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The 2009 NARC Report David H. Lyman, Captain, S/V Searcher

This year’s North Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (NARC) was a study in contrasts. The first 640 miles of the nearly 1,800 mile voyage, Newport to Bermuda, was fraught with high winds, steep seas and broken gear. The second leg, Bermuda to Saint Martin was the opposite . . .  with the wind either right on the nose, or no wind at all. A few boats ran out of fuel and had to ask passing cruise ships and fellow Rally cruiser for resupply. This was one voyaging experience that gave participating sailors bragging rights. I’ve made the trip more than a dozen times, and this was the most “challenging” crossing I’ve experienced . . . not because of the Gulf Stream, which this time was so benign as to make the crossing a non-event.

Newport on a tranquil night before the arrival of a front and the departure on  the 2009 NARC Rally.

The Rally, in its present form, is ten years old, and a tribute to Hank Schmitt, a professional delivery captain, who has run the event, practically single handed, for all that time. This year’s rally, which included more than 30 boats, was for many skippers and crews their first major off shore voyage. The 1800 mile trek from New England to the Caribbean is split into two separate voyages, and since Bermuda is right on the way, why not stop. The Rally assembles in Newport, Rhode Island in late October to prepare the boats, assemble crew and network. After two days of briefings, socials, and dinners, the majority of the boats departed on the afternoon of Sunday, November 1,  this being the date when most insurance companies will allow boats off shore at the tail end of the Hurricane Season. Susan Ganett from Real Weather, a Newport based meteorologist,   gave crews and skippers a weather and Gulf Stream weather briefing hours before departure. She warned of  brisk 25+ knot NE winds for two days, and a rough crossing of the Gulf Stream, then favorable winds into Bermuda. The option was to depart Newport a day later, miss the higher winds and rougher seas at the start, but to face the possibility of higher winds at the end of the 4 to 5 day voyage. A handful of boat took the later option, only to get slammed the last day out with near storm force NW winds and 15 to 20 foot seas on the stern. More on that later.

“This is not a race,” Hank insisted during the briefing in Newport. “This is an off shore delivery of your yacht to the Caribbean. There is no need to stress the gear and crew,” he emphasized, “as there will be no tabulation of who who comes in first and there are no prizes at the final dinner, We will all be winners when we get there.” Hank’s briefing statement included one suggestion that I liked: “ . . .  do not use the automatic pilot on the trip. Hand steer all the way. It gives the crew a better feeling for boat. It also allows them to be physically more aware of the experience.” Good advise. Hank began this rally as a way to move a fleet of Swan charter boats between New England and the Caribbean each fall and spring. To crew these boats, Hank launched www.SailOPO, a website and crew-finding service that matches skipper and owners who want their boat south for the winter, or north for the summer, with people who want of shore experience. While many who did join as crew are new to off shore sailing, most, if not all, had some coastal experience and  know their way around boats. I had a  20-something couple on board Searcher, my Bowman 57 ketch, as crew. Both were recent college grads looking for adventure and experience before settling down to careers. Both had extensive sailing experience but no off shore credits. If that’s what they wanted  by joining my family and I on our voyage south. that’s what they got it! I was glad they wee aboard.

Searcher surges through the gray slope waters of the Atlantic  on her way to the Gulf Stream. KidsOnBoats.net is a website for the Lyman Family who are off cruising for a few years.

On the Newport to Bermuda leg It was the cold fronts that over took the fleet of slower boats, 200 miles north of Bermuda. The embedded squalls, and the resulting NW gales, tested boats and crews. Winds picked up near storm force, and the seas grew to 15 to 20 feet. A few boats hove-to, or ran under bare poles, or deployed sea anchors as they rode out the worst of the winds, limping into Bermuda with damaged gear, broken steering systems, torn sales, and tired crews. A list of adventures, boat by boat, can be found on the Sailopo website. A more personal account with video clips and photos can be found on my website: www.KidsOnBoats.net.

Bermuda has always been a welcoming stop for this annual rally. The Dinghy Club in St. George's’ Harbor was a gracious host when the fleet arrived with discount dockage, a laundry, showers, water, free WiFi, a bar and restaurant. The NARC organized a fuel delivery and a series of welcoming dinners following the fleet’s arrival into Bermuda. 

The Club was a focal point for crews and skippers who met daily to discuss the weather, departure plans, and boat repairs. Services in Bermuda are adequate with sail repair right on the Harbor, electrical and mechanical experts nearby and lots to see for those taking shore leave. The fleet of now 25 boats left Bermuda in a staggered fashion as gear was repaired, sails mended, and crews replaced. The boats that left right after their arrival in Bermuda faced head winds all the way south, making it the longest trip Hank can remember in a twenty years of deliveries. A group of boats left Bermuda around November 17, and enjoyed one day of good sailing on building NE winds, but found themselves windless when they were just 200 miles south of Bermuda. The remnants of Hurricane Ida, down graded to a tropical depression and than a trough, had been wandering around the Atlantic for weeks. This once hurricane came to rest south of Bermuda, stealing the Trade Winds that traditional blow in the region of the ocean.  This dead air led to three or four days of motoring before any of the yachts reached the Trades which did not kick in until below 20-degrees north.  As Herb Hilgenberg  the cruising weather guru on Southbound II, said . . . ”this is the strangest weather I’ve ever seen . .”

Calm, windless, flat seas was a stark contrast to the gales and towering seas that faced many of the NARC  boats on the 900 mile leap from  Bermuda to the Caribbean.

This voyage south from Bermuda, for many skippers, was . . . well, suspenseful. The only concern was “ . . . will I have enough fuel to get me far enough south to pick up the Trade Winds?”  A few boats did not and ran out of diesel and had to rely on passing cruise ships and yachts for additional fuel. The 850 mile trip took us 6.5 days, which is about normal, and burned up 100-plus gallons of fuel. This included a 20 mile detour to drop off 20 gallons of diesel fuel and drinking water to one NARC boat that had run out.

Visions of tropical islands, sandy beaches, palm trees and  pop corn clouds drove us south from New England to the islands of the Caribbean.

All boats that left Bermuda eventually arrived at their Caribbean destinations, safe and more learned about their boats, the sea and the process of voyaging. This was my first rally. I’ve made the same voyage a dozen times in the 80s and 90s solo, but wanted my young family to have the added security of belonging to a group, this being their fist serious off shore voyage. We the only family in the NARC fleet with young kids aboard. Would I join a rally next time? I certainly would consider it, but finding myself in the ARC, with 250 boat fleet would be, for me, just too many people and boats to deal with. I liked the size of the NARC. Thirty boats and their crews was just about the rights size to I got to know most the people by the time we reached Bermuda.

A lone voyager on a mooring of Honeymoon Beach on St. John, USVI.

Lessons learned from this year’s NARC included:

1. •There is value in joining a rally if for just the emotional, spiritual and practical support the community provides, as well as the safety in  having other boats near-by that can help, even if not needed.
   

• The value of the Rally’s radio net can’t be over estimated. The mid-day chat among skippers provides information on what likes ahead, or what’s coming up from behind as each boat in the fleet reports in with there Lat/Long, wind and sea state and any news, or issues.

• The pre-departure weather briefing in Newport, and the continued weather briefing in Bermuda prior to departure on the final leg, are invaluable, if not totally reliable.

• The value of SSB radio on board, is extremely valuable, even if just a simple SSB receiver.  A receiver allows the skipper and crew to listen in to the NARC  Radio Net, to listen in to the routing recommendations that Herb Hilgenberg provides, free, each afternoon on 2335.9 on SSB.

• As the fleet nears the Caribbean, an SSB receiver allows the crew to listen to Chris Parker’s free Caribbean Weather report on 4045.0 SSB, along with his advise to sponsoring vessels, some of whom could be nearby.

• Networking naturally happens on the dock and a the nearby pubs before and after the rally, leads to helpful hands to solve a technical problem, provide advise, and lend moral support.

• Know your boat, and its capacity to handle rough weather, or long periods of motoring.

• Have on board, at last one experienced crew or skipper who is knowledgeable of the route, sail handling in strong winds, and is able to keep his stomach when the going gets tough.

But, there is a problem with rallies in that there can be a tendency toward “group think” and peer pressure to go along with the majority. Men being men, none want to be seen as a wimp, leading them to going along with the gang. Any rally is an opportunity to learn, to share and to gain knowledge and experience . . .  but each skipper is responsible for their boat and crew and needs to make decisions based on a knowledge of their boat, the informational at hand and their years at sea.

The stories from this year’s NARC would fill a book. The SailOPO website carries brief reports, boat by boat, from those skippers who have reported in. More lengthy narratives, where available, are provided as links.

David H. Lyman and his family are cruising the Caribbean this winter aboard Searcher, their Bowman 57 ketch. David holds a US Coast Guard Master’s ticket and has made the New England to the Caribbean trip, more than a dozen times. You can read more of their voyage and see lots of images at www.KidsOnBoats.net.

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