Bruadar Sailors

Vessel Name: Bruadar
Vessel Make/Model: Formosa 51, William Garden Cutter Rigged Ketch
Hailing Port: Newport, RI
Crew: Dan & Ebeth, five swabs, rear admiral Pix & cabin boy Angus.
About: Life aboard our 1979 Formosa 51' ketch. Currently going through a refit on the Chesapeake Bay. Check out - https://www.instagram.com/svbruadar/
Extra: Gaelic-English Dictionary [bruadar] nm. g.v. -air; pl.+an, a dream
30 April 2015 | Georgetown Yacht Basin
12 September 2009 | Block Island, RI
30 April 2007 | Charleston, SC
29 April 2007 | Offshore South Carolina
28 April 2007 | Port Everglades, FL
Recent Blog Posts
30 April 2015 | Georgetown Yacht Basin

Spring Commissioning Work Begins!

Bruadar is on the hard and the work to get her back in the water has begun. The admiral and I have started prepping the bottom for a new coat of paint, fun fun fun. In addition to freshening up the anti-fouling paint and zincs we plan to install a day tank, wind generator and tile the shower. That's all!

12 September 2009 | Block Island, RI

New England in Early May

07 May 2007 | Charleston, SC

Duct Tape, water leaks, water pumps and no Ino?

Using slack tide to our advantage we motored in and anchored at Charleston’s City Marina the following morning. The winds had died down and after a good night’s sleep and in ideal conditions it was ‘easy cheesy’. We called Pam and Ino to let them know we were good to go! The question was, “now [...]

30 April 2007 | Charleston, SC

We get by with a little help from my friends...

With the bilge pump working overtime and a strong northerly approaching I decide to alter course. Instead of Beaufort, NC, we now turn northwest and head for Charleston, SC. I do not tell the Admiral about our leak; she has enough to deal with! It is time to investigate just what is going on in the engine [...]

29 April 2007 | Offshore South Carolina

Babymoon Cruise? Part Two

28 April 2007 | Port Everglades, FL

Shakedown/Delivery/Babymoon Cruise?

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Babymoon Cruise? Part Two

29 April 2007 | Offshore South Carolina
Captain Dan

The morning sunrise was spectacular. I felt very confident as we made twelve knots motor sailing north. Bruadar was now well into the Gulf Stream. Our newly installed SSB and Pactor Radio Modem was working well. I had spent a few years studying Amateur Radio and the wonderful benefits it could bring us while cruising. After some hard work and studying I earned my General Class License; this meant we could communicate with the almost anyone. With Bruadar's SSB we could use radio voice communication as well as data/e-mail via a Pactor radio modem to keep in touch with the world and more importantly Commander's Weather Service. Early on in the trip planning process we came to the decision that an outstanding weatherman on the payroll was worth the a small fee. After all, we were in the Gulf Stream were things can go wrong quickly and the piece of mind seemed well worth the $150.00 it cost for a professional offshore forecast. A few times a day I would send e-mail to friends and family as well as update our position on Winlink. (http://www.winlink.org/positions/PosReports.aspx) Our friends could log in daily and look up our progress. Our nephew, Thomas Updike (3), would look at our position each evening and say "Uncle Dan and Auntie Ebeth!" As our romantic day offshore came to a close we experienced porpoises dancing under our bow. What a great sign of luck and the omen of a successful voyage. This was to be the highlight of Bruadar's first offshore passage.

As Ebeth and I approached the North Carolina coast from 90+ miles offshore things started to get complicated. Ebeth was starting to feel really seasick. The Admiral had suppressed these feelings for a full day but now it was starting to catch up. The only way she could feel OK was to lay in the fetal position on deck. This meant that the Captain had not really had any time off watch. After 28 hours at the helm I knew that our plans to hit Beaufort, NC, just did not seem realistic. I went below deck and fired up the radio modem to check my e-mail. More discouraging news, Commander's Weather Forecast was letting us know that the wind was about to increase to 20+ knots from the north over the next two days. This meant that the moderate 10 foots swells we were in would now increase to 15-25 feet as time progressed. The strong headwinds would also slow our progress. While below deck I could not help but notice the bilge pump was running a lot..... what was going on? My worst fears were realized when I peered into the engine room and saw a heavy stream of water running from the stern tube. It was time to get out of the Gulf Stream and head for land.
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