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MTsailor · 02-08-2005, 18:40

I ran across the Bumfuzzle site and the link to this one recently and have read most of Pat and Ali’s logs. (I skipped some of the road trips.) I have subsequently read a majority of the comments on this site and figure that since I’m just sitting here between chores I’d throw my 2 pesos in.

First a little background: I’m a “wanna-go-again” cruiser. I started out like Pat and Ali, buying my first cruising boat in my mid-20’s (I’m now 55, and considered ancient by most in that age group). When I first came across the Bumfuzzle site I was very impressed, and still am, by the depth of information that they are posting. Very valuable stuff, no matter what your level of experience. I love reading about anybody’s adventures when it comes to cruising under sail, because I’ve done it and as soon as I sell the ranch am off again.

I think a lot of people who read postings like Pat & Ali’s tend to take for granted the fact that they are even taking the time to share their experiences online. Yes, I have to admit I’ve laughed with and at them, and been amazed at their nonchalance, (mostly, like a lot of you, I’ve been envious that they are out there doing it), but really, I feel privileged to share in their adventures, good or bad.

Some of the safety issues have given me pause, but then I look back at when I started out and even though I worked my way up the sailing/cruising ladder (more on that later) I had to start somewhere. Like P&A, I couldn’t wait, so I went out there and just did it. I read the Natl. Geographic articles about Robin Graham and Dove and the Johnson’s on Yankee. I bought Chapmans and Heavy Weather Sailing and read a little book my dad gave me titled Learning To Sail and figured I was good to go. Now, mind you I’d ‘messed around’ on little power boats at the lake in the summer and was in the Boy Scouts, so I did know how the rabbit came out of the hole and went around the tree, but sailing…..sailing was a romantic and somewhat mysterious notion that I sooo wanted to experience.

My young bride and I cut our teeth on a SF Bay Pelican. At the end of that first summer I saw an ad for a 1936 gaff rigged schooner. I did the P&A style purchase-over-the-weekend thing. I was so excited that it had a diesel that when the owner told me that it was a Jenbacher, I just acted like I’d heard of it and gladly accepted the trunk load of spare parts that came with it. We moved aboard and promptly began to find the leaks in the deck. If I ever posted stories about duct-taping sandwich bags under the leaks, poking the bowsprit through the boathouse in front of our siip, etc. boy would people grumble.

After some initial sailing we decided it was time to head from our home port in Gig Harbor, WA to SE Alaska. Never mind that it was September and the end of the cruising season. Never mind that we didn’t have a VHF. We had a depth sounder and a transistor radio. And a diesel engine. Half way to Alaska we were anchored in a quiet little cove and the engine wouldn’t start. The glow plugs had burnt out. Not unlike P&A, we found a tavern, had a burger and a beer then hitchhiked to Vancouver-a twenty hour trip-to find the Jenbacher dealer. My engine manual listed a place in Vancouver as the North American distributor for parts. Upon finding the place, which in itself seemed miraculous, we were promptly informed that they were no longer the N. A. distributor. They had sold out to some guy who owned a schooner down in Washington. To my chagrin, I realized that I was that guy.

I did go on to other boats, cruised Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, the Caribbean, did the canal – even became an America’s Cup crewmember before coming back to my roots here in Montana. We all have to start somewhere. I hope I never forget how little I knew when I did. Now I want to go again. And I know I’ll make mistakes. I just hope I have the nerve to share my adventures, like Pat and Ali, with the rest of the world.

Remember: You can loose your sense of direction or your sense of smell, but never loose your sense of humor.

02-08-2005, 18:40	#158
MTsailor Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: W. Montana Posts: 1	2 pesos I ran across the Bumfuzzle site and the link to this one recently and have read most of Pat and Ali’s logs. (I skipped some of the road trips.) I have subsequently read a majority of the comments on this site and figure that since I’m just sitting here between chores I’d throw my 2 pesos in. First a little background: I’m a “wanna-go-again” cruiser. I started out like Pat and Ali, buying my first cruising boat in my mid-20’s (I’m now 55, and considered ancient by most in that age group). When I first came across the Bumfuzzle site I was very impressed, and still am, by the depth of information that they are posting. Very valuable stuff, no matter what your level of experience. I love reading about anybody’s adventures when it comes to cruising under sail, because I’ve done it and as soon as I sell the ranch am off again. I think a lot of people who read postings like Pat & Ali’s tend to take for granted the fact that they are even taking the time to share their experiences online. Yes, I have to admit I’ve laughed with and at them, and been amazed at their nonchalance, (mostly, like a lot of you, I’ve been envious that they are out there doing it), but really, I feel privileged to share in their adventures, good or bad. Some of the safety issues have given me pause, but then I look back at when I started out and even though I worked my way up the sailing/cruising ladder (more on that later) I had to start somewhere. Like P&A, I couldn’t wait, so I went out there and just did it. I read the Natl. Geographic articles about Robin Graham and Dove and the Johnson’s on Yankee. I bought Chapmans and Heavy Weather Sailing and read a little book my dad gave me titled Learning To Sail and figured I was good to go. Now, mind you I’d ‘messed around’ on little power boats at the lake in the summer and was in the Boy Scouts, so I did know how the rabbit came out of the hole and went around the tree, but sailing…..sailing was a romantic and somewhat mysterious notion that I sooo wanted to experience. My young bride and I cut our teeth on a SF Bay Pelican. At the end of that first summer I saw an ad for a 1936 gaff rigged schooner. I did the P&A style purchase-over-the-weekend thing. I was so excited that it had a diesel that when the owner told me that it was a Jenbacher, I just acted like I’d heard of it and gladly accepted the trunk load of spare parts that came with it. We moved aboard and promptly began to find the leaks in the deck. If I ever posted stories about duct-taping sandwich bags under the leaks, poking the bowsprit through the boathouse in front of our siip, etc. boy would people grumble. After some initial sailing we decided it was time to head from our home port in Gig Harbor, WA to SE Alaska. Never mind that it was September and the end of the cruising season. Never mind that we didn’t have a VHF. We had a depth sounder and a transistor radio. And a diesel engine. Half way to Alaska we were anchored in a quiet little cove and the engine wouldn’t start. The glow plugs had burnt out. Not unlike P&A, we found a tavern, had a burger and a beer then hitchhiked to Vancouver-a twenty hour trip-to find the Jenbacher dealer. My engine manual listed a place in Vancouver as the North American distributor for parts. Upon finding the place, which in itself seemed miraculous, we were promptly informed that they were no longer the N. A. distributor. They had sold out to some guy who owned a schooner down in Washington. To my chagrin, I realized that I was that guy. I did go on to other boats, cruised Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, the Caribbean, did the canal – even became an America’s Cup crewmember before coming back to my roots here in Montana. We all have to start somewhere. I hope I never forget how little I knew when I did. Now I want to go again. And I know I’ll make mistakes. I just hope I have the nerve to share my adventures, like Pat and Ali, with the rest of the world. Remember: You can loose your sense of direction or your sense of smell, but never loose your sense of humor.