Running with the Wind

Running with the Wind

Last Sunday was quite a day on the water.  With our friends, the Mahoneys and Davidsons, we had traveled to the northernmost  island in the BVI, Anegada.  Anegada is different from all the other islands here.  It is based on a coral reef rather than volcanic activity.  While the other islands are hilly and green with some sandy beaches, Anegada is low and flat and mostly sand, not only at the water’s edge, but also inland.  You can’t see the island until you are almost there and the first thing you can spot are a few taller trees.  That’s important because you can’t identify by visual sighting exactly where you need to go to enter through the reef.  Over 300 ships have sunk on Anegada.  One bay is named Cow Wreck Bay, because (according to legend) a boat loaded with some bovine went down there.  A lovely bay with a great sandy beach, by the way.

Cow Wreck Bay, Anegada

To reach Anegada, you have a 12 mile sail over open water.  Technically, you are still in the Caribbean Sea and the water remains about 60-70 feet deep.  On the north side of Anegada, you are in the Atlantic Ocean.  The open water can still be challenging when the winds pick up and the waves push hard.  Saturday’s ride going there was brisk.  The winds were about 20-25 knots  (.86 knots per hour equals 1 mph) and our speed was averaging 8+ knots, which is fast for Azure Wind.

Sunday’s ride back was a even more challenging.  It started out with clouds on the horizon.  I checked the weather report and saw that the prediction was similar to the day before (clouds, winds 18-23, some rain possibility, but nothing significant).  So, we motored out through the small and shallow channel where we only had 2 feet between our bottom and the sand!   Then we set our sails and headed south.  In that direction, you can clearly see the outlines of the islands of the BVI.

Twenty minutes out, the winds started picking up.  They were coming from the east and right across the port side.  The first rain squall hit about 30 minutes out and the front edge brought significantly higher winds, nearing 32 knots.  It was quite a ride. 

We were chasing a monohull just ahead of us and watching how it was handling the seas. 

One of the things you can do in strong winds is reduce the amount of sail.  But when that’s not possible, you have to ride it out.

Then, off in the distance, Marney saw the second squall line heading towards our path.  We would be hit by one more front passing through with its rain, winds, and hard blow.  That’s when we made the decision to go with the wind.  Instead of continuing south, we turned west.  We put our back to the wind and rode with the waves.   And, by turning when we did, we missed the front edge of the squall line.  Life on Azure Wind significantly improved.  We caught our breath, calmed down, and then rolled up the jib (front sail) carefully and successfully.

Running with the wind.

It took us off course.  In this instance, it did not make a huge difference in our sail plan.  It was, looking back, a good decision.  There are some risks in running with the wind.  You let out your mainsail but you need to keep enough of an angle to the wind so that the boom doesn’t accidentally jibe (suddenly cross over from the back side and create a huge force that can damage the boat). 

Running with the wind.  Going with the flow.  Being flexible enough to change directions because whatever realities have changed your immediate context.  That’s an important lesson in life.   It’s part of what makes us humans unique in God’s creation: the capacity to run with the wind when necessary.

Dave

By the way, the other sailboat we were following stayed its course, straight into the second squall and when I last looked, it was heeling way too far over for my comfort!