Day 2 - And away we go!

Evening of day one was like something out of a storybook.  The heat cooled off and we went up to the restaurant at the marina.  Tables were on a deck overlooking the docks.  Had a great meal, relaxed, great conversation.  Afterwards we walked the docks and watched a stunning red, orange, sky blue sunset.  So beautiful.

Slept aboard Vibrant and after the tension of the first day we slept well despite the cramped V shaped space of the forward berth.  The starboard locker door could be closed on the V- berth to make it private and on the inside of the locker door, which was the outside when you used the door to enclose the V berth was a plaque that read, CAPTAINS QUARTERS.  That simple little sign made my gut tighten because I understood all too well the responsibilities that went with that title and how rusty my sailing skills were.  But I reasoned that sailing was a lot like riding a bike and slept well.

We had to wait for the tide when we got up the next morning so we used marina bikes and rode to a local breakfast spot.  Coffee and a hearty breakfast later we were aboard VIBRANT and preparing to depart.  Got he engine started - batteries on, ignition switch on, choke, starter button.  Engine turns over and starts immediately.  Go below and open the valve that pulls water through the engine for cooling.  All lines recovered and we are under way!

Immediate turn to port out of the slip and follow the buoys out - red right returning so that means red left leaving.  So what side do you leave the green ones on?  Jeez...been a long time!  We clear the breakwater and are in the bay...there's a little breeze so it's time to put the sails up.  Head to wind, main sail goes up, but the top batten fouls on the lazy jacks.  Lazy jacks are a rig that is supposed to catch the mainsail when you drop it.  Prevents the sail from spilling all over the deck.  It's a great idea but I'd never sailed with one and the dang thing was really causing a lot of problems.  We lowered and raised the sail, then lowered and raised the sail, and finally got the sail up.  Whew!

Then the big test - the jenny.  Would it set properly?  Holding my breath I asked Ron to set the jenny.  The damn thing blossomed like magic as the wind caught it.  OMG!  How cool was that?!!
OK, so now we head south with the wind a little aft of the beam.  We play around with the GPS and the auto pilot.  The auto pilot makes unexpected major heading changes so we turn it off.  Learn later that the control head is supposed to be anchored to one of the rails but the fixture had been broken.  SO the unit is essentially useless...oh well.

So we leave the engine on and are making about 6 miles an hour.  Wow!  We turn the engine off and slow to 3-4 mph and love the quiet - but 3-4 mph is not going to get us down the bay so we start the engine again.

A little later the wind picked up and we killed the engine.  Without the engine, the water slap in the hull and the wind in the rigging surfaced.  Oh, oh, oh... this is what I remember from all those years ago at the Academy and later racing Lightnings on the Potomac.

Well the rest of the day we sailed down the Bay with the wind on our beam or a little aft.  For a sailboat we screamed at 6 or 7 mph - what a glorious day.  We traded off on the wheel, I got to spend time in the bow pulpit with the wind in my face and the bow slap of water in my ears.  Eva fixed sandwiches and we drank water and sports drinks.  Under the Bay Bridge and past the Severn River and the small trade school I attended there.  Where I learned to sail over thirty years ago.

Now it's about three in the afternoon and we have to figure out where we are going to spend the night.  We have a Chesapeake Bay spiral bound set of navigation charts and a book that describes all the marinas on the Bay.  We choose Deale, Md for our overnight and Eva gets on her cell phone and calls the Marina we pick and makes a transient reservation.  Ain't technology grand.

We fire up the iron jenny, point her into the wind, drop the main (the jack stays work like a charm) and retract the jenny and that works like a charm as well.  Ron does a great job making her shipshape as we motor into the inner harbor.  Red, right returning works now.   I have studied the charts, looked at the pictures, but this is my first time into an unknown port and I miss the buoy that marks a split in the channel - and as we all search for the marina we are staying at - we go hard aground.  Oh crap!  Back down - not working - try to go forward at full throttle and bull my way through.  No dice.  And there is a restaurant on the shore not fifty yards away with a deck full of evening diners - probably all laughing their a** off at the dumby that just ran aground.

This may be the most publicly embarrassing moment I've ever experienced.  And with my training at Navy, well grounding a ship is the end of a career.  To say I am mortified is, well, I was mortified.  But don't worry, it only got worse.  Eva has been on the cell phone and has called the local Boat US tow service and their boat shows up to help out.  My plan was to wait for the tide and hope we would float free - but I was so wrapped up in my misery I hadn't told anyone.

We had purchased Boat US towing insurance only two days before and Eva did what made sense to her.  It was exactly the right thing to do and after the tow boat skipper got us hooked up he yanked us off the bottom, much to the delight of the onlookers who cheered wildly, and towed us to our final destination.

Dinner at the local Tiki Bar and few beers later and I was still mortified.   In fact I have been dancing around writing this for over a year now.  That's a pretty good measure of just how embarrassed I was. It's taken all this time to work through that, to accept that failure, to laugh at it, to laugh at myself, and to accept that in MY navy of one boat, I couldn't just fire myself.  In the end, no one got hurt, a lot of people got a good laugh at my expense, and I learned alot about the boat, my wife, and myself.

What could be better?

Almost Walked Away - Day 1

WE arrived in Rock Hall early on Friday morning - well 0930, but that means we had to leave home at 06.  Anyway, called the broker, Ed Rosenthal of Reynolds Yachts, and he said he'd be down to the boat as soon as he finished with a walkin.  We boarded Vibrant, opened the hatch and I had Ron, my newfound sailing friend and crew, break out the dink and inflate it to check for leaks while Eva and I started poking around in the storage bins.    The previous owner had done a great job of orgainzing.  Every locker was filled with plastic bins so there were NO stray items just thrown in the bottoms.  And there were spare parts galore.

The weather was unseasonably cool for July 2nd but as the morning wore on it began to heat up.  Ed showed up and we began another fore to aft exploration and explanation of all the systems.  Here's the seacocks for the head, here's how the head works, another exploration of all the lockers, full explanation of the electrical panel and engine compartment.  Then out on deck.  Because of the problems we had setting the jenny on the survey I decided to set the sail while in the slip.  Thus began a two hour struggle with the sail that almost culminated with me walking away from the deal.

The roller furling jenny bound immediately when we hauled on the sheet.  We had binoculars and it appeared the sail wasn't two blocked but the luff was properly set so we thought it might be the swivel.  We decided to lower the sail to inspect the head swivels, but that entailed unwrapping the sail from the headstay.  Head swivel appeared to be serviceable, raise the sail, reset the outhaul, try to unfurl the jenny, failure.  Three more times...  If Ron hadn't been there, there is no way Eva and I could have done this.

Ed sat in the cockpit and observed.  Finally I joined him there and we quietly discussed the problem.  I told him I was frustrated and disappointed to the point of walking away.  He quietly explained that I hadn't mentioned making the sail right in my final demands for the sale and that I'd be walking away from the deposit. He suggested Eva and I go to lunch and talk things over.

We did.  Decided to go back and give it one more try.  Back on board we decided to find some way to extend the tack of the sail four or five inches to get the head higher.  Searched the bins and lockers until we found a suitable extender, raised the sail one last time, hauled on the sheet and...whala!...success, the sail set almost like magic.  OK, but can we do it again, and again, and again.  Looks like we solved the problem.

Ed and Eva and I signed the papers and VIBRANT was ours.  Eva asked if I can turn the A/C on.  We have to replace a strainer that the, now previous owner, had supplied.  Ed pitches right in and an hour later and a trip to the chandler later we have the strainer in place, prime the system, flick the switch and the A/C kicks in.

Now it's almost four o'clock and Ed asks if I want to go for a short sail.  Sure, but we check the tide and with the wind out of the north there isn't enough water under the keel.  Crap!

So the day ends with a glad handshake with Ed and my thanks to him for his patience and especially his help in getting the A/C up and running.  Remember, that was after the sale had closed and he could have taken his bill of sale and walked away, but he stayed to make sure we were as satisfied as he could make us given all that had transpired.

If you have a boat to sell in Rock Hall, Ed's your man.  Thanks Ed.

The Run up to the Sail Down

Survey complete, decision made, papers tomorrow at Rock Hall, MD and VIBRANT will be ours.

Sound so simple...

But what about all the professional details that press everyday and now have to be juggled with sailing?  What about the two proposals due in the next two weeks?  What about trying to scrounge up a crew to help sail VIBRANT from Rock Hall to her new homeport in Colonial Beach on the Potomac?  What about learning all the systems?  What about planning the trip?  What about financing?  What about a new slip?  Insurance?  What about...what about...what about!!!!

Yikes! 

OK, crew layed on - brother of a guy I sing in choir with.  Someone to look after the dogs and ride up with us to Rock Hall and drive the car back over the weekend, check.  Charts, check.  Dig out old nav tools from Academy days...wow I have drug those all over the world with me and still have them!  Download VHF channels, study the Atomic 4 webpage religiously.  Finish up the required VA boaters course (what a pain in the patoot that was - the focus is on how much time you spend on each page - there's a timer on each page for crying out loud - as much as on subject mastery.)  Insurance - check.  Financing - check.  Colonial Beach slip - check.  Someone to look after dogs so Eva can come - BIG check.  She's coming along.  How great is that!

Talk to Phil, the owner, about turning the grease cup, lub oil, last oil change, speed of advance under sail, and Phil patiently and carefully answers each every question.  He even goes to Rock Hall to make sure the head is functioning after the winter lay up and has to disassemble and reassemble the pump.  He also makes sure the autopilot is rigged and functioning.  How do you thank an owner, especially one getting ready to relinquish command of their pampered pet, who has gone way beyond the extra mile to make this transfer of ownership an enjoyable experience?  wow...Phil I promise to take care of VIBRANT like you and if I ever sell her, your example will  be my guiding star.

Last night it hit both Eva and I what we were about... and as we lay in bed and talked quietly through our concerns and, yes, fears.  Should we postpone, should we get another crew, can we do this?  Finally, she said, "Andy I feel the same way I felt before flying out to Turkey and Israel to come visit you.  I have no frame of reference for what's about to happen and all I have to hold on to is you.  If you're OK, then I'll be fine."  Talk about deeply sobering.  Eva is literally placing her life in my hands once again.  wow...Eva...wow

Worked through the charts again this morning and am more confident than ever that we can do this.  Will have to move our departure up to Friday afternoon and make it down to Annapolis or maybe Shady Side.  The weather reports are fantastic - cool weather today, tomorrow and Saturday.  Heats up on Sunday and Monday so we'll have to keep an eye out for afternoon thunder bumpers.

Still have to pack...

Provisioning Jitters

Ok, we're less than a week out from transferring the papers.  We got the survey results and, after a short conversation with the surveyor, and several long conversations about the implications of what we were buying, we're going for it.

Eva and I talked about what the differences in the surveyor's language might mean.  Lot's of sentences containing the word 'should' and a few with the word 'must'.  We finally decided that was like buying a used car, the brakes MUST be in good condition, the seat covers SHOULD be replaced.  That kind of thing.  It's the way of differentiating those items the surveyor found that MUST be corrected and those that are up to the new owners discretion and pocketbook.  At least that's the way we finally decided to decipher the document.

Anyway, now the 4th of July weekend is coming up and it's the perfect time to move the boat because if we don't do it this weekend, I'm too busy professionally to even think about moving her until August.  So now there's this great pressure to get the financing in place, done, get the insurance in place, gotta do, plan the trip down the bay and up the river, learn all the systems, pack, find someone to help me crew.   Pretty overwhelming. 

Then on top of all that, yesterday morning the hard disk on my work computer died and I spent all day getting that squared away so I'm way behind the power curve at work.  By 1900 last night I was spent and Eva drug me away from the computer telling me, it'll all work out, relax, if we don't get all the way home, it'll be OK.

Eva will stay home on this one.  We have four dogs that must be attended to daily and there's simply no way for us both to go.  I found someone to crew on Sunday when one of the guys I sing in the choir with said his brother might be interested.  That's looking good.  She went shopping this morning and picked up food and drink.  I still need a good set of charts - and batteries for my GPS, and dig out my old nav instruments - parallel rules, compass,  - jeez hope that stuff is like riding a bike!

Actually, I'm not worried about the navigation.  I loved that at Navy, used a map and compass in the Marines and have been geocaching for years.  I can do this.  I'm not really worried about the sailing either - that really is like riding a bike.  I'm just worried about the lack of boat familiarity - but I'll have three days and the whole dang Chesapeake Bay to figure it out!

Whahoo!!!

Notes from the Galley

Since the galley will probably be my domain for the most part, thought I would chime in about this whole boat buying experience.  I am very excited about the prospect of having a place to relax and visit different places.  Not as seasoned a sailor as my husband by a long shot, this is still a great adventure we are beginning.
    Not having sailed in anything really until I met Andy back in 1974, my first real experience was when he bare-boat chartered a 32 1/2 ft Irwin in the British Virgin Islands for our honeymoon.  I was very surprised to realize that I was going to be living a week of my life on a slant as the only boats I had ever been on before were power boats for fishing.  Boy was I surprised.  After I got over the feeling that we were going to tip over at any moment, I found that I enjoyed the sound of the wind in the sails far more than the slap of a boat bottom on the top of the water when going at speed.  Andy has been a good and patient teacher and I still have an idea of how this whole thing should work and even after over 35 years, I can still recall what most everything is called and how it is suppose to work.  As long as I have something to make coffee in the morning (I'm half Norwegian so there has to be coffee) and a place for beer to be kept cold, I'm OK with just about anything else.  Oh, yeah, and a place for at least one of our dogs. 
    Should be fun.  I'll help keep you up to date on our progress.
 Actually this is from Eva, although I posted under Andy's name.

Sea Trails

It's a three hour drive from where I live to Rock Hall, MD where VIBRANT lay for the surveyors inspection.  The route I traveled took me past the Rowe Blvd exit off of Route 50 in Annapolis.  It was exactly the same route my dad drove with me and the family over 42 years ago to drop me at the Naval Academy.  The feelings I experienced that day, excitement, fear of the unknown, uncertainty about my ability to measure up, elation mixed with fear at the thought of leaving my family, all came flooding back as I drove past that exit.  And then it struck me that just like 42 years ago, this route was the route to a new phase in my life. How fitting and satisfying.  Admittedly the emotions I was experiencing today were not nearly as intense or electric, but there was still an element of excitement and fear.  The excitement of unpacking that dream, the fear of doing so in a period of financial uncertainty.  But the clock is ticking...

In Rock Hall the broker, surveyor and I met at VIBRANT.  She lay at Haven Harbor.  The broker handled the boat and I played puppy dog to the surveyor as we got underway.  The surveyor used a handheld recorder to make his notes as he poked and prodded through all the lockers, flipped switches, conducted radio checks, and opened and closed valves. 

When he got to the engine compartment and opened it up his eyes lit up.  "An Atomic 4!  I used to own a business that rebuilt these engines."  The little four banger chugged along as he spoke and he was satisfied from the sound of the engine that she was sound.  So was I.  "Do you hear the valve noise?" he asked.  When I nodded he told me not to worry about timing the valves that they sounded fine.

When we went topside to shake out the sails for a visual inspection I made like a good deckhand and removed the mainsail cover and rigged the jackstays.  I chuckled to myself as I hauled the jackstays up because not three weeks earlier this extra line on the main had completely baffled me - I'd never seen one.  Now I handled it like I'd been using one for years.  The surveyor hanked on the main halyard and when he was ready I hauled on the halyard from the cockpit where all the halyards and sheets were led for single handing.  I got about two yanks on the halyard and then she fouled on something.  We all peered up at the mainsail head and, oops, the surveyor had secured the halyard in a way that it fouled on a shroud almost immediately.  I kept a very straight face as we lowered the sail, unfouled the halyard, and reset the sail, this time without incident.  Then it was time to unfurl the roller furling jenny.

This turned into a major chore because the swivel at the top of the sail fouled on the spinnaker halyard.  After a lot of pulling, shaking, squinting, mumbling and other incantations we finally freed the swivel and the jenny blossomed just as it had been designed to do.  Gorgeous!  Then it was time to furl the jenny and since I was at the controls so to speak I hauled on the swivel outhaul (I guess that's what it's called) and the sail furled like a dream.  Holy mackeral!  I thought of the hundreds of times I had set and doused a jenny of that size and all the work entailed - usually two crew required - one to ensure the sail didn't go in the drink and the other to man the halyard - and I just did it all from the safety of the cockpit.  WOW!

Next came a check of the Garmin naviplotter - another piece of gear that didn't exist when I last sailed.  The surveyor poked some buttons and squinted at the screen and called out, "We should just be coming abreast of channel marker # 6."  To which the broker and I both responded immediately, "There she is!"  That simple exchange struck a thrill in my heart.  One of the things I loved about boats at the academy was the thrill of the navigation.  Finding something exactly at the time and place you expected in unfamiliar water always elicited a little thrill of satisfaction for me.  I felt that thrill of discovery once again.  Oh yeah...oh yeah...

Then we were on our way in and the surveyor broke out his mallet and moisture meter, banging the deck looking for weak spots - I had done the same thing as I padded around in my bear feet, feeling for spongy spots and finding none.  After appropriate banging and random moisture checks he declared the deck sound and made the comment that the deck was probably almost as dry as when it had come out of the factory.  Big check mark in the plus column in my mind.  Right up there with a sound hull, no mast compression, and a good engine.

So the survey is complete and we await the surveyor's report before making a final decision.  After a three hour drive home I didn't feel any excitement at all - just exhaustion after six hours on the road and all the tension and excitement of the trial itself.

Today...today I'm excited and can't wait for the report!

Sea Trials Tomorrow

Just got a call from the yacht broker handling the sale of VIBRANT, a 33 foot Ranger sloop rigged sailboat.  The marine surveyor my wife Eva and I hired to inspect VIBRANT just finished going over the hull and topside running and standing rigging.  No report on findings, but Ed assured me he'd see to getting VIBRANT dunked in preparation for a 1000 Wednesday sea trial.  And assuming VIBRANT harbors no ugly secrets, she will soon be ours - the answer to a dream packed away (battened down for you sailors) many years ago. 

As Eva and I unpack this old dream I hope to capture some of the ups and downs that go with dusting off what was once a vivid dream.  Welcome aboard.