Virgin Islands Circumnavigation Cruise November 30 - December 7, 2009

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.