From Then To Now

Once the boat was safely docked I set about breaking things.  This really got under way when Colleen and I went out for a sail and got caught by one of the Summer afternoon micro-storms.  Had just gotten comfy by an island in the lake when the winds picked up to 45+mph and the waves turned to whitecaps.  The pitching and the rain made the deck hazardous at best, and the wind kept spinning the boat around, forcing us to head into the wind, into the storm.
The silver lining to that story is that the boat performed admirably, and passed the trial by fire.  I wish I had some pictures or a video of that adventure, but the fact that I don't only reiterates how violent the weather had gotten.  Then, before we knew it, the storm passed and we motored our way back to the marina wet and cold on what had been a 90 degree day.

The following weeks turned out to be pretty boring from a sailor's point of view since summer conditions offered little by way of wind.

Several outings later I had to cut the mainsail halyard (rope) to drop the sail.  All of the ropes on the boat needed replacing from accumulated wear and tear prior to my purchasing.  The mainsail halyard was binding and essentially I got stuck with the sail in the "up" position.  My only option was to cut the sail down.  In order to replace the rope I'd need to climb the mast and thread a new one.  I'm not a big fan of heights, even with my pilot background, so climbing the mast wasn't an attractive prospect.

Additionally, the transmission lever snapped when I was docking after the storm.  After the first fix I found myself drifting towards the shore composed of pretty massive rocks.  The same pin had snapped again.  I thought to myself that I hadn't owned the boat for more than three weeks and I was going to sink it.  dockhands at the marina managed to keep me from smashing into other boats and no harm was done.  After some extensive time put into fixing that issue I moved onto the task of cooling the boat.  Rick Berkey (another boat owner at the marina) helped me out by lending me a window air conditioning unit we installed in a hatch.  It worked well until the cooler weather arrived, and I returned the unit to him.  Next summer I'll have to work on fixing the central air-con unit that is under one of the seats in the settee (cabin lounge).  I won't worry about that until then.

So without an operable mainsail I've been sailing with just a headsail, and I have been pleasantly impressed by how much speed my boat has under just one sail.  I can't wait until I'm at the coast with both catching the sea breeze, especially since the mainsail offers the bulk of the power.  Unlike most coastal sailors I don't plan on using my motor in conjunction with the sails because she's and old, under-powered engine that sounds like it's beating itself up when it's running.  Not to jinx myself, I have to be prepared for it to die anytime now.  A classic case of less use is more.

So now I eagerly await the boat yard to have space for me so I can start the next phase of my adventure, but in the meantime:


Here is a video of a windy night, Morgan enjoying the ridiculously good weather January has had to offer, the kind of improvising I've been doing (coffee in a water bottle), and a photo of a sunset cruise:

The Maiden Voyage

I first started making payments on the boat in April of 2011 and moved onto the boat in August.  I've been at a marina on Lake Norman since then, fixing up this "fixer upper", making plans for what's next and getting used to the marine life; my life.

My slip has a great view of the sunset, and one thing I will miss about North Carolina is the variety of fall sunsets.  Note:

This is the view I've been enjoying for almost six months, but before I got here, I had to do this:

It was the first week of August when Rob Pascale, Colleen Chamberlain, Martin Webster, and Antonio Martinez joined me for the maiden voyage from the seller's private dock to the marina.  The trip was just under 20 miles (across most of Lake Norman) the trial being an utter lack of wind.  I don't remember how long the trip took, but I do remember it was HOT/SLOW.
We had a great time in 90 degree heat, throwing back a few beers and designating Colleen the "Galley Wench".  Antonio enjoyed being dragged behind the boat by rope and Rob was our designated "navigator" using his iPhone.  We managed to avoid running aground or crashing into the nuclear power plant.  Martin pretty much sat there enjoying the view which was pretty much all I did captaining the vessel.

One Small Step

This is the first entry for the first Blog I've taken part in.  I want to keep this blog so people can keep up with where I am, how I got here, and where I'm planning on going next.  I hope to have entertaining information including pictures, videos, maps and other creative media posted here.  Any suggestions or requests would be graciously accepted since this is meant for others rather than for myself.  We'll start small with a photo of where it all started.

Here is the boat when I first saw it at a private dock on Lake Norman.  The boat's name is "Zippity Doo Da"...
Personally, I despise the current name.  I found documentation that it's original name was "Paddington" which I much prefer, although I plan on changing it to "Bernoulli" in the next few weeks when I pull the boat out to have it painted and prepped for the coastal adventure I've been planning for years.


A little background information on the boat:
Make: Hunter
Born: 1980
Length: 33 feet
Draft: 4 feet [UPDATE: Turns out it's more like 5']
Hull Material: Fiberglass
Weight: 10,600Lbs
Engine: 15hp Yanmar Diesel


A little information on my plans for the next few months:
After hauling the boat out and painting the hull and deck I'm shipping the boat from Lake Norman, NC to Charleston, SC where it will be placed in the Intracoastal Waterway.  My first destination is Jacksonville FL where my old school friends (and more) live.  My current marina company has a location in Jax which will be my new home on the St. John's River while I make some final repairs and make the most of the tail end of a Florida winter.

That's the introduction to my Blog- thanks for taking a look!