It is not the going out of port but the coming in, that determines the success of a voyage. — Henry Ward Beecher
The trip according to Bob: Fast and easy, with a touch of bouncy. How fast? Well, we arrived in Little Creek Va this morning 2 hours before Zenyatta, a Gunboat 62 (extremely fast ocean catamaran) which left New England Sunday, the same day we did. OK, they left from Maine and we left from RI, but whats an extra few hundred miles amongst friends? At any rate, by the lead-in quote, the trip from Portsmouth RI to Little Creek in 62 hours with all hands intact and still talking to each other was a roaring success. But Mystic is somewhat disconcerting…….how does one know one is at sea wrestling with 25 kt winds and 6-8′ seas while sitting in a comfy pilothouse? Where is the spray dripping down my neck? The frozen fingers and toes? Sitting in an easy chair occasionally tweaking the autopilot while sipping the latest “Keurig”-type brew in mid-Nov hardly seems worthy of the Shannon name. But I’ll take it. Thanks Don, and great to meet new friends Kate and Bill. Happy Thanksgiving.
Kate says (with the eyes of a salt-water delivery newbie): Bouncy, comfy and fast! Our first evening out of Portsmouth was a rocky one for the crew, who tangled with the near gale in the black of night. The four of us quickly fell into our spots both within the pilothouse/cabin and the crew hierarchy: captain Don and navigator Bob perched in their chairs, Bill swaddled in the high-side bunk, me alternatively alert and blissfully napping in the low-side bunk. We started out doing 6.5.-7.5 knots and maintained that speed for 90% of the ride. Was it the boat’s unique design? The crew talent? Me? I think it was the pods of dolphins that met up with us at dawn on Monday for some 6-to-8-ft bow wave riding. Bill, what do you think made this so great?
Bill says: The dozen little porpoises dashing back and forth in front and along side us for over an hour was a great treat, the food was great. We flew here in a just a few days taking 30knots winds and putting almost 200 miles in the first day. Being inside the pilot house, out of the weather with a dial in your course nav-autopilot was a different and way too comfortable way to go, its going to be hard to go back to my open cockpit boat. Having a missile test and explosion overhead as we approached the naval complexes at the end of this journey added some excitement as did the night approach and entrance to Chesapeake Bay with its dozens of freighters and naval vessels . Great trip!
Don is grateful for great crew, good humor, fast boat, and good food (thank you, Cindy, owner of Cindy’s Diner in Portsmouth!). Leg I was a great success!
Mystic at Sea 