The final leg of the fall sailing trips is a 14-16 hr. cruise back to our home home port in Knife River. This is usually an overnight passage with selected crew. On this one Mark enlisted our day sail deckhand Lanny, just-finished-a-trip-but-hadn't-had-enough Brad, and 1st mate John. They motored out of Grand Marais in mellow seas and light NE winds. John made hearty mac-and-cheese-with-ground-beef, a perennial favorite before long journeys. They ate in the cockpit, the sun sinking beside them.
It was all very quiet until 9:00 p.m. when, as forecasted, the NE winds came in with a vengeance, blowing 15-20 with gusts to 30 knots. Waves quickly built to 3-5 then 5-7+ foot seas. With wind and waves directly behind them, Amicus II behaved predictably and magnificently, romping down the north shore in record time, prompting the crew to repeatedly marvel about what a great boat the Amicus II is--sentiments with which I heartily concurred from my bed in Two Harbors as I heard the wind roar in the trees.
Lanny, who has waited for this all summer, spent most of the night faithfully jammed behind the wheel. All sails were quickly reefed down as far as they would go, and the main was dropped. On a scrap of jib, they averaged over 7 knots most of the night. The motion was "impressive," 30 degree rolls every few seconds in steep waves. Miraculously, no one got seasick. Some sleeping or at least resting was attempted, with lee cloths holding people to their berths--though the noises that accompany heavy seas (continual and repeated splashing waves, clanking cans, and shifting pots), precluded any real rest. By 2 a.m. the gusts had eased, along with the waves. Living on board felt a little more manageable. Coming in before dawn was now a distinct possibility, so they reefed the jib down still further and tried to slow down for the final few hours.
After a close encounter with a freighter coming out of Two harbors (the freighter beamed a light on Amicus II after Mark chatted briefly with the captain on the radio), the winds picked up again for the final hour. They arrived at Knife River at daybreak. After tying up, they promptly fixed a hearty breakfast of beans, bacon, and eggs. I (Katya) joined them at this point and got an earful.
If this kind of story excites you no end, join our "heavy weather sailing" email list! A couple of times every fall, when winds are predicted to be between 15-30 knots, we schedule a day for heavy weather sailing. Mark covers topics from sail choice to reefing, tacking, heeving to, and other heavy weather techniques. More detail here.
And thus ends our multi-day trips for the season. Special thanks to John Wytanis, our faithful 1st mate when I (Katya) am not on board. John has now sailed close to 2000 miles with Mark, and has proven himself to be invaluable in every way. We love his easy social manner, his enthusiasm for learning to sail, and his long list of skill-sets including his ability to crank out meals for the crew in short order and under extreme conditions at sea. What would we do without him?