Cruising World - February 2016

11

FEBRUARY

2016

cruisingworld.com

FEBRUARY 2016

UNDERWAY

NEWS and NOTES from the CRUISING COMMUNITY

Edited by Jen Brett

THE GAFFER HANNAH

F

or the last few years, Mick,

Bee and Toots the cat have

sailed a yellow-hulled, red-

ensigned ketch over the chilly waters

of the Gulf of Maine, Labrador

Sea and Davis Strait. They run this

36 -foot ferrocement double-ender

with wine-red sails as a true wind

ship, the engine rarely in use. Since

2002, the boat has crossed the At-

lantic four times, once the hard way,

leaving for the Caribbean after cruis-

ing the Outer Hebrides and Ireland.

But all the charms of the tropics ha-

ven’t kept them from returning to

Labrador and Greenland in search

of true adventure. The remote, un-

populated northern latitudes are

a demanding area to sail, still in-

completely charted, especially on

digital plotters. The good ship Han-

nah serves them well. They fi nd the

heavy-displacement hull is more

comfortable in a seaway than are

modern lightweights. The multiple

sails allow a quick canvas reduction,

and a gaff mainsail lets Mick reef

while sailing off the wind instead of

having to head up into rough seas to

do it, as many Bermudan mains with

full-length battens require.

Like many sailors bitten by

high-latitude fever, they headed

north again, in 2015. Planned as their

second foray into Greenland waters,

this latest voyage took them past

the end of Labrador to the Button

Islands at the mouth of Hudson Bay.

The unusually nasty, foggy weather,

with prolonged periods of strong

easterlies, discouraged them and

other yachts from cutting eastward

across Davis Strait. Mick, Bee and

Toots knew fi rsthand what Davis

Strait in an angry mood can throw at

small-boat cruisers. In 2005 Hannah

had sailed south along the western

coast of Greenland on the way home

to the United Kingdom, around Kap

Farvel, the southern tip of Green-

land. It took 35 days to get into the

English Channel after several violent

depressions swept over them, bring-

ing frightening sea conditions.

So what brings them back to the

remote north? Perhaps it’s the thrill

of pitting their sailing and pilot-

ing skills against a wild, unforgiving

coastline; Bee spotting polar bears

tearing into a fresh seal kill; follow-

ing orcas’ tall fi ns cutting through

swell; or the raw majesty of fj ords in

the Torngat Mountains of Labrador.

In October 2015, the gaff er Hannah

reached Belfast, Maine, where the

three crew are spending the winter

so they can be well positioned to sail

their beloved northern wilds next

spring.

To read more about their adven-

tures, visit their blog (gaff erhannah.

blogspot.com). —Tom Zydler

TOM ZYDLER