As some may have heard, it was an eventful weekend for me and my parents. I had previously posted a link to this video below which tells the story. To those who have subscribed by email- I’ve noticed these videos don’t transmit in the message itself. You’ll need to click the link in the email to get to the videos (a few in previous posts, as well.)
For the approximately 30 mile voyage to Cuttyhunk Island, I was joined by my parents, John and Libby. We left the dock in Fall River, MA at about 9 AM Saturday in a cool 12-15 knots from the SSW. We had the wind on our nose for the trip down the Sackonnet River so we motored for a couple of hours to where it widens out. By then, I was ready to shut of the main engine and listen instead to the wind, wildlife , and surf. We tacked our way out off the river and into Rhode Island Sound under full mail, genoa and staysail. This was the first time I had left the inland waters of Narragansett Bay and the Sackonnet River on Sans Souci. It was inspiriting to feel the rise and fall of the ocean swell under her. Sans Souci rode comfortably in the 3-4 foot swell and we made good time to our mark off Sackonnet Point where we eased off and headed east.
Sackonnet Light
It’s a pretty straight shot from the light to Cuttyhunk island and we now had the wind just behind her beam; reaching in a steady 12-15 knots. We made good time, cruising at 6-7 knots with the tide helping us along to the east. In a couple of hours, we began to make our approach to Cuttyhunk Harbor. It’s an easy harbor to get into with good holding ground for Sans Souci’s 65 pound anchor. We put the anchor down on the west side of the harbor near Pease Ledge, tied down the main sail and put the motor on the dinghy for a ride to the town dock in Cuttyhunk pond.
Cuttyhunk Island
We tied up the dinghy at the town dock and took a walk on the island. Cuttyhunk has surprisingly large number of houses for the tiny island that it is,. We walked to the beach on the south side, fragrant from the beach roses blooming and then over to the old, decommissioned Coast Guard Station.
By about 4:30 we had decided we should return to Sans Souci for a round of dark and stormies and to prepare dinner. I wandered ahead and sat down in the dinghy to kick my feet up. I sat there for a while and was just about wondering where John and Libby got off to when dad walked up and said we’ve got a problem. Libby had tripped and fallen on the road by the dock. She was sitting on the ground, holding her left wrist, being attended to by a friendly woman. I looked at her wrist and it was obvious from first glance that it was askew, broken or dislocated. Shortly thereafter Seth, the local EMT (and raw bar owner) (and island highway commissioner) (!) drove up to assist. He splinted Libby’s wrist and fashioned her a sling. There is also a practitioner on the island and Seth thought it would be a good idea to seek her opinion. It was also obvious that there was no way Libby would be able to get herself in and then back out of the dinghy. Seth agreed to take Libby to see the doc while John and I retrieved Sans Souci to the dock in the pond.
We motored into the pond through the extremely narrow inlet and looked for a place to secure her at the dock. The winds were still from the SSW and blowing us off the dock. After a couple of attempts, I was able to get her tied to the end of the quay. By then, Libby had returned to the dock and it was strongly recommended that she see an emergency room as soon as possible. Seth had gone off to serve a catered meal but was to be finished by about 6:30. He generously offered to take Libby to Padanaram in his boat. John and I conferred and it was easily decided he needed to go with her. I made them each a sandwich while John retrieved their overnight bags.
I set out to find a spot to anchor for the night, leaving John to attend to Libby. Seth retuned as promised and I watched them from my spot in the harbor motor out and turn north. Seth took them, both perched on buckets and jerry cans as there were no seats in his commercial fishing boat, to Padanaram in Dartmouth, MA. From there he drove them to the hospital in New Bedford, about a 10 minute trip. Seth went far out of his way to help my mom get to the hospital; what a great guy!
The diagnosis was Libby’s wrist was shattered badly and will need surgery to heal correctly. The surgery will happen on Thursday in New Bedford and hopefully, she can get back to sailing by late July. Until then, she’ll be painting one handed. She’s in good spirits but a lot of pain.
Back at Cuttyhunk, I found a spot in the harbor to anchor and sat down to reflect on the task of sailing Sans Souci home singlehanded for the first time. I was a little nervous, to be honest. I had sailed her only three times before and was not fully clued into her ways. Nothing like a crises to focus the mind! The weather forecast for Sunday was for light winds so I knew it would be a relatively easy voyage back to Fall river, so long as I made it back before any afternoon convective activity.
I made myself a dinner of the chicken stew my dad had brought along, had a beer and watched a beautiful sunset. Sylvia and I spoke on the phone and I filled her in on the afternoon’s escapades and about my plan for the next day. It was reassuring to hear her voice confidence in me and endearing to hear her sympathy for my mom. I set an anchor alarm on my phone to notify me if my anchor dragged and went to bed at about 9 PM. I learned a lesson an hour later regarding the anchor alarm when it went off. I had set it not where I dropped the anchor but where I sat a few minutes after dropping the anchor. I widened the alarm circle and hoped for some more sleep. The alarm was from then silent but next time, I will set it right over the anchor.
Sans Souci’s night meanderings
I awoke at about 5 feeling well rested and ready to tackle the day. The sunrise was beautiful, I made coffee and ate two of the tasty blueberry muffins my mom had stashed aboard. As I ate, I listened to the weather report again which still called for thunderstorms and squalls in the late afternoon. I had no time to waste. I weighed anchor before 6 and was underway in the calm dawn light.
As I motored out of the harbor, the wind was at a good angle to take me north-east so I decided to sail while I could. The breeze was light, about 7-10 from the WSW and I sailed with all of Sans Souci’s canvas aloft. Occasionally, the wind would peter out and I would roll up the foresails and motor under the main alone. I proceeded like this, sometimes sailing, sometimes motor-sailing, for the next few hours, making steady progress toward Sackonnet Point. A little surprisingly, I pretty easily fell into the rhythm of singlehanding, letting the autopilot steer while I tended to sails, navigation, weather and lookout, with a lunch in there, too. I was fortunate to have calm weather for my first experience singlehanding Sans Souci so I could keep up with things.
I rounded Sackonnet Point in warm, light winds and shortly after the wind shifted to the NW. I again furled and unfurled the genoa as the wind shifted, ebbed and flowed. By the time I was about even with my parents house near McCorrie Point, I was tired of all the action and my hands were feeling the day of pulling on ropes. I furled the head sails and dropped the main to power back to Borden Light.
The wind had kicked up a bit as I approached the marina but there was a helpful bystander able to grab my lines and get me tied to the dock. All told, it took me about 8 hours to return from Cuttyhunk, motoring 3.3 hours and sailing 4.7. I was glad to be tied up in my slip but felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Still a singlehanding greenhorn but having broken the barrier, I am ready to tackle the next solo adventure!
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Hope your mom’s recovery is swift and complete.
I’m glad to report that Libby is back from her wrist surgery this morning from her slip-and-fall at the Cuttyhunk Town Dock last Saturday. Her titanium plate will be setting off TSA metal detector alarms for the rest of her life. Happily, this should be the only lasting after effect from the incident cramping her style, according to her hand surgeon. We abandoned Hugh and Sans Souci at anchor in Cuttyhunk Harbor, as he reported in his posting. I’m so proud of him single-handing the boat on Sunday. This experience is a big confidence builder for him, handling lines, halyards and ground tackle along with piloting.
It was a fun challenge!
Wow what an adventure. Glad your mom is doing well and your solo sail was great!