"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. " --Mark Twain
(Thanda and Alice enjoying a beautiful day for a sail aboard Troubadour on Saturday. See more pictures from Saturday in the Shake Downs & Day Sails! photo album!)
We've made two trips out since the last post, on successive Saturdays. Saturday the 19th we took a small trip - very small. Since the dinghy has been holding air since being patched, it was time to gear up and check out the outboard. We waited for a high tide, just a few inches under the dock, and then slid the dinghy into the water and mounted our new to us 2003 outboard. A few squeezes of the fuel bulb and a few pulls on the cord got it started, and then a few more pulls while pulling the choke half way out, pushing it back in, pulling it all the way out, got it to start and keep running.
Chris motored around to the stern of Troubadour so he could set up the sling that we will use to hoist the dinghy onto the boat davits. We then took a little tour of the canal where our marina is, about 10 minutes, before reversing the launch process. We'll continue to leave the dinghy on shore while we daysail, like we did yesterday.
Dave Alexander and our friends from Island Time (Michel, Thanda, Eloi and Alice) joined us on a great day for a sail. We experienced going out of the inlet for the first time since dredging was complete, a much more relaxing experience. We tend to get nervous in 8-9' of water with our 6' keel depth. After dredging the shallow areas were more like 12-13' which gives us some breathing room. After clearing the channel, we sailed upwind for about an hour, and then turned down to test the spinnaker.
[Warning: technical sailing jargon follows!] There is no obvious fitting for tacking the spinnaker, and Chris hasn't been able to resolve how they set it up in the past on this boat. The original plan was to fly it using the whisker pole as an extendable bowsprit, but after setting up, we were concerned that the bending loads would buckle this expensive piece of cruising gear. So, we wound up putting all that gear away, attached a snatch block on the stem fitting, and ran a tack line through it to outboard of the pulpit. [End technical sailing jargon.]
Eloi hoisted the sail in the "sock", a nylon cylinder that keeps the sail contained until we're ready to use it. By pulling on a control line, Chris then hoisted the sock to the top of the sail and we got the sail to fill. Thanda got out on on the cabin top and shot the accompanying video. The sail is a nice tri-color red/white/blue and is in good shape, we noticed a small tear that will need to be repaired before we hoist it again but other than that the sail feels crisp and the colors are bright. We still need some refinements on how to set the sail up, and some practice to see what angles we can sail with this, since we don't have experience with an asymmetrical spinnaker, but I think it was a very successful and satisfying first hoist.
Other than the sailing and scooting around in the inflatable, Chris went aloft to measure the masthead height and confirmed that heading up/down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) would be hazardous for us, as we are almost a foot taller than the 65' clearance height of many of the fixed bridges spanning the waterway (also known as the "ditch"). ICW Info Link
While Chris replaced the worn faucets in the master head and shower, Linda finished up curtains for the galley and some nice pillow covers. She's also putting the finishing touches on a "how-to" article for Southwinds magazine on the sail pack she made, and investigating making a large shade awning for the boat. Chris is now attacking new leaks from a hatch, which requires re-caulking the acrylic into the aluminum frame. If it works well, we may change out some of the foggy old acrylic in some of the hatches that aren't leaking (yet!).
About six weeks until the unofficial end of hurricane season (it officially goes through the end of November) and we start looking for a good weather window to head to the Bahamas. We can't wait!
Key Largo, Florida (But we're from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA)
Crew:
Captain Chris May & Admiral Linda Moore
About:
Chris and Linda chose early retirement from corporate "office space" and cubicle life at GE Healthcare in Waukesha, Wis., to pursue their dream of going "down island" to the Caribbean.
Extra:
Our backgrounds:
***Linda is an insured PADI Divemaster and Master Scuba Diver. She is also a member of DAN the Divers Alert Network. She is trained as a Red Cross Emergency Responder; has completed the STCW BST (Basic Safety Training), and holds a USCG MMD (Ordinary Seaman). She has been sailing [...]
& crewing on Lake Michigan for six years.
Prior to life aboard, Linda worked in operations for GE Healthcare for ten years. She was also a volunteer in St. Francis Hospital's (Milwaukee, Wis.) Elder Life Program. Her family includes Mom & Dad, two brothers, two sisters and eight nieces and nephews, and their families.
***Chris is an insured PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and can train in 17 specialties. He also teaches the Emergency First Response, DAN Diver Emergency Management Provider (DEMP), and On-site Neurological Assessment courses. He has formal training on Oceanic and Aqualung equipment and as a PSI Visual Cylinder Inspector.
Chris is qualified through the American Sailing Association (ASA) to teach their Basic Keelboat, Coastal Cruising, Bareboat Charter, and Coastal Navigation courses. He holds a USCG 100 Ton Masters License with Aux Towing, Sailing, and STCW BST endorsements. He retired in 2008 as a Commander after 24 years in the US Navy.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. " --Mark Twain
"I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand; Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand.
Life is good today, life is good today" -- "Toes" by the Zach Brown Band