Pics o' Franks Trip

[CapnK]

A new thread for pics etc of Franks '07 journey. He'll be emailing pics to me whenever he can, and then they'll get posted here...

"Jubilee' at anchor in Manatee Pocket, awaiting parts and some fixin'...

Doesn't she look fine and ready to just GO? :D

[Captain Smollett]

Man, that is a BEA-UTIFUL boat.   :) :)

She looks chompin at the bit to get back out there, too.

[s/v Faith]

Doesn't she look fine and ready to just GO?

  That she does.   ;D

Looking forward to lots more pictures.

[AdriftAtSea]

Excellent... :D

[Zen]

great loooking boat!

[Frank]

 MADE IT !!!...This e mail coming to you from a very tired but happy guy in the Bahamas. Quite a crossing. No 'great' windows and the 'not too bad' one today was the last for a while.Left @ 5.30 am. Calling for 15-20 knt winds from the SW.  Wind sounded stronger at the mornin alarm , so I reefed main and jib and left. Was't too bad so I shook out the reef in the jib...then main.Winds moved more direct S and builtup,  so back in the main..then jib too. Sailing @ 5.6-6.1 !!  About 20knm out the weather warning came on.."tornado formations have touched down and this storm is moving across to St Lucie , then offshore"....at this speed and distance out, it sure was a vulnerable feeling. Winds kept building.Near the end..a 40fter with dble reefed main and 90% jib sailed by me. Met them here at West end and they told me that wind was steady 25knt with gusts over 30. Seas were low of 3 to over 10ft by the end. HAPPY to get tied up/shower/rum. Felt kinda 'beat up'. The adventure begins  ;D    PS...I never once felt 'unsafe' in the flicka...uncumfortable at times but not unsafe.

[s/v Faith]

Great to hear you made it ok Frank! (Grog)

  You may not know this but that same front destroyed lots of ground across 3 counties in central Florida!  It spanned tornadoes there that did lots of dammage.

  Glad you were safe in your PS storm shelter  ;D

Will look forward to some pictures when you get a chance.

[Frank]

 I read about it this AM.Too bad for those people.Other than VHF..my last computer 'check' on weather was thurs AM. All looked good. When it didn't 'feel right' friday morning....I literally called Judy At 445 am (yes,she was impressed) to pull up the weather site for me as I had no access at that point. Still came up the same with no mention of what was to come.VHF weather was also unchanged.

[Captain Smollett]

Wow, Frank, there's a good lesson there for all of us.  Even with the modern gizmos, Intarweb, computers, VHF/WX radio, YOUR instincts were still superior.

Glad you made it okay.  Grog for ya.

[Norm]

Oh, I am Sooo jealous!  Sail Frank sail....

From where did you leave?  Stuart or father south?  Storm warnings.  Often, it seems, the weather is rougher on shore and along shore than offshore.  Cold and ice are the exception.  They are brutal anywhere.

We have lost a few fishing boats in the cold windy New England weather of late.  Ice builds up on the superstructure and the fishing boat rolls over.  Eveyone dies. 

A Gloucester fisherman was quoted in the paper today:
"I think I am protected by the ocean; it's kept me out of car accidents all these years."
quote Jack Flaherty, Gloucester fisherman of 37 years.
Boston Globe, B1, 3feb07

Jack is right.

[AdriftAtSea]

I hope the groundhog is right and that the sailing season up here in New England arrives soon.

People often underestimate how much weight a layer of ice can add to a boat... it really can shift the center of gravity upwards significantly.  Ice is a serious danger, especially when we were experiencing temperatures in the teens with a wind chill factor of down in the -15-20˚ range.  Even salt water spray can freeze on contact with metal or saltwater ice when you've got 30-40 degrees of frost.

[Frank]

Norm..I left from st Lucie (Stuart). Coarse is 99...but with my 'slow boat' and the stream, I sailed 138mag. A bit overcompinsated but figured it would be too easy to come up a bit with the stream and S wind than try sailing down into it later if I too high. The stream is funny...some days seem way stronger/faster than others. I was being conservative.

[CapnK]

Pics in from Senor Frank. ;)

He says:

Rough trip!! A few pics...edit at will. 1-sunrise 'out there'
2- best way to flatten a wave is take a pic of it  3-tied up at
westend..SMALLEST boat there   ps..the 'wave pic' was when it just
started to blow...wasn't thinking pics after that when it got a lot
worst.   pss note how 'nice' it was @ sunrise,reefs shaken out,close
reaching @ 4.8-5knts

And last - Frank calls this one "Sportfishermans dinghy". ;D

[AdriftAtSea]

LOL-  Sportsfisherman's dinghy is right.  I almost missed his boat in front of the behemoth... What do you think the fuel costs to take that sucker out for the day...

[CharlieJ]

ROFL- we have a picture of Tehani like that- in amongst some crew boats and a tow boat. Made her look TINY ;D

Glad you made the crossing ok Frank. There are a couple boats posting on CSBB who waited just a TAD too long.

Looks like you JUST beat it out.

[BobW]

Really nice pics.

And, that's a really nice boat you have there Frank.

[Frank]

After a rather 'bumpy' crossing last friday to the WestEnd,I took saturday to relax and regroup. Got up sunday to a forcast of a front coming thru 'again' but decided to head out anyway.A tralorsailing buddy is flying in to meet me this saturday for a week at GreenTurtle and I wanted a lil extra time getting there. About 18knm out on the banks on route to Great Sale (a 44knm passage) I saw the huge clouds coming with the wind already building. I kept going but the thought of reefing,pounding into it again,rain and being soaked set in and well....I wussed out !! After the crossing I just wasn't up to it so soon....I turned back.Came back in just in time.The winds blew over 30kn that night with just a driving rain. Monday was also terrible with yesterday both wind and rain laying down a bit. So...now wed. am  I had to decide...to do 3 long days with no 'fun time' to Green Turtle or have him fly into WestEnd saturday instead. After talking to the marina staff about rates, I came to find out the weekly rate was less than 4 days....deal done.So..I've got a few nice days to relax at 'ole Bahama Bay resort' The dockage allows you full run of the resort.Nice pools, beautiful beach and great staff. It is great having friends visit but makes your decision making somewhat hampered.Had it not been for Doug coming (and I am happy he's visiting)..I would be liesurely crossing the bank this morning with lots of 'play time' and no schedule. Like most things in life..pros and cons to everything.   PS..they don't TELL you about the weekly rate...I asked 

[Cmdr Pete]

Where is Frank, and why does he not torture us?

[AdriftAtSea]

The weather is too nice where he is at for him to spend time on a computer... so he has abandoned us for the time being... ;)

[Frank]

Hi all        I lost my computer overboard (honest)..Judy just flew in last night and brought me a new one. This message coming to you from Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands Bahamas.Can't post any pics...camera-computer cord lost in same mishap.All I can say is " GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE"!!! Been from West End to GreatSale Cay..on to AllensPensacolaCay..walked to the N Atlantic side to read the 'signing trees' and walk the beach....next night went to the 'hurricane hole' on the SE end and dingied to the beautiful little islands and beachs out back.Next came ManJack Cay.Just an awsome broadreach all the way down!! Way past hullspeed and FUN!! LOVE the island. Friends Bill and Leslie built there 15yrs ago. They are cruiser-friendly and have built an island paradice!!After poking around a few days it was off to Green Turtle Cay. Got a mooring ball in BlackSound. Only $10 per night and when a 35-40knot blow came thru as forcast, I was glad to not worry about dragging anchors (mine AND other boats!)I love NewPlymouth (the town there) and have got to know its shopkeepers and bartenders. Friendly,clean and pretty place. After a bit too long there I tried sailing south but an easterly exposed passage called 'the whale' was just settling down from a 'Rage Sea' ..local expresion of conditions when a strong E wind 'boils' the passage. Decided to turn back and had a beautiful beam reach all the way back to ManJack and a wonderful evening with 2 other couples on the back of a Morgan38 with a visit by Bill to watch the sunset. Made the passage in total calm the next day motoring.Wind came up a bit and sailed into Guanna Cay. WARNING...Nippers bar serves STRONG drink!!! From there it was sail own to HopeTown with its protected harbour,clean little streets,well kept pastel coloured cottage/homes and the famous red/white striped lighthouse. I fell in love with the place!! BEAUTIFUL!!! On to Marsh Harbour as Judy was flying in.BUSY harbour with tons of boats and as many stores/shops/supplies as you are going to get in this end of the world. Great holding when ya anchor. Off to 'lil Harbour' soon...then retrace steps. Guess the Exumas can waite.This is the first time sailing further E than Green Turtle and as much as I love New Plymouth with its super friendly people and great lil harbour...Hope Town has become a new 'favorite'. I post more later and pics once a new cable is located.