The Sailor Maiden

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Throwback 2009 Adventure: The Boiling Lake Tour

January 18, 2016 / Starfrute / 0 Comments

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I previously owned a sailboat. In 2009, a friend from college and I bought a sailboat together and we lived aboard and cruised the Caribbean. This is an article that I wrote about one of our adventures but never did anything with.

As cruisers, many of us are drawn to adventure simply for the chance to get off the beaten path to explore the little treasures hiding in the Caribbean. Here’s one such place that you simply cannot miss! Friends of mine had been on the Boiling Lake hike in Dominica 6 months prior to our arrival and couldn’t stop raving about how great it was. We immediately set out to find what all of the fuss was about. I was excited.

Our guide buddy Spike!

It all started at 8:20 that morning. We were running late to meet Seacat and his dog Spike, our guides. Thankfully, so was a couple from another yacht who decided to join our tour. We jumped in Seacat’s van and drove about half an hour from Roseau to Laudat, where we found the trail just next to the Titou Gorge.

It was overcast that day, which is good because it would block the heat of the Caribbean sun. Seacat pointed out the flora as we walked, making a point of showing us the differences in plant species as we made our way through the ecosystems on the trail. Throughout the day he proved to be extremely knowledgeable and gave us interesting information about the whole Morne Trois Pitons National Park where the Boiling Lake is located.

About an hour into the hike, we stopped next to a picturesque stream appropriately called “The Breakfast River”, which allowed us to catch our breath. Thankfully, Seacat had the foresight to pack food and pulled some sweet grapefruit out of his backpack for us to eat.

We had been warned that it is a challenging hike and it’s a good thing that we took a rest because the trail only became steeper and more difficult. We climbed up and down for approximately another hour until we arrived at a clearing at the top of one of the peaks (3168 ft). When we could see through the mist and clouds, there was a spectacular 360-degree view. To celebrate the climb, Seacat

Super steep! Looking straight down onto Mike’s head.

pulled a gallon of traditional homemade rum punch out of his back pack. As we toasted to our efforts, I started to wonder how much stuff he could possibly have in that small backpack of his. I was distinctly reminded of a clown car.

From the clearing, we descended into the Valley of Desolation. It was difficult at best; the trail is not obvious, is wet and looks slippery. The valley earns its name because of the lack of vegetation and animal life but was gorgeous due to the multitude of mineral colors coming up from underground. Water runs down into the valley from the rainforest above. On the way down, it hits volcanic vents which heat the water. By the time you reach the bottom of the valley the water is almost all boiled off. There are small geysers, steam vents, and boiling puddles everywhere. The ground gives the impression that you are walking on thin crusty ice that you could fall through at any moment, although in actuality this isn’t the case. The water is white, and deposits of iron, magnesium, and sulfur create streaks of white, orange, yellow, green, grey/blue colors. Add in the bright green moss and lichens, and it reminded me of a vibrant Easter egg.

Seacat took off and ran down the trail ahead of us, saying that he had a surprise. About ten minutes later we caught up with him, and he pulled hard boiled eggs out of one of the small boiling vents. I was pretty happy I had the common sense to avoid dunking my hand in to test the temperature and once again marveled at Seacat’s seemingly magic backpack.

Magical, youth enhancing volcanic mud!

After we ate our eggs, Seacat smeared volcanic mud all over our faces. I was secretly calculating how much money I could make by selling this fabulous volcanic mud mask back home as the boys were off pretending they had camouflage paint on instead of what I consider a beauty product.

Hoping to reap all of the benefits possible from the mud mask, I kept mine on as we continued. From the valley, we could see the steam rising off of the top of the lake, and we were anxious to finally reach the end of the trail. We walked another 15 min up the path and there it was. As we rounded the corner, I was completely astounded. This was no boiling puddle or pond. It is an actual lake inside what looks like a volcanic crater. The trail opens up at the top of the rim where you can view the whole lake including the middle which is at a rolling boil. I learned from Seacat that it isn’t really a crater. It’s a fumarole, which is an opening in the earth’s crust which emits steam and gases from the lava below. He explained that the water flows down the steep hills and seeps through the porous rock at the bottom of the lake where the water is heated to the boiling point. The lake is approximately 200ft in diameter, and it is the second largest boiling lake in the world.

The awesome power of nature!

As I stood on the ledge overlooking the lake in complete awe, I tried to calculate the massive amount of energy required to boil that much water. Then I looked at my two friends who each have a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and decided to simply bask in presence of that much power, enjoy the view and ask them the answer to that question later. There is a small trail that leads down to the water’s edge where you can test to see if the water is actually boiling. Swimming is definitely not recommended. Seacat told about one of the other local men who accidentally fell in, had to be airlifted out and who now has burn scars covering both legs.

We took some time at the overlook taking pictures, enjoying the view, and having a bite to eat before the 3.5-hour hike back to the van. Once again, Seacat’s backpack stirred to life and provided us with fried plantains, a local salt fish dish, and more rum punch. Now I was totally convinced that the backpack had come straight out of a “Harry Potter” novel. The salt fish was a particular favorite with not only us hikers but by the way Spike sat attentively next to Seacat, you could tell it was one of his favorites as well.

Our muscles thanked us!

We followed the trail back the way we came, which was just as difficult as the way there. This time, Seacat stopped at a series of 3 natural hot springs which were each about the size of a hot tub.

We all gladly jumped in to rest our tired muscles even though we were acutely aware of just how difficult it would be to get out again and continue the remaining 2 hours to get back to the start. Seacat eventually goaded us out of the hot springs with the promise of one more surprise before going back to Roseau.

When we arrived at the end of the trail, we were rewarded with a refreshing swim up the Titou Gorge. The gorge averages about 5-10 feet wide, with smooth rock walls straight up to the rainforest above. Trees, vines, and flowers all hang precipitously over the edges and you can hear chirping birds mixed with the roar of the waterfall further up the gorge. The water is perfectly clear, and the rocks on the bottom are polished smooth. It was cool and refreshing after the hot, sweaty hike. We swam several hundred feet against a pretty strong current and arrived at a 15-20 foot waterfall rushing down at us. We all took turns climbing up and jumping back in with the waterfall. The swim was just the boost we all needed to make it back to the van.

The next day we hobbled around the boat nursing our sore muscles and reminisced about our fantastic hike. We tried to calculate the energy needed to make the lake boil. But, as it turns out no one has determined how deep the lake currently is, and while I will tell everyone how marvelous the Boiling Lake hike is and I have every intention of returning someday, I will certainly not be the one trying to figure out how deep the lake is.

Boat Finding!

January 15, 2016 / Starfrute / 0 Comments

One of the main reasons that I wanted to start a blog is because we are planning on buying a sailboat, living aboard in or near Seattle and eventually sailing here and there to places you can only get to via water. I want a record that I can look back on to remember how the heck we actually went about doing this and something to remind me of our adventures that I don’t have to carry around physically in a big box.

I have purchased a boat before. It was a Beneteau Oceanis 393 named “Orchid”. It was the winter of 2008-2009. I had just left my job with the host broadcaster of the Olympics and my prospects for employment were extremely thin (think “start of a huge recession”). And… winter in the midwest is FRIGID! I talked to a friend from college. He had just finished his PhD and was facing the same dismal job market that I was and we agreed that the best course of action was to buy a boat and head to the Caribbean!

The process to find a boat was simple that time. Some friends of mine from college were already living aboard traveling around the Caribbean. I asked them for some advice on costs of owning, how they went about finding a boat, what the process was to pay for it etc… They responded by saying “It’s easy! We’ve been living in the BVI or 2 years, and cruising for the last 6-9 months and we’re ready to head home. Do you want to buy our boat?”

Uhhh… yes. It was that easy. They were experienced sailors. They were already doing the exact type of sailing that we wanted to do. We wanted a low maintenance live aboard boat that we could do short island to island passages on in the warm waters of the Caribbean. They had purchased the boat directly out of the Moorings . It was only five and a half years old. They had a survey done less than a year prior to us taking it off of their hands. And they made a few great modifications like installing a wind generator and battery monitor. We were sold.

This time around, I expected the process to find a boat to take a long time. I looked at over 90 condo’s before I found “the one”, so I was prepared for a similar experience with boat buying. I was afraid that Brian and I would be looking for different things in a boat. But the truth is that we’ve been discussing what we want the boat for and what attributes are important to us for quite a while. We had some differences in our individual expectations about what we wanted in a boat, but over time each of us has compromised to decide on the attributes of boat that will work for us together, which started as a great basis to narrow our search.

One thing we agreed on quite early is that we want a good solid cruising boat that we can take both north and south. We both agreed that we want a mono-hull as opposed to a catamaran or tri-hull due to a mono-hull’s generally better upwind performance. We wanted a boat that needed some love, but not too much. And of course, it had to fit our extremely limited budget. It also had to be comfortable enough for us to live aboard until we are ready to cruise long term.

We looked at exactly 3 boats before finding “the one”. Perhaps our expectations were so clearly defined already that the only boats we perused on the internet were ones that fit our parameters. Or, I can give credit where credit is due. Brian is pretty good at research. Actually, he’s very good. The boat came through my search and I looked at it, but the make and model were already at the top of Brian’s radar due to the research he had done on makes and models that are trustworthy ocean cruisers. His uncle, who was also boat searching, put him onto the make and model and from everything we’ve found it’s very solid and very well regarded.

The first boat we saw was a Custom Cooper 37. It had some great bones, but just like in home buying, the pictures made it seem bigger than it was. I’m very short. And when I sat at the table, my knees were in my chest! So you can imagine what it would have been like for a normal sized person. We next saw a 1980 Formosa 46 and immediately after, a 1979 Formosa 46.

The Formosa 46 is a center cockpit cutter rigged boat. Pretty much every center cockpit boat that I’ve ever seen, it seems like the cockpit is 20 ft off of the water and sticks way up out of the boat to make room below. That isn’t the case with the Formosa 46 (which is based off of the Kelly Peterson 44), although we do sacrifice some headroom between the main cabin and the aft cabin, but it is in-between space where we don’t really need to stand up straight. Brian and I were both surprised, we never expected to like a center cockpit boat. It also has enough space to comfortably live aboard. There is a large master aft cabin and head, and a large v-berth cabin (for guests) and head. The galley is the standard U-shaped that works well for offshore sailing as well, which is also a plus.

Both the 1980 and the 1979 were in the right price range and both boats had very redeeming qualities. The 1980 had low engine hours, looked less worn and for much of it’s life was a “marina queen” (meaning, she mostly stayed in the marina and didn’t get much hard time on the water). But the 1979 had obviously been cruised long distance and was already well set up for that. Other than the engine hours, the one main difference between the two boats was that there was a soft spot on the aft deck of the 1979. We made a list of pros and cons, but in the end the soft spot was really a deal breaker. We really didn’t want to cut out a large section of the deck above our bedroom, especially given that neither of us have any experience with fixing it once we cut it out. We also wanted the opportunity to make the boat “ours” and put some of our own work into the boat.

We decided to take another look at the 1980. It was on the hard (sailor’s term for out of the water, in a boat yard and on jack stands.) We went through every nook and cranny on that boat. Of course we were looking for anything major that we should be concerned about. The electric panel was antiquated, but we can fix that and didn’t find anything show stopping.

I remember sitting in the car after spending a few hours scouring the boat. I asked “Did we just find our boat Brian Davies?” “I think we did Paula Bersie… I think we did.” “Woohooo! We found our boat!”

Boater Safety, Licensing and MOB

September 25, 2015 / Starfrute / 0 Comments

In Washington State, all boaters must complete a NASBLA approved boating safety course in order to operate a vessel powered by an engine greater than 15 hp.

I was surprised by this requirement by the State of Washington, but at the same time happy that the requirement exists. It is not a requirement for boaters (over the age of 18) in the state of Illinois where most of my sailing and boating has occurred over the past 5 years. Nor is it a requirement where I grew up, in the land of 10,000 lakes (state of Minnesota) for people over 17, but it should be. My father made my sister and I take the Minnesota course when we each turned 12 and I’m glad that boater safety was on his mind. Or maybe he just wanted someone to be able to drive him around on the lake. I’m not really sure, but it doesn’t matter. My sister and I had the foundation for how to conduct ourselves on the water and what the nautical rules of the road were.

Being out on the water as much as I was in Chicago and on Lake Michigan, you see people doing really stupid stuff. It’s hardly a wonder that the Chicago Police boat goes rushing out of DuSable Harbor as much as they do. Every season you hear a tragic story about a fire or downing or some sailboat race is suspended when the coast guard needs to conduct a search and rescue. I’ve had nightmares about being the sailor that comes boat to face with someone who has drown while out on the water. 🙁

I just took the Boat US Foundation’s “WA Boating Safety Course”. It is free. There are also courses for 48 other states (the only one not on the site is Arkansas). I’m also studying for my U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s license and I’m happy that the Washington course is pretty comprehensive and covers the important marine safety items that are also required for the Captain’s License (in less detail). It just doesn’t make sense that all boaters aren’t required to know these things. I have seen many experienced boaters, who have taken similar courses, take chances on the water. So what does that say about boaters who have never taken a boater safety course?

This summer there was a tragedy on Lake Erie during an overnight sailboat race. A man died. I don’t know all of the facts. I don’t know if any of the crew had ever taken a boater safety course. And I don’t know if he would have died regardless of the actions taken by the crew, but just thinking about what I do know still makes me very angry. I read in several reports that the crew “assumed” he swam for shore after hearing whistles and left him. I would have handled the situation very differently.

The skipper was said to be “very experienced” and the weather was less than ideal. I don’t know if a mayday to the coast guard went out. It should have if it didn’t. I didn’t hear that any other boats took part in searching for the victim. If you are not putting your crew or boat in danger, you are required to offer assistance. If a mayday had been sent out and I was another competitor, I would have dropped sails and assisted. If you know anything about water and what to do if you fall in, you never attempt to swim to shore unless as a very last resort. Even 80-degree water is nearly 20 degrees colder than your core body temperature and you will get hypothermia. I know that I would have continued looking for my crewmember on the water unless a serious danger to the remainder of the crew or boat existed or until the coast guard released me. I would never assume that someone swam (or made it) to shore.

The man’s death was ruled an accident, but that doesn’t mean that the actions taken by the skipper and crew didn’t go completely against everything that I have ever learned about a man-overboard situation (MOB). I try really hard not to be judgmental in general, and I don’t know all of the facts about what happened, but I find it difficult not to be judgmental in this case. I’ve heard that the waves were about 5-6 feet. Yes, that is bigger than is comfortable and is certainly challenging to many sailors. I read that it was a dangerous section of the course. If it was that dangerous, why are amateurs racing there? I would have immediately assigned a crewmember to point to where the crewmember went overboard and never take their eyes off that spot. Even at night. I would have hit the MOB button on my GPS. I would have asked any other boat in the area to help me look. I would have done circles and circles until I either found my crewmate or I was told to stop looking by authorities. I feel that by assuming he swam to shore and leaving, the crew greatly increased the likelihood of this man’s death.

I have done many man-overboard drills. I would say that I probably don’t do them enough. But it has been a while since I owned my own boat, so I don’t get the opportunity very often. I have been on many race boats where we do the required MOB practice for the race, but not the right way. Throwing a cushion into the water on a calm day does not adequately simulate actually getting your crewmate (and probably friend) back into the boat. I’ve only been the skipper for one (kind-of) man-overboard situation. I was under power at the time, the water was warm, the seas were calm (although the wind was coming up) and he jumped off the boat purposely. It wasn’t a planned practice however, it was pretty sudden and I didn’t know he was going to go in. We got him back quickly enough, but it wasn’t as easy as you’d think. All I know is that I don’t ever want to be in the situation like the one on Lake Erie, but if I am, I’m certain I would do things very differently than the skipper of that boat.

Boat US has an excellent article on “How to prepare for a man-overboard“. And a good friend of mine, former sailing coach and all around awesome sailor/teacher, Paul Exner (Modern Geographic) wrote an excellent article for Ocean Navigator called “Improving the odds of Recovery“.

I plan on making these required reading the next time I take friends out on a charter trip.

I’m blogging, but my motivation and motivations are dubious at best!

September 11, 2015 / Starfrute / 2 Comments

I have to be honest… I don’t make a point of reading other people’s blogs much, so I don’t know what makes a blog good or bad. And I don’t know exactly why I have decided to create a blog. As of this moment, it’s probably to chronicle my adventures (sailing, boat buying, racing, traveling or whatever) for the benefit of me, myself and perhaps a few close friends and family. I don’t expect other people to read this for the same reason that I don’t read other people’s blogs. Why should anyone care about what I have to say? I’m not a proven expert at anything that I may write about here. I may be more advanced at some of the things I do than the majority of the population on earth, but I am not a top expert in any one particular medium. And even if I was, how are other people supposed to know that? To you, I may just be some other hack with an unsupported opinion based on bullet headlines in the media.

Also, I have never been good at recording my thoughts. I have several notebooks and journals that are mostly blank after attempts to write down those thoughts. I still have one journal somewhere in storage that is covered in a peach fabric with a little pink rose pattern that has about one week of daily entries. The rest of the pages are blank. I think I was about 8 because my handwriting is still big, curvy and deliberate as compared to the scratchy gibberish that even I can hardly read today. I also complain a lot about my younger sister.

There have been several other attempts. One was started during a vacation I took to Costa Rica with my Mom, sister, my Mother’s boyfriend, and another of my Mother’s friends when I was in college. I started out strong for a few days and then complained about my younger sister and my Mom’s boyfriend and I stopped writing shortly thereafter. I’m sensing a theme. Maybe I just didn’t have anything to complain about anymore. 😉 Haha!

I also have a beautifully decorated black leather bound journal that I wanted to use to document and remember the different wines that I’ve tried. I wrote my impressions of about 5 different bottles and likely decided it was too hard to find the journal and write in it once I’d had a glass or two (or four) at a bar or restaurant. That, and the leather bound journal was heavy to bring with, so who can even remember what “notes” you smell or taste in one glass versus a different glass after a night out if you didn’t write it down immediately?

I’ve always admired people who can sit and write as an outlet as I have not yet been able to do it. One of my closest friends when I was living abroad would fill notebooks and notebooks with her thoughts. She said that she found a box full of them from when she was younger at her father’s house. She threw them out to make room. I was appalled. I thought it would make for some great self reflection and memories when she was old, but to her it was just a tool to release her emotions. I think I’m in it for the memories.

Maybe, since this is public site, and the fact that I’m in this for at least as long as I own the domain name and have to pay the hosting service, I’ll be better at putting pen to paper (or in this case, fingers to the keyboard) and keep posting new entries. I also have a support system in place. I.e. a boyfriend who may or may not ask if I’m going to write an entry about whatever it is we have just done, which may just be enough to guilt me into writing because I’m paying for this.

Paula (The Sailor Maiden)

P.S. To all you grammarians; I know my grammar sucks. I know that I use WAY too many commas. Get over it. All you can do is hope that I Google some grammar rules occasionally and that you see an improvement in my writing skills as I practice the art of writing to communicate.