OK. It has been quite a winter and early spring. I kind of got depressed and distracted and did not update my blog, post anything on Facebook or talk to most of my friends for about three months. Kind of crazy! Not my brightest hour. This is partly because there was no news to update anyone with. Plans constantly changed and things seemed to be up in the air for the better part of three months. Definitely a stressful and restless time. Anyhow. I finally have news to post. Exciting news. Major life milestone news. Can’t hardly sleep at night in anticipation kind of news. But I’ll get to that in just a minute. I should probably provide a little context first.
I think if I had to pick an underlying, reoccurring theme for this winter it would be Uncertainty. My gosh, I can’t take much more of the stuff. I’ve heard “That’s life, man.” and “Welcome to being a sailor” more times than I can count. Pretty tired of hearing that, thank you very much. Anyhow, the intention for this post is not a self-pity party. It’s a recap of the winter and spring seasons from Dec. 15 to today. Here are some stats from this season to start us off:
Waist size expansion
So, apparently a ton of people watch the news and read the papers. My trip was featured in two great newspaper articles and a TV news interview back in November. Great press, they really did a nice job. I had so many people these last few months around New Bern ask if I was that guy sailing around the world. In theory, new friend, yes, that would be me. That would inevitably bring us to the big elephant question: “Well, what are you doing back here, then?” I would then recap a summary of the Offshore tale that seemed appropriate to how interested they actually were. Usually about 30 seconds to an hour. I have probably done the sport of sailing a great disservice, though. I think I have shattered the pleasant, romantic vision many people have of offshore sailing. For others, I think I’ve just reconfirmed exactly what they imagined.
I tried to stay as productive as possible during my maroonment (a new word I think I just made up). John Teple and I spent quite a bit of time last summer working on my boat stove and oven, a Taylor 030. I occupied several days this winter soaked in kerosene and tinkering with all the burners. Great success! She runs beautifully now. Going to be a major improvement for life on board. I have been working with a camp stove for the last three years. I have made several loaves of bread and have started practicing recipes for when I am back on board. I also tried to feverishly study new route options as my timeline kept shifting. I would fully research out the new sailing areas and develop a new plan. It turned into a long, extensive repair. Plans were constantly changing. I tried to study a few new languages and I’ve started to learn how to draw. Tried to read and write as often as possible. Anything to stay distracted. Lots of tasty pints, too.
The first major repair we needed is documented in other blog posts. We had a nasty crack around the fiberglass mast step that the mast rests on. Major issue! Long repair. When Arcturus was hauled out, we noticed the bowsprit was compromised as well. There was some rot on the underside. Lucky it did not cause any issues either. I received a few quotes for a new one and I did not have enough money. Very depressing. I finally got in touch with Pacific Seacraft in Washington, NC and they were able to fabricate one from the original plans. Fantastic. The price was right and it would be up to the factory standards. I also decided to have them fabricate new sampson posts for me as well. There will be a separate post with the project photos. It’s taken quite a while to get all the repairs completed but we are just about there. I picked up my sampson posts yesterday and everything is ready to remount. Once the sampson posts and bowsprit are remounted, we’ll be able to restep the mast and Arcturus will be ready to take off again.
I am definitely thankful for my family and friends the last few months. They were very optimistic and supportive even if I was being whiney and gloomy (that might be a bit over dramatic, but probably not…). Anyhow, the plans kept changing and being delayed. John Cappel has been waiting just as anxiously as me to take off and resume our adventure. I hated to keep letting him down.
The first glimmer of hope came on February 13. I got a message from my friends, Baxter & Molly, who I met down in the Bahamas. They announced that they were sailing their Valiant 47 to Panama and then across the Pacific to the Marquesas from there. Would I care to join? Heck yeah! We would leave in late February or early March. The only hangup would be getting their beautiful dog, Kala, into French Polynesia. The pet regulations are changing but it was not clear which islands they apply to yet. If French Polynesia was out, we would sail to Europe in May instead. Great! Both sound like awesome options. It turns out the quarantine for Kala would be six months for the Pacific option, so Europe it was. This provided a major motivation boost for me. Very exciting times. We continued to email back and forth making plans. I received an email on March 23 that they may have to return to the States for a bit and the Europe trip might not work out. Not sure yet, but it is a possibility. I was still welcome to join for the return trip, though. Pretty tough change of plans, but hey, I understand that plans change as well as anyone. No worries from my end. Not quite as exciting as an Atlantic crossing, though. I worked through a new plan where I would be back this summer on board Arcturus and continued to be as productive as possible with the business. I received another email from Baxter & Molly on April 6 announcing that we are heading to Ireland! Super exciting!
So here’s the rundown. My sister is getting married on Friday April 25. I am flying out of Greensboro on April 26 to Antigua, 11 days from now. I will join Baxter, Molly & Kala on board their Valiant 47. John Cappel will be joining us for the crossing and flying in on the 26th as well! We will hang out for Antigua Race Week for a few days and prepare for the passage. We will be heading out of Antigua sailing to the Azores. Roughly 2000 miles! We will rest up in the Azores for a few days and sail into Cork, Ireland. Apparently the residents of Cork have a deep sailing history and fully celebrate with you when you arrive from an Atlantic crossing. My plan is to hang out with everyone on board for a while and then head out into Europe for the summer. Not sure where I am going or how I am getting there but I am looking forward to exploring a new continent. I made several European friends while I was in New Zealand that have offered up places to stay for a bit.
I am so excited to get some incredible offshore experience on board a fantastic boat. Baxter & Molly are a ton of fun. We sailed together for a few weeks while we were down in the Bahamas. John was a champ during our Offshore Experience and he is pumped about this upcoming passage. They have been working hard on their boat getting it in top condition. They have a brand new engine, new rigging, great electronics and some good offshore experience. The Valiant 47 is an incredible boat with a wonderful offshore history. Check out their blog for information on the boat and their latest adventures.