Speaking of stepping into the unknown, I recently woke up with a new boat...
and realized I don't even know her name, just her make (Formosa 41, center cockpit). If I do NOT keep her in the danger zone in hurricane season, insurance will be reasonable and she is a beauty and will be, I hope, a joy. Cynthia and I plan to drive to North Carolina Monday 12/11 (to Wayfarer's Cove Marina), handle various repairs and load her with gear, go back to MI for Christmas, then fly down about Jan 1 and sail her out of the bay, across the Gulf Stream, and down to the Bahamas for a week of exploration and running aground. This passage will be our longest ever!
After she flies home (about Jan 18), I will set sail for even longer, a week or so, across the open Atlantic to St John. I cross fingers that the autopilot I install will work well, that winds will be fair, skies will be bright and starry, and that the boat will sail as I've read (smooth and relaxing rather than jerky and exhausting like lightweight Dorado). We shall see. I'm sure wisdom would suggest I bring extra hands for the passage: anyone interested?r
(PS: 12/6/17 Cynthia is now planning to sail the whole way with me. We will spend eight to 12 days on board between landfalls, skirting the Sargasso Sea, fishing for Dorado (aka mahimahi or dolphin fish), reading, improving the boat, etc. Neither of us has ever spent more than a day away from land, so this will be very memorable.)
What then? Put her on a mooring pro tem, take care of Dorado details, pack the autopilot, and fly to Florida to help my friend Larry sail Gigi II (a CSY44 to replace Gigi, his CSY37) down. He wants to take the scenic route: two weeks, several ports, lots of shoals, several countries.
Adventure!!!!
Current issues? 1) I am heartbroken not to have bought my friend Chris' similar boat in CA as it had wonderful projects to do and delightful improvements to make and great amenities and price, but the layout just didn't work for me. 2) I am going through the delightful experience of a burst eardrum, ear infection, etc. With luck, the vertigo & hearing loss will be temporary and the infection will resolve...and, in a half year or so, I'll be able to dive again. I finally feel as though this sinus/ear issue is being tackled after suffering with it and ineffective doctors for a decade! Perhaps this is the beginning of a good resolution. And, yes, this may affect the trip timing, but I'll probably survive a delay.
PS: Funny story: a couple months back, seeking boats on the web, I ran across one I'd seen before: a CT41 ketch with a missing mizzen (aft) mast. I called the number, told the fellow that I might swap my mast onto his boat if I bought it, that Irma had taken my boat.
“Oh, he replied, I lost a boat in Santa Cruz Harbor in the tsunami.”
This sounds familiar, I thought to myself. “Is this Chris?”
“Um, yes..... DUSTIN?!” (Yes, my California name)
“DUDE!”
Anyway, he was my instructor for six of the eight days I learned about sailing larger boats! Small world!
After she flies home (about Jan 18), I will set sail for even longer, a week or so, across the open Atlantic to St John. I cross fingers that the autopilot I install will work well, that winds will be fair, skies will be bright and starry, and that the boat will sail as I've read (smooth and relaxing rather than jerky and exhausting like lightweight Dorado). We shall see. I'm sure wisdom would suggest I bring extra hands for the passage: anyone interested?r
(PS: 12/6/17 Cynthia is now planning to sail the whole way with me. We will spend eight to 12 days on board between landfalls, skirting the Sargasso Sea, fishing for Dorado (aka mahimahi or dolphin fish), reading, improving the boat, etc. Neither of us has ever spent more than a day away from land, so this will be very memorable.)
What then? Put her on a mooring pro tem, take care of Dorado details, pack the autopilot, and fly to Florida to help my friend Larry sail Gigi II (a CSY44 to replace Gigi, his CSY37) down. He wants to take the scenic route: two weeks, several ports, lots of shoals, several countries.
Adventure!!!!
Current issues? 1) I am heartbroken not to have bought my friend Chris' similar boat in CA as it had wonderful projects to do and delightful improvements to make and great amenities and price, but the layout just didn't work for me. 2) I am going through the delightful experience of a burst eardrum, ear infection, etc. With luck, the vertigo & hearing loss will be temporary and the infection will resolve...and, in a half year or so, I'll be able to dive again. I finally feel as though this sinus/ear issue is being tackled after suffering with it and ineffective doctors for a decade! Perhaps this is the beginning of a good resolution. And, yes, this may affect the trip timing, but I'll probably survive a delay.
PS: Funny story: a couple months back, seeking boats on the web, I ran across one I'd seen before: a CT41 ketch with a missing mizzen (aft) mast. I called the number, told the fellow that I might swap my mast onto his boat if I bought it, that Irma had taken my boat.
“Oh, he replied, I lost a boat in Santa Cruz Harbor in the tsunami.”
This sounds familiar, I thought to myself. “Is this Chris?”
“Um, yes..... DUSTIN?!” (Yes, my California name)
“DUDE!”
Anyway, he was my instructor for six of the eight days I learned about sailing larger boats! Small world!
Congrats on the new boat!! What an adventure..
ReplyDeleteMake memories while we can!
Deletevery exciting!
ReplyDeleteThe new boat looks great, Skip! Hope your ear gets better soon. When are you coming back to Chatham?
ReplyDeleteProbably when I sail up in spring. May?
DeleteVery exciting the way you got things back on track. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteOh, man. You are our latter day Joseph Conrad! Writer and sailor! (Not that any of his titles should be applied to your smart looking new boat!) Wow, Dustin. Happy trails! (Hmm...probably not the appropriate send off for a nautical fellow.) Well, you know what we mean. David and Janet and Scout
ReplyDelete