We're on a Sailboat, Aren't We.......?

A recent conversation raised the question of how many miles have we put under the keel since we left Texas Nov. 11, 2009, the answer is 2,100 nm (just over 2,400 statute miles). After reviewing the log we noted some interesting statistics regarding these miles. Of the 2100 miles we spent almost 550 of them and 20 days travelling in the ICW between Texas and Florida. We originally thought it would make a nice start to the journey; we would be able to visit some of the smaller communities along the U.S. Gulf Coast, towns and places that we would otherwise never see. While this turned out to be true, especially for those areas far from any highways, we must say that having done it once we have no desire to ever do it again. By the time we made it to Alabama we were more than ready to hoist sails and kill the engine. As we crossed Mobile Bay we had the chance to raise the sails, but not rid ourselves of the engine at least not for an entire day. The thing about a sailboat is that no matter how hard one may try you cannot sail into the wind; in the case of Boto we can at least get very close (approximately 25 degrees to the wind). Although we can sail directly down wind, that is with the wind dead astern (behind us) it does take some extra effort and requires a good deal of attention to keep the sails full. The final factor for a sailboat of course is the need for wind, sufficient wind to move the vessel through the water at an acceptable speed (we’re not exactly sailors, we’re Cruisers we like to be comfortable and to arrive at our destinations at a reasonable hour, that is in time for happy hour at sunset), so for us we like to maintain a boat speed of at least 4-5 kts.
Given all of the above, the statistics show that at most we have our sails up about 50% of the time and then only half of that time is spent actually sailing without use of the engine. It is inevitable that when we want to head North, South, East or West the wind will be right in our face; or if not in our face then it is too light to move us forward at an acceptable speed; if it is not too light or in our face, then the seas will be from a counter direction making for a rather bumpy ride. As I said, we like to be comfortable.
As we sit comfortably at the Ocean Reef Yacht Club in Freeport, Grand Bahama we tallied the miles and found that from 11/11/09 – 5/30/10, almost seven months we have travelled a little over 2,100 nm, of which:
* 1,094 nm motoring
* 782 nm motor-sailing (with the miles split roughly 50/50 favoring either engine or sail which means that during those trips we switched from engine to sail and sail to engine while at some times utilizing both.)
* 228 nm sailing
That’s not to say that while motoring we did not have wonderful sights, but the quiet and peacefulness that comes with sailing cannot be beat.
Of course there were many times when we could have opted for a longer travel window which would have allowed us to sail off the wind more, rather than directly into it and there were times when we could have changed our destination to accommodate the winds. While we have made the most of those days and nights when we could sail the reality has been that in order to make headway and keep us safe and comfortable we needed to or wanted to motor/sail or just motor.
As we move into the summer months the trades are more and more out of the E/NE, with some time in the SE. Of course the winds are also much lighter more often than not, so good sailing days will be fewer and the courses we wish to sail may not always be accommodated by the prevailing winds. We’ll just have to wait for our weather. In the meantime, we’ll enjoy our time afloat regardless of being under sail, motoring, at anchor or tied to a pier.
Two thousand miles in seven months, in a former life that was one month’s commuting distance at least we haven’t been stuck in traffic and the scenery has been much nicer too.
A footnote to the above, after sitting at the marina for three weeks we decided it was time to shake out the sails and enjoy a day sailing. With no destination in mind and with a favorable forecast we tossed of the lines and headed out into the Northwest Channel. The forecast was for ESE winds at 10 to 15k with 2-3 foot rolling seas. In fact we had 15-20k with 5-6 foot seas still a good day sailing. With some company aboard we enjoyed cruising along the coast of Grand Bahama Island, whichever direction the wind took us. That is we enjoyed it until the larger waves caused one of our guests to hug the rail (get seasick) and until the clew on our mainsail blew out, rendering the mainsail useless, more on that later. So we headed back to ORYC, but it was still a great few hours under sail. As for the torn mainsail, now we have something to do.