High Seas, High Water

In Gale Conditions off the Treacherous Grand Banks, Dirona Takes on Water.

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HOW IT STARTED

I bolted awake at 1:15 am to a shrieking alarm. We were 50 miles south of The Grand Banks, in large seas, on passage from Newport, Rhode Island, to Kinsale, Ireland. I ran upstairs to the pilothouse and Jennifer, at the helm, said only, “High bilge water.” Yuck. Better than “fire” but far from good news. I ran back downstairs and into the engine room and, yes, conditions there certainly did warrant an alarm. I hadn’t even stopped to get dressed, but in the short time between the alarm’s firing and my arriving in the engine room, the water had come up above the bilge. The portside pan that forms the walkway around the engine was already awash.

We have never enjoyed crossing oceans, but we neither despise them nor find them scary. We mostly do it “to get to the other side,” regard it as a necessity for seeing the world, but never for the enjoyment of being at sea. Crossing oceans is just work and rough conditions can be tiring but usually nothing more. This was the first time we’d felt serious doubts—even a touch of fear—and considered turning back.

The volume of water entering the boat was simply staggering. It’s amazing how alone you can feel when looking at the engine room floor awash and the water level climbing fast, while hundreds of miles from shore in difficult sea conditions.

THE SITUATION

We expected winds in the 20-knot range, but instead were seeing steady 30-35 knots with gusts to 47. This low-pressure system was worse than predicted and the sea state was unusually poor. The boat was flying around as large and very short-period waves rolled past. Dirona was rolling 20-plus degrees and sometimes over 25 degrees, even with active stabilization. Pitch was ranging between 12 and 15 degrees and pitch is, by far, the worst of the two.