The Voyage of the Alamar

Trip Log

Week 1 - Report from John Leslie (crew on first week) - The cruise got underway at 9 am on Tuesday, June 19, just a couple of days late, and crossed the Bay of Fundy to Halifax. All went well and it was a comfortable sail, mostly motor-sailing, except for some mal de mer. Bob had none of that and was confirmed as a tremendously talented skipper. Departed from Halifax just one day behind schedule, having made up some time on the passage. (6/26/01)

Week 2 - Report from Bob on 6/30/01 - The Alamar has run into adverse weather and has been holed up for three days in St. Peter's inlet, Bras D'Or Lakes on Cape Breton Island. This is on the southwest side of the island, rather than around on the northeast side as hoped (see map). The sailing has been rough, fighting headwinds, and now gales that are keeping the boat in a protected harbor.

Everyone is in good shape, enjoying the layover and getting the boat shipshape after the hard sail.

Bob warns, however, that the rest of the planned schedule may be difficult to meet. All crew should be sure to check by satellite phone (click the Contact List button for info) to confirm the boat's location before beginning travel to rendezvous points.

Week 3 - Report from Bob on 7/3/01 - Word just in from Bob that he has decided to scrub the Newfoundland leg of the trip. He's presently at Baddeck in the Bras D'Or Lakes of Cape Breton Island. Apparently the combination of bad weather (a solid week of gales) and the condition of the boat have convinced him that the trip is beyond his and the boat's capacities.

Update 7/4/01 - We have learned that the storms the Alamar encountered crossing the Bay of Fundy in Week 1 were even more serious than thought. A Canadian maritime training vessel out in the same storms suffered two knockdowns (that's when the boat tips over so the mast is almost parallel to the water!). The crossing was a tribute to the Alamar and to its novice, short-handed crew.

Bob has had the boat hauled out at Baddeck and is making repairs to correct some damage from the storm (leaks around the keel). The boat will be seaworthy, but he still does not want to chance Newfoundland. He may be open to taking on crew for a cruise about Nova Scotia and back to Maine. Please send a note to the webmaster (george@tashmoo.com) if you are interested in substituting that for your previously booked voyage.

Update 7/5/01 - Further details. The Alamar will be leaving Baddeck (in the Bras D'or Lakes) on Monday or Tuesday, heading back for Castine, Maine. The plan is for a coastal cruise along the south coast of Nova Scotia for the first week and then to cross the Bay of Fundy the second week. The crossing is a 36 hours, 200 mile open water sail. That may or may not be followed by some coastal cruising of Maine.

The boat has adequate crew, but welcomes a few more hands, either for the coastal sailing week or the crossing. You should be aware that under normal wind conditions this all will be to windward, which is not the easiest of most comfortable point of sail. On the other hand, the wind has been perverse over the past couple weeks, which would be favorable for this return passage.

Update 7/23/01 from George Cooper- Repairs on the Alamar were completed on July 14. Lew and Bob sailed her back to Castine, arriving home on July 20. I was along as crew, along with Larry Estridge and Davis Hamilton. It was an uneventful return trip, notable only for an excess of fog. For much of the trip we were sailing by instrument and thanking Bob for installing radar. Having dealt with fog in years past using only compass and prayer, I can tell you that radar + GPS is my new religion.

Wrapup 7/30/01 from Bob - Well, we made it to Baddeck and back. By the time we got to Baddeck,
the Newfoundland part of the trip was out of the question. A week of pretty high winds had uncovered various weaknesses in the 55-year old wooden boat as well as problems in preparation, such as not enough anchors, not enough anchor chain, not enoug anchor rodes and so on. It seemed to me then, and now, that it would be foolhardy and dangerous to keep going. So, little as I like to quit, it seemed, and still seems, right to call it off rather than put everyone at unreasonable risk. I suppose I should have foreseen all this, but I just didn't. I'm sorry about all the expense folks have been to, and sorry about disrupting plans. Looking ahead, I'm sure we'll keep on sailing, and I sure hope everyone can come along on some future trip, perhaps a slightly less ambitious but more managable one.

I have a Northface sleeping bag someone left aboard as well as an orange-red bathing suit. I'm happy to return them if I know whose are.