Crew Wanted: Fort Lauderdale to the Chesapeake 8.20

[Flying Monkey]

Hi, thanks for checking in.
I am planning to sail from Fort Lauderdale up to the Chesapeake, vicinity Solomons Island, Maryland in August. I am looking at August 15 as a departure date, even though I would like to go as soon as the boat is ready. Of course, wind and weather will dictate when we actually go.
The boat is a well equipped, heavy, CSY 44 Pilothouse Ketch with a deep draft.
I plan to sail out and get in the Gulf Stream and follow that up and around Cape Hateras as much as wind and weather permit. This is usually a quick trip. We are budgeting ten days for it. If things get bad, we will duck in somewhere and wait for good weather. Please have a flexible schedule.

My Dad is planning to sail with me. He is a great sailor and rock solid, especially in hairy situations - he was a pilot in Viet Nam. I have been sailing since I was a boy. This means we have very experienced crew on board already. We are looking for a third hand to help.

Prospective crew does not need much experience, but should be able to adapt quickly and learn new things. Attitude is more important than skill level.
If interested, please send a PM.
Reply in thread with questions, and I will answer.

Logistical details:
The boat is in Fort Lauderdale in a private dock now.
Crew will join the boat in Fort Lauderdale.
When the weather is good, we will head out and get in the Gulf Stream.
Once we get to Maryland, the boat is going to a dock near Solomons Island.
We will have ground transportation.

Thanks,
Ps. Everyone is healthy, tested and healthy and all that stuff

[cameratoys]

Hi I’m very interested on this post. Pm follows

[Flying Monkey]

I have gotten a few messages regarding this trip. Thanks for everyone's interest.
Here is some clarifying info:
We can have 4 people on board for this trip.
Me,
Dad,
Crew 1 - open as of right now, but with a good prospect thinking about it.
Crew 2 - open

I would like to start by August 15th, wind and weather dependent, of course. There is not much time. If interested, please send that PM and lets talk.
There is one person right now who is pretty interested, has time, and seems like a good fit.
If that person does join the crew, there will be one spot available.
Otherwise, I can take two crew folks, for a total crew size of 4.

[Flying Monkey]

Update 7.29.20.

Crew spots still open ��

[Mayagirl]

Still looking for crew?

[Flying Monkey]

Yes. I am still looming for help.
The storm, Isaias, passed by. All is well. We have no damage. I stripped the boat in prepararion of the storm and need to put her back together. Getting ready to go and still looking for crew.

[Mayagirl]

Can you give me some details. I am no expert. I took a sailing class a couple of years ago, but haven’t used it. What do you need help with? How long is the trip? Expenses?

[Flying Monkey]

Here is some clarifying and coordinating information for folks considering this trip.
I have been sending this to people by PM, but I believe it is more helpful here.

One thing to keep as a rule of thumb and transition from regular, deadline driven life on shore: Sailing plans are plans. Flexibility is key. Island Time is a real thing.

I am back in Fort Lauderdale and back on board. I stripped the boat for the big Storm and am now getting her put back together. Then, I will make some repairs. There are a few critical repairs that I am aware of now. I expect those will take at least 5 days.

I would like to leave for the Chesapeake by August 15th, so that is a target date.
The trip to Maryland is about 10 days at sea.

If we need to duck in for weather or some other reason, then we will. Otherwise, we want to stay in the gulf stream. We will go around Cape Hatteras by a wide margin, so we will be 150 or so miles off shore at that time. The Gulf Stream goes that way, when the conditions are right, and hopefully it will be going that way when we want it to. Once past the Cape, we press on until it is time to duck in to the Chesapeake.

Once inside the Bay, we will make for Solomons Island, where we will have a dock to tie up to. This is a regular dock with regular features: shore power, water, bathrooms, etc.

Ground transport in Maryland:
Once we get their, we will have a car to drive around and get to where we need to get to.

Guest crew duties:
People joining the crew will have regular duties on Watch and Galley. We will figure out exact duties based on individual experience, skill, strengths, and disposition. Safety is first, so those with limited experience will have duties in line with their skill level, and we will not imperil the crew or boat. People who do not really know how to sail can observe and learn, then try, and practice. It should be an excellent time for learning how to sail a larger sailboat in coastal, nearshore, and offshore conditions.

Training: for folks with limited sailing experience.
I am an excellent trainer and coach. I like easy, no stress situations where people learn at their own pace. I like the Crawl, Walk, Run style of training.
This means I demonstrate how to do new tasks. The trainee observes.
Then there is a thorough explanation of the task.
Then the trainee can try it out, practice and correct until they can do it.
Then they do it on their own, under observation.
Then, Bam, they can do it all by themselves.
Sometimes this process takes 5 minutes. Sometimes it takes 3 months.
Crawl, walk, run.
For folks with a lot of sailing experience, I will be your student
I have just this past few days been an observational student of a professional captain in charge of a beautiful, brand new Jeanneau 64, and learned many things watching him prepare his boat against the threatening hurricane.

Expenses:
Crew should expect to pay their own way for groceries and personal needs.
I will handle boat expenses. I mean, I am not looking for people to help cover the cost of the passage.

Quarters:
I usually give Dad the big, aft, Captains cabin when he is on board, and that is my plan for this trip as well. I will take a couch bunk in the Pilothouse.
Guest crew on board will get the Port side of the forward, V berth. The forward cabin has a V berth, and a private head and shower. Private, as in, the door closes to the rest of the boat.

Watch:
We will keep a rotating watch with hour overlaps as needed. We will determine watch length with a crew meeting and vote.

Galley Slave:
We will have a rotating galley duty that synchs up with the watch schedule.
When a person is on Galley Slave duty for the day, they are responsible for washing dishes, putting dishes away, making lunch, and making dinner. Breakfast is an individual thing.

Safety and communication:
Near shore, we have cellular.
Off shore, we have radio and SSB radio.
Globally, we have Garmin In Reach. I Rent a satelite phone for passages, but not for this trip. The Garmin will let people track our trip in real time and send messages back and forth. It is pretty cool.
Lots of other info in cruisers forum threads on this subject, mindset, priorities, erc, etc.

There is a ton of information about me, the boat, typical sailing info, in threads that I started a long time ago on Cruisers Forum. Reading through those for nuggets of interest would be a very good idea, and also save me from writing it twice or copy and pasting.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...-a-229741.html

Please feel free to ask questions.

[Flying Monkey]

Update 8.8.2020.

I am still tied to a dock on Hendricks Isle.
I found more broken stuf and will make repairs before heading out to sea. The delay is inconvenient, but it is much better to find broken rigging while tied to a dock than it is to discover underway.

It is hard to say, but I believe this will delay departure by a week, so maybe looking at the third week of August.

[Murky-Shift]

I am very interested and totally flexible on dates. PM you.

Thanks Tom

[Flying Monkey]

Update 8.14.20
Parts are on the way from Schaefer Marine to replace a broken toggle link on the forestay. This is an unwanted delay, but it is significantly better to discover a broken toggle link while tied to a dock with no sail up
I expect we will be ready and waiting in weather and crew in ten days or so.

[hottuna]

My name is Allen, I am from Maryland now living in Florida. I am a Master Mariner and would be happy to assist you during your trip.
PS very healthy hottuna2001@hotmail.com

[SeaSunSaltSky]

Hey FlyingMonkey!

Are you still looking for crew?

[hottuna]

Hello are you staying off shore for this trip or Inracoastal?
Cheers Allen

[Jesse Gage]

Did you make your trip? If you are still looking for crew, I can dedicate 2 weeks to helping get the boat home. I have no experience with boats, but wish to go cruising, I am 62 years old, have good mechanical skills, I have scratch built 2 experimental aircraft, quick learner snd in good health. I can pay my own way, looking for experience. Thsnks