Thanks for reading.
I am looking for 4-5 crew to join this adventure: There will be several different legs, and different folks signing on, and signing off of the crew as we go along. Get in where you fit in! You know how these things go. People can sign on individually or in pairs, depending on room available and other considerations. For your planning purposes…. Please consider 2 weeks as a minimum time window to join the crew on board. Shorter time periods are difficult. This is a pleasure
cruising sailboat. We go slow and do not press in to foul
weather when we do not have to.
If you are interested, please send a PM.
If you have questions, then please post a reply to the ad, so that everyone can benefit.
If interested, then let me know a bit about yourself and the timeframe you are available.
Other folks, US Military Veterans,
family and friends of mine will be joining the
boat along the way as well.
Here's the general sail plan: Subject to change, and all of that stuff going on.
February 2024:
Jacksonville, Florida: Boat in the
water. Make ready
work. First crew join. Shooting pool and karaoke in town.
March 2024:
Jacksonville, Florida to South Florida, Fort Lauderdale, and then across to the
Bahamas. Island hopping in the
Bahamas for a while.
*** Crew spots available: 1 complete rookie, 1
novice, 2 "some experience".
End of March 2024: Sailing to the Caribbean. This will be a "mini-passage" 10-14 days at sea sailing East above the
trade winds, and then South to the
Caribbean.
*** Crew spots available: 1
novice, 2 "some experience", 1 experienced.
April 2024: Island hopping and exploring the
Caribbean /
Rum tour of the
Windward Islands.
*** Crew spots available: 1 complete rookie, 1 novice, 2 "some experience".
End of April 2024. St Martin, on
anchor. Exploring the wonderful island, going to Carnivale, waiting for
weather over the Atlantic to stabilize, so we can cross.
May 2024. Atlantic crossing, St Martin to Horta,
Azores.
This is a big, blue
passage. 21-28 days at sea.
The
Azores are frickin' awesome. We might never want to leave. We will stay at least two weeks. Maybe 3.
*** Crew spots available: 1 "some experience", 3 experienced.
Middle of June 2024. Crossing from Azores to Europe. We'll make our way to the Keil
canal, if it is deep enough at the time, and then make our way in to the
Baltic.
*** Crew spots available: 2 novice, 2 "some experience".
July 2024: Vicinity St Anna Archipelago in
Sweden. Island to island for the summer.
*** Crew spots: 3 -4 spots open, no real
experience required. This is pretty easy,
day sailing.
Particulars:
August 2024: You don’t have to go home, but ya can”t stay here. I will park the boat somewhere and go hang out in the woods with the hippies, hermits, pixies and elves. Urkult 2024 in Nasaker.
Particulars:
Boat: 1978 CSY 44 Pilothouse Ketch. She is a well equipped, heavy old lady. A Fat Bottomed Girl who likes it a little rough
. A graceful sailor. Big, roomy, safe and solid. She is a comfortable, sea-kindly boat with a deep
draft and 14,000 lbs of lead. Some say she is one of the finest cruising vessels ever made. I say, she is my dream boat, and she sailed like a dream in 25
knot winds with. 8-10 foot seas. Over the past few years, I have upgraded / replaced all underwater
hardware, through-hulls, grounding plane, as well as removed and closed up old
sensor holes. The standing
rigging will all be new, before we leave Florida. Down below, she shows her age here and there, but she is solid and functional and looks pretty good as well.
Ketch rigged.
Furling Head sail.
Hank on Stay Sail.
Main and Mizzen in Lazy Jacks.
Self Tailing winches.
Electric winch.
Electric Windlass.
Water Maker.
Solar.
Wind Gen.
Big
Galley, plenty of
fridge space.
VHF Radio.
SSB Radio.
Garmin Satellite InReach..
Satellite Phone.
AIS
EPIRB.
Chart Plotter
Autopilot.
Windvane
Dinghy and
outboard
....
liferaft added Spring, 2022.
Cost/Expenses:
$$.
Captain pays for boat expenses. Folks on board share the cost of their groceries.
FAQ: How much to
budget for groceries?
Ans: take your existing
food budget and add 20%.
Land and other transportation: By future arrangement. Crew joining the boat should expect to pay for their transport to and from the boat.
Customs, Duties, and Border
fees: Expect to Pay your own way.
Safety and Security:
Rule #1. Stay on the boat. Everything is easier if we avoid falling off while underway.
We will focus on comfortable, low risk, low stress sailing. The weather and ocean will give us enough un-planned excitement to deal with and enjoy, so we will not press in to foul weather or any other risky business. This means crew should be very flexible with time schedules.
All
safety gear is up to date and functional.
We practice continuous risk analysis / risk mitigation. This means, when we do 'something stupid" we talk about it and try not to do it again.
Smoking/open flame: No smoking on board. If you are French and have a very compelling story, then maybe you can drift off in the
dinghy and practice your habit. Otherwise, no. Candles are ok in certain conditions. Incense can burn in certain conditions.
Alcohol. No
consumption under way at all***. The
Anchor light is the drinking light. But we will have a well equipped bar and
beer stock.. Two rules of
boating.. never run out of
beer or cookies; although, the
Captain drinks very little to no beer/alcohol. *** This is a high protocol operation, Pirate Protocol, so there are a few exceptions to the
rule. We toast occasions with
rum or champagne.
Clothing. Yes please. It’s better than sunscreen.
This is mostly for the Bahamas/Caribbean, and certainly most of you reading this are already aware, that many visitors to the Bahamas view
clothing as an optional situation. This is not a "nudist" boat at all. For packing considerations, space is the biggest limiting factor. We have a packing list that we can send as a guide.
Otherwise, if you do not have
foul weather gear, then you should expect to buy some for yourself.
About the Captain:
56 Year old man. Healthy, Energetic, non-snoring, non-smoking, non-drinking (mostly), guy who likes to sail. Benevolent pirate. Creative executive. Karaoke singer. Empathic. Participative leadership style. Pretty good cook. Likes spicy
food and good coffee.
45 years sailing
experience aboard 16-52 foot sailboats. Yep, started young, with Dear Old Dad and Mom.
Great Lakes, Eastern Pacific (San Diego area), Western Atlantic, Bahamas, with the majority of experience in the Bahamas, with many courses at the fictional, but very real, Hard Knocks Sailing Academy.
Skilled and experienced in all boat auxiliary
power systems (motors y'all); Gas and
Diesel, HVACR systems,
electrical,
plumbing,
rigging, - there's nothing on the boat I can't fix (or throw away and replace ).
I love to snorkel and spear
fish. I love to explore the local scene, meet the people and get in to the cultures of visited places, so I tend to be wandering type explorer. All day on a random beach, to me, is a good use of a day.
I have a rock solid personality, not easily ruffled, calm under pressure, and am easy going and laid back. At the same time, I have a loud, command voice (thank you Army), and can be very intense. The crazier sh*t gets, the more calm I become. Gaslighting Mother Nature for decades
I am not a doctor. That is my sister's gig. I am skilled at first aid, trained in CPR, first aid, recovery, and know how to treat many conditions.
I am also an excellent trainer/teacher and coach, so if you have no experience, but otherwise fit, lets talk. Don't count yourself out.
Ideal Crew qualities:
Galley friendly, coffee loving; creative cook, bold, brave, level headed, positive energy and attitude, a bit of a hippie, excellent communication abilities, in great
health, non-smoking, not grossed out by
fish guts, stable at sea, some experience with sailing preferred, a light packer, excellent problem solving skills, a cheerleader (and I don't mean pom poms and a short skirt, I mean a person who is excited and energetic when facing challenging tasks and not, how do you say in this country, be b*tchy about it). If you have very good organizational and packing skills, you get bonus points. Whatever personal choices you have made over the past few years regarding shots and boosters is your business. I prefer those who chose to not get any. On shore leave, live
music, hanging out under the stars, exploring nature and different cultures are fun ways to explore the local scene. If you are more introverted, no problem. Someone needs to stay and babysit the boat too.
Considerations for complete rookie and novice crew.
Expenses: if you do not have good
foul weather gear, then you will need to buy it. Budget $1,200. I have life jackets,
safety harnesses, and tethers on board for you to borrow and use, but you must have your own foul weather
gear. If you want to do a
passage or cross the Atlantic, then you must have very good foul weather gear, so please budget accordingly.
Testing and proving yourself: I welcome complete rookies and novices with little to no experience. We all have to start somewhere. I am an excellent trainer and coach, and I enjoy doing it. It does take a tremendous amount of time and energy to show someone the ropes and teach them new skills. I have to have a good feeling that crew will be able to function on board as well as be safe for themselves, other crew, and the boat. I do not expect newbies to become experts overnight. I do expect that newbies arrive with a good attitude, good energy, and an ability to be instructed, tested, coached and corrected. Everybody makes
mistakes and messes up stuff, myself included. Even my Dad, "the Admiral" fouls things up. We all have to be thick skinned and able to make corrections and keep going. This means that you will not show up, pack up, and get under way immediately. There will be some time spent familiarizing and making sure it is a good fit. This is for the benefit of everyone.
Rookie/Novice duty expectations: if you come aboard as a rookie / novice, then you will have regular crew duties on a very simple level. For example you will not stand watch by yourself until after you are "watch certified" by the captain. You will be busy
learning, observing, asking questions, practicing, and demonstrating new skills. You will get a lot of instruction, such as, "stand here" and "hold this" and "do not do that"
You will stand "shadow" watch with an experienced crew
member. It is important to be 'set up for success', and that will be the goal for the safety of the boat, crew, and yourself. The general goal for being "watch certified" is that you can keep the boat going in the correct, general direction, and you know when to wake up other people
Thanks for reading. Let me know if interested. We have a lot to discuss[/U]:
Re: Florida-Caribbean-Azores-Europe. Feb-June 24
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