| Adventures on VAruna (our VAr37) – CT to USVI |
|
| Crossing the Gulf Steam in Varuna. |
On November 28th we left Old Saybrook for Bermuda, sailing in convoy with Bermuda High. Conditions looked good, although a significant low pressure system would make the stream unpassable if we did not make good time (which of course we did). The Zoom jib boom helped make us faster than the larger Hanse 400, Bermuda High. Alan Suhonen captained Bermuda High assisted by Mark Robinson and Frank the owner. Alan was amazed at how quickly Martin and his crew on the 37 took off. Here is a report from Fred Williams, one of our members on Varuna on the first leg;
|
| Dave and Fred on watch as we leave. |
“The offshore training was fantastic. What an adventure to be so far offshore! Martin’s diligence on weather awareness made me feel safe. We tested the waters while in the Gulf Stream and I was really surprised at how incredibly warm the water was just 200 miles from Montauk! Caribbean water delivered up North. I really enjoyed being at the wheel while sailing over huge deep blue waves. On several occasions, we saw dolphins tagging along with us. We enjoyed their company as much as they seemed to enjoy ours. After five days with no land in sight we were treated to landfall and then enjoyed the St George walkabout celebration! I would recommend this trip to anyone seeking an adventure. Remember to get a seasick (Scopolamine) patch though!”
|
| Pierre looking good (and well over 70!). |
A high point for everyone was the Bermuda Walkabout, with some of the oldest and more exquisite houses in St George open to the public, along with lots of song and dance numbers performed in the town square.
For more pics of this leg go to;
|
||||
|
Martin – tired & relieved to be past the cold front / low. Was a long night.
Audrey and Tim flew down in time for WalkAbout. The next day, the forecast showed the cold front we had followed down stalled at 30 degrees north. A low pressure system would form on it just south of Bermuda in 48 hours. We left as quickly as possible on Saturday, and soon had 25 knot NE winds, and were making over 10 knots. By 8pm Bermuda High, with Frank as Captain, had some problems. Her jib was destroyed (a. never release the jib sheet completely before rolling it up. b. in stronger winds, the farther off the wind you are the easier it is to roll up the headsail) so they decided to head back.
At midnight, I dropped the main to the third reef and started crawling back and forth to the bow to untie and hoist the storm jib before rolling up our 110% headsail as the winds built to much more than forecast. Took me an hour, mostly clipped in up on the bow to get everything sorted. By 2 am the winds were gusting to close to 40 knots true.
By 5am Sunday morning the winds started dying, and by 7am we were motoring in under 10 knots, but not for long. 3 hours later the winds were SW 20-25 knots for another 8 hours. The Low had already formed, well ahead of schedule, but with blue skies ahead, I knew we finally were past the front that had been dogging us for the last 6 days. The wind backed to the SE but stayed on the nose for the rest of the trip. With beautiful sunrises, sunsets and warm sunny days, there was not much to complain about!
Ok, running out of tank water was a bit of a drag! So we washed dishes of the transom and showered in, what else, showers! Rain squalls became frequent as we got into the lower 20’s, and were not unwelcome.
And then, that magic moment when Land Ho is called out! Audrey, Tim and I enjoyed a well deserved drink. By nightfall of the 11th we were on a mooring in Caneel Bay, St John. The next morning we cleared in, I went for my run, and we all enjoyed breakfast at the Caneel Bay Resort before heading back to St Thomas and 2 days of removing the offshore gear, emptying and scrubbing the interior and every cushion. More pics of this leg at;
I flew home with Audrey and Tim, grabbed the kids, and 2 days later returned for 2 weeks of sailing, hiking and exploring all over St John, with a quick trip out to the Baths for a day of boulder climbing and rock jumping. I’ll be posting more pics of this trip on the SSC Facebook page soon.
|
| Christmas with the Van Breems gang! |
|
| Time for the beach. The electric motor is great! Varuna behind us in Maho Bay. |
|
| Alexander examines the Petroglyphs above Reef Bay. Note the waterfall! |
|
| Honeymoon Beach, Caneel Bay – aka Paradise! |
|
| Land Ho! |
So if 83-85 degree temps, great sailing and fabulous beaches, hiking or snorkeling sounds good, send us an email. Of course SSC big boat members can simply reserve the VAr and make use of their membership in St Thomas and St John.
|
| Time to celebrate with Tim and Audrey! |
|
| Cleaning Day at Frenchtown Marina |
We will also be offering the following Flotilla Cruises and are planning on 2 Racing Events, either together with the Flotilla. You can also just do the racing.
|
| Our favorite jumping off point- Spring Bay, next to the Baths! |
Varuna Calendar 2016
Jan 25-30th – Bareboat Cruising / Flotilla $2,400 forward stateroom, $2,200 aft stateroom per couple / one student / one certification. We sail from St Thomas, around St John and through the BVI’s
Feb 28-March 3 – Bareboat Cruising / Flotilla $2,400 forward stateroom, $2,200 aft stateroom per couple / one student / one certification. We sail from St Thomas through the BVI’s, then offshore to St Maarten. One overnight passage. Includes the St Maarten Regatta. (accommodations onboard extra).
March 4-6 – St Maarten Heineken Regatta. Cost is $580 members / $690 non members. Limited accommodations onboard available at an extra cost of $60-$140 a night, depending on the cabin. For more info on St Maarten goto;
March 7-March 11 – Bareboat Cruising / Flotilla $2,400 forward stateroom, $2,200 aft stateroom per couple / one student / one certification. After racing, we sail from St Maarten to St Barts, Saba (Dutch) and back to St Thomas. One overnight passage – ocean sailing conditions. Includes the St Maarten Regatta. (accommodations onboard extra).
Mar 28 – 31th – Bareboat Cruising / Flotilla $2,400 forward stateroom, $2,200 aft stateroom per couple / one student / one certification. Includes the BVI spring regatta (accommodations onboard extra). We have not decided yet if we will participate in the BVI Sailing festival, which takes place at the same time, or focus on the class.
April 1-3 – BVI Spring Regatta. Come a day before for a prep and practice session Cost is $580 members / $690 non members. Limited accommodations onboard available at an extra cost of $60-$140 a night, depending on the cabin. We sail back to St Thomas on April 4th.
May 1-12 – Varuna sails North, probably via the Bahamas
June 17 – Newport Bermuda Race Start! We will be there either on Varuna or Monhegan, our J44!
Join SSC for skiing at Catamount!
|
| Mid Mountain on Jan 7th – perfect! |
Catamount Ski Mountain is owned in part by a fellow SSC member and lifetime sailor Tom Gilbert and he has provided us with coupons for a great deal on weekend ski passes at only $48 / $44 for SSC members. Catamount regular rates are $65 for adults – still a very reasonable price for a real mountain. I have been skiing at Catamount long before I met Tom, and it’s always been my favorite mountain less than 2 hours away (which is also Tom’s commute to SSC to use our boats). You need to physically have the coupon, so email us asap. Lars and I skied there on Thursday, Jan 7th (on Thursdays and Mondays Catamount offers $20 e-tickets…). There were 4 main runs open, all were great and the snowcats were busy with additional runs. Sean and I will certainly head up on a few mondays if you want to catch a ride with us, and we are also planning on heading up on Saturday, January 23rd. For more info on Catamount go to;
Last Chance for 2015 prices in 2016
Prices will be going up soon, but there is still time to sign up for 2016 at 2015 prices. We are planning for some great fleet changes in 2016. Stay tuned.
|
| Is the Caribbean calling you? Call or email us! |