Our presentation of our Atlantic Passage at the Krogen Rendezvous

Our presentation of our Atlantic Passage at the Krogen Rendezvous

Julie and I presented an account of our Atlantic Passage to over 150 Krogen owners this past Saturday at the Krogen Rendezvous. This was the first presentation we’ve ever done of our passage and it was really well received. A bunch of folks asked me where else we were presenting and at this point, the answer is nowhere because no one has asked us yet. I’m definitely going to look for more opportunities because I like sharing how possible this is in an older boat on a limited budget.

Besides talking about our preparation, and all the books we read, here are some highlights:

Q: What is the age of Dauntless?
A: 1988, 27 years old. [Audience gasp. This reaction surprised me because it never occurred to me the age of the boat would be an issue; I just thought it was about the condition.]

Q: Did you change the oil?
A: No! I wasn’t to stop the engine in the middle of the ocean for no stinkin’ oil change.

Q: Did you ever turn off the engine?
A: Not on purpose. [Then I went into a five-minute recount of all my shenanigans with changing the fuel filters and closing valves that should be open, and vice versa, which resulted in me killing the engine, twice!]

Q: Could you check the amount of oil you had with the engine running?
A: I had read on Trawler Forum that I may be able to check the oil level while running. Well, all I could tell was that there was some amount of oil in there, but it was not possible to get a reading. Therefore, I knew the oil consumption in the past was a quart of oil every 50-70 hours, so I just added 2 quarts every few days whether it needed it or not. When I did turn off the engine when we arrived in the Azores, the oil level was exactly where I expected it to be.

Q: What would you do differently in hindsight?
A: There is virtually nothing significant we would have done differently. The actual route we took is one issue, but as I rethink the rationale for the route we took, it still seems it was the best option given the ice conditions east and south of St. John’s NF. I’m disappointed we never got to see an iceberg and as our start date got pushed back to late July, maybe we should have tried to make St. John’s. In hindsight though, I was not that sure enough of the fuel consumption and Julie had a deadline to get back to work, so the Azores were still the best answer, even if it added 5 days to the passage. It does seem that had I been able to stay on the great circle route, topping up the tanks in Halifax would have allowed me to get to Ireland direct.

Umm, next time.

A last thought on pictures and video from the trip: Being back in NY, having the Krogen Presentation to do and finally having fast, reliable internet connection allowed me to finally sort through the 1200 pictures and 130 videos we had taken during the trip.

While there are some really nice pictures, especially of sunsets and sunrises, I now wish I had been more meticulous in making some quality pictures and videos that told their own story each day in a systematic manner.

A note about the videos. The file date is basically the date time stamp of when it was recorded, thus, 20140728_201731 means it was recorded on July 28th, at 20:17 hours. This was on Eastern Daylight Time until the Azores at which point I changed it to GMT (which was local time).

Also the quality is not the best, but rather than not show post them, I thought they still depict the conditions and give a good day to day story of conditions.

Virtually all the videos are at: Videos of Dauntless' Atlantic Passage 2014 - Richard Bost

The pictures will be uploaded within the next day or two.

Hi everyone, I’m Julie, the other half of the Atlantic passage. Thank you for all of cheering us on. Richard finally convinced me to get onto Trawler Forum.

At the Krogen presentation, I was struck by a few things:

1. How little I know about boats, how much Richard knows, and how much both of those things worked in our favor in crossing the Atlantic. I’m not saying this as a self-criticism. I believe that had I been as invested in learning from a community of boaters as Richard, I would have been talked out of going on this passage. As it stood, I knew just enough to be a competent first mate, but not enough to be scared by the myriad technical difficulties that could happen, but didn’t. Groups can be a great source of support but they can also be a great source of second-hand fear, and in this case, I’m glad to participate in these groups after our passage rather than before.

2. I was also struck that crossing an ocean is unusual, yet in our case it was one of the easiest, most pleasant passages to do as a couple. The first half of the journey from Rhode Island to the Azores was downright enjoyable. After a couple of days we figured out a night watch schedule that matched our internal clocks and helped us both get enough sleep. We both wore a seasickness patch that worked for us, and changed it every three days. With both of those things in place, we could relax and the only things left to do were look for whales on good days, spot the daily dolphins and cargo ships, be fascinated by the moods of the sea, talk, eat, read voraciously, and watch a Korean drama.

3. That said, the second half of the journey, with Richard going alone from the Azores to Ireland, was far more difficult. One because the weather was worse: our highest waves were 12 feet, while on this last leg they reached 20 feet in miserable weather. Two, he was alone and didn’t have a sounding board to talk out decisions and go with his gut, like taking a seasickness patch before he left. So in my role in the first half, I was no expert, but I was a sounding board. While there were many women I admired at the Krogen Rendezvous who know much more than me about boats—and I hope to know as much someday-- I see that being a listener was of equal value in a partnership and endeavor like this.

I hope Richard gets to do this presentation again because I think a lot of people are curious. Also, even though he doesn’t want me to write this, he is hilarious.

Hey Julie, welcome aboard TF!

You have an interesting insight on the trip. I suspect my wifey is in the same boat, boat knowledge wise.

Ya'll might want to see if Trawler Fest in FLA or WA would want to host the presentation. I would hope they would be interested.

Regarding videos and photos. Photographs are easy for me and they should tell a story/theme. Videos need a story/theme as well but I think video is much harder to shoot technically for me. I do find both photos and video very helpful when reading someones blog/story and both have their place. One thing we have been watching or trying to watch is video of boats at sea which is really not that easy to shoot well. My guess is that a fixed camera, maybe a Go Pro, would work best.

What has impressed the heck out of me is the videos shot from drones. I can't believe the quality people are getting out of these drones. Not sure I would be willing to fly the drone in the middle of the Atlantic though.

Now I have to start watching all of the videos you have posted.

Thanks,
Dan

Greetings,
Welcome aboard Ms. DFM. WOW!

Wow! congratulations on an epic trip. We just had a month ago our Rendezvous here in the Northwest. If you are up to it, next year will be in Sept. in Anacortes Wa. Maybe we could get you to fly out and five your presentation.

Richard and Julie,
I am sure there are a lot of folks on TF that would love to hear your presentation. I love hearing the different perspectives from both of you. Did anyone record your presentation? If so you might be able to use that as a marketing tool to allow you to give it somewhere else. I would certainly travel to see it if it were a reasonable distance. I personally can't thank both of you enough for sharing your voyage. I have learned so much through what Richard had posted and share on Delorme. Hopefully someone on here has some contacts on how/where you could do your next presentation.

At the WA Trawler Fest they had a Women in Boating or some such class/meeting that my wifey went too. She really liked the class/meeting. Not sure what the women were talking about and not sure I want to know but she enjoyed the class.

I would think Julies opinions and thoughts about her trip would be important to both genders. Not many women can say they were stuck with their husbands for weeks on a wee little boat in the middle of the Atlantic.

Later,
Dan

Richard and Julie, congrats on the epic journey you made! Given the opportunity I would love to do something like that. If you guys do the presentation in the PNW sometime I love would attend.

@Julie, great quote "...I knew just enough to be a competent first mate, but not enough to be scared by the myriad technical difficulties that could happen, but didn’t. Groups can be a great source of support but they can also be a great source of second-hand fear...

DauntlessFirstMate,

It is an honor to welcome you to the forum. Congratulations on your adventure and thank you so much for sharing it with us.

BD

Thanks for the update from you both.I just read the email from your blog.Good stuff.

Sure wish I was there to hear it, Julie and Rich. I keep promising that I'll attend, but it's always "next year". Sincere congrats on your journey, but also on your inspirational presentation! I bet there's some other Krogen owners out there contemplating trips they never dared to.

What a great trip for the captain, mate and boat. I enjoy your blog and can't wait to see your next adventures.

if we ever our paths cross i would like to hear all your stories. Weather it over a few drinks or if you are a presenter and i am in the audience.

I can only imagine what a trip like that must be like. My only ocean experience is taking a boat down the coast from Seattle to Stockton, CA. That was fun and a great experience but it pales in comparison to what you two did.

My hat is off to both of you.

Great story and a fantastic journey for both of you. From reading your thread it sounds like a single engine did the work.

Congratulations!

"Q: What would you do differently in hindsight?
A: There is virtually nothing significant we would have done differently."

So,

You would not have topped your fuel tanks off in the Azores.

You would not have fixed your bent stabilizer pole before leaving.

You would not have changed all your fuel filters just before the crossing.

You would not have taken a SAT phone.

You would not consider contracting with a Med. service that would have allowed you to speak directly to a doctor in the case of a medical emergency via a SAT phone.

You would not have taken along a way to get first hand weather information, as opposed to second or third hand data via text.

You would not consider arranging to have a competent crew member along from the start. Or having one meet you along the way as apposed to single handing it at one point with out getting adequate sleep that, by your own admission as I recall, impared your judgement.

You would not have checked your fuel fill caps to make sure water can't leak passed them or perhaps plugged your fuel tank vents to keep water out in rough seas.

You would not consider adding water probes and alarms to you fuel/water separators.

You would not consider installing Murphy gauges so you could accurately check your fluid levels while the engine was running.

You would not reconsider timing your trip to avoid coming into a strange to you port late at night after getting less than adequate sleep.

You would not have stocked more mayonnaise on board.

Etc., etc., etc.

Capt Bill,

You finally got something right.

I would have gotten more mayonnaise!

And eggs. We definitely should have brought more eggs.

DauntlessFirstMate said:

And eggs. We definitely should have brought more eggs.

Click to expand...

Then we could have made egg salad.

Or we could do the stuff on Capt Bill's list and we'd still be in Rhode Island, for f...ever.
Now, that's funny.

Richard & Julie-
Thanks for your insights from your experience. I have learned much from these and will put them into my toolbox of knowledge. Julie's perspective is a great addition! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

DauntlessFirstMate said:

Groups can be a great source of support but they can also be a great source of second-hand fear, and in this case, I’m glad to participate in these groups after our passage rather than before.

Click to expand...

You've struck on one of my hot buttons Julie.

No one knows it all and so many of the online "experts" advocate knowing everything beforehand... and the equipment required? Everything of course, with back-ups for each crucial part.

And don't do a thing until then! Argh.

Another item I noticed in your post referenced being a sounding board. That has great value. All too often being able to ask questions is of importance and helps clarify a situation for the teacher And student.

Common sense is lacking quite often in the world. In long-term successful marriages a degree of respect between spouses is apparent. That mutual regard revolves around the regard each has for the other's skills.

As an outsider watching your journey unfold I was impressed (and a bit envious) of your obvious respect and support for each other. Wow!

Congratulations Julie on your success and enjoy the next stage of the journey. I'll be watching for updates!

Wow, thanks Janice! I look forward to following your adventures as well.

Wxx3 said:

Capt Bill,

You finally got something right.

Click to expand...

Actually I'm right about a lot of things. But it doesn't surprise me that you don't/can't see that.

DauntlessFirstMate said:

Wow, thanks Janice! I look forward to following your adventures as well.

Click to expand...

Now I'm blushing. But seriously, I would like to meet you one of these days. I noted a possible talk on the Gulf Coast of Florida which of course is of interest as I'm in that region.

In the meantime, enjoy your adventure. As for me, I'm glad I can get some rest after watching the crossing. The miracles of instant messaging was something else.

Back in the day (putting on my old-fogy slippers) even VHF radios were not on boats -- not on ours anyway. After getting caught offshore in a hurricane Mother put down her boat shoes and said get a radio. $1,000 later, we had one, which mandated a 12-volt system, batteries, charging generator and more.

Each decision leads to more. At a certain point the wise stop.

Back then I continued to use the oil lantern in my cabin. Today, even though I have LEDs on Seaweed, well, I'm comfortable with the light from oil lanterns. Except for cleaning the overhead (soot) I still prefer 'em.

Anyway, I'll hush now.

Congratulations Julie and have a wonderful journey.

Very surprising IMO to have done what you did and say you would do it over again with no changes.