Norwegian Steam: Noon Report -- Kauai

Friday, July 27, 2012

Noon Report -- Kauai - Neah Bay, Day 15

Small island? Tsunami debris? Dead whale? About half a mile off the port bow was something for sure, and it had attracted a large number of birds. It was low in the water and would disappear from time to time below the swell. The chart showed no island, no submerged mountain top. Dead whale became the favored theory because of the coloring. As we sailed into its lee, we knew for sure, because we could smell it. Definitely a dead whale. People talk all the time about the risk of sailing into tsunami debris but what about hitting that dead whale in the middle of the night? Even if it did not sink you, you would have to bear the odor for the rest of the voyage. Dead whales have always been with us, but I have never seen them mentioned in the press except when one washes up on someone's beach.

The three of us were enjoying a nice afternoon in the cockpit when we noticed a container ship about five miles off our port quarter. Then we heard someone calling the "sailing vessel near 44 north and 152 west" on VHF channel 16. I answered and it turned out to be a ship's officer named Curt who just wanted to chat. He recently purchased a 42' long cruising sailboat named Ocean Quest and is in the process of refitting it for extensive cruising. Curt wanted to know all about the way in which NS is equipped, and discussed what he has purchased for Ocean Quest and what he has in mind. He is retiring and will be cruising in the waters of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska where he was a tugboat captain before he moved on to cargo ships. I hope to see Curt and Ocean Quest down the road.

One of Curt's comments was music to my ears. He said that NS has a very strong radar profile and that he could see us from 18 miles away. I had always assumed that the two Davis radar reflectors mounted in the rigging 35' above the sea would provide a good radar return, but this was the first time that I had received positive verification, out here where a good radar presence really counts.

At UTC 2200, July 27, 2012, we are at 44 22.405 N, 150 37.894 W. Our Day's run was 98 miles.

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Norwegian Steam, the vessel

Norwegian Steam is the name of our 35' sailboat. She was designed by Ted Brewer. About 40 hulls were constructed by Miller Marine on Bainbridge Island, Washington between 1976 and the early 1980s. It is rumored that additional hulls were constructed in eastern Canada. Because many of these boats were completed by owners, there is a very great diversity in the fleet. To learn more about the basic design, you can find information about Ted's Jason design on his web site.

NS was completed by Alan with the help of friends, some of them professionals, over many years. She has been sailing since 2001. She differs from most (perhaps all) other instances of the Jason design in that her mast is 6 feet taller and she is rigged as a racing cutter, with large overlapping staysail. This rig design was inspired by the work of John Illingworth, the great English yacht designer and sailboat racer.

Norwegian Steam, the name

The phrase, Norwegian steam, may originally have been somewhat pejorative. When a vessel was powered by sails or by oars instead of by a steam or diesel engine, it was said to be powered by "Norwegian steam", the implication being that the Norwegians were so poor they could not afford engines for their boats. As time passed, the Norwegians themselves adopted the phrase to indicate a "can-do" attitude or doing whatever it takes to get the job done, even with limited resources or under adverse circumstances.

During the great era of America's Cup racing in J-Class yachts, the term took on a slightly different meaning. Many of the American defender boats had Norwegian crews and thus were said to be powered by Norwegian steam. A website has been dedicated to this bit of history.