I HATE SHOES

The title of this post was the original sales slogan for the Allied Seawind 30, which Soveraine  is one of. She is a 1963 model, hull number 42, I think. What I do know for certain is that a 1962 hull, the first year they were built, did a circumnavigation. He didn't know it at the time but Alan Eddy was to become the first person to sail around the globe in a fiberglass boat. When he returned he wrote a short book on his experience that the Allied company used as promotional material. It can be found online here . Another fascinating circumnavigation was done in an Allied Seawind 30 in 1971 by Scott Kuhner and his new wife Kitty. They kept a great photo journal and their son was kind enough to upload the entire collection to the internet (click the link on "the entire collection")! It is all very well done, and although it may take awhile I would highly recommend going through all the pictures. It's a great story and I've already got my head spinning with diffe...

I went back and forth for a long time trying to decide on an appropriate name for this boat. I first toyed with family names, such as Andrew for my departed cousin and Beatrice for my Grammy. Neither of these would work though, just too close to home. I then thought of past loves, and deemed none of them appropriate either. Bernard Moitessier, my favorite sailor and author of all time ever, had named his boat Joshua  after his favorite sailor Joshua Slocum. Could I name my boat Bernard? I mean, if such a great sailor could give his boat a masculine name, then I surely could as well. I thought I had made up my mind, but I just couldn't shake the thought of my boat not being feminine. I decided I would sail her first to truly let her make my mind up. And after the trip from Watch Hill to Newport, I knew it had to be a lady. But what could the name be? I thought I'd try and incorporate what my goals with this boat are: self-sufficiency. I found a thesaurus and the word sovereig...

The journey started with a quote, as we all piled into the Metro in Newport, bound for Watch Hill, "your souls had better belong to Jesus boys, because your asses are mine." Not sure where I had heard that before, but I figured it was appropriate given that I apparently have a reputation for wild adventures on the high (and in this case not so high) seas. Dan and Seabass (Captain Seabass) had agreed to share in this adventure since they both had off the following day. It took about an hour to get down there, and since it was were Seabass grew up we stopped into a place where he knew the owner and had some $1 tacos and margaritas when we got there. I attempted to put on a collared shirt, but was promptly told that this was not that kind of place. Nine tacos and eight margaritas later we piled back into the Metro for a couple of miles to the boatyard. 5:15 am came early the next day. Sunrise was at 5:30 and we were puttering along at 5:45. I had the dinghy hip-tied to the b...

As soon as I had my stuff loaded into the Metro, I blasted out of Sarasota with my eyes firmly on the road ahead, never looking in the rear view mirror. Orlando and my brother were my next destination, apparently a 12" tire is about as common in Sarasota as someone who doesn't have a gym membership. Brent had found one on Orange Blossom Trail, go figure. It also happened to be poker night with him and some of Crystals coworkers. I was out quickly, after trying to bluff with an early all-in. Brent had to get up at 4 for work the next morning, so I did too, and hit the road a solid two hours before the sun rose. Not that I was unaccustomed to night watches, and with the light traffic out of Orlando and the crisp northern Florida air I was glad to be moving again. The following two days were two of the most life changing I have ever experienced.  If you're ever going through some shit or fighting some demons inside, I highly recommend taking a 19 year old car on the verge ...