Thursday, March 16, 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
031617
It’s been a quiet few days of 40 kt winds and temps in the 50°s. The boat has been surprisingly very dry and I’m waiting for some sun to vet the electrical system and how well the solar panels charge the batteries over and above the draw from the fridge and freezer. There’s little else to draw them down that matters and the pocket engineer in me wants to find the operating parameters in the system. The sun will also fortunately dry out the teak deck and allow me to get the new prism installed as well as rebed some of the strips that have come up from the deck. Little things here and there to patch up before we leave. The prisms are an old, frankly wonderful invention, that can be found in a lot of places, the first of which coming to mind for some reason are the sidewalks in Seattle in the area of the underground. Basically they were set in ship decks to allow a generous amount of light to spread into the cabin below using a deceivingly small opening. These are about 8” long and only about 2” wide which maintains the structural integrity of the deck and anyone standing on them along with the possible constant wash of seawater possible on an ocean passage, but they let in quite a bit of light down below. Granted this Tayana has hatches in all the key places for ventilation and comfortable living, but it’s a nice touch for ambiance and you really don’t need to turn on a light. I came across these at an important time in my life after my master’s thesis was successfully concluded and I was given an octagonal one as a reward for a job well done. Maybe I’ll find my own ship’s deck to insert it in some day.
The oil has been changed in the generator and in the diesel motor. Every 100 hours with synthetic keeps them bulletproof and reliable. Not the only thing they need, but a critical thing to keep them happy. A new starter on the motor and a backup in case we need it. Never hurts to have backups in all cases and we are fully stocked with hoses, oil, belts, impellers, filters, and most other misc. parts that could fail.
Because of the torrential rains lately the marina has become a sludge of debris and mud instead of clean sea water and that means no watermaking. The membranes in the cylinders which are highly pressured to force fresh water through, leaving the salt behind after being filtered twice with a 20 micron and 5 micron filter are still fragile and it’s just not worth the risk to the watermaker. Not a problem in our marina because there’s a central building that houses the dock master’s office as well as showers, restrooms, and laundry services. Everything is a $2NZ coin including the shower but not the restrooms. It’s actually luxurious how long of a hot shower you can take for about $1.40US. I took a really quick shower expecting it to not be very much water but then I waited and waited and waited for it to either turn cold or cut off completely. Let’s just say I’m going to take my time on the next one.
Apologies if these seem like ramblings. They may become stream of consciousness more and more as we head out into the open seas. We are waiting for the first weather window after March 20th. We actually have a local weather guru called McBob Weather who provides historically based weather advice based on the highs and lows that come spinning off the eastern coast of Australia. Right now they are pretty consistently just south of 40°S but as we get later in the year they start to creep north, which could be advantageous, but we don’t want to wait that long. The lows here spin clockwise and so the northern side of the system blows all of its winds to the east which is ideal for us going on a run east, at least initially…
Explanation: “This is a consequence of a balance between the force imparted by horizontal pressure difference, friction against the earth's surface, and something called the Coriolis effect, which causes moving air parcels (and other objects not in contact with the earth's surface) to deflect to the left of their original direction in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.”
Then the real test comes in when to turn to port and dash north. The risk if you look at Windytv.com in this area is that the lulls split the two sections of the earth from the roaring 40s and the trade winds that prevail westbound closer to the equator. Purgatory is not where you want to be and requires motoring… or a lot of patience… of which we only have about a week of fuel, leaving a reserve for when we arrive at our destination. Although arriving and anchoring can be done under sail, after a fatiguing month long trip across an ocean, putting demands on your crew at that point is foolish. Dropping the sails, motoring into an anchorage and dropping the hook is a welcome conclusion to a long haul. Now that’s not to say that’s what we will be doing, but it’s the smarter choice depending on the severity of the passage.
John, or canvas artiste is well on his way to finishing a full enclosure for the center cockpit on the Tayana. He is quite the sculptor, showing up every few days when the wind has died with endless rolls of canvas material from Germany (so you know it’s good) and literally clamping it to the frame, taking measurements, marking key points and literally drawing the frame on the fabric so when he returns to his shop, he knows exactly where the zippers go, snaps are located, and how it will fit into the big picture. It’s a pretty interesting process to watch and I’m looking forward to putting it to the test out there. There are so many things to consider when making one of these. Shade in the tropics, windows on the top to view the sails when at the helm. Windows on the sides for visibility in pour weather and fog but ventilation when warm and raining so it doesn’t fog up. Views between the dodger, which covers the gangway and hatch necessary when fully enclosed, and the bimini, which covers the majority of the cockpit behind the dodger. You need as much visibility as possible in the worst possible driving wind and rain. To contrast that with a cooling breeze in the blazing sun of the tropics can be a challenge and I think he has designed us a wonderful compromise. Surely it will be tested on this -10,000 mile journey we are about to embark on.
The oil has been changed in the generator and in the diesel motor. Every 100 hours with synthetic keeps them bulletproof and reliable. Not the only thing they need, but a critical thing to keep them happy. A new starter on the motor and a backup in case we need it. Never hurts to have backups in all cases and we are fully stocked with hoses, oil, belts, impellers, filters, and most other misc. parts that could fail.
Because of the torrential rains lately the marina has become a sludge of debris and mud instead of clean sea water and that means no watermaking. The membranes in the cylinders which are highly pressured to force fresh water through, leaving the salt behind after being filtered twice with a 20 micron and 5 micron filter are still fragile and it’s just not worth the risk to the watermaker. Not a problem in our marina because there’s a central building that houses the dock master’s office as well as showers, restrooms, and laundry services. Everything is a $2NZ coin including the shower but not the restrooms. It’s actually luxurious how long of a hot shower you can take for about $1.40US. I took a really quick shower expecting it to not be very much water but then I waited and waited and waited for it to either turn cold or cut off completely. Let’s just say I’m going to take my time on the next one.
Apologies if these seem like ramblings. They may become stream of consciousness more and more as we head out into the open seas. We are waiting for the first weather window after March 20th. We actually have a local weather guru called McBob Weather who provides historically based weather advice based on the highs and lows that come spinning off the eastern coast of Australia. Right now they are pretty consistently just south of 40°S but as we get later in the year they start to creep north, which could be advantageous, but we don’t want to wait that long. The lows here spin clockwise and so the northern side of the system blows all of its winds to the east which is ideal for us going on a run east, at least initially…
Explanation: “This is a consequence of a balance between the force imparted by horizontal pressure difference, friction against the earth's surface, and something called the Coriolis effect, which causes moving air parcels (and other objects not in contact with the earth's surface) to deflect to the left of their original direction in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.”
Then the real test comes in when to turn to port and dash north. The risk if you look at Windytv.com in this area is that the lulls split the two sections of the earth from the roaring 40s and the trade winds that prevail westbound closer to the equator. Purgatory is not where you want to be and requires motoring… or a lot of patience… of which we only have about a week of fuel, leaving a reserve for when we arrive at our destination. Although arriving and anchoring can be done under sail, after a fatiguing month long trip across an ocean, putting demands on your crew at that point is foolish. Dropping the sails, motoring into an anchorage and dropping the hook is a welcome conclusion to a long haul. Now that’s not to say that’s what we will be doing, but it’s the smarter choice depending on the severity of the passage.
John, or canvas artiste is well on his way to finishing a full enclosure for the center cockpit on the Tayana. He is quite the sculptor, showing up every few days when the wind has died with endless rolls of canvas material from Germany (so you know it’s good) and literally clamping it to the frame, taking measurements, marking key points and literally drawing the frame on the fabric so when he returns to his shop, he knows exactly where the zippers go, snaps are located, and how it will fit into the big picture. It’s a pretty interesting process to watch and I’m looking forward to putting it to the test out there. There are so many things to consider when making one of these. Shade in the tropics, windows on the top to view the sails when at the helm. Windows on the sides for visibility in pour weather and fog but ventilation when warm and raining so it doesn’t fog up. Views between the dodger, which covers the gangway and hatch necessary when fully enclosed, and the bimini, which covers the majority of the cockpit behind the dodger. You need as much visibility as possible in the worst possible driving wind and rain. To contrast that with a cooling breeze in the blazing sun of the tropics can be a challenge and I think he has designed us a wonderful compromise. Surely it will be tested on this -10,000 mile journey we are about to embark on.
030917
Pulling prisms out of the deck and having them replaced with plexiglass at a Cactus Plastics place in Petone. There’s a leak around the prism as it has shattered, so all the bedding needed to come out and the hole cleaned up and sealed. It’s been raining for two days and I found a small leak where two old screw holes were next to a hatch. Should be easy enough to seal up pushing a black waterproof bonding agent up into the holes. We added sail tape to a repair in the genoa that was done with a patch sewn only on one side, so it’s best to seal the actual tear in the sail to prevent it from growing. The dingy was lowered to the water and pumped back up to check if the Yamaha 15hp was operational. Started the first time after a couple pumps of the primer bulb and the choke pulled out. Runs like a top. The trimaran is an ongoing pleasure to sail in a range of winds as the sail is furlable and the whole boat is rowable with outriggers on either side. Trying to watch out for too much sun as it burns pretty quickly here. The flip flop tan is in full force.
The water maker routine is easy now. Every morning I’m woken up by the generator or the whistle of a boiling tea kettle for coffee in a huge stainless steal coffee press for four people. Breakfast is usually bread or croissants with butter and jam usually around 8 and we’ve gotten into a routine of working on projects or running errands in the morning and leaving the afternoons for leisure and whatever we decide needs planning. I’ve got three books on yachtsmanship and seamanship to peruse as well as cruising guides for NZ, French Polynesia and the surrounding islands. They describe popular cruising destinations and the approaches to get into anchorage. The atolls are especially challenging and offer the extra challenge of encountering fast moving currents as the atolls empty and fill with every tidal change. We have been discussing the position of the lows that swirl clockwise down here and how taking advantage of the easterly winds along the northern fringe of them will give us the best winds east until we need to turn north to our chosen destination. We were thinking about heading north along NZ and then departing east but the farther north we go the more we risk the lulls that plague the 40-30 range between the trades and the roaring 40s. It can be deadly to morale and your fuel supply to either spend days on end dead in the water with the sail flapping from the wave motion or burning much of your available fuel just getting to your destination. Those big white flappy things are supposed to be put to good use. That’s the whole point.
It’s been cool and crisp today with a lull in the winds which will extend into tomorrow when we finally put MoonDancer into motion towards the fuel docks. My first opportunity to see just how big and how much momentum she really has is coming soon as well as to find out just how bad the windage is on something this size. Phil and Nell are talking about a new sailboat, something a little smaller actually, and I don’t blame them. Everything is big on this sailboat and the power generated by the sails is enormous. There will be no grabbing a sheet to get it under control. There is either plan ahead and be prepared when they fill and the boat slide forward through the foam and blue or just let it go and get control of it when the sails aren’t full of wind. The forces will pick you up and launch you off the boat in a split second. First things to learn on the agenda: heaving to and man overboard drills. Two critical maneuvers when you’re on a long distance sail and safety is a priority.
030617
Ran water line to transom for fresh water rinse down, sealed forward hatch, rewired the compass light, and we had Moroccan pork chops for dinner. Ha! Finally found something comprehendible on the SSB, a National Public Radio broadcast from NZ. DEPARTURE IS GETTING CLOSE. The stack pack (long bag along the boom that the sail falls into as you release the halyard) comes tomorrow as well as the bimini. Time to fuel up at the fuel dock. The first boat movement since arriving in NZ. Time for man overboard drills.
030517
Mutiny on the Bounty story and history of the ship. Watched White Squall.
John came to measure for the bimini
Side boards for fuel tanks installed
Sailed the tri in gusty winds and had to reef.
40kt gusts
No luck with SSB yet.
030417
John is here to fit the Bimini now after finishing the dodger. He really did a great job and the quality of workmanship is outstanding. We are making new rail boards to lash fuel and water tanks to the rails on either side of the mast. It’s critical for these to be fixed to the rails and the tanks are ratchet strapped down to them for security. Blue for water, red for gasoline and yellow for diesel. Got it. It has gotten very windy today but it’s clear. We have seen 40+ kts of wind this afternoon. We got the jib and staysail back from the sail maker with matching fabric to the dodger so things are really starting to look sharp with the navy blue hull and silver steel standing rigging. One blown bike tire inner tube fixed and that pretty much sums up the day.
030217
Mostly it was work today. Generator is running smoothly thanks to some help and we pulled the drogue out to make sure everything was ready. We have to rig it for ready deployment in a bad storm if necessary. Got interviewed, Replaced a nav light on the bow and got some boards to lash the extra fuel tanks to. Got a lot done actually. Oh and heard some great stories about a recent stag party. Travis our mechanic is getting married soon and told some wild stories about him in a tutu hitchhiking 20 miles with a waxed chest and split nipples. Evidently they don’t mess around here in NZ and he was freely calling them cunts (a term of endearment here apparently).
030117
Engine Oil change
Computer pickup
Nell to grocery store for dinner for beaf Wellington
Bought gas cans but no gas
Put together the Trimaran and sailed it first off. The sun was intense and the wind came up in the evening.
Great story from Phil involving rescue services for stranded mariners in England. Amazing charity and it's ALL volunteer. Hopefully I can get him to tell some of these stories on camera.
022817
Dropped off laptop/iPad. Nell had a pregnant MacBook air (he battery had expanded and was making the casing bloated) and I needed a new screen on my iPad mini. It was $160 NZ for a new screen and he said it would be done before the end of the day. Now that’s service. Alternately I got an estimate in the states and it was to send it back to Apple for $250 and you get a new one. Suppose that isn’t a bad deal for a new iPad mini but it would probably take a week.
There was no doubt I would need a wide brimmed hat here and something to hold my sunglasses around my neck Lots of work mid day and sunscreen/shade is a must.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
"Never start vast projects with half vast ideas"
I actually found this title as a draft from 2011 when I last wrote for this blog. Well...
This blog is coming back with a vengeance!
I've debated a title change to this blog too, but it is the name of two boats that made me susceptible to catching the bug for boating and sailing, and growing up in South Florida, that is a very easy bug to catch. I have to give a shout out to two boats called Mon Ami as well, although this one actually took on a few different forms along the way, first being a Seacraft, and then being replaced by a Grady White. Both saw a lot of offshore fishing and the Seacraft took me to the Dry Tortugas. What a place to fish and dive. That was my first trip where you took everything you needed and left nothing behind. Water, ice, food, everything. You washed your dishes in the same salt water the boat was floating in, as well as bathed in it, and you took block ice because it melted slower than bags of cubes. This is where I learned the right way to pack a cooler and not to go to the Tortugas in the winter. I can imagine sailing to Havana maybe in the same conditions since most of the prevailing winds appose the currents and if you've ever sailed over a line of elephants trunk to tail, that is how it is described, or at least that's how it looks on the horizon. No circus animal tricks for this guy, especially on a sailboat during a long cruise. I say that in jest of course because of what I am about to describe.
You may have noticed by now that below (or above, I forget which order they are listed), there's my ambitious post to sail from Maine to Key West, map included, back in 2011. Well it was either that or get a job. Ironically, I actually got a job and as fate would have it, a pretty damn good one, and completely by a chance occurrence. Details on that later because it has nothing to do with sailing.
A coworker once introduced me to "Sailing La Vagabonde", a wonderful YouTube channel. That, my friends was a SERIOUS mistake, because it started a very unlikely turn of events. Now obviously, since this blog was started in 2011, that wasn't really "the beginning" but it definitely revived my inner desire for adventure and made me google Laura Decker. If you don't know who she is, google Laura Decker. When you watch her on Guppy circumnavigate the globe at 14 years old (a world record) in a 40'+ sailboat, you start to think your fears are pretty silly. She went around the southern tip of Africa I think. Most fears are, but no one tells you that and you have to actually get out there to test them before you start getting an idea of what there is that's really worth being afraid of. It's very little I can tell you that. Not to say she didn't have challenges, and yes, she sailed much of her young life, but she had a knock over (amongst other things) and thought, well, that happened. Most people I know would have already called the Coast Guard to evacuate them off their boat. One thing that has always stuck with me ever since I heard it... "A sailor always gives up long before his boat does" or something along those lines. Hearing that has always been a great comfort and motivates me to endure, whatever comes my way on a sailboat.
After work, I would come home and instead of going out to bars with friends, little by little, I was wondering what adventures Riley and Elayna were up to on La Vagabonde. It's a story of fearless adventure when you learn how they got started. Think buying a boat without knowing how to sail, finding the perfect girl to join you on your crazy adventure, and learning along the way. I'm actually not sure who was more crazy, Riley or Elayna. Maybe I'll be able to ask them one day. They are currently getting close to taking possession of a brand new Outremer Catamaran that Outremer gave them for I think it is a year as a result of this adventure they started many many months ago, ignoring their fears and going for it. It is well worth going back to their first episodes though and following along from the beginning. Don't forget to give them a thumbs up too.
So back to that title, no half vast ideas here. This seems very natural to me, so here goes with the vast idea. Learn how to sail, find a way to get some experience (preferably affordably because sailing lessons aren't cheap), and then go cruising around the world. Well ya know how when certain things start falling into place, you start to wonder if this is meant to be? Well let me tell you a little story about that. This might be familiar to you and if so, you're way ahead of me, but if not, it may seem a little spooky.
Reverse a couple years in time. I'm sharing a boat with a childhood friend, it's kept in a very affluent yacht club and he asked me to be a member. Sure, that would be pretty cool I initially think, until I hear the $16,000 initiation fee and related annual costs before you even get a slip for an actual boat, let alone a yacht, hence the "yacht" in yacht club. Fast forward a year and well as most boat arrangement go, things dissolved and I wasn't going to spend $200 on gas every outing so this aligned quite well with... you guessed it, sailing. Ya know, use the earths natural resources to propel yourself for free around the world. PERFECT I thought. Turns out there's been a great sailing club just down the street from that swanky yacht club as long as I've been alive and I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE. Shame on me because what a find it was. Initially I took a keel boat class and Rich, the instructor always talked about how nice it would be to have more instructors. This was a cheap shot at me because I hear instructor and instantly think, yeah, I can do that. If I taught people how to fly, how hard can this be? You can actually stop and talk about what could have been done better or differently on a sailboat. Heave TO! As with everything a guy does, there's always the better faster higher syndrome we tend to suffer from (maybe that's just me but I doubt it), so of course there came the Cruising class, and then the Bareboat class and the sailboats kept getting bigger. At this point, thanks to the social aspect of the club and the fact they did an informal Flying Scot racing series every Wednesday evening when it was still light after work, I got some free crash courses in making a small boat go fast by employing the little bit of wind there was left in the evenings. Turns out there's quite a lot on Biscayne Bay. Lake conditions and sea breezes as everyone likes to say. Oh, and that crash course? There was actually a little contact. This is what happens when you watch way too many Youtube videos of old sailers talking about racing theory and strategy, except you're the new guy at the club and on the boat, but you're so excited to employ what you just learned. Then your fellow seasoned sailors and club members politely remind you of a few cardinal rules. First, you may have the right-of-way until there's collision and then it's your fault no matter what. Second, you can win the battle, but will you win the war? A very prudent point when you're turning someone up into the wind thinking you're so smart while everyone else in the fleet is leaving you both behind. Lesson learned. Also, one very important point. Learn who has recently had their brand new boat crashed into by a club member trying to leave slightly intoxicated and running into it with their car, and don't pick them to turn up into the wind thinking you've got them. Ouch. Luckily after a little bumping during a race, I had to say my mea culpas and we are friends now. I was definitely in the wrong and I had no idea about the recent collision to his boat. He took it better than I would have. This was also brought up when I tried to join the sailing club. Luckily things had been smoothed over and everyone had a sense of humor about it.
Anyway, as luck would have it, we were all around the bar talking one night and I was expressing my desire to take all this sailing to the next level and do some blue water cruising. I can't remember exactly what was said but somehow I ended up being introduced to a gentleman I heard had given a presentation with his wife about cruising. They had apparently been doing it for 30 years and at one point he mentioned they were in need of crew. I said "I'll do it." Now you have to understand something. I didn't even take a breath before saying that. Didn't think, didn't ask what the boat was, didn't ask what their experience was or where they had sailed, didn't ask around about who these people even were. I just said, "I'll go." Recognizing I might have been drinking, it being a sailing club and us sitting at the bar, he suggested we meet over a beer and talk about the details to see if I would still be interested. In my mind I was already planning. This is what everyone fantasizes about. Quit your job, sell all your stuff, sell your place or move out of your apartment, etc. This was the moment, and I didn't even breathe before saying I would do it. Now there are things that happened to me earlier in life that enabled me to be able to say I'll go without fear or regret. Sometimes things happen that make you realize that life is short and you better damn well take advantage of opportunities when they arise because you just never know when something may happen and you can't. So we met, and we hashed out all the details, and I still said... I'm going. But don't you have a job? I might not after I tell them I'm going on this trip! There was no way I was going to sit down with my boss and say, so by the way, I'm leaving for 6 months and think they would let me keep my job. No. Way. In asking a few other questions I got to the meat and potatoes. He said, I have one rule: Bring your own scotch because you better not drink any of mine! Evidently someone came empty handed to crew for them and helped themselves to his stash. Let's just say that was an unwelcome personality trait.
The emails started back and forth. What do I need to bring? (Foul weather gear). Where am I meeting you? (New Zealand). What date do I need to be there? (March 1st. No, wait, we need a little orientation time so February 21st). WHOA! Time is starting to fly and I haven't even gotten started. The For Sale ads went up, the emails and calls came, and the talks had to happen. Time was awastin' and to be polite and professional, at least 30 days notice should be given. I also needed someone to take over my apartment lease, and oh yeah, where am I going to put all my stuff while I'm gone for 6 months... and my truck! So here's where the spooky part comes in. About a week after I notified work I was leaving, and they said, well that's great for you but we can't guarantee you'll have a job when you return, and then asked if I was sure and if I had actually bought a plane ticket already... they announced that one of our clients wasn't going to be very busy over the summer and wanted to send one of their employees down here to work in our office for... you guessed it, about 6 months. They wanted to keep her and thought it would be great to have her work for us for a bit. So, she will need a desk in our office, a place to live and yep, a car. Hmmmm.
I kid you not. As of this writing, she will be living in my apartment, driving my Jeep, and sitting at my desk at work. The only thing that didn't work out was she wasn't willing to take care of my dog. I'm still betting somehow that might still happen because my dog does Jedi mind tricks on people, especially when they have a sandwich in their hand, but I don't want to jinx it by telling everyone. The only thing that put a damper on this whole universe blessing my sailing adventure was the fact that a week after all that, my tenant in my condo up north announced he would be leaving in March. Well, you knew the good news had to end sometime right? I'll get that worked out but damn if that didn't bring the party to a screeching halt.
So here I am, sitting down to start up this blog again after sailing in a regatta all day, downloading, to the best of my recollection, what the last few months have been like and the crazy occurrences that have led to the fact that in 10 days, I will be on a two day flight to New Zealand with everything I need to survive a 6 month adventure on a sailboat from New Zealand to French Polynesia, to Hawaii, to Alaska. That's a pretty long sentence (like this trip) that may or may not be a run on... and speaking of this, I do plan to write... A LOT... but I don't plan to be at my most alert, after coffee in the morning, editing everything I write, so please... just let whatever it is you find wrong with grammar, spelling and punctuation... go. I am going to, and that's a very, very tough thing for me to do. I was the son of a reading teacher, but is it really that important when the ocean is crashing over the bow of your boat in 40kt winds and you've been at sea for three weeks? Nope! Nope... it's not. That's the mentality I'm taking on this trip and in doing so, rearranging the priorities with which I view life and the things around me. I'll let you all know how that goes. You're coming along for the ride hopefully.
This blog is coming back with a vengeance!
I've debated a title change to this blog too, but it is the name of two boats that made me susceptible to catching the bug for boating and sailing, and growing up in South Florida, that is a very easy bug to catch. I have to give a shout out to two boats called Mon Ami as well, although this one actually took on a few different forms along the way, first being a Seacraft, and then being replaced by a Grady White. Both saw a lot of offshore fishing and the Seacraft took me to the Dry Tortugas. What a place to fish and dive. That was my first trip where you took everything you needed and left nothing behind. Water, ice, food, everything. You washed your dishes in the same salt water the boat was floating in, as well as bathed in it, and you took block ice because it melted slower than bags of cubes. This is where I learned the right way to pack a cooler and not to go to the Tortugas in the winter. I can imagine sailing to Havana maybe in the same conditions since most of the prevailing winds appose the currents and if you've ever sailed over a line of elephants trunk to tail, that is how it is described, or at least that's how it looks on the horizon. No circus animal tricks for this guy, especially on a sailboat during a long cruise. I say that in jest of course because of what I am about to describe.
You may have noticed by now that below (or above, I forget which order they are listed), there's my ambitious post to sail from Maine to Key West, map included, back in 2011. Well it was either that or get a job. Ironically, I actually got a job and as fate would have it, a pretty damn good one, and completely by a chance occurrence. Details on that later because it has nothing to do with sailing.
A coworker once introduced me to "Sailing La Vagabonde", a wonderful YouTube channel. That, my friends was a SERIOUS mistake, because it started a very unlikely turn of events. Now obviously, since this blog was started in 2011, that wasn't really "the beginning" but it definitely revived my inner desire for adventure and made me google Laura Decker. If you don't know who she is, google Laura Decker. When you watch her on Guppy circumnavigate the globe at 14 years old (a world record) in a 40'+ sailboat, you start to think your fears are pretty silly. She went around the southern tip of Africa I think. Most fears are, but no one tells you that and you have to actually get out there to test them before you start getting an idea of what there is that's really worth being afraid of. It's very little I can tell you that. Not to say she didn't have challenges, and yes, she sailed much of her young life, but she had a knock over (amongst other things) and thought, well, that happened. Most people I know would have already called the Coast Guard to evacuate them off their boat. One thing that has always stuck with me ever since I heard it... "A sailor always gives up long before his boat does" or something along those lines. Hearing that has always been a great comfort and motivates me to endure, whatever comes my way on a sailboat.
After work, I would come home and instead of going out to bars with friends, little by little, I was wondering what adventures Riley and Elayna were up to on La Vagabonde. It's a story of fearless adventure when you learn how they got started. Think buying a boat without knowing how to sail, finding the perfect girl to join you on your crazy adventure, and learning along the way. I'm actually not sure who was more crazy, Riley or Elayna. Maybe I'll be able to ask them one day. They are currently getting close to taking possession of a brand new Outremer Catamaran that Outremer gave them for I think it is a year as a result of this adventure they started many many months ago, ignoring their fears and going for it. It is well worth going back to their first episodes though and following along from the beginning. Don't forget to give them a thumbs up too.
So back to that title, no half vast ideas here. This seems very natural to me, so here goes with the vast idea. Learn how to sail, find a way to get some experience (preferably affordably because sailing lessons aren't cheap), and then go cruising around the world. Well ya know how when certain things start falling into place, you start to wonder if this is meant to be? Well let me tell you a little story about that. This might be familiar to you and if so, you're way ahead of me, but if not, it may seem a little spooky.
Reverse a couple years in time. I'm sharing a boat with a childhood friend, it's kept in a very affluent yacht club and he asked me to be a member. Sure, that would be pretty cool I initially think, until I hear the $16,000 initiation fee and related annual costs before you even get a slip for an actual boat, let alone a yacht, hence the "yacht" in yacht club. Fast forward a year and well as most boat arrangement go, things dissolved and I wasn't going to spend $200 on gas every outing so this aligned quite well with... you guessed it, sailing. Ya know, use the earths natural resources to propel yourself for free around the world. PERFECT I thought. Turns out there's been a great sailing club just down the street from that swanky yacht club as long as I've been alive and I'VE NEVER BEEN THERE. Shame on me because what a find it was. Initially I took a keel boat class and Rich, the instructor always talked about how nice it would be to have more instructors. This was a cheap shot at me because I hear instructor and instantly think, yeah, I can do that. If I taught people how to fly, how hard can this be? You can actually stop and talk about what could have been done better or differently on a sailboat. Heave TO! As with everything a guy does, there's always the better faster higher syndrome we tend to suffer from (maybe that's just me but I doubt it), so of course there came the Cruising class, and then the Bareboat class and the sailboats kept getting bigger. At this point, thanks to the social aspect of the club and the fact they did an informal Flying Scot racing series every Wednesday evening when it was still light after work, I got some free crash courses in making a small boat go fast by employing the little bit of wind there was left in the evenings. Turns out there's quite a lot on Biscayne Bay. Lake conditions and sea breezes as everyone likes to say. Oh, and that crash course? There was actually a little contact. This is what happens when you watch way too many Youtube videos of old sailers talking about racing theory and strategy, except you're the new guy at the club and on the boat, but you're so excited to employ what you just learned. Then your fellow seasoned sailors and club members politely remind you of a few cardinal rules. First, you may have the right-of-way until there's collision and then it's your fault no matter what. Second, you can win the battle, but will you win the war? A very prudent point when you're turning someone up into the wind thinking you're so smart while everyone else in the fleet is leaving you both behind. Lesson learned. Also, one very important point. Learn who has recently had their brand new boat crashed into by a club member trying to leave slightly intoxicated and running into it with their car, and don't pick them to turn up into the wind thinking you've got them. Ouch. Luckily after a little bumping during a race, I had to say my mea culpas and we are friends now. I was definitely in the wrong and I had no idea about the recent collision to his boat. He took it better than I would have. This was also brought up when I tried to join the sailing club. Luckily things had been smoothed over and everyone had a sense of humor about it.
Anyway, as luck would have it, we were all around the bar talking one night and I was expressing my desire to take all this sailing to the next level and do some blue water cruising. I can't remember exactly what was said but somehow I ended up being introduced to a gentleman I heard had given a presentation with his wife about cruising. They had apparently been doing it for 30 years and at one point he mentioned they were in need of crew. I said "I'll do it." Now you have to understand something. I didn't even take a breath before saying that. Didn't think, didn't ask what the boat was, didn't ask what their experience was or where they had sailed, didn't ask around about who these people even were. I just said, "I'll go." Recognizing I might have been drinking, it being a sailing club and us sitting at the bar, he suggested we meet over a beer and talk about the details to see if I would still be interested. In my mind I was already planning. This is what everyone fantasizes about. Quit your job, sell all your stuff, sell your place or move out of your apartment, etc. This was the moment, and I didn't even breathe before saying I would do it. Now there are things that happened to me earlier in life that enabled me to be able to say I'll go without fear or regret. Sometimes things happen that make you realize that life is short and you better damn well take advantage of opportunities when they arise because you just never know when something may happen and you can't. So we met, and we hashed out all the details, and I still said... I'm going. But don't you have a job? I might not after I tell them I'm going on this trip! There was no way I was going to sit down with my boss and say, so by the way, I'm leaving for 6 months and think they would let me keep my job. No. Way. In asking a few other questions I got to the meat and potatoes. He said, I have one rule: Bring your own scotch because you better not drink any of mine! Evidently someone came empty handed to crew for them and helped themselves to his stash. Let's just say that was an unwelcome personality trait.
The emails started back and forth. What do I need to bring? (Foul weather gear). Where am I meeting you? (New Zealand). What date do I need to be there? (March 1st. No, wait, we need a little orientation time so February 21st). WHOA! Time is starting to fly and I haven't even gotten started. The For Sale ads went up, the emails and calls came, and the talks had to happen. Time was awastin' and to be polite and professional, at least 30 days notice should be given. I also needed someone to take over my apartment lease, and oh yeah, where am I going to put all my stuff while I'm gone for 6 months... and my truck! So here's where the spooky part comes in. About a week after I notified work I was leaving, and they said, well that's great for you but we can't guarantee you'll have a job when you return, and then asked if I was sure and if I had actually bought a plane ticket already... they announced that one of our clients wasn't going to be very busy over the summer and wanted to send one of their employees down here to work in our office for... you guessed it, about 6 months. They wanted to keep her and thought it would be great to have her work for us for a bit. So, she will need a desk in our office, a place to live and yep, a car. Hmmmm.
I kid you not. As of this writing, she will be living in my apartment, driving my Jeep, and sitting at my desk at work. The only thing that didn't work out was she wasn't willing to take care of my dog. I'm still betting somehow that might still happen because my dog does Jedi mind tricks on people, especially when they have a sandwich in their hand, but I don't want to jinx it by telling everyone. The only thing that put a damper on this whole universe blessing my sailing adventure was the fact that a week after all that, my tenant in my condo up north announced he would be leaving in March. Well, you knew the good news had to end sometime right? I'll get that worked out but damn if that didn't bring the party to a screeching halt.
So here I am, sitting down to start up this blog again after sailing in a regatta all day, downloading, to the best of my recollection, what the last few months have been like and the crazy occurrences that have led to the fact that in 10 days, I will be on a two day flight to New Zealand with everything I need to survive a 6 month adventure on a sailboat from New Zealand to French Polynesia, to Hawaii, to Alaska. That's a pretty long sentence (like this trip) that may or may not be a run on... and speaking of this, I do plan to write... A LOT... but I don't plan to be at my most alert, after coffee in the morning, editing everything I write, so please... just let whatever it is you find wrong with grammar, spelling and punctuation... go. I am going to, and that's a very, very tough thing for me to do. I was the son of a reading teacher, but is it really that important when the ocean is crashing over the bow of your boat in 40kt winds and you've been at sea for three weeks? Nope! Nope... it's not. That's the mentality I'm taking on this trip and in doing so, rearranging the priorities with which I view life and the things around me. I'll let you all know how that goes. You're coming along for the ride hopefully.
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