The Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship

Southbound Norfolk to St Thomas, November 2011

2011-11-07T20:14:00.000-05:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Vinings Landing Marina in Norfolk Virginia bound for Crown Bay Marina, St Thomas USVI this afternoon, Monday November 7th, 2011. The crew members are: Captain Jack Morton (Florida), First Mate Jim Bortnem (Minnesota), and student crew members Richard Sloan (Pennsylvania), Jacques Levesque (Ontario), Lisa Powell (Oklahoma) and Roland Heinrich (Massachusetts). CELESTIAL will make the passage to St Thomas via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 1500 miles, and will take approximately 11-13 days, sailing both day and night.

UPDATE: After departure from Norfolk, the crew made southbound progress, staying on the west side of the Gulf Stream, while keeping a close eye on a storm brewing in the Atlantic, which developed into Tropical Storm SEAN. The crew made the prudent decision to find safe harbor in Beaufort, North Carolina, arriving Wednesday night, November 9th. They then departed Beaufort on Friday afternoon to cross the Gulf Stream some 60 miles distant. Though initially faced with frustrating SE to SSE winds that prevented them from getting any southing for the first few days, they are now making progress southeasterly toward their destination in St. Thomas. See the COMMENTS to this blog post below for the full report.

Captain Tursi will be monitoring progress of the cruise and will be in contact with CELESTIAL's crew via a Skymate satellite system. We'll receive reports from the crew approximately every other day and Captain Tursi will supply the crew with detailed weather analysis.

More discussion on this soon, as well as weather updates, communication from the crew, and actual progress (see comments below), so please join us! To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click here. For more information on The Maryland School, please visit our website.

Bermuda to Norfolk; June 6-13, 2011

2011-06-07T21:15:00.006-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 will depart St Georges Harbor, Bermuda tonight June 7, 2011 at approximately midnight after two preparation days. The crew members are: Captain Bruce Kachline (Louisiana), First Mate Billy Psimas (Virginia), and student crew members Thomas Martinez (Washington), Jason Delisky (New Jersey), Richard Dixon (Connecticut) and Vincent Ferrer (Virginia). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Norfolk, Virginia via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 650 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. We will discuss the route, weather and actual progress here on our blog as it happens, so please join us! To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click HERE. The crew is pictured here (except for Captain Bruce behind the camera) from left to right: Vince, Richard, Tom, Billy and Jason.)

Norfolk to Bermuda; May 28 - June 2, 2011

2011-05-30T09:03:00.005-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Vinings Landing on Saturday, May 28, 2011 a6 0600 after two preparation days. The crew members are: Captain Bruce Kachline (Louisiana), First Mate Billy Psimas (Virginia), and student crew members Spencer Cowles (Virginia), John Hoffman (Virginia), Kenneth Keppel (Maryland) and Greg Lennon (Massachusetts). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Bermuda via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 650 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. We will discuss the route, weather and actual progress here on our blog as it happens, so please join us! To follow the discussion, see the comments to this blog post. To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click HERE.

Northbound Ocean Crew to Departs; St Thomas USVI - Norfolk, VA

2011-05-07T20:31:00.007-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Crown Bay Marina, St Thomas USVI at 10:00 AM today, May 7, 2011 after two days of preparation. The crew members are: Captain Jack Morton (Florida), First Mate Jim Bortnem (Minnesota), and student crew members Sean Henderson (Colorado), Mark Price (Ohio), Robert Todd (Indiana) and Joe Pazourek (Oklahoma). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Norfolk via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 1500 miles, and will take 11-13 days, sailing both day and night.

Captain Tursi will be monitoring progress of the cruise and will be in contact with CELESTIAL's crew via a Skymate satellite system. We'll receive reports from the crew approximately every other day and Captain Tursi will supply the crew with detailed weather analysis.

More discussion on this soon, as well as weather updates, communication from the crew, and actual progress (see comments below), so please join us! To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click here. For more information on The Maryland School, please visit our website.

Southbound Norfolk to St Thomas, November 2010

2010-11-05T20:47:00.014-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Vinings Landing Marina in Norfolk Virginia bound for Crown Bay Marina, St Thomas USVI this afternoon, Friday November 5th, 2010. The crew members are: Captain Jack Morton (Florida), First Mate David Gifford (Pennsylvania), and student crew members Ingo Stubbe (Massachusetts), Wolfgang Linke (Pennsylvania), Fred Lipp (Ohio) and Erico Silva (Virginia). CELESTIAL will make the passage to St Thomas via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 1500 miles, and will take approximately 11 days, sailing both day and night.

Captain Tursi will be monitoring progress of the cruise and will be in contact with CELESTIAL's crew via a Skymate satellite system. We'll receive reports from the crew approximately every other day and Captain Tursi will supply the crew with detailed weather analysis.

More discussion on this soon, as well as weather updates, communication from the crew, and actual progress (see comments below), so please join us! To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click here. For more information on The Maryland School, please visit our website.

Fourth Bermuda 2010 Training Cruise Departs

2010-06-30T10:03:00.005-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed St Georges Harbor, Bermuda today June 30, 2010 at 8:00 AM after two preparation days. The crew members are: Captain Jochen Hoffmann (Virginia), First Mate Jerry Nigro (New York), and student crew members Tom Przybelski (Maryland), Paul Goswitz (Wisconsin), Michael Brown (Pennsylvania) and Michael Poole (Pennsylvania). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Mystic, Connecticut via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 650 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. At 8:00 AM this morning, Captain Hoffmann communicated with the school by phone and reported that the crew did an excellent job preparing for departure and that the boat and crew were both in great shape. They had cleared out of Bermuda and were on their way. The accompanying photo shows the Gulf Stream upon departure. More discussion on this soon, as well as weather updates, communication from the crew, and actual progress (SEE COMMENTS BELOW), so please join us! To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click HERE.

Third Bermuda 2010 Training Cruise Departs

2010-06-19T17:23:00.003-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Vinings Landing today June 19, 2010 at 12:30 PM after two preparation days. The crew members are: Captain Tom Tursi (Pennsylvania), First Mate Jerry Nigro (New York), and student crew members Carol Wills (New York), Bodo Walters (Pennsylvania), Jocelyn Henderson (Washington DC) and Bernard Marchive (Washington DC). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Bermuda via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 650 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. We will discuss the route, weather and actual progress here on our blog as it happens, so please join us! To follow the discussion, see the comments to this blog post. To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click HERE.

Second Bermuda 2010 Training Cruise Departs

2010-06-08T21:00:00.004-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed St Georges Harbor, Bermuda today June 8, 2010 at 12:00 PM after two preparation days. The crew members are: Captain Harry Privette (Maryland), First Mate Lee Tucker (Virginia), and student crew members Bob DeGroof (Maryland), Randy Bablitz (Ontario, Canada), Alan Sweatman (Maryland) and Richard Hoyle (Maine). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Norfol, Virginia via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 650 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. We will discuss the route, weather and actual progress here on our blog as it happens, so please join us! To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click HERE.

First Bermuda 2010 Training Cruise Departs

2010-05-29T21:06:00.003-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Vinings Landing Marina, Norfolk, VA today May 29, 2010 at 11:00 AM after two preparation days. The crew members are: Captain Harry Privette (Maryland), First Mate Lee Tucker (Virginia), and student crew members John Mitchell (California), Craig Newland (Missouri), Scott Duncan (Massachusetts) and Bill Zissimopoulos (Washington). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Bermuda via a planned non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 650 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. We will discuss the route, weather and actual progress here on our blog as it happens, so please join us! To follow their actual progress on Google Earth, click HERE.

Ocean Crew to Depart; St Thomas USVI - Norfolk, VA

2010-05-06T12:40:00.004-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 will depart Crown Bay Marina, St Thomas USVI on May 7, 2010 after two days of preparation. The crew members are: Captain Jochen Hoffmann (Virginia), First Mate Mike McGovern (Delaware), and student crew members David Lovett (Tennessee), Brooks Hull (Michigan), Allan Peppelman (Pennsylvania) and Roque Reis (Brazil). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Norfolk via a planned non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 1500 miles, and will take 11-13 days, sailing both day and night. We will discuss the route, weather and actual progress here on our blog as it happens, so please join us!

Virgin Islands Circumnavigation Cruise November 30 - December 7, 2009

2009-12-03T13:54:00.008-05:00

The first of our winter season Advanced Coastal Training cruises began Monday November 30, 2009 in the Virgin Islands aboard CELESTIAL, our IP 440. The adventuresome crew includes James Maher, Carol Staheli, Jim Cosgrove, Michael Collora, Richard Dixon led by Captain Jochen Hoffmann. The itinerary includes stops at Christmas Cove, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Anageda before setting off on a 24 hour passage to Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands, and finally returning to St Thomas. The estimated distance for this circumnavigation is approximately 375 miles.

Please read the COMMENTS to this post for any updates. You can also follow CELESTIAL'S progress on our google map by clicking here.

Southbound Norfolk to St Thomas; November 2009

2009-11-03T12:14:00.014-05:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 will depart Vinings Landing Marina in Norfolk Virginia bound for Crown Bay Marina, St Thomas USVI tomorrow morning, Wednesday, November 4, 2009. The crew members are: Captain David Appleton (Pennsylvania), First Mate Ron Smith (Texas), and student crew members Peter Schloss (Missouri), Harvey Triplett (Florida), Curtis Smith (North Dakota) and Nelson Kennedy (Virginia). CELESTIAL will make the passage to St Thomas via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 1500 miles, and will take approximately 11-13 days, sailing both day and night.

Captain Appleton has reported that crew had arrived on Sunday afternoon, and by Monday evening they had completed their orientation of CELESTIAL both above and below decks, and reviewed emergency procedures in thorough detail. They are on target for their departure on Wednesday morning. Captain Appleton had high praise for his fine crew, saying they were enthusiastic and well prepared.

Student crew-member Peter Schloss is aboard for his 4th ocean passage with the Maryland School from Norfolk to St Thomas. Peter had this to say to his fellow crew members prior to the cruise: "Even though this is my fourth passage to the USVI with the School, I have the same excited (and nervous) anticipation that I experienced prior to my first departure in November 2000. Every passage has been a different experience with different challenges and each crew a unique blend of sailing skills and life-experiences. I have spent the last week assembling my duffle… and then removing as many things that I can reject as “non-essential”. No matter what, it seems that we tend to bring “too much”… which is fine if it is enthusiasm, but not if it is “stuff!""

Captain Tom Tursi reports the following on weather expectations for the trip: "For the next 4-5 days the weather will be benign with moderate winds from the west. A cold front will be coming through by the end of the week which will give the crew north-westerly winds of 20-30 knots which will be good for progress." Captain Tursi will be monitoring progress of the cruise and will be in contact with CELESTIAL's crew via a Skymate satellite system. We'll receive reports from the crew approximately every other day and Captain Tursi will supply the crew with detailed weather analysis.

Please read the COMMENTS to this post where we will follow their ocean cruise with reports from the crew, discussions on weather and reports on actual progress. You can also follow CELESTIAL'S progress on our google map by clicking here.

Our 200th advanced training cruise!

2009-07-26T11:56:00.002-04:00

On July 21st CELESTIAL, our Island Packet 440 ocean sailing yacht departed Bar Harbor, ME for our 200th advanced training cruise bound for Mystic, CT with a crew of six sailors onboard under the charge of Captain Jochen Hoffmann.

On July 24th, I sent the following weather summary to CELESTIAL by Skymate email:
I have you near Provincetown. Received your 2 emails with subject but no text. You've had tough sledding. Low to pass E this afternoon. Expect E30 backing to NW tonight and to S on Saturday.

Later on July 24th, Captain Jochen sent the following email:
Thanks for Skymate response. Its surface analysis raised the alarm for me. VHF revised too late to make safe gunkhole before dark, and still had gusts to 30. Actually had 35 by 0400; triple reefed all sails. Hove to 4 hours outside shipping lanes. Moored 1200. Crew was great, rose to the 200th cruise milestone. Staying overnite... J

CELESTIAL departs Mystic; bound for Northeast Harbor Maine

2009-07-13T08:47:00.005-04:00

On Friday morning, July 10, 2009, after a day of preparation, our ocean-going vessel, CELESTIAL, an Island Packet 440 departed Mystic CT bound for Northeast Harbor, near Bar Harbor Maine via an advanced coastal route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 375 miles, and will take approximately 7 days. Aboard CELESTIAL are: Captain Jochen Hoffmann (VA), and student crewmembers Mike Poole (PA), David McKay (NJ), Claire Moore (MD), Gabriel Moore (MD) and Mary Burrows (MD). On Sunday, Captain Hoffman reported via Skymate that all is well aboard CELESTIAL. They had rested up in Provincetown, MA and prepared for their 120 NM overnight passage to Casoc Bay, and were now underway. Weather has been good so far, sunny and clear with winds at 15 knots from the south. For the overnight passage, winds are expected to continue from the south with gusts to 25 knots and a chance of thunderstorms.

You can follow CELESTIAL'S progress on our google map by clicking here.

Bermuda 2009; Cruise #4 Departs

2009-06-30T11:41:00.005-04:00

On Monday afternoon, June 29th 2009, our fourth and final 2009 Bermuda Training Cruise departed St. Georges Harbor, bound for Mystic, Connecticut via a non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 670 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. Aboard CELESTIAL are: Captain David Appleton (PA), First Mate David Gifford (PA), and crew members Bill Walther (NY), Bob Hickey (NJ), Charles Perrell (MD), and Gerald Wall (NY).

On Sunday, Captain Appleton reported the following by e-mail:

"Update: Crew arrived en mass @ 1600 on Saturday. We got them aboard and stowed. Installed Genoa, it looks fine. We worked our buns off today getting most work in. We also calibrated the knot meter which thinks we only went 588 nm, which is inaccurate, unless they moved Bermuda closer to Little Creek while I wasn't looking........."

Plan to set sail about noon tomorrow. We've gone through all the general emergency gear and below and above decks orientation. Crew is currently working on presail check lists. We'll move to shell station dock after close, then fuel first thing in the morning and go on the hook to finish presail business.

WX (weather) looks good, a lot of SW winds, possible W to NW when we cross a cold front Wednesday..... but that remains to be seen.

So far all is well, and crew in good spirits. Should be fun. Will email from Skymate Wed or Thurs."

On Monday afternoon, Captain Appleton called by cell phone to say they were underway. They had put the sails up in the harbor and sailed out. Winds were from the southwest at 15-18 knots, and good weather is expected for the trip with favorable winds at least through Tuesday. They have a strategy for the gulf stream and are underway and in good shape! In his usual good humor, Captain Appleton also reported that "we've all had showers and no one is puking yet!"

Please read the COMMENTS to this post where we will follow their ocean cruise with reports from the crew, discussions on weather and reports on actual progress. You can follow CELESTIALS progress on our google map by clicking here.

Bermuda 2009; Cruise #3 Departs

2009-06-18T22:13:00.003-04:00

Captain David Appleton call this afternoon to report that Bermuda 2009 Cruise #3 has departed. His message is as follow:

"Hello, David Appleton here. It's about 4:00 PM... we're approaching Thimble Shoal Tunnel. We got underway at 3:15. We only motored far enough to get the sails up. We sailed out of Little Creek and we're sailing in southerly winds 12-15 knots or so, and moving along swimmingly. Nobody's seasick yet... everybody's got their patches on and they're raring to go. They're excited!

We had a good briefing from our safety coordinator, who is Sabrina, and she got us all straightened out on our safety gear and our safety assignments. Our engineer Paul Cargill did a great job of telling us where everything is. Everybody did a great job on preparations... a good time was had by all. Talk to you later!"

Aboard CELESTIAL are: Captain David Appleton (PA), First Mate David Gifford (PA), and crew members Sabrina Nichols (KS), Tom Nichols (KS), Paul Cargill (TX), and Paul Hurley (VA). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Bermuda via a planned non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 670 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. Please read the COMMENTS to this post where we will follow their ocean cruise with reports from the crew, discussions on weather and reports on actual progress. You can follow CELESTIALS progress on our google map by clicking here.

Bermuda 2009; Cruise #2 Departs

2009-06-07T18:49:00.004-04:00

Captain Jochen Hoffmann called me by cell phone saying that CELESTIAL, our IP440 departed Bermuda at 1700 EDT bound for Norfolk. Winds are moderate from the south which will allow them to sail off wind and possibly fly the cruising chute. Winds are expected to remain from the south and moderate further over the next two days. The weather map to the left shows conditions at departure.

Aboard CELESTIAL are: Captain Jochen Hoffmann (VA), First Mate Jim Bortnem (MN), and crewmembers Kevin Malloy (NJ), Rick Lane (NC), Edana Long (NC), and Chris Flemming (ME). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Norfolk via a planned non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 670 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. Please read the COMMENTS to this post where we will follow their ocean cruise with reports from the crew, discussions on weather and reports on actual progress.

Bermuda 2009; Training Cruise #1 Departs

2009-05-28T09:18:00.006-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Taylors Landing Marina, Norfolk VA before dusk last evening May 27, 2009 after two days of preparation. Aboard CELESTIAL are: Captain Jochen Hoffmann (Arlington, VA), First Mate Jim Bortnem (Hawley, MN), and student crewmembers Jim Wallace (Miramar Beach, FL), Richard Zell (Milford, CT), Allan Zell (Easton, CT) and Mike Mika (Katy, TX). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Bermuda via a planned non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 670 miles, and will take approximately 6 days, sailing both day and night. Please read the COMMENTS to this post where we will follow their ocean cruise with reports from the crew, discussions on weather and reports on actual progress.

This is the first of four back to back ocean passages, between the east coast of the United States and Bermuda. A second student crew will board CELESTIAL in Bermuda for the return trip to Norfolk. Student Jim Wallace from this first cruise will stay aboard for the round trip! It may interest those aspiring ocean sailors to read Jim's post to our blog following his 2007 101 class with The Maryland School, prior to which he had only dreamed of sailing. Since then, Jim has earned his certifications through ASA 107, and has done a significant amount of independent sailing. It gives us great satisfaction to know Jim is living his dream!

Ocean crew departs St Thomas bound for Norfolk Virginia

2009-05-06T20:17:00.006-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 departed Crown Bay Marina, St Thomas USVI today, May 6, 2009 after two days of preparation. The crewmembers are: Captain David Appleton (New Hope, PA), First Mate Bruce Kachline (Franklin, LA), and student crewmembers Dan Stephenson (Minot, ND), John Peterson (Louisville, KY), Andrei Gasheyev (Philadelphia, PA) and Calvin Stewart (Novi, MI). CELESTIAL will make the passage to Norfolk via a planned non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 1500 miles, and will take approximately 11-13 days, sailing both day and night. Please read the COMMENTS to this post where we will follow their ocean cruise with reports from the crew, discussions on weather and reports on actual progress. Today, Wednesday May 6th, we received this verbal message from Captain Appleton:

"This is David...it's 1648 hours... almost 10 minutes before 5:00 PM. We left Crown Bay Marina at 3:30. We're currently leaving the Virgin Islands at 5:00... we're out of the Caribbean and entering the open Atlantic Ocean. Everybody is just fine so far! We're off a little bit early but we wanted to take advantage of some fairly favorable winds, although the conditions are going to be sloppy. We expect to have winds 16-25 knots, gusting to 40 in squalls. We'll be in 5-10 foot seas. The wind will be out of the E/SE so it will be on our quarter and ought to give us a pretty good boost for the next couple of days, and then things are supposed to lighten up as we get further north. We'll put in a report by Skymate in a couple of days when we can get at it. Right now we're pretty busy with a lot of stuff! We'll talk to you later!"

Virgin Islands Circumnavigation Cruise February 23 - March 2, 2009

2009-02-25T08:24:00.003-05:00

The third of our winter season Advanced Coastal Training cruise began Monday February 23, 2009 in the Virgin Islands aboard CELESTIAL, our IP 440. The adventuresome crew includes Rina Landry, Todd Landry, Aiji Graham, Sharon Cheeseman, Scott Duncan and instructor Captain Lee Tucker. We received the following news from Captain Tucker on the first day's work. We'll continue to post updates whenever we have internet connection with the vessel. We may lose them when they reach the BVI, but we will do our best to keep you up to date! To see further reports, click on "comments" below.

From Captain Lee Tucker; S/V CELESTIAL, Monday February 23, 2009:

Captain Lee Tucker boarded Celestial to begin an ASA 106 Advanced Coastal Cruising class with students Todd and Rina Landry, Scott Duncan, Aiji Graham and Sharon Cheeseman. It was a typical February day in the Virgin Islands: air temp 85 deg and a blue sky dotted with white cumulus clouds. The wind was blowing a steady 20 kts and it was once again time to go sailing on one of the school's well found yachts, the Island Packet 440, Celestial.

Following our menu planning, we experienced the provisioning process in a tropical port at the local market, Pueblo. Groceries stowed, the captain assigned crew positions for the day: Todd and Scott, boatswains; Rina safety and emergency coordinator; Aiji navigator and Sharon as engineer. Their respective review of the ships systems was followed by group seminar and discussion, lasting well into the evening.

An inoperative foredeck light caused us to send Todd up the mast to retrieve the blown bulb which was replaced the next morning by Scott, following a quick trip to a hardware store. By days end, we had a much clearer understanding of Celestial's operating systems as well as sails and rigging.

Virgin Islands Circumnavigation February 12-19, 2009

2009-02-12T20:50:00.003-05:00

Another exciting Maryland School Advanced Coastal Training cruise began today in the Virgin Islands aboard CELESTIAL, our IP 440. The adventuresome crew, consisting of John Beard, Mike Brown, Jim Wallace, Chip Lohman and instructor Captain Lee Tucker began work bright and early today preparing for departure. This evening, Captain Tucker e-mailed the following:

Today we provisioned, filled propane tanks, fueled the dinghy and assigned day 1 crew positions:

Chip-engineer
Mike-safety coordinator
Jim- Boatswain
John-Bosun and mate

All mechanical systems were reviewed, safety, MOB and abandon ship gear inspected and demonstrated. All running and standing rigging inspected and belowdecks systems checked. Presentations were made for each system by the respective crewmember. We began the overall navigation plan tonight, establishing a tentative cruise plan, subject to weather.

I have assigned rotating crew assignments each day. Friday, Mike is navigator of the day, Chip is engineer, Jim is bosun and John is skipper. Crew positions will rotate each day as will galley duty with each meal.

Weather today was moderate: 84 deg, wind 20-22 ENE PC. Tuesday/Tues night it was E 25-30 gusts to 45 due to a high pressure system just north of us.

Our plan tomorrow takes us East, toward St John, possibly the VI National Park waters. This will place us well for clearing into the BVI at Jost Van Dyke.

Lee Tucker, Captain

We'll continue to post updates whenever we have internet connection with the vessel. We may lose them when they reach the BVI, but we will do our best to keep you up to date! To see further reports, click on "comments" below.

October 103-104 Cruise

2008-11-11T08:57:00.004-05:00

Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship
Cruise Report

ASA 103 – 104 Basic and Intermediate Cruising/Bareboat Chartering Class, October 4 – 11, 2008

Student Crew:
Robert deGroof
Ellen deGroof
Kevin Daylor
Charles Davis

Captain/Instructor:
David Appleton

This turned out to be an example of our typical 103-104 class preparing novice sailors for the demands of bare boat chartering. We spent the first 3 days fulfilling the requirements and learning the skills outlined in the ASA 103 Basic Coastal Cruising course before embarking on a 5 day cruise mastering skills of the 104 Bareboat Chartering Course. This seemed to be a very satisfying experience for the crew and instructor alike. For the full report, see the Coastal Cruising reports on our website: http://www.mdschool.com/Reports-2008/Chesapeake/index08.htm

Capt. David Appleton, Instructor
Lankford Bay Marina, Rock Hall
10/12/2008

Norfolk to St. Thomas USVI, November 2008

2008-11-06T10:38:00.006-05:00

CELESTIAL, our IP 440 will depart Taylor's Landing Marina today, November 6, 2008 after several days of preparation. The crewmembers are: Captain Jochen Hoffmann, First Mate Louise Orion, and student crewmembers Paul Kidd, Matt Carlson, Tom Kopcik, and Larry Weld. CELESTIAL will make the passage to St. Thomas via a planned non-stop ocean route. The cruise has an estimated distance of 1500 miles, and will take approximately 11 days, sailing both day and night. Please read the COMMENTS to this post which will discuss the planned route, weather and actual progress.

CELESTIAL IP440 Deployment

2008-10-20T09:20:00.001-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP440 ocean sailing yacht is in final stages of preparation for a ten month deployment starting October 20th from Rock Hall, MD to St Thomas, Bermuda and New England covering 12,000 miles and hosting 140 different crew members during 25 training cruises.

DELMARVA Cruise, September 2008

2008-09-10T05:22:00.002-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP440 sailing yacht departed Lankford Bay Marina, Rock Hall, MD on Sunday, September 7 for a circumnavigation of the DELMARVA peninsula with five student crewmembers headed by Captain Jochen Hoffmann. The following email was received from them at 1800 on Monday:

Summit N Marina. Arrived 1740 yesterday after good training day motor sailing in moderate NW winds. Established deviation table. Departing 0630 to catch falling tide at Reedy Point, Del. River. All are in good spirits, looking forward to ocean leg. Jochen

At 2100 on Tuesday, Captain Jochen reported by telephone that they were approaching the entrance to Chesapeake Bay at Norfolk and expected to dock at Taylors Landing Marina, Little Creek by 0100 on Wednesday. There, they planned to rest from the ocean passage and depart on on Thursday for the northbound cruise up the Bay.

DELMARVA Cruise

2008-07-13T10:49:00.003-04:00

CELESTIAL, our IP-440 sailing yacht departed Lankford Bay Marina near Rock Hall on Saturday morning, June 12th and made the trip to the C&D Canal at the north end of Chesapeake Bay by evening and overnighted at Summit North Marina. Captain Eric Petterson reported by phone at 1100 on June 13th that they were preparing to depart for the non-stop cruise leg down Delaware Bay and the coastal Atlantic and into Norfolk. The crew consists of Captain Eric Petterson, students Lee Wenk, Tim Hall, Bill Marshal and Peter Odell.

Norfolk to Rock Hall Cruise

2008-07-11T09:59:00.001-04:00

HALIMEDA, our IP45 sailing yacht departed Norfolk on the morning of July 10th for a 140 mile intermediate coastal training cruise (ASA104) to Rock Hall with three student crew onboard under the charge of Captain Lee Tucker. After a good day's sail, the spent a peaceful night anchored in Fishing Bay on the Piankatank River for a little rest and relaxation and review of the day's activities.

Bermuda to Norfolk; Cruise #4

2008-06-29T19:51:00.001-04:00

HALIMEDA departed Bermuda at 1800 EDT on June 29th bound for Norfolk with a crew of six onboard headed by Captain Jack Morton.

Norfolk to Bermuda; Cruise #3

2008-06-19T15:36:00.002-04:00

HALIMEDA departed Norfolk at 1700 on June 18th, but had to return to port in the wee hours of June 19th to repair a headstay problem. After repairs, she again departed Norfolk at 1500 on June 19th bound for Bermuda with a crew of six headed by Captain Jack Morton

Bermuda to Norfolk; Cruise #2

2008-06-08T12:18:00.003-04:00

HALIMEDA departed Bermuda in the afternoon of June 7th bound for Norfolk with a crew of six onboard headed by Captain Jochen Hoffman. As of 2230 EDT on June 7th, they were located at 3232N and 6438W or about 20 miles north of Bermuda.

Norfolk to Bermuda Cruise #1

2008-05-28T13:45:00.003-04:00

HALIMEDA, our Island Packet IP45 sailing yacht departed Norfolk this morning on an ocean training cruise bound for Bermuda, a distance of 650 nautical miles, with a crew of six sailors headed by Captain Jochen Hoffmann. We'll periodically post her position based on reports from the onboard Skymate satellite tracking system.

Halimeda; St Thomas to Norfolk Ocean Training Cruise

2008-05-08T13:25:00.007-04:00

Halimeda departed St Thomas, USVI on Wednesday, May 7 at 0800 for a 1500 mile training cruise to Norfolk by direct ocean route. We expect to receive once daily position reports from her Skymate automatic tracking system and voice reports at three or four day intervals. As of 2200 EDT on May 7th she was located about 40 miles NNW of St Thomas on a track towards Cape Hatteras and Norfolk. On board are Captain Jack Morton, First Mate Jim Bortnem, and student crew Bob Mains, James Turner, Mike Robinson and Eric Mendelsohn. Click on comments below for further updates as the cruise progresses.

Bahamas to Norfolk Ocean Passage, May 2-10, 2008

2008-05-04T08:02:00.003-04:00

After a valuable two days of preparation, which included ship's checks, man up the mast, sea anchor deployment, emergencies procedure, engineer briefings, and navigation briefings, the crew of CELESTIAL prepared to shove off at 1600hrs on Saturday May 3rd.

Their intended course from North Man O War cut is 12 degrees true to Diamond Shoal, before heading for the Chesapeake Bay. Their ETA at Taylor's Landing Marina in Norfolk is noon on Saturday, May 11th.

Both ship and crew are in fine shape for this ocean passage. On board are Captain Andy Prescott, First Mate Billy Psimas, and crew members David Gifford, Roque Reis, Bob Roe, and Bob Hickey.

News from ASA# 106 Punta Gorda Florida - Marsh Harbor Bahamas

2008-04-21T20:32:00.003-04:00

After a day of preparation, the crew of CELESTIAL departed Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda Florida at 1:45 PM on Monday April 21, 2008. The first leg of their passage will be a non-stop cruise to Key West. Captain Andy Prescott expects this leg to take 24 hours and so the crew will reach Key West by early afternoon on Tuesday April 22, 2008.

Pictured here are crew members Manny Rosa, Richard Dixon, Wolfgang Linke, Bill Magness, and Jim Spilbor with Captain Joe Kliment and Captain Andy Prescott. Captain Joe Kliment, who lent his vast expertise in the preparation of the crew for the journey, reports that "these guys will be a GOOD crew! They were a pleasure to work with!"

Further details on the voyage will be posted here as comments to this original post. Thanks, as always, to Ruth Kliment for the crew picture!

Dry Tortugas Cruise #2 Report by Captain Joe Kliment

2008-04-21T20:10:00.006-04:00

The crew members for the second Dry Tortugas Cruise March 22-29 are pictured here: Patrick Paul, Karl Engkvist, Tom Caulkins, Mustafa Dosemeci, Peter Brubaker and Captain Joe Kliment. Below is Captain Joe's report:

The second Dry Tortugas ASA 106 cruise was as challenging and enjoyable as the first. The crew provisioned on Saturday, March 22, then prepared the boat for departure. No one felt threatened by the heavy rainstorm with serious thunder and lightening overnight, since CELESTIAL was still at the dock.

We departed at 8:30 March 23, Easter Sunday morning, with good winds and beautiful weather, sailing on a great broad reach down the Gulf toward the Dry Tortugas. The students practiced dead reckoning and learned to use the ship's radar, observing traffic along the way. We had previously divided into 3 teams, with a watch schedule of 3 hrs on and 6 hrs off. It was a pleasant overnight sail with a swallow coming aboard the boat for much the night.

We arrived at the Dry Tortugas, after carefully running the course to Ft. Jefferson, where we anchored at 11:30 AM Monday, March 24. The crew toured the Fort and rested after the long sail. Unexpected excitement arose on the dingy trip back to CELESTIAL, when the engine of the dink failed this crew - leaving us adrift without paddles. With wind gusting to 30 knots, one crew member quipped “We're on our way to Cuba!”.

The National Park came to our rescue, when Ranger Jason Olds arrived in a large inflatable patrol boat and towed us back to CELESTIAL. (The dink engine was later found to need a tune up and carburetor adjustment.) The heavy gusting winds caused other boats to drag anchor through the night, but our properly set anchor, with plenty of chain rode held firm.

On Tuesday, March 25, we prepared our main meal at noon and departed the Dry Tortugas at 3 pm for our second overnight sail. With 25 knot east winds on the nose, we motor sailed through 8-10 ft seas. This rough ride, in the blue water south of the barrier reef, was the biggest challenge for this crew thus far. Like true seasoned sailors, this crew took care of each other!

Arriving at the outer mark for Key West at 7:30 AM Wednesday, March 26, we were surprised to see a nuclear submarine and it's tender nearby. Proceeding up the channel we were indeed fortunate to get the last slip available in Conch Harbor Marina. The challenge of docking this large vessel in such a narrow lagoon brought (well deserved) applause from the bystanders. The crew toured Key West and thoroughly enjoyed a meal ashore. Luckily the weather was kind and sleeping conditions comfortable, since the air conditioner on the vessel failed (this was later found to be a cooling water problem)

On Thursday, March 27, we ate an early breakfast before departing Key West via the North West Channel. Setting the genoa, staysail and full main while beating into a 15-20 knot NE wind, the crew was exhilarated to be speeding along at 8 knots. Some time later, we found the autohelm was non-functional, so we manned the wheel for the next 24 hrs. By evening the winds had diminished and we motorsailed through the night. Shortly after sunset, a large osprey circled CELESTIAL, landing on the bow pulpit to accompany us for a 6 hr ride.

A beautiful sunrise off of Captiva Island found us motoring, with no wind for an uneventful return to Burnt Store Marina at 11 AM Friday March 28. We refueled and pumped out, then docked and cleaned Celestial. Since there were no students testing for ASA 106, this cruise was now completed and the crew began to depart. The 5 student crew members had become good friends though this challenging experience and we plan to stay in touch in the future. It was truly a cruise to remember for all of us!

Capt Joe Kliment, March 30, 2008

March 30, 2008 6:31 PM

News from CELESTIAL and Dry Tortugas Crew #1

2008-03-11T10:11:00.024-04:00

After a day of preparation, the crew of CELESTIAL set sail Sunday morning March 9th at 07:30. It was a chilly 41 degrees when this photo was taken by Ruth Kliment. Pictured are Captain Joe Kliment and crew: Jeff Scott, Frank Crumb, Ken Stevens, Mike Coyne and Jeff Harper. Captain Joe has been posting positions using his HAM radio, and at last report on Monday March 10th at 13:08 he says "In GULF. Crew and vessel OK." You can follow the ship's progress by going to http://shiptrak.org/� and typing in the call sign W3HZM and selecting "Last 30 days" from the drop down menu. Zoom in and hover over each point, or look at the bottom of the screen for comments associated with the position. I enjoy the "Hybrid" view myself, where you can make out the Dry Tortugas. Further details on the voyage and post cruise input from the crew can be found as comments to this original post. Pictured here is the crew returning to Punta Gorda.

Bilge Vigilance!

2008-02-14T08:33:00.004-05:00

In reponse to Charles Doane's (a well known and respected delivery skipper) article in ON about how bilge flooding fried all his electronics, I sent this letter to the editor, Tim Queeny. Some of our offshore students wonder at our hourly checks. They are important.

This letter was included in the September 07 issue of ON.

April 19, 2006

Tim Queeney, Editor
OCEAN NAVIGATOR MAGAZINE
PO Box 569
58 Fore Street
Portland, ME 04101

Dear Tim:

Charles J. Doane's account of his bilge water plight during s/v AVOCATION's "Wrong Way to the West Indies" voyage in your May/June issue reinforced the importance of Rules with which I indoctrinate my crew before every passage, on my own deliveries and on the training voyages I skipper for The Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship.

Rule #1 is KEEP THE BOAT AFLOAT! Maintain watertight integrity and be vigilant about it. We have practices outlined in our Standard Operating Procedure manuals to insure we keep our vessels on the surface where they are designed to sail best, and avoid shipping water into compartments where critical gear, like batteries and electronic equipment, is stowed. Procedures are:

1. Shut down electric bilge pump when going off shore. Use visual and manual checks to monitor bilge, or, if so equipped, a bilge pump cycle counter.
2. Make hourly visual checks of the bilge.
3. If any water is found in the bilge, pump with manual bilge pump, count the strokes and log them in the hourly Ship's Log entries. Each watch is responsible for this as part of our routine hourly boat checks.
4. Each oncoming watch checks the Log for bilge entries and condition. Usually there may be a few strokes each hour, especially in heavy conditions or heavy precipitation. This is "normal."
5. Any increase in "normal" bilge pumping routine MUST be investigated immediately. Just getting the water out is problem enough, but the most important thing, FIND THE LEAK AND STOP IT, is near impossible if the leak is already submerged!

This routine has saved me from serious difficulty on several occasions. Failure to follow it got me into a couple of frightening situations. Don't ask!

This last March I skippered delivery of a sailing vessel from Grenada to Florida. She had neither an "off" option on the electric bilge pump, nor a bilge cycle counter. I advised the owner of the potential danger. I even considered cutting the wires and making a jury rig switch, but didn't. So the electric bilge pump whirred merrily along every so often, clearing the bilge. We watched the bilge as if our lives depended on it. They did... or at least could have.

With this setup the electric pump could be overwhelmed by a leak and fail before we realized we were taking on water. If not vigilant we wouldn't notice anything until the cabin sole boards started floating. At that point we would be in deep trouble indeed (headed deeper!!) with only the manual bilge pump in operation, and the leak probably well submerged and disguised. If this pump should fail.... !! I have seen this happen!

So a further requirement we have for vessels in our charge venturing off shore, or even near shore, is to have some robust back up pump aboard, beyond the built in manual and electric bilge pumps, one not dependent on the vessel's electrical system. Several good ones are available on the market. This mobile pump and can be used to clear isolated compartments that do not drain into the bilge.

And for sure all boats in all waters should have at least two stout buckets aboard and handy. As we all know, nothing clears a watery bilge more effectively and efficiently than a scared sailor with a bucket!

I don't know if our bilge monitoring regime would have worked with Captain Doane's shallow bilge issues, but it might have.

By the way, RULE #2 is STAY ON THE BOAT!

Hope you find this useful.

Fair Winds,

David Appleton, Head Instructor
Maryland School of Sailing & Seamanship

Yacht Charters for Graduates

2008-01-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

As a new offering to our graduates, we have added a Continuing Education Program consisting of Captained Charters and Bareboat Charters on our Island Packet sailing yachts to assist graduates in practicing and reinforcing skills learned in our regular training courses. This offer is not available to graduates from other schools or to the boating public in general. Refer to http://www.mdschool.com/Charter.htm for details.

Why Maryland School?

2007-12-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

Several years ago I began searching for a sailing school to enroll in and, hopefully teach for. What follows are the criteria that ultimately led to my selection of The Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship.

Several schools that I found on the east coast offered only introductory courses, whereas the Maryland School offered the full ASA (American Sailing Association) curriculum from 101 through 108, including offshore passages, celestial navigation, and instructor certification. For me, a school offering introductory courses and advanced blue water sailing meant credibility. Maryland School also exceeds ASA minimum requirements by including docking classes and additional training not provided by other sailing schools. Maryland School is the only school I found to train exclusively on blue water boats (Island Packets) with an overnight live-a-board experience included as part of the tuition – even for a beginning 101 class. Other classes that I compared required that you either commute to class each day or establish a temporary residence in a nearby hotel. And now Maryland School offers charters to former students of MSSS. Finally, I made note of the Maryland School instructor resumes. The fact that ASA themselves approached the Maryland School owner – Tom Tursi - to incorporate Maryland School’s lesson plans into the ASA curriculum made the choice easy for me. And as if that weren’t enough, add the fact that Lankford Bay Marina – host site for the North America based locaton for Maryland School - is a full service marina voted among Chesapeake Bay Magazine’s 10 Best Marinas – I think other students will be equally pleased with Maryland School as their choice for either introductory or advanced sailing instruction in North America or the B.V.I..

Inflatable Vest Cartidges and Airline Regulations

2007-12-03T19:42:00.000-05:00

Students often ask about federal regulations governing inflatable vest cartidges in carry-on and checked luggage. The regulations have changed several times over the last few years. As of today, this is the current regulation:

Federal Regulation 49 CFR 175.10 (11)
(11) A self-inflating life jacket fitted with no more than two small gas cartridges (containing no hazardous material other than a Div. 2.2 gas) for inflation purposes plus no more than two spare cartridges. The lifejacket and spare cartridges may be carried in carry-on or checked baggage, with the approval of the aircraft operator.

The key phrase is “with the approval of the aircraft operator”. It is each airlines choice whether to allow these on their airplanes, and each sets their own policies (currently about 1/2 allow them and 1/2 don't). We recommend checking with your airline (and returning and connecting flights) in advance. You can see the regulation here: [Federal Regulation 49 CFR 175.10 (11)]. Also, look here under "Disabling Chemicals & Other Dangerous Items" for specifics: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm

Even if your airline permits them, you may be prepared with copies of the Federal Regulation and the regulations for your specific airline, since it's not a common item and airline personnel may not know that they are allowed.

Captain Credentials

2007-11-15T20:09:00.000-05:00

"The Maryland School of Sailing & Seamanship boasts an impressive staff of offshore-savvy instructors and is notable for its high level of organization and dedication to real ocean sailing." Quote from Blue Water Sailing magazine, July 2002 issue, page S-10

Halimeda arrives in St Thomas

2007-11-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

After a long ocean voyage from Norfolk to the Virgin Islands, Halimeda, the school's 45' Island Packet yacht, arrives in good form at Crown Bay Marina in St. Thomas today, November 15, 2007 with her crew of six -- Captain David Appleton, First Mate Carroll Christiansen, and students Rick Koubek, Peter Schloss, John Kalliongis, and Dan Stephenson. The crew has been at sea non-stop since November 2nd. We'll be posting a cruise report here and on our website on the cruise reports page.

Celestial Sets Sail; Bahamas to Punta Gorda Florida

2007-11-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

November 14, 2007: Captain Jochen Hoffmann aboard Celestial reported this afternoon that all crew had arrived safely in Marsh Harbor, Bahamas, and spent the day in preparation for their voyage. They will depart Marsh Harbor Marina at 4:00 PM Wednesday November 14th. Their plan is to anchor in the bay Wednesday night, acclimate themselves to the boat and living aboard, and leave early in the morning for the 70 mile sail to the Berry Islands. They will spend Thursday night anchored near the Berrys, and then will leave early Friday morning for Key West. This is a 120 mile run, which will take them 24-36 hours of non-stop sailing to complete. Their expected ETA in Key West will be sometime Saturday, when they will take a well deserved rest before heading toward their destination in Punta Gorda, Florida. A total of 5 crew members are on board, including the captain and 4 students.