Aboard the Fair Dinkum at the D/5 Nav Contest

(or How We Survived) by Tom O’Donnell

Early Saturday morning, July, 26, Gail and I drove to Baltimore to join Jan(Timekeeper) and Sam(Helmsman) Greenwood on Fair Dinkum for the D/5Nav Contest (Gail as Bearing Taker, I as Navigator). We arrived in time to greet all the folks under the big D/5 tent there at the Baltimore Marine Center. After a cup of coffee, Sam suggested I check the "official" time at the "official" D/5 radio controlled clock. I was puzzeled (and a little dismayed) to see the time: 24hr and 38sec behind our radio controlled clock (our's said July 26 11:00:38 am, their's July 25 11:00:00 am). The D/5 rep said they just got it on the way to the contest and maybe it hadn't sync'ed up yet. But it was still going to be the "official time".

Anyway, Sam suggested we go down to the boat, settle in and do a little planning. Just after noon Dave Teets from Richmond joined us as our observer and we took off for the contest site S.E. of the Key bridge, about 45 min away. We arrived on site, identified the committee boat/starting line, then started a wide loop around the area trying to identify landmarks we might later use for bearings (neither Gail nor I had been on the water here before). We then returned to the starting mark and Gail took bearings on all the landmarks we could see, while I checked them on the chart. The instructions said our 1st leg would be 145T from the starting mark so I preplotted that and gave Sam the course to steer.

At the 5 min warning, Dave handed me the envelope with our instructions: 6 legs then the final leg "home". I converted all the courses from True to Compass then started a "Time Plot" to get our "Target Time". Sam said we'd go at 1200 rpm (7.2knots). The starting horn sounded and off we went, Jan manning the stopwatch with a list of all the leg times. I completed the time plot and started the actual chart plot. The 2nd leg plot took us north across the Brewerton channel, the 3rd S.E. along the channel. (By this time the water was starting to get really choppy from all the boat traffic and all my paper work and instruments kept catapulting to the flybridge sole. In addition, in order to keep my things from blowing around, most of the curtains were closed and it was starting to get hot).

While I plotted, we finished the 1st leg. As we finished the 2nd leg and started the 3rd (a long 21 min leg), I plotted the 4th...which took us right over some submerged pilings and up onto the shore S.E. of Rock Pt shoal (what the ...). In a panic, I rechecked everything and found that under pressure I'd plotted the 4th leg 258 instead of 348 (you Piloting students pay attention now). That meant I had to redo the Time Plot and then redraw the 4th leg on the chart. As I replotted the 4th leg, I couldn't believe my eyes. Now it would take us into 4ft of water (Fair Dinkum draws 3ft8 unloaded), then the 5th leg would take us right accross the North Pt shoal in 2ft of water (ohmygod!....). At this point I was sweating profusely (As Gail wiped my brow, Dave muttered to Gail "Hope that chart's waterproof").

I communicated all this to Sam (actually I think I was screaming), as Jan calmly called the time to turn onto the 4th leg, and Sam calmly turned. The 4th leg was 8min24sec and as we proceeded, it was Sam's turn to start to sweat. Crab pots all around up ahead. The depth progressively decreasing. 11ft...9ft..8ft..as Sam slowed to weave around the pots. "What's the time” he asked (not so calmly now). "2 minutes" said Jan loudly. (getting into the spirit of the moment). 7ft...6ft. "What's the time" he asked (yelling now). "Still 1 minute left" Jan yelled back. 5ft..."I'm turning now" screamed Sam as he swung hard to port onto the 5th leg. "It's getting deeper" said Sam (relaxing a little now). "We're headed for North Point shoal, it'll get a lot shallower soon" I replied. Weaving through another mass of crab pots,it started to shallow again. Sam asked "which way to deeper water?" "Port" I replied. Sam edged to port as it continued to shallow...but then, on our port side...another boat!...blocking our escape! Sam slowed to allow it to pass, again edging to port as we finaly reached deeper water.

"2 minutes till the next turn" says Jan (How did she manage to keep track of the time during all this?). 2 minutes before the turn onto the crucial 6th leg, then a little less than 6 min to the final turn for home. Where in the hell are we? (with the early turn, the crab pot evasions, and the slow down for our neighbor to pass, we sure as heck were't on the DR track!) Looking at the chart, I said to Gail "Gimme bearings on that water tower behind us and the middle of the Key bridge over to starboard." "What water tower" she says (at this point it's behind North Pt). "It'll be visible in a minute" I reply (hopefully). A minute later she screams the numbers, and as we make the turn onto the 6th leg I plot the fix (about a half mile east of where we should be). I restart the DR for the 6th leg, plot the turning point, then measure the distance and calculate the speed for the leg home. Just before the final turn I tell Sam (and Dave) "Course to steer 301, increase RPM's to 1300". Off we go... and as it turns out, cross the finish line with a 0min18sec error for a 3rd place.

As we drove back home that evening, I said to Gail "see, I told you it would be a piece of cake".

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