Back in the Saddle Again

I finally got back on the water again. More importantly, I got back on the water with my best friend, and fellow sailing enthusiast, Daniel. I received an invite to go sailing from Greg Hold at Gotham Yacht on his 50' Beneteau. With a group of about 20 people, sailors and revelers alike, we set off from the 79th st. Boat Basin in Manhattan.

Feeling the boat pitch and roll with the waves, and the wind blowing through my hair, I looked up at the beautifully designed mainsail, and felt completely at peace. I also accomplished one of my goals that I had set when moving to New York City; Sailing around the Statue of Liberty.

All in all, it was an incredibly refreshing and pleasant experience. I can't wait to go again.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...

So, I went offshore the other day, just outside of Edisto Island, SC. I only stayed out for a bit, since the seas were pretty rough, and Justus doesn't handle too well in rough water, since she doesn't have a functioning centerboard.

The dolphins keep me company most days.

      I came back in and continued on the ICW for a while. I stopped just north of Beaufort, SC and dropped anchor for the night. In the morning, I took off south again, and my first leg of the day was the Port Royal sound. I found it a bit ironic that I was sailing past Parris Island almost four years to the day after I first set foot on the yellow footprints for boot camp there. I linked up with two other sailboats, EZ Breeze, and Pyewacket, whom I had seen earlier in NC while waiting for a bridge. Usually, I'm the slowest boat on the water, but I managed to keep up with the two of them for the majority of the crossing.

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      We had about 20kts of wind and pretty rough water during the crossing, so we all only had our jibs up, most of the time reefed, and we were still making about seven kt/h. It was pretty fun, until, just as I was about to reach the end of the sound, a huge motor-yacht came speeding past me, very close, and kicked up a huge wake, which, along with the 2-3 foot waves, served to knock me around like a rubber duckie.

       After leaving Port Royal, I continued on the fair waters of the ICW, keeping track of my progress in my chartbook, (I decided not to use GPS yesterday) and was amazed at the progress that I was making. I crossed into Georgia at around 4:30 pm, and had my mind set on making it to Savannah Bend Marina. The ony thing that was between me and my goal was a bascule bridge that opened for the last time at 5:30. About a mile before the bridge, my outboard started giving me problems, spitting and sputtering. I made it to the bridge, with about a minute to spare, and they closed when I was no more than 200 feet away. After cursing the name of the bridge operator, I turned back to head to another marina I had seen.

      I pulled in to the marina, only to see a sign that said "private - no trespassing". Just after seeing the sign, my motor died on me. I had to use the current, which, thank God, was at my stern, to coast in to an open slip. When I got close enough, I realized that at my current angle of approach, I would slam in to the dock. I grabbed my stern-line, and jumped over about four feet of water onto the dock to catch Justus as she slid in. I secured my lines and set my fenders, and then walked up the dock to speak with the man who was on shore, watching this whole debacle. 

      Turns out, the man, Bill, didn't work at the marina, he just lived in the community and was out for a ride in his golf cart. He gave me a ride to the front gate, to speak with the guard about staying for the evening. She made several calls, and eventually, got the "Okay" for me to stay. Bill drove me back to the dock, and then went home, only to return a few minutes later with a bag full of beer and ice. He showed me where the shower and bathroom were, and informed me of an ice machine in the lounge, to which I could help myself. I grabbed every bag I had on board that night, and filled them with ice, about 60lbs. 

      This morning, I woke up early, had breakfast, and went to work on the motor. I cranked and cranked, but she wouldn't turn over. I opened up the carb, nothing wrong there. Pulled the spark plugs, and they were filthy. I spent a few minutes cleaning each one as best I could, and then reinserted them. A few more cranks, and the motor gurgled to life! I adjusted the mixture, played with the choke, and she was running like a top. 

      About half an hour later, after calling to reserve a slip at Savannah Bend Marina, I headed out. Approaching the bridge, I realized that they open on demand, and my VHF was nearly useless since my batteries were almost dead. I managed to get across the information they needed, and they opened up for me. About a mile and a half down the ditch, and I came to the marina. There were two guys out on the dock to help bring me in, and thank God too. The current and wind were both at my back, so, even with the throttle all the way down, I was still going at about 2.4kt. Unfortunately, I wasn't as graceful during this docking as I have been previously. My bow slammed into the dock, and rose up into the air as it recoiled from the shock. I must have gone white. We managed to get Justus tied off, and I went to inspect the bow. Just some scraped paint and a little ding, no big deal. 

     I'll be staying here for about a week while I ride out the approaching storm, and make some preparations for the next leg of the trip.

Getting ready to set off

This weekend will be my last chance to get Justus ready for my journey down to Florida. I've still got some work to do, but I'm confident that she'll be ready in time. Mostly, I just need to stock up on food and water, and get the head functioning properly. Next weekend, I drive down to Florida, leave my car at my Mom's house, and fly back up. I get out of the Marine Corps on the 8th, and then Begin sailing down. Still need to plot my course and stops, and figure out when I'll be going offshore, and when I'll be using the ICW. I'm really excited, and a bit nervous, but it's the good kind of nervous. 

Once in a Blue Moon

The day started as many long weekends in the Marine Corps have; An unneccessarily early wake-up, followed by a room inspection to make sure that we were all good boys and cleaned up so we can go play on the weekend. A long span of nothing, followed by a formation at noon to get off for the weekend. Immediately after being released, Daniel and I loaded up the car and headed off base. After sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for what felt like an eternity, we made it to highway 17, and were on our way to Washington, NC to take a look at the boat Daniel was thinking about buying. At around 1500, we got to John's place and went to look at the boat, a 1970 Irwin 28.5' sloop. The boat was in great shape, and fits Daniel's needs perfectly, he made an agreement to buy it in October, and after hanging out for a bit longer, we headed off to the marina to work on my boat, Justus. On the way to my slip, I met a guy named Mark, (the second Mark at the Marina so far that I've met) who was very friendly, as has been everyone I've encountered there so far. I boarded Justus, and opened her up. I got down below, and checked her out to see how she weathered the recent storm. I was actually glad that it rained on Thursday, because it gave me the chance to ensure that the leak fix from last weekend worked. It did. I set up the coffee maker that I bought, and tested out the head, I had been concerned that the head wouldn't work, but was pleasantly surprised when, after a minute of pumping the manual handle, everything was in working order. One of my main missions for the afternoon was to take measurments for a board to turn my settee into a double berth, but I had forgotten to pick up a measuring tape. Daniel stopped by the office and asked Mike if he had one, and sure enough, he did. A few minutes after Daniel got to the boat, my port-side neighbors arrived, and we greeted each-other. David and Anna, a couple about seventy years old, invited Daniel and I aboard their boat to go out into the harbour and link up with eight other boats to watch the sun go down, and the blue moon come up. Being a very rare opportunity, we agreed. We boarded their ship and set off into the harbour. Along the way, we both learned a bit about marina navigation and regulations. Pulling up to the cluster of boats, a mixture of sailboats, motorboats, and one impressive catamaran, we came along the port side and tied off to the next boat. This was a learning experience in itself, effectively docking with other boats, all using one central anchor. I learned how to tie off a line to a cleat, and the difference between actual and apparent wind. It's pretty cool to know that the wind is blowing at around eight knots, and not be able to feel it at all because you're moving in the same direction at the same speed. After lashing together and settling in, David and Anna broke out the snacks and wine. We settled into friendly conversation, and people from other boats started coming over, soon enough, the deck was filled with people, all but us over sixty years old. We were enjoying the conversation, and suddenly, Daniel and the woman next to him began singing "Blue Moon" by Ella Fitzgerald. A fitting song. The sun set at 1924, and the moon began to rise at around 1938. We were invited to come aboard the center boat, an amazing thirty-six foot sailboat (I'm not sure of the make or model), and we hung out with the owner and his wife, and the owner and wife of the catamaran to port. We stayed there for about half an hour, until David turned on the deck light on his ship, signalling that he was ready to depart. We released from the boats on both sides of us, and headed off towards the marina. It was very dark, and David couldn't see the markers to guide us back in, so Daniel operated the spotlight to find the markers. Anna and I stood on the aft deck and watched the moon glisten on the water for a bit, "Isn't that amazing?" she said, to which I replied, "The way I see it, God saw fit to make the world 72% water, we were meant to be on it". We pulled back in to the dock and lashed the boat to the cleats. Daniel and I returned to Justus, where I finally took the measurments for the settee board, and tested out all of the lights on board. Before we left, Daniel got David and Anna's phone number so we could stay in touch. David has offered to go out on Justus with us and teach us the finer points of sailing. He had been considering buying her before I did, because he misses sailing so much, and is happy to have met, and befriended the new owner. All in all, there were many lessons learned, and many jokes told tonight. I still haven't stopped smiling, it has been a very long time since I've felt so satisfied and happy.

Today, after several months of searching the internet for a suitable boat, I found this 1969 Irwin 27' sloop, the Kestrel. I first looked at her yesterday, and felt at home immediately. The previous owner had to leave for Africa due to work, and left the boat in the charge of Mike at the marina to sell for him. The owner didn't care how much she sold for, as long as she sold and he could stop paying the insurance and slip fees. I got her for a steal at only $3500. Like any boat of her age, she has some problems; so far, I've found five wasp nests tucked away in cabinets and storage spaces, as well as ants in a few compartments. Mike has been kind enough to let me borrow his wasp killer spray. Daniel and I spent about an hour on the boat, looking through each compartment, and discovering all the items and tools left behind by the previous owner. Some of the more interesting items found were a crucifix from Jerusalem, a flask (intact with Jack Daniels) from Thailand, an unopened bottle of wine from 2003, the Captain's log, and half a bottle of rum. After looking around for a while, we went up to the office to meet with Mike and Sherri (the notary for the company) to finalize the sale. Mike told us the story and showed us the pictures of his trans-atlantic solo trip, which completely captivated us. Sherri came in and we filled out the paperwork, I handed over $3500 cash (the most I've ever held at one time), and Mike and I shook hands. The boat was mine. Daniel and I spent another two or three hours cleaning the galley and midship, scrubbing walls and counters, polishing brass and looking for more things to clean. We left at around 1700, with the intention of returning to finish cleaning the interior tomorrow. The journey has begun.