The following is an excerpt from Captain Mark Schreder’s account of facing schedules vs facing destinations and weather decisions during their Around the Americas Expedition:
“Sailing vessels have destinations, not schedules,” an oft repeated adage spoken by experienced sailors of a certain age. S/V One Ocean has now been home to a team of enthusiastic sailing educators of varying ages for over 135 days, covering 7,000 + nautical miles, and recently officially finished the Arctic Circle to Arctic Circle transit of the Northwest Passage.
Some fifteen years ago, with a somewhat more weathered group of sailors (no disrespect intended to anyone of that ‘certain age’), we sailed this same Baffin Bay/Davis Strait passage on S/V Ocean Watch. Sailing conditions during that earlier passage included days I truly never wanted to repeat and mental images I didn’t really want to remember. Give me Cape Horn any day over the Davis Strait experience, something I’ve only thought quietly to myself. It was just not something I wanted to drop into a dinner conversation. No sense spoiling the moment!
Anyone sailing anywhere will be faced with making multiple decisions all of the time. And time sometimes becomes the issue. We were midway through our Pond Inlet to St. John’s, Newfoundland passage. Baffin Island is one long and very rugged coast flanked across the Baffin/Davis water by Greenland. It’s a 1700nm passage known for strong currents, changing weather, enormous icebergs with thousands of small-boat-sinking bergy-bits scattered in their wake. The Titanic fell victim to one of these ‘Greenland Born’ bergs – just to add perspective and anxious drama.
Thanks to Jennifer and Tess, we have school presentation (in person and online), science presentations and in-person appearance scheduled from here to Charleston and beyond. We are stretching the ‘destination vs schedule’ adage to make it all work. A week ago, the long-term forecast was very good for our timing to St. John’s with reasonable sailing conditions predicted for the 1700nm transit. There didn’t seem to be any doubt about whether we would stop in St. John’s for a few days. However, the Davis Strait gremlins must have heard the optimistic predictions or were tuned into my reflections, and somehow organized a ‘gotcha’ bit of drama for us.
A well-organized weather system (actually two of them) looking very much like hurricanes, were heading our way. Predicted winds and wave heights directly on our path were shown as significant for a very broad area – the entire width of Davis Strait! ETA for colliding with these systems, 24 hours. Bob, Jenn, and Mike located protected anchorage close to a small community served by an inland ferry. Instead of pushing on direct to St. John’s, we headed for that anchorage, 120nm along our route (24 hours away) and planned to stay there until the two weather systems rolled past.
Great news, we had the option to hide someplace for a few days; better news, it appeared from our research this was not a ‘dry’ community. Our distilled spirits locker has been emptied. Wine with hurricane, perhaps? The bad news, we would probably miss our planned stop in St. John’s, a concession to ‘schedules over destinations.’
By Mark Schraeder
Photos: David Thoreson
