Windvane self-steering, sailing on the Hudson, book coming soon!

By Sailor Keddy -
I've been in New York (well, technically New Jersey) since February. I moved here to be with my new fiancee Elizabeth, and things were very quiet on the sailing front until recently. I've been working for a charter/sailing lesson company up on 79th Street and its been going very well so far. The Hudson River is known for its currents, fickle and shifty winds, massive amounts of boat traffic, very surgey unprotected marinas and things in the river that, well, shouldn't be. It does have some nice views of the city and Statue of Liberty though. All in all, not a great place to sail, but I'm on the water, and that's something.  I also managed to get my NJ teaching certification and hope to be using it in a classroom this fall.

My sweet Soveraine is docked in Florida, where I visit her every few months. I still plan to cruise on her extensively, but it will be more piecemeal for the next couple of years. I need to do some work on her anyway, including installing a wind vane, redoing the galley and possibly installing a self-contained cooler/refrigeration unit. I've heard it before and its true: refrigeration makes the difference between living civilly and camping.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Scott and Kitty at their home in Connecticut. We went for a short cruise which allowed me to see how their wind vane self-steering system operates. I took many pictures and videos and Elizabeth was kind enough to hold the tape measure:






Over the course of the last week, I have built a model out of cardboard and balsa wood:


Which actually works, with a fan to simulate the flow of water over the pendulum...





I'll be visiting Florida next week and will be working on a full size model from plywood, which is what Scott's was made from originally when they went around the first time in Bebinka.


With all that said, I've been working on a book! Its a chronicle of this crazy sailing/life adventure I've been on for the past 5 or so years, and goes into much more depth than this blog. I decided to write a book mainly for my great-great-great grand kids. I would have loved to read about how Alexander Kady came over on Winchelsea in 1749. Why he decided to leave England/Scotland, what his thoughts were, his challenges and new life in Nova Scotia. This book will be for generations after me to look back and give some inspiration to step out on a limb and try a different lifestyle. Of course, if you'd like to purchase one and help fund my next adventures, that would be fantastic as well!

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