04/10/2012, on the hard
Who'd a thunk it?
Almost to the Boatyard to haul HERMES, and I hit something with my rudder skeg. Something very sharp and hard as it held my rudder and pulled off the rudder shoe. The shoe promptly fell completely off and is lost forever. Extensive searching turned up nothing. I was traveling over 6 knots when it happened and the water is coffee brown (maybe 1" visibility, maybe). Anyone got a solid bronze rudder shoe for a 1972-3 Pearson 33?
I'm screwed.
I don't even have one to measure from to replace my old one. Even if I could find someone to machine or cast one. This should be an interesting summer.
The summer of the rudder shoe.
I need one of three things:
1) a rudder shoe for a Pearson 33 built between 1970-1975
2) a rudder shoe off a wrecked/parts Pearson 33
3) a Pearson 33 on the hard somewhere near Syracuse, NY that I can get measurements from to have a new shoe cast.
Anyone?????
Anyone????
I am screwed.
I travel over 4,000 miles this season without a scratch and wreck my boat in the last mile.....sucks.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Keep smiling,
Don
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Comments [0]
03/16/2012, Lantana, Florida
I was looking over my Blog a little while ago and I suddenly realized that it kind of sounds like "Keystone Cops Go Sailing".
I just wanted to point out that not all days are like that.
Take today for instance.
Nothing happened.
That's right, nothing. Lots of sun, no wind, no rain, no breakage, no damage.
No excitement.
Nothing.
Slept a little, read a book, watched the clouds, watched a movie, took PuBu for a few walks.
That's it.
Boring.
I can't wait for tomorrow...I'm sure I'll pay for it.
Smooth Seas,
Capt Don
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Thanks for the quotes,too!
03/16/2012, Somewhere in Fla.
My plan was this...
From Nassau-one day to the Berry Island group and spend a day or so there. Then sail over the Bahama Bank to Bimini in a really long day (80 miles) and spend a day or so there. Then make the final jump to America in another full day. I figured on taking a week or so for the entire trip. Somehow, don't ask me how, I am in Florida the next day after I left Nassau. I sailed the entire way non-stop. I was moving so fast (for a sailboat), I just couldn't make myself stop, eat, or sleep. Passed right by the Berry's, cruised the entire Bahama Bank at night, through Bimini early the next morning (where the engine refused to start), and had a 30 knot ENE wind to bast my way (12' breaking seas) across the Gulf Stream on a beam/broad reach.
That part wasn't too fun. Kinda got wet so I hand steered all the way across, just to be safe. Didn't want to get knocked down with no engine if I lost my mast and I was starting to get tired by then (30+ hours).
I was anchored in Ft. Lauderdale that afternoon, the day after I started. And here's the kicker...I tried to start my engine to go through the pass around Bimini just in case I would need it with all the currents in the pass and it wouldn't start.
Click, Click.
Oh well, it's a sailboat. I just kept sailing.
I sailed into very busy Ft. Lauderdale harbor and right up to the anchorage. Dropped my Rocna and all was calm, finally.
There were a few tense moments at the harbor entrance with all the shipping, tidal current, a cruise ship leaving port, the many assorted small craft that have no idea of right of way, and I hadn't slept in about 40 hours...wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box. But I took things slowly and carefully, and "No Worries".
It was a simple electrical connection that had corroded and I had the engine running in less than 20 minutes.
Now I am back in the US.
But quite tired.
I think I'll sleep tonight.
Maybe tomorrow too.
No idea what's next.
Smooth Seas,
Capt Don
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03/16/2012, Headed to Nassau
So there I was...
I was sailing to Nassau, my Cape Horn wind vane steering the boat, far out of sight of land, and suddenly my AIS proximity alarm goes off. I quickly check and see that a Motor vessel traveling at over 20 knots will pass within 100 feet of me in just a couple of minutes.
Yikes! That got my attention.
A quick check of the horizon and I see a huge Carver coming up from behind me with a large bow wave. I watch him for a minute or so and see that he will indeed miss me, but not by much.
"This whole ocean to navigate on and you have to run me down?!?!?"
Suddenly he goes roaring by and I notice that he is followed by a 30' +- powerboat and that is being followed by a 15 foot hard bottom inflatable. I realize that they are being towed at 20 knots at sea with really long tethers. And this is not a calm day. The inflatable spends half its time airborne.
As they pass I see that no one is at the helm but two bikini clad girls are on the upper afterdeck working out and some guy (probably the owner) is sitting facing backwards watching them. One is on a stairclimber and the other is bouncing (seriously, she had the equipment) on a treadmill.
"I have to get my camera (see picture)[you can just make out the girls]."
They never saw me, or even knew I was there.
Their wake didn't completely submerge me.
Just when you thought you've seen everything.
The life of a sailor.
Smooth Seas,
Capt Don
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03/07/2012, Black Point, Great Guana Cay, Exumas
Just a quick reply to the messages.
Yes I use an anchor alarm. It usually works. However, if you wake me at 3AM, you shouldn't expect the sharpest pencil in the box for the first 10 or 15 minutes. Especially if things seem to be happening real fast with buckets of water being thrown on me and pitch blackness. If you need my help at that time...you get what you get.
Once when anchored in Georgetown, SC and using a anchor float to mark my anchor (won't do that again), some nice person used my anchor float to lift and steal my anchor. I woke up drifting towards another boat and had to deploy another anchor in a hurry. Now I am a little punchy about drifting at night.
Today I am in Black Point waiting out what Chris Parker (weather Guru) says is the worst storm of the year. Been blowing like stink for several days now (see picture of whitecaps in my protected anchorage).
12-17 foot seas out on the ocean.
No thank-you.
About 40 boats anchored here hiding from the wind.
Should let up in a few more days and I will start North again. Only one boat (from England) blown ashore when it hit. It was hauled off the beach and is basically OK. Winds so far up to 45 knots (that's almost 52 miles and hour for you lubbers). Been over 25 knots for the last several days with Gusts up to 40 knots. Rocna anchor working great, been watching movies day and night in my boat (the wind generator has been making lots of extra power).
Could be a lot worse.
Couple times a day I splash my way to shore to take PuBu for a walk.
Other than the moaning in the rigging, it has been great sleeping weather. Nice and cool (60's).
Ah the cruising life.
Smooth Seas,
Capt. Don
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02/27/2012, Kidd's Cove, Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas
So, there I am standing on the fore deck, with dog poop squishing between my toes, in a driving rain, with the wind blowing over 30 knots, pitch black at 3:00 AM, a line has wrapped around my propeller, and my anchor is either dragging or missing altogether.
This is how it all started;
I have anchored in Kidd's Cove in Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas. A cold front has just passed and the weathernam says that the wind will blow a little, but a high pressure has moved into the area after the cold front with light winds (liar). I went to sleep at about 9:30PM with a gentle wind blowing. The next thing I know, PuBu my Shar-Pei puppy is standing on my chest asking to go out to the bathroom. I roll over and say "PuBu go back to sleep, it's 3:00AM!"
She is very insistant and keeps pestering me, so I know it must be one of those emergency bathroom breaks and get up muttering to myself about dogs swimming themselves to shore or something.
The moment we enter the cockpit, it starts raining and blowing like crazy. PuBu is hopping all over, she obviously needs to go, but I'm not going out in this weather. Then I notice that I am traveling backwards. I watch it for a minute in the pitch blackness and decide I must be dragging. I really didn't let out enough scope for high tide and 35 knots of wind. I start my engine and put the boat into gear-slow forward. I stop dragging, but the engine sudenly stalls. "Now what!" Then I notice that the wind gusts have blown a line over the stern into the water and that is it real tight. I can't even budge it. Great.
I rush up to the foredeck to let out more scope and notice that the anchor chain is slack. "Uh-oh, where's my $650.00 Rocna anchor!?!?!?! As I am standing there in a panic, I notice this overpowering odor of Dog Poop and then realize that something has squished up between my toes. What the....?!
PuBu couldn't hold it any longer and dumped a huge load of diaherria poop on the fore deck. I am now standing in it. Both bare feet.
What else could I do? I bust out laughing so hard I can't see through the tears in my eyes as my boat slowly drifts towards the beach in a driving rain. All I could think was the line "It doesn't get any better than this."
Turns out that my anchor chain was slack because of the tidal current. HERMES traveled backwards to the end of her chain and the Rocna stopped us just fine. I put the engine in reverse for a 1/4 second and the line around the prop unwound itself instantly and I pulled it aboard. Then I spent the next hour hosing the foredeck (and my feet) in the driving rain.
After pooping, PuBu went back inside and was warm and cozy sound asleep in my bed. When I finally came back into the cabin, she looked up at me with her little wrinkled face all innocent and that "What were you doing out in the rain?" look.
I'll get even somehow.
"Laugh And The World Laughs With You, Cry And You Cry Alone."
Smooth Seas,
Captain Don
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Dave
