SAILING A JUNK RIGGED SCHOONER Bob Groves

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SAILING A JUNK RIGGED SCHOONER Bob Groves We are often asked why we chose a junk rigged schooner for offshore sailing when more technologically improved rigs are available today.

1 SAILING A JUNK RIGGED SCHOONER Bob Groves We are often asked why we chose a junk rigged schooner for offshore sailing when more technologically improved rigs are available today. Until recently the response would have been that we were always intrigued by the rig and simply wanted to sail one, and going aboard a Colvin Gazelle at Marina Hemingway outside of Havana, Cuba only increased the desire to build and sail a junk rigged boat of our own. We had already cruised our conventionally-rigged Grampian 26 on the Great Lakes and as far afield as the Caribbean, so chose to upsize slightly to a 34ft Benford Badger design. The second Easy Go is an engineless, junk rigged dory schooner, with auxiliary power in the form of a Chinese yuloh, which Kathy and I built close to Lake Erie in Canada. Since then we have sailed her from Canada on the Atlantic circuit with stops in the Azores, Portugal, Morocco, Canaries, Cape Verdes and Caribbean, before returning home to Canada directly from Jamaica. The best reason for sailing under junk rig became apparent during the 37 day, 3200 mile, non-stop passage from Port Antonio, Jamaica to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Port Antonio is located on the north shore of Jamaica, leaving a choice of beating through the Windward Passage followed by a downwind run in the Old Bahamas Channel, or taking the old sailing ship route through the Yucatan Channel and then riding the Gulf Stream. We chose the Easy Go in Prince s Inlet near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, while hiding out from Tropical Storm Danny in September Bob remarks that it is a very good anchorage and near the Lunenburg Yacht Club as well 129

lighthouse, and were visited by a blue whale which dove under the keel at the very last moment giving us a little anxiety.

2 The headsail, with ropes securing the battens traditional downwind and current route along the south shore of Cuba before heading north. Leaving on 29 April 2009 we had a pleasant overnight passage to the first landfall off Cabo Cruz, where we passed the great anchorage in which we had stayed in the past under the watchful eye of the lighthouse, and were visited by a blue whale which dove under the keel at the very last moment giving us a little anxiety. Our next landfall was off Isla de Juventud, another of our favourite places when cruising the south coast of Cuba. Our final view of the island was the lighthouse at Cabo San Antonio, Cuba s westernmost point. Turning the corner inside the major shipping lanes we headed northeast in the general direction of the Dry Tortugas. While the current was in our favour it was very weak, and we had an easterly wind during our passage of the Florida Straits all the way from Cabo San Antonio to Key Largo in the Florida Keys. While we had experienced beating to windward for short periods during the previous One of many dorado 130

3 two years, we had not come upon a time where we would be beating day and night for the better part of a week. The strength of the junk rig in these conditions rapidly became apparent, and we appreciated its steady pull and comfortable ride as we tacked across to the Dry Tortugas on starboard, switched over to port until we saw the lights of Havana, then back to starboard to head us towards Miami. The fishing had been excellent from the start with good catches of tuna, and on this section of the passage we caught our first dorado (dolphin fish) and started our time-proven salting and drying see Drying Fish at Sea, page 104 as without a motor we have no electricity to provide refrigeration. We have researched and successfully utilised traditional methods of food preservation for some time and no longer desire refrigeration in any form. The blown-out mainsail, with ropes securing the battens The tabling on our sails was not up to par and we had been getting some problems with the seams failing on the trailing edge as a result of flutter. This was part of the design when Kathy sewed the sails. We didn t know how much tabling would be required, so put on the minimum amount about 1 inch. Off Key Largo we hoveto for the night, and in the morning put a few stitches on a couple of panels to secure the tabling, then headed north with the wind on the starboard quarter. Over the next few days we picked up the full force of the Gulf Stream, and rolled off 170 mile days three days running and came close for a number more. Then we experienced a Northeaster in the Gulf Stream! We ve been in big blows before, but nothing with the intensity and longevity of this one. It started with a strong line of 131

thunderstorms out of the southwest which lasted for about 12 hours, then the wind swung quickly to the northeast and increased in strength to force 7/8 and stayed there for three days.

4 thunderstorms out of the southwest which lasted for about 12 hours, then the wind swung quickly to the northeast and increased in strength to force 7/8 and stayed there for three days. We sailed as long as we could, but when the seas became very high and breaking due to the wind over current effect we hove-to on starboard tack to take us out of the Gulf Stream and towards the US mainland. The whole affair started when we were about 150 miles east of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and ended five days later with Easy Go off Savannah, Georgia after a number of changes of tacks and damaged sails. Over the last two days the wind subsided quite a bit, but it was still too rough to work on deck to effect repairs and get under way. During the storm we were buried by breaking seas three times, with water coming through the closed hatches we A minke whale 132 Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada were not knocked down but simply at the mercy of nature. On the second day of the storm, while hove-to under the two top panels of the mainsail, we had a tear in the top panel which eventually shredded and took away about 30% of that panel. The next one down also tore, but did not shred. The headsail was furled, but even so the wind damaged the parts of the sail which were able to flap in the strongest part of the storm. Long tears were evident. The hove-to mainsail kept us forereaching, but we did lose about 80 miles during the five days and when the storm ended we thought it might be prudent to go into Charleston, South Carolina and make repairs. However after careful assessment we decided to jury-rig the sails and head to Lunenburg, Canada, where we could make the necessary repairs and possibly build a new suit of sails if required. This was when we really appreciated the design and strength of the junk sail. Using light rope, we tied the battens together in their original configuration leaving the holes and tears as they were about the only thing we did to the sail cloth was to cut

The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful.

5 away any flapping fabric. With the sails up and pulling we didn t really notice much difference in the boat s handling or pulling ability. Of course it was heart-breaking to look up and see the tattered sails, but knowing that they would keep us going for the next 1000 miles or more was very satisfying. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. We had a few windy days and many calmer ones, more great fishing, and visits from many inhabitants of the deep killer whales, a minke that stayed with us for three days, seals and, not far out of Nova Scotia, a basking shark very near as large as Easy Go which decided to follow about three feet astern of our rudder, giving us a tremendous opportunity to see this fantastic plankton-eating shark up close. We arrived in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on the rainy morning of 6 June, tired but happy that Easy Go, the junk rigged dory schooner which we had built ourselves, had completed the circuit of the Atlantic and brought us home safely although she was suffering a little. Three weeks later Kathy had rebuilt the sails, strengthening the weak parts, and after another month of improvements and upgrades we are ready to head out again for more sailing adventures. Easy Go in Port Stanley on Lake Erie, Ontario 133

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