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Old 23-11-2020, 12:41   #1
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Location: Sweden
Boat: CSY 44 Pilothouse Ketch
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Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

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
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Flying Monkey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-11-2020, 19:25   #2
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Nice boat! But with upside-down Capitan I would expect Aus/NZ on the list of destinations... :-)
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Old 23-11-2020, 22:51   #3
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Yes. Excellent point. That picture is upside down for some reason. I have not figured out how to edit the post and turn it right side up. Technology. Yay!
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Old 24-11-2020, 04:03   #4
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Someone asked privately about certain destinations, and adjustments for "closures" and restrictions, so I will address it here for everyone:

With respect to specific travel plans and routes, we will have to adjust for current conditions. In Spring 2020, some of these islands would literally, as I am sure you know moreso than I, be open one day, closed the next, and maybe open again a few days later. It is a bit frustrating, and we do not want the trip to be frustrated.
If a place, like the Bahamas, can't make up its mind to be open, then we will skip it. We do not want to be tied down, quarantined, or anything else, unless, of course, there is a medical necessity.
For your specific question, yes. If the Bahamas is closed, we will go right to the Carib. The boat has a deep draft as well, so a lot of the Bahamas is tricky.
She draws 6.5' and usually 7'.
Heavy girl.
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Old 24-11-2020, 10:54   #5
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Sounds like your crew are going on a well planned cruise with an experienced and light hearted skipper. I am sure that you will have lots of applicants.
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Old 24-11-2020, 11:11   #6
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Sound like a brilliant trip and sorry to be a wet blanket but next spring may be optimistic (hope to be wrong on that). Make sure you have contingency plans as it is quite likely Europe will still have travel restrictions in place for anyone from the states. Don't believe the hype about the vaccine program miraculously getting this to go away, it's really good news but will take 6 months to a year to role out even with every resource we can throw at it! The USA will not have the virus under control by spring and may also have restrictions on internal movements. Other countries may quite reasonably keep their borders closed until you do get control. Things are going to get much worse before they get better. I know that traveling by sea you are effectively in quarantine but many countries are not making exceptions for that.
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Old 24-11-2020, 11:52   #7
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Hi, would love to come along, USA to Sweden, Me and the Mrs ('56 models)are both pharmacists and farmers. Live in South Africa, Done a Atlantic to Tortola and Florida to St Martin and Panama Canal and up and down SA/Moz coast. We are inlanders with a small cat but love the open water adventure as a holiday breakaway. Aim is also to learn from other competent people and sailors. In the process/excising to retire and handover, so fairly flexible and in good health, non smokers, social drinkers if there is. Can contribute. Best JJ mail is odendaal56@gmail.com
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Old 24-11-2020, 12:12   #8
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Roland,

This is an excellent point, and a good chance to state a Plan C.

If, ****, as they say, absolutely hits the fan, then this is the plan. It's a simple plan really.

If we cannot go anywhere else, as in, the Bahamas is closed, the Caribbean is being ridiculous, and Bermuda is something something Dark Side, then we pull out the Contingency Plan.

Plan C:
We sail from Florida, to Azores.
Azores to Europe, skipping the Keil canal and the Sodding British Isles.
We sail around, through the Cat Gut in to the Baltic.

Adjustments: We will need to leave a bit later in the year, once weather has stabilized enough over the Atlantic. We will also need to adjust Crew foul weather gear and make sure that people have what it takes to make a cold crossing.

Why this is a good plan:
Horta is open. It is remote. it has a great quarantine and clearance plan. I have friends there, and I personally spoke with the Customs and Border people in October 2020. They said the current procedure requires quarantine on board while a test is being done. Test boats come out to inbound ships and do the tests. Test results come back in 24-48 hours. So we show up, and two days later, God Willing, we are tearing it up at Peter's. Of course, we will confirm things before and during.

Sweden: This is a great country, with the highest per capita rate of boat ownership in the world. Trivia bonus points. Your Captain also has Swedish residency, so I can come "home" any time. It's not so bad, getting stranded in Stockholm..

Can the boat handle it?
Yes. We have a 30 gallon per hour water maker. No shortage of showers and clean living.
We can carry 300+ gallons of diesel, burning 1 gallon/hour at 5 knots. We will always be able to re-fuel in Horta, unless the Zombies just go absolutely apey.
We have lots of cookies on board at all times!
There is a secret stash of Rum to be deployed just prior to mutiny.


QUOTE=roland stockham;3281459]Sound like a brilliant trip and sorry to be a wet blanket but next spring may be optimistic (hope to be wrong on that). Make sure you have contingency plans as it is quite likely Europe will still have travel restrictions in place for anyone from the states. Don't believe the hype about the vaccine program miraculously getting this to go away, it's really good news but will take 6 months to a year to role out even with every resource we can throw at it! The USA will not have the virus under control by spring and may also have restrictions on internal movements. Other countries may quite reasonably keep their borders closed until you do get control. Things are going to get much worse before they get better. I know that traveling by sea you are effectively in quarantine but many countries are not making exceptions for that.[/QUOTE]
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Old 24-11-2020, 14:33   #9
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Sounds like a pretty solid deal. Should not have any problems finding a vast number of quality folks wanting to be part of this adventure.
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Old 24-11-2020, 17:00   #10
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

I have followed this forum for quite some time but today I felt compelled to register, to make contact to ask to be considered to be part of this proposed voyage. Not sure if my age would be an issue but I am hale and hearty and a long way off plodding around with a zimmer frame. I have been about a bit, sailed in the Carib in the late 80's and on and off around UK. Then I settled down , got married did the hard work of raising 4 children. Now, I am single, my offspring are all independent and I have recently bought a steel sloop which needs a fair bit doing to it. But I am rusty. I would like the opportunity to get some serious seatime. I have done the shore based RYA Dayskipper and Yachtmaster course in the dim and distant past and have a VHF Radio operators ticket. By profession I am a Chemical Engineer but worked mostly freelance. 5 Years ago I started a company producing industrial quantities of barbecue charcoal from logging the timber all the way through to the finished product. It was run an a shoestring so I am very familiar with keeping gear running in the most adverse of weather conditions. I am also used to having a plan Z. I am not concerned about destinations changing to suit whatever circumstances present themselves. I would just like to sail again, wherever and whenever. If you think there may be a place for me I would be very grateful to hear from you.
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Old 25-11-2020, 04:48   #11
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

I would be very interested, especially after missing out on an Atlantic passage this year because of covid! I'm a retired A&P mechanic, U.S. Navy vet, typical "jack of all trades master of none", and have a lust for adventure. I've been on this planet for 69 years, have the usual aches and pains associated with crawling under aircraft on a concrete floor, other than that I feel great!! If you feel I am up to the task, pm me and we can discuss this further.
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Old 25-11-2020, 05:45   #12
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Hi, Me and the Mrs would love to join. Both round 1956 models , both pharmacists and farming, would like to do Florida up to Sweden, Done Atlantic from Cape Town to Tortola and St Martin through Panama and up and down Mozambique coast. Eager to learn from those wo would like to pass knowledge. Can contibute to trip.Aim is to be in Canada Sepr2021 if all goes well
Best
JJ
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Old 25-11-2020, 08:35   #13
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Dear Flying Monkey -

You sound like a good captain with a well thought out itinerary, a great attitude and a good boat. I'd rather have someone with a good attitude than a long CV. Skills can be taught, attitude - usually not. Someone once called me "relentlessly optimistic". They didn't quite mean it as a compliment but, being an optimist, I chose to hear it as such!

You should have no problem (other than the pandemic) filling your boat with like minded people.

Keep us updated on your progress.
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Old 25-11-2020, 08:57   #14
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Redhead,
Thanks for kind words.
I 100% agree. Attitude is 80% of everything. Attitude over experience always.
I do hope to keep everyone updated on this outing. There is a website for it, but it is a simple shell at this point. It's the CruisersForum for now.
Best
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Old 26-11-2020, 07:24   #15
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Re: Florida. St Martin. Azores. Baltic. Spring 2021

Hi Captain,
I live in Vero beach, FL. I am 46, pilot and aircraft mechanic all my live. Scuba certified, never smoked, occasionally drinker, gets along with everyone. No sailing experience but been doing a lot of reading and watching videos in search of my own sailboat to sail away in about a year or two.
I am open to learn and listen, anything needs done I am ready. Hoping to gain some experience in the up coming year before I purchase. I would be interested in the Florida to Bahamas sail maybe even to the USVI.
Happy to talk and discuss, feel free to PM me or email.
Thank you
Nathan
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