Having returned to sailing after an absence of many years I've had a chance to reflect on both why I turned away from it and returned to it.

I had the chance encounter just a few nights ago with an interesting movie called "Deep Water" For those of you who have seen this incredible documentary I won't bore you with fine details as the movie is available in it's entirety on You tube. It details the 1969 Golden Globe Race around the World for solo single hander's. The race was to be a non stop affair and it had nine entries. It specifically chronicles the voyage of one Donald Crowhurst and I can't believe I'd never heard this story before. If I didn't know it was a true story I would not have believed it. The old cliche that truth is stranger than fiction certainly applies here and it is a must see for anyone interested in solo sailing.

All of which brings some understanding of this journey I'm embarking on. All of the sailing skill I've acquired in my life I received from my father. When I was a boy he bought his first sail boat, a 24ft Mirage. We went through a series of vessels. A 30 C&C, a 36 C&C on up to a 40ft Aura. I think my father saw himself as a long distance passage making sailor but with an unsympathetic wife and children too young to understand and care. He was also an investment banker and the demands of his job forced him away from what he truly aspired too. Sometimes life gets in the way and we never accomplish what we knew we could achieve. Time is always against us. It was definitely against him and my family.

My fathers first heart problems cropped up in 1992 and it changed him forever. Gone was the sail boat, replaced by a 36 Searay. Easier to live with and not physically demanding. Then in 1994 my mother was diagnosed with cancer and dreams died for good. She died it 1995.

More tomorrow maybe. Quite melancholy right now...

Today I woke up to a wonderful fall day. Sun shining, a golf game looming with my beautiful wife and the prospects of a great day, including some motorcycling with my best friends. While eating breakfast I recieved a text message from one of those friends asking me if I'd seen the Motogp race earlier that morning from Malaysia. I quickly fired up the internet and to my horror was confronted with some shocking news.

Marco Simoncelli, a 24 year old Italian racer was killed during the race on only the second lap. Poor Marco's helmet was ripped from his head after a violent collision with fellow rider's Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards.

People I know have wondered how a person like myself, so in love with the serene sport of sailing also loves riding the fastest production motorcycle in the world which I proudly own. I always say " You couldn't possibly understand". Only people who ride fast motorcycles could understand why we do it. But they are related.

I approach both activities as a technical exercise. But when things like this happen the reality of what we do really comes to the for front.

Marco, I'll miss you. Your bravery and skill will always be remembered by me and everyone who loved the way you ride.

RIP Sic....

What does one do when it's raining, cold and winter is looming? Acquire parts! I'm getting a bit closer to figuring out The Conundrum's power needs. I'm leaning towards a single 210w panel mounted atop the bimini feeding a Blue Sky MPPT controller and a remote battery monitor that will mount at the nav station. I'm going to replace the stock house battery with either a large 4d or two golf cart batteries. With the solar panel keeping the house charged, I hope not to have to run the engine at all or maybe for just a short time. The problem is I won't really know until it's all installed and tested.

I'm still contemplating the addition of a TV. I know for Cole's sake and during my times alone on the boat in the spring it would be welcome. I'd like to think we will only use it in the marina. Gonna have to talk with Tracey more about this.

I hope to have all the upgrade parts on hand by just after Christmas. Trying to take advantage of late season sales. I want everything here for spring. I don't want to waste anytime messing with systems. We will need all the time we can get to understand the boat, how it sails and all it's quirks before doing the two night passages I have planned and of course, The North Channel. For those who don't know, many blue waters sailors call the North Channel the greatest cruising on earth. I haven't been back since I was a teenager and can't wait to see it again.

I've come full circle. Growing up on sailboats in Georgian Bay, I wonder what took me so long to come back to them. After spending the last eight summers on two different power boats and a four year foray into cottage ownership, something was definitely missing. One was Georgian Bay. The other was sailing.

And so it begins. Having purchased The Conundrum, a 2001 Beneteau 331 in late August, a lot has happened already. Our original intention was to purchase a boat in the 27-28 foot class but as with most things with boats go, so does the size. We had settled on a Beneteau after viewing many different sailboats and not finding what we both wanted or needed we decided that a bit more size was needed. The 331 fit us perfectly. Two large staterooms fore and aft, a large salon and a good size galley with a propane Force 10 stove. The boat was out fitted as it originally was purchased with both Jib and Main furling gear. It has a modest instrument suite with Raymarine Tridata and a Standard Horizon VHF.

First thing we needed to do was find her a home. Georgian Bay was never in doubt but the boat was currently lying in Port Credit. We arranged to have her hauled for the survey. The boat was in very nice shape with the exception of a mangled cutlass bearing which is a common problem with this model. The previous owner agreed to change it out and Andrews Trucking was contracted to move her to Wye Heritage Marina in Midland Ontario.

Taking advantage of the end of season sales, I was able to find a C90W Raymarine MFD and an X5 Wheel Autopilot at a fantastic price. As the boat only had a basic VHF, I acquired a Ray 55 DSC VHF to compliment the other gear. All of this will be installed in the spring. I also cotracted Cajun Trading in Halifax to make up all new customized running rigging. The original stuff probably had a couple of years left in it but I'd rather change the lot of it out while the mast is down as it will be much easier before we re step the mast.

I am going to spend the next month doing research on solar panels. I'm still undecided as to the amount of power we will need for the type of cruising we want to do. As most of our sailing will be weekend overnights culminating in a planned two week journey to The North Channel, I know our single house battery won't cut it.

Keep you updated.