Position of Wells Fargo - American Pioneer 40 29N 65 37W
It has been a very eventful 36-hours since Joe and his crew aboard Wells Fargo - American Pioneer left Boston. "We've had our hands full," is how Joe summed things up in an Iridium satellite call from the boat. No sooner had the crew left the dock they ran into their first problem. The engine quit just as a massive ship carrying liquid natural gas was being escorted into Boston Harbor by a flotilla of Coast Guard vessels. "The Coast Guard were less than happy to see us," Joe said. "Even more when we told them that we could not maneuver the boat." It's a sign of the level of tension surrounding the arrival and departure of any potential terrorist target in a US metropolitan area.
After fixing the engine problem they set a course for the tip of Cape Cod and settled into the first night at sea. Shortly after midnight the propeller on the boat snagged a lobster pot and before the crew could free it, the lines became completely wrapped around the keel. The sails were lowered, but despite the best efforts of Joe and his crew, the stubborn line remained tangled. In the end it was Chris Van Raalten who donned his survival suit and in the dark of night spent an hour under the boat cutting away at the snarled mess. "Fortunately the wind had died so Chris was able to get the job done without being too banged up," said Joe. "It really made me aware of how difficult this would have been had I been alone on board."
At daybreak on Tuesday the wind picked up from the southwest and with a full mainsail and Gennaker set the boat came alive allowing the crew to enjoy the sailing for the first time. It did not last for long. A cold front that had been stationary off the coast of the US moved to the east and Tuesday night was spent in gusty winds and heavy rain squalls. Early this morning the squalls had cleared out and Wells Fargo - American Pioneer was sailing at 10 to 12 knots with the wind from behind. It remains cold with the air temperature barely making it out of the forties. "It got really damp and miserable during the night when we crossed the Grand Banks," Joe said. "As usual there were dozens of fishing boats and we spent a few hours playing cat-and-mouse games on the radar trying to stay clear of the trawlers."
The strategy for the crossing is to head south to roughly 40 degrees N. This time of year icebergs calved off the Arctic icepack have been swept south by the Labrador current and some can be found as far south as 45 degrees N. It's important to stay well below the ice and 40N is a good middle-ground between the dangerous waters and strong winds to the north, and the light winds usually found in the high pressure area south of 40N. "We plan to sail east as close to 40N as we can," said Joe. "At least until we get over halfway across at which point we will start to angle north and head more directly for England." There is still a long way to go. This morning Wells Fargo - American Pioneer was just 230 miles east of Cape Cod.
- Brian Hancock (great.circle@verizon.net)
