Sail La Vie, LLC

Our first trip in 2011 was to take Sail La Vie from Haverstraw, NY to Forked River, NJ.  We closed on a lagoon home in Forked River Thursday, April 14th and had prepared to have Sail LA Vie ready to leave Peterson's Boatyard Saturday April 16th.  The temps were in the 50's and the wind in the teens from the east as our crew checked out the boat prior to leaving the dock at 1200. 

Motoring south along the Hudson River we hugged the eastern shore to block the bulk of the wind and had an easy start.  Lunch underway of sandwiches and hot soup, as well as an outgoing tide made this a pleasant start.  The addition of cabin heat from the heat exchanger running off the engine also kept the cabin at shirtsleeve comfort.

 Sail La Vie's newly installed heat exchanger

Heat exchanger ductwork tied-into the HVAC Reverse Cycle Ducts.  This is a temporary hookup and I'll have to devise a simple way to switch back and forth between the heat exchanger and the HVAC unit.

Captains Cabin heat duct from the engine heat exchanger.  What a pleasant place to take a nap while my crew stands watch.

We discussed our options for the trip.  There was a tremendous storm on the way for Saturday night with winds of 50 kts. predicted from the east.  One option was to anchor out on the west side of Sandy Hook, which would afford some protection from the wind and with the winds from the east the boat should ride well on the hook.  Another choice was a marina on the south shore of Staten Island.  The safest choice was to dock at Liberty Landing/Hudson Point overnight and ride out the storm.

Three hours later we were in New York Bay.  The winds picked up and as we left the shelter of the buildings in Manhattan, and passed the Statue of Liberty - the winds hit 50 kts!  The boat rode well, but the boom crutch let go and the boom swings to starboard.  By the time we got the boom lashed down the boom crutch was bent, but all else is OK.  Realizing that the storm is scheduled to intensify and noting that there will be even less shelter in the lower bay if we try to cross to Sandy Hook we opt to overnight at Hudson Point Marina - at Sail La Vie's previous slip A13.  A wise decision as we are somewhat sheltered, and in addition we visited the nearby Hyatt for a glass of wine and one of their outstanding crabcakes before heading back to the boat for dinner aboard.

Even in this safe area, the winds were gusting and the dodger was blown over as some of the fittings on the steel frame came apart.  With the help of the crew, we re-connected the steel tubing connections and provided some additional lashing to hold the dodger in place and got a good nights sleep on-board.

Overnight, the wind gusts and colder temps. took its toll on one of the dodgers eisenglass windows and completely destroyed the top half.  To get underway and keep the cockpit warmer, it was duct tape to the rescue.

Eisenglass Dodger window, blown out in the storm and duct taped to complete the trip.  Later repaired for $225.00

0500 Sunday morning the alarm clock went off.  The rain had ended, the sky was blue and the water in the marina was still!  We started our second day motoring down the Hudson and passed the Verrazano Brige about 0600.  The winds pick up here and are a steady 20 kts. from the west, so we let out the jib to motor sail, making good progress across the lower bay.  As the morning progresses the winds build to a steady 25 kts, with gusts to 30.  Waves were 8 to 10 feet, but spaced and rolling - so we actually had a comfortable ride.  Not wanting to "blow-out" the jib we furled it in halfway, then got knocked down with a larger gust and deceided to furl it completely and motor so we don't do more damage to the boat.  It was at this time that I remembered why the sink is soo deep!  Always place any dishes inside the sink while underway. 

As we motored south along the New Jersey Coast the winds kept at a steady 25 kts all afternoon.  We saw one other boat the whole trip.  A larger cruiser heading south further offshore, then later in the day heading back north.  The rest of the trip down the coast was un-eventfull and we took turns at the wheel, watching the autopilot and keeping a lookout.  THANK GOODNESS for the Autopilot.  The first two years it was hand steering the entire way.  About two hours before we arrived at Barnegat Inlet I noticed the chart plotter was not showing the chart!  Re-started the chartplotter, checked out the system and determined the Navionics card had stopped working!  Luckily, as Kevin put it, I had a spare and we had our chartplotter back.

 About 0400 we entered Barnegat Inlet.  There were rollers overtaking us as we travelled through the inlet.  Kevin was at the wheel keeping the boat straight as the waves lifted the stern and the boat surfed down the waves.  This was what I considerd the most dangerous part of the trip as a loss of power or steerage could have result in loosing the boat.

As we picked our way along the buoys and crossed Barnegat Bay the winds dropped to the teens and the trip ended most pleasantly arriving at Sail La Vie's new home at 1700 hours.

Sail La Vie at her new home in Forked River, NJ

Our crew:

Steve in his favorite folding lawn chair sitting in the cockpit.

Mike preparing lunch in the Galley.

Nick demonstrating how to devour a "dagwood" sandwich.

Kevin, my longtime sailing buddy - on our first sail of 2011!

Underway, before we got the enclosure completely up. 

We would not have been able to make this trip safely without the full enclosure.  I even duct taped a few small openings between the eisenglasss panels to keep the gusting wind from hitting me in the side of the neck.  The cabin heat below also was great, as we got warmed while down-below.

Note to Karen our Safety Officer:  Dressed for warmth and safety.  The PFD's were worn and the jacklines were used when we left the cockpit.