in about 130 miles, probably late tomorrow. I wished Len and his crew bon voyage, and we will talk again tomorrow evening.

Norfolk and Hail

At 5:00 Indian Summer was at the fuel dock. As they tied up, there was a strong thunderstorm looming. They had to delay fueling until the storm passed. During the storm, they were boarded by some large hail that they later scooped out of the cockpit with a dust pan. They plan to head out to sea shortly. I have a planned radio contact with the crew at 6:00 PM, just a few minutes from now. This is really just a test, as their cell phones will still work until they are 10-15 miles out to sea.

Nearing Norfolk

I just spoke to Len via cell phone. Indian Summer is about 25 miles
out from Little Creek, their refueling stop near the mouth of the
Chesapeake Bay. They have been motoring a lot today, so topping off is
a smart move. They expect to be finished refueling around 5 PM.
Conditions in the ocean are 10 knots from the S to SE, seas 4 feet,
very benign conditions for Indian Summer. Len also explained that
their problem last night was a blown fuse, which they replaced and
have had no problems since.

Indian Summer - Day 1

I just received the following text report from Len:

"Set sail about on time. Got as far as Annapolis and had to have a
repair done. Long story for later. Left Annapolis 11:00 pm. Sailed and
motored all night (not bad) we are averaging about 8kts. We just
crossed the mouth of Potomac."

We plan to test our SSB radio contact this evening at 6:00 PM.

Nothing to Report

There were forecasts of strong winds last night, and Len was
reconsidering whether to leave then, or wait until this morning. I
haven't heard from Indian Summer yet on their actual departure time.
Stay tuned for more information later today. The winds forecast for
today are light, 10 knots from the SE on the Chesapeake.

Departure Tomorrow

Indian Summer plans to leave the dock on Tuesday evening, and head south, down the Chesapeake Bay. Because the weather is unsettled through Wednesday, Len and crew plan to put into the ocean on Thursday, when a favorable weather window will open. We onshore sailors wish you fair winds and following seas.

Indian Summer

Indian Summer is a Hallberg-Rassy 53; here is a photo of a sistership. She will begin her voyage this week!

The Voyage of Indian Summer

Starting next Wednesday, I will be filing position reports for "Indian
Summer" on their outbound trip to Bermuda. I will be aboard for the
return trip, back to Annapolis, the first week of June, so watch for
updates here for that trip as well. We will be staying in touch via
SSB, once a day at 6:00 PM EDT, so updates will come shortly after
that time each day.

Maiden Voyage

We sailed on Silence last night in a north breeze, 10-15 knots. Very
pleasant sailing.

Sails are Bent

We bent on the sails today, so Silence is ready to sail. Unfortunately, there is no wind today. I'm off to scratch the backstay.