I HATE SHOES

I've been in Beaufort for 8 days now, and what an 8 days it has been. These past 192 or so hours are some of the most significant I've experienced in my entire 27 years on the planet. I won't get too much into it, but to add to the emotional chaos, the personal reason for going to West Palm is no longer interested as to when I get down there. That happened the day after Winchelsea  died. She was kind of my emotional and physical light at the end of the tunnel, so really it was only fitting that it ended when the journey came to an abrupt halt. I've spent the past four or five days sorting what I want to take with me, what gets tossed and what I'm leaving for the next owner. That was a painful process. There were times when I literally had to sit down, take some deep breaths and realize that this  was the final destination and there would be no glorious feeling of dropping anchor in West Palm. Like I had said before though, I've had a great run with this b...

After getting over the initial shock of the engine completely failing, I realized I did have some other options besides to sell the boat straight away. Option 1: Sell the boat. I could probably get between $3,000 and $4,000 for her, considering the engine is pretty much shot. This extra cash would definitely help in rebuilding my life down in Florida. Option 2: Transport the boat to Florida on a truck. Not a viable option at $3,000. Thats like 6 months rent. Option 3: Diesel repower. Not an option at this time at about $8,000. Just don't have the cash. Option 4: Keep her up here. I could just leave her at anchor, talking with the locals leads me to believe this is a viable option. I'd definitely have to keep that liability insurance though. The only trouble would be trying to sell her remotely, or if I chose to keep her I'd have to still repower at some point, which would be $8,000 as noted above. Option 5: Scrap. There is 4,700 lbs of lead in the keel. Lead goes ...

Jon and I awoke this morning with the hope of continuing our journey south. Those plans were thwarted however, when I pulled the dipstick out to check the oil. I was horrified; the "oil" was white and of about the same consistency of butter left on the counter for an hour. Water had somehow made it's way into the engine. There are about a hundred ways for this to happen and they can range from a simple clog in the exhaust to a hole in the block of the engine itself. Two oil changes later and a $90 valve on the exhaust, we weighed anchor and tried to motor out of Beaufort harbor. I put it into gear and pushed the throttle forward, nothing. I ran below to check that the carburetor was opening and the cable was intact, they were both fine. Back to the helm to try the throttle again...nothing. This was serious. The engine was starting to stall, and it just sounded sickly. I could tell not all 4 cylinders were firing. I called to Jon to throw the anchor back in. Normally I wou...

Last Tuesday was a very productive day. Monday night we had the pleasure of eating with an Admiral in the Coast Guard, Jim Watson, the father of my girlfriend in college. He's one of the most personable, down to Earth guys I know and gave Jon and I some great advice for fixing up Winchelsea a bit. The hole in the exhaust was in a section of 2" steel pipe and I thought the only solution would be to weld it, or have it replaced entirely, $$$. He said he had a similar problem on his own boat and replaced it with a length of high-temperature hose. Well, Jon and I spent over three hours on Tuesday morning cutting that piece of piece of pipe out and the afternoon finding that replacement hose. It worked fantastically. We also got the alternator working again, so despite the fact the wind turbine is completely shot, we can charge our batteries again without having to pay for a marina slip with shore power! After those repairs we left Norfolk Wednesday morning and spent four days on t...

I would say, that a more appropriate title to this blog would have been "I HATE PANTS", however, that probably would have placed it in an inappropriate category. Googling I HATE PANTS would have resulted in links that this blog does not belong with. We came into Norfolk yesterday, after nearly 40 hours of travel on Winchelsea . Her engine, I have to say, has been an absolute champ. We ran her for a total of 17 hours on our trip from Cape May. The first instance was leaving the harbor and putting the sails up. After sailing close hauled over flat seas for six or so hours, they started to build and the wind shifted to a direction that was exactly where we were looking to head. Not to tempt fate again by beating into a 20-25 knot headwind in 4-6 foot seas (remember what got us to Fire Island...), I decided to turn on the engine and motor. We only made about 4 knots, but Winchelsea had a grand time going up and down the waves. I checked the weather and the wind was supposed to c...

After 4 days in New Jersey, leaving here couldn't have come soon enough. It's sad but true, people around here are only nice to you if you have something to give to them, and thats usually cold, hard cash. Its like they have some sort of complex about being so close to New York that they feel they need to stand out, but at the same time secretly wish they were New Yorkers. Anywho, we are leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow, bound for Norfolk. I really can't wait to be in the south again, after over three years in the north. I know I was excited to move away up to Boston when I graduated college, but its just so much more...fun down there. Surfing, sailing, biking, the beach, long days in the sun, beautiful warm nights and its all year long. Sure, it gets a little steamy for a bit in the summer, but its a small price to pay. Our original plan was to head towards Virginia and the mouth of the Chesapeake and keeping going south to Oregon Inlet, some 30 miles north of Cap...

Jon and I, just the two of us, departed Fire Island, New York on Tuesday morning. The wind was calm, a steady 5 to 10 knots as we motored out of the inlet. Fire Island was a great place. The people were some of the friendliest I've met and I really enjoyed Columbus Day weekend there. Its a tourist town, strictly seasonal, as well as most of the residents. The restaurants, bars and shops were all closing that Monday, so it was a great time to visit. The little village of Ocean Beach was more or less deserted, outside of a handful of locals and a few tourists trying to pretend like the summer was not yet over. We got to get to know these locals, the people who stay there year round, and they were fascinated with our story of leaving our lives behind to sail south on a 40 year old sailboat and that the only reason we were there was exactly due to fate and our mainsail tearing some 30 miles from the inlet. They did a lot for us: showed us how to actually navigate the bay without runnin...

We actually left Block Island on Thursday evening. The seas had calmed and the wind had shifted into a favorable direction so, just after sunset, we left. Montauk light was soon abaft as well and the stars were the only lights we could see on that moonless Thursday night. Jon and I took hourly shifts at the helm and Carla kept us company and awake. And Mountain Dew, lots of Mountain Dew. And cigarettes. Massive amounts of tobacco. Bursting out into a caffeine and nicotine induced version of the Gilligans Island theme song at 3 am is something that will not be repeated, sorry if you missed it. Just after sunrise, the winds shifted. They were starting to blow hard out of the west, and we were quickly beating into a 25 knot headwind. Sailing close hauled in those kinds of conditions makes for the most strain you can put on a boat, from the crew to the rigging to the sails. And sure enough, right around 5 pm, the mainsail burst. I got it all down as quickly as possible and we started motor...

There is a tiny weather window this afternoon that could get us to Montauk. The wind is supposed to calm, although only slightly, and remain in a favorable direction until it clocks around to the west this evening. The only problem is the sea state, which is still around 8 ft with a very short period. Not a comfortable ride at all. Considering that, combined with the fact that going to Montauk will only save us 10 miles overall, I've made the decision to forgo getting the crap beaten out of us today for a very small return. I'm going to order a new jib from Florida and wait this thing out until Friday. I really can't believe its been honking with gusts over 30 knots out of the north since Sunday afternoon. Tonight through Thursday its supposed to do the same from the west. It's November weather in October. High pressure is supposed to build in from Canada this weekend, which looks like a good window to shoot straight from here to New Jersey. In the meantime, Jon is maki...

We left Newport at about 8:00 AM yesterday. It was chilly, but the winds were a nice 10-15 knots and in a favorable direction. Sails were raised just outside of Fort Adams, and away we went. Once out in the sound, the seas were a moderate 3-5 feet with an occasional 6-7 foot anomaly. We jibed around Point Judith, where the seas increased slightly and the wind started to pick up. I knew there was a gale warning for the night, and it looked like it would be here early. It was about 11 am, and I made the decision that we would put into Block Island for the night instead of pushing for Montauk. By the time we were within sight of the channel into the anchorage at Block Island, the wind was gusting to 30 knots. As we approached, I rounded up into the wind to lower the sails. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I looked up to see a huge rip in the jib and the leech cord (now free from the actual sail) wrapped around one of the spreader lights. A quick flick of t...