New year, Same Plan.
Florida.Caribbean.
Azores.
Baltic. 2021. And on.
Thanks for reading.
I am looking for crew to join this adventure: There will be a lot of different legs, and different folks signing on, and signing off of the crew as we go along. Get in where you fit in! (as they say, somewhere.... maybe). You know how these things go. People can sign on individually or in pairs, depending on room available and other considerations.
If you are interested, then please 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, travel restrictions, and all of that stuff going on.
End of March 2021.
Jacksonville,
Florida to South Florida,
Fort Lauderdale, and then across to the
Bahamas (if they are open), and island hop to the
Caribbean.
April -May 2021. Caribbean.
End of May 2021. St Martin, on
anchor. Exploring the wonderful island, going to Carnivale, waiting for
weather over the Atlantic to stabilize, so we can cross.
June 2021. Atlantic crossing, St Martin to Horta,
Azores.
The Azores are frickin' awesome. We might never want to leave. We will stay at least two weeks. Maybe 3. The Horta Marina is getting new docks this year, my friends on the island say, so maybe we will get to
paint our masterpiece on shiny new docks.
July 2021. 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.
August 2021. We'll enjoy the end of the Scandinavian sailing season in the St Anna Archipelago. It is a magical place.
September 2021. Haul out and
refit in
Sweden. Crew can explore
Sweden, travel.
End of September 2021. Splash splash, and headed back to the Keil
canal and on towards the
Canaries for another round. We'll take our time along the coasts of
France and
Spain, as we may,
wind and
weather, of course. We want to make it to the
Canaries... We also want to avoid those pesky, Monsterous Atlantic storms and hurricanes.
Christmas 2021, God willing, in the Caribbean.
Particulars:
Boat: 1978 CSY 44 Pilothouse Ketch. She is a well equipped, heavy old lady. 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 lnot winds with. 8-10 foot seas.
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 Roam.
Satellite Phone.
AIS
Chart Plotter
Autopilot.
Windvane
Dinghy and
outboard
....
liferaft will be added Spring, 2021.
$$.
Captain pays for boat expenses. Folks on board share the cost of their groceries.
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,
Captain could help, if needed.
Safety and Security:
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.
Smokes: No tobacco smoke on board.
Alcohol. The
Anchor light is the drinking light. No
consumption under way at all. 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.
Clothing. Yes please. It’s better than sunscreen.
This is mostly for the
Bahamas, 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.
Drama:
This is supposed to be a drama free boat. Believe me, there will be enough drama without we bring a bunch with us.
About the Captain:
53 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.
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.
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), non-snoring (I don't mean to exclude based on stuff like snoring, that you really can't help, but I have a thing with snoring, and I can't sleep if it is going on). You should otherwise be in good
health. If you have very good organizational and packing skills, you get bonus points.
If you think you could fill one of the following crew role positions, then please ask about it:
Chief Medical Officer: (Medic/Registered Nurse degree or higher
medical qualitications required)
Quartermaster: (mostly good pack and prep skills, but if you have professional type inventory control/purchasing experience +++)
Pastor: (no specific religious affiliation required and idk what to write here, but if interested, then please holler)
Dive Master: (Certified master or instructor types. I am PADI certified).
Rig Master: (if you have experience with such things as river
rescue, recue diver, recovery, various military MOSes. Professional level skill with lines, knots,
rigging, wire
rope, shackles, clevis, block and tackle kind of stuff).
Office Manager/executive assistant: (professional experience with all modern modes of communication, written, voice, text; travel planning and
purchasing; scheduling and calendar management; mail handling, filing, paper and electronic. +++ book keeping skills)
***** Please do not get too wrapped up or confused by these specific crew positions. These are specific roles that I would like to have on the crew. It's ok if we have none. Eventually, we need all. If you think you fit, or if you are just curious, please feel free to reach out and ask.
General Timeline is end of April 2021-August 2021, with an extended plan out to 2022.
Thanks for reading. Let me know if interested. We have a lot to discuss