Chewbacca Yells

What’s that loud roaring noise? …… Following a short stop in St. John’s for customs clearance and loading fuel, Queen’s Dream continued her steady journey towards her Ft. Lauderdale destination. The navigated path took her north of St. Thomas as she exited the Virgin Islands. She followed a planned route that took her across the north banks of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Hati and into the Old Bahamas Channel. The classic sailing route is a defined gap of deep water between the dangerously shallow waters of the Bahamas shelf and the coastline of Cuba to the South. While many miles wide, the heavily used channel is still considered narrow by nautical usage.

The detailed weather planning of the crew yielded the knowledge that steady, gale-force winds were predicted for the tight area – this was going to be challenging. QD pushed forward into the area riding slowly growing winds and favoring the close north side of the Bahama waters. As night fell and the light disappeared, the winds increased as predicted. In preparation for the potentially wild ride, the crew stored her main sail and double-reefed the jib to minimize the overall sail area. As the wind increased to high 30+ knots, the motion of the boat would snap sharply as the high winds would issue their attack on the side bows of QD. She stood her ground, and the autopilot would drive her rudders back to the set course heading. Repeat this scene over-and-over again many times per minute. QD fought diligently against the assault as the crew persisted their focus on the boat heading, speed, and wind angle. All while using their well-honed “Sea Legs” to maintain footing.

Sailors are accustomed to the sounds the wind makes as it whips through the standing rigging. Whistles, bells, and hums are all used to describe the sounds. However, there is one sound that is eerie and strange – as the winds increased to a steady 40-45 knots, a moan grew loader and loader. The sound of Chewbacca yelling was upon us. The classic Star Wars character was clearly present but out of sight. The continuous Chewbacca roar brought with it slashing waves of water across the back cockpit and over the bows. The boat would vibrate violently with every slam and boom! Chewbacca was really angered about something. With no place to duck or run, QD kept her course and powered through the onslaught. She was built to handle this type of weather and proved her design was true. The long minutes ticked by. The hours slowly accumulated and eventually the long-awaited daylight appeared as the winds finally subsided down to a manageable 20 knots. The crew again raised her main sail, shut down the engine power and began riding the winds for her last few hundred miles remaining in her maiden voyage. Chewbacca was tamed but is well respected.