Navigating the Storm: Sailing Just Live around Tammy from Annapolis to BVI - Oct 2023

The lull before the storm. 

Embarking on a 15-day journey from Annapolis in the Chesapeake Bay to the British Virgin Islands aboard the 42-foot catamaran, "Just Live," proved to be more of an adventure than anticipated. Setting sail on October 18, our crew was met with challenging sea conditions and the looming threat of storm Tammy, adding an extra layer of excitement to our already ambitious voyage.

As we navigated the iconic waters of the Chesapeake Bay, the autumn breeze carried a sense of anticipation. The crew, united by a shared passion for adventure, was determined to make this journey memorable. "Just Live," our trusty 2023 Fountain Pajot 42’ Astrea catamaran, danced with the waves as we set our course towards the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, across the Gulf Stream, through the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, and eventually to the azure waters of the British Virgin Islands.

Tuesday October 15. 

Final preparations are underway with Captain Jim and his wife Bonnie arriving from Florida (www.goneagainsaling.com) to join me as the hired Captain and crew on another Just Live adventure to move her from Annapolis to the Nanny Cay Marina Waypoints base in Tortola BVI. 

With Terri’s help finalizing all the provisions for this estimated 12-day journey, we were prepared to leave on Wednesday, if the weather forecast remained favorable.

Wednesday, October 16. 

Departed Annapolis around 11 AM after a brief delay to have the rigger install a new dynemia main halyard. 

It was a smooth motor ride down the bay to Norfolk, with the intention to top off fuel at Cobb’s Marina and head south to Beaufort South Carolina. Unfortunately, mother nature had different plans. We had a layover till Sunday morning in Tidewater marina over in Portsmith Virginia waiting for a weather opening caused by developing storm Tammy.

The waitresses at “Fish & Slips” restaurant were happy to have us there because we stopped in frequently for happy hour and lunch. We also took a $2 ferry ride across to the Norfolk Market Side to check out a few other restaurants. One of my favorite bars turned out to be Jack Browns were Taylor’s college friend Connor bartends, when he is not teaching during daylight hours. As it turned out, Connor was working that night, but his shift started as we were starting to wrap up our tab. But it was good to see his friendly face.

Weather was improving. Or was it?

Sunday, October 22

We depart from Tidewater Marina at 8 AM and stopped at Cobb’s Marina one more time to top off our fuel, before heading south towards Southport in South Carolina, where we made a reservation at Morningstar Marina. The plan is to get further south and watch the weather pattern. If we get an opening in the weather, we can leave from Southport. If not, we could stay there until we get an opening. I made spaghetti with bolognese for dinner. I got pretty good at making this meal during the our 60-day transatlantic crossing earlier in 2023.

Sunday into Monday was an easy ride south down the Virginia coast with the NE winds behind us creating a comfortable following sea. 

Monday, October 23.

As the sun rose on Monday morning we got an update that the weather was softening and we could cross the Gulf Stream and start our trip east. So we canceled our reservation in Morningstar Marina and headed for the Gulf Stream. Little did we know what was going to develop with Tammy in the coming days!

Tammy has plans of her own.

Crossing the Gulf Stream was uneventful with a steady 17 knot NE wind and 2 to 4 foot seas throughout Monday. Winds and waves gradually increased through Tuesday afternoon and became a bit more confused going into Tuesday night. These were the first signs that Tammy may have plans of her own, different than the weather forecast models were predicting.

The Bermuda Triangle delivers on its reputation.

As we entered the Bermuda Triangle, the atmosphere shifted. The crew, well aware of the area's notorious reputation, maintained a vigilant watch. The unpredictable weather and peculiar phenomena added an element of mystique to our expedition. 

The sea conditions, now intensified by the outer bands of what has developed into Hurricane Tammy, heightened the stakes. Waves surged around us as the crew reefed sails and secured the vessel. The catamaran, built for such conditions, showcased its resilience, providing a stable platform amid the tempestuous sea.

Our optimism faced a stern test when we received updates about Hurricane Tammy developing in the Atlantic north east of our course. With the changing forecast, the crew gathered for a strategic meeting, weighing the options and deciding to alter our route to navigate around and away from the storm. As you will see, throughout the rest of our adventure, adaptability became our greatest asset as we modified our course to ensure the safety of both the crew and "Just Live."

Wednesday October 25 @ 4 am - Rough confused 4 to 8 foot seas and 20 to 30 knot winds. While still in the Bermuda Triangle, Just Live experienced electrical miss-haps - her satellite connection was lost for about 2 hours. It eventually came back. That’s the Bermuda Triangle for you!

Through the Gulf Stream and for the first four days (Tuesday through Thursday) heading around Bermuda, it has been a very uncomfortable ride. A bit sporty as some say - 6 to 10 foot waves on average with a very rough and uncomfortable “washing machine” affect. Winds are sustainable at 25 knots gusting to 30 at times.

Thursday, October 26. Still sporty out here. Forecast suggest conditions may improve tomorrow. Here’s hoping and praying for more comfortable conditions. We’ve been eating light since Tuesday.

I also received news today that Terri broke her hip over the weekend and will have surgery on Monday. There is no way for me to get home any sooner than Tuesday or Wednesday of next week - if weather and sea conditions favor us for the rest of our crossing. So now we’re looking at options on whether we can drop the boat off at Saint Thomas instead of BVI to expedite my departure back to Maryland. St. Thomas is a US country. So it could allow us to bypass customs in BVIs and save me about one day getting back to Maryland.

Mother Nature is not done with us yet. 

Friday, October 27 

The sea is finally starting to settle down in the morning hours around 3 am. Still large waves coming from multiple directions but a little more settled. We are now able to sail with two reefs in both sails instead of full reefing. Making a more comfortable 8 to 9 knots.

10:00 am - dolphins  jumping across the bow. We also had a hardy breakfast of eggs, cheese, and sausage in a wrap. Jim cooked hamburgers for dinner. Things are looking up!

Night watch was finally peaceful with steady winds and slightly calmer seas. Saturday should be more of the same - wrong!!

I think PredictWind hired the “B” team to run the models on Saturday. Every PredictWind forecast we download said we should be in calm winds, and calming seas. It’s just the opposite. Winds are gusting up to 30+ and seas are coming from 3 directions from 4 to 10 feet height and short durations between them. Ugh! Time to put the third reef back in the main to help stabilize the boat. 

Maybe things will improve tonight into tomorrow… wrong again!

Saturday Oct 28  - conditions did not improve. They continued to get tougher, but Just Live was handling it well. In addition to the sea worthiness of Just Live - now being tested and proven in her 2nd ocean crossing in tough seas - the only other good thing about Saturday to report is that Terri was able to have surgery 2 days sooner than expected. The hip surgery was successful and a full recovery is expected.

Sunday, October 29.

Saturday night through the dark hours of Sunday morning brought more challenging conditions. Heavy rain, confused seas, fluctuating wind patterns, and threatening thunderstorms in the distance. As the sun rose on Sunday, we were heading directly into wind and only making 4 knots.

We transferred our spare fuel from the jerry cans in the tank to reach 72 percent on the fuel gauge.  Left 8 gallons our as emergency reserves. You would think with our remaining distance of 260 miles we had enough fuel now. But as the day progressed the sea state got worse and we were heading into 20 to 25 knot headwinds from the SE…right from the direction we needed to go. At this point we were only making 3 to 4 knots. By night our speed continued to decrease and we were burning through fuel too fast. We needed a better strategy. In the meantime, we had chicken fajitas for dinner. Yum!

Time for a new strategy.

Monday, October 30.

During the night shift, Captain Jim decided we had to start sailing again to conserve fuel. But a good direction toward our destination under sail was still a problem. Bonnie suggested we sail ENE for an hour to conserve fuel and then tack back for 3 hours to the south to our SE rum line under motor. Then repeat this zig-zag maneuver until we are closer to land or winds change (which they are not forecasted to do for several days). They decided this would result in a slower fuel burn, while improving our speed to 4ish knots and continue to progress in the general direction of Puerto Rico, where we hope the winds lay down a bit and the seas calm. From there we should have about 100 miles left to reach St. Thomas.

As the day progressed we repeated this zigzagging strategy three more times, while I made chilli con carne for dinner. Yes, another dish I perfected during the previous transatlantic crossing from France to Annapolis.

Late in my Monday night 5 pm shift, the winds changed and we were able to start heading SE for St. Thomas again. Then around 9 pm Jim got a message on his InReach suggesting we should go back towards the south based on “expected” wind shifts. So back to Puerto Rico we go, but more southerly towards San Juan. 

Tuesday, October 31.

Still heading towards San Juan, which is about 90 nm. Unless we change direction again, we will need to refuel in San Juan. This will guarantee we have excess fuel to motor the 100 miles from there to St. Thomas. 

Mother ocean gave back today. We caught 2 mahi-mahi. Sounds like fish tacos for lunch tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 1.

Arrived San Juan Harbor at 7 am to fill the fuel tanks. After topping off with 82 more gallons into our 124 gallon tank, we headed out back into SE headwinds on the next stop of our adventure. We hope to arrive USVI just before sunrise tomorrow.

As we started making our way south east towards Saint Thomas the seas were manageable with an average of 3 feet and we were able to make good headway at 2500 RPMs. With a full tank of gas, I wasn’t too concerned about the fuel burn rate for the remainder of the trip. This also allowed us to average 7 1/2 knots through out the day. 

Just after sunset, we started rounding the corner to arrive in St. Thomas at the Waypoints USVI charter base at 8:30 PM, 1547 nm from Annapolis. 

On the evening of November 1, 2023, "Just Live" gracefully docked in the azure waters of the USVI. The journey, fraught with challenges, became a testament to the indomitable spirit of exploration and the unwavering bond among the crew.

As we docked, the sense of accomplishment enveloped us. The memories of navigating from Annapolis, across the Gulf Stream, through the Bermuda Triangle and facing Hurricane Tammy lingered, creating a tale of resilience and triumph against the forces of nature. Sailing "Just Live" through the challenges of the open sea for a second time now reinforced the notion that, in the face of uncertainty, the spirit of adventure prevails.

Now it is time for the reservation that I made at the “Pie Hole” for some of the best pizza and beer in Saint Thomas. What better way can you think of to celebrate our successful adventure through the adversity presented by this adventure and Hurricane Tammy.

Post Adventure.

November 2 - we woke to a beautiful morning looking out into the colorful hills and homes of St. Thomas. After some boat cleaning projects, Jim and Bonnie headed off to the airport back to Fort Lauderdale. 

Since Terri had plenty of support at home, while she was recovering, I opted to stay a few more days (or weeks) and was planning to do a solo run on Just Live the last 20 miles to our home base at Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola BVIs. But as it turned out Terri seemed to have recovered enough to go to our friend’s wedding for Nic Vogt - so I arranged for a local Captain to deliver the boat to BVI and I headed home on Nov 3rd to be at the wedding with Terri. I hated leaving the islands, but the wedding was well worth it. We should be back down to BVI in January, February, and April. So more fun and adventures ahead on Just Live in the coming months.

Cheers,

Paul Reymann 

“Just Live”