Let the next Chapter Begin

First, there are a lot of "thank you's" to give. My dad, Joe, Canada Dave, Brandon, Chris, Melvin and so on (even the gone but not forgotten WB). Still, it was a ton of work to get Pearl in before my birthday. I did it, and with a day to spare.

Now that she's floating, running, complete and stable, I'm travelling. I did a little British Columbia and Seattle, Boston, VT and Newport. A nice little trip to my Florida retreat is coming. Tomorrow, I'm leaving for a long weekend Alta with the growing possibility of Big Sky next weekend and Whistler the first week of January (looking for a ski buddy for that last one!).

Once back, the work continues. Right now, I'm just glad she is in and just steps away from sailing.

New Bottom

Sans the Keel, being done next week, here is the new bottom. It is smoother than I had hoped. In fact, she is smooth to make Pearl the double handed distance racer she will become.

This is what she looked like just a couple months back.

This is what she looked like two years ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sailracer/1804623414/

Sad and shocking

Sitting at dinner Saturday night with three good friends and racing sailors, two of which survived a nearly fatal sailing accident three years ago in their antique sailboat, and a championship horseman, a discussion broke out about the relative dangers of sailing and competitive horse jumping. We discussed the horrible story that was Hans Hoorevoets and Jamie Boeckel on Blue Yankee and some horse disasters. We even discussed the nightmare of Donald Crowhurst and recklessness at sea which was Abora III sinking and continues to be the Schooner Anne.

Ironically, this morning I got a call from Michigan with the news of Shockwave. Apparently late at night and too close into shore, Shockwave went aground somehow. Her Skipper, Andrew Short and crew Sally Gordon were recovered by not revived. This is tragic news.

Disasters do happen. Go ready. Go experienced. Go prepared.

Dear to my heart.

Back in the late 1990s, when I firs became serious to live aboard a sailboat, I considered living aboard two different boats at Constitution Marina in Boston Harbor. Neither boat was well suited to liveaboard. True to my preference in sailboats, they were both pure sailing machines. They were sleek and low and fast classic boats. They didn't have many windows or creature comforts. Neither boat had a stall shower. The two boats I looked at were both early 70s racer/cruisers - the Sparkman and Stevens designed Tartan 41 and the Custom Bruckman C&C 43 (seen above).

Both boats I looked at with my father (as we've looked at dozens of boats together). The Tartan, in Milford CT, had been raced hard and barely maintained. The Bruckman C&C, on the other hand, was gorgeous. The one I looked at, unlike the one above, had an aft stateroom. Like the one above it had been repowered (the original power had an insane prop set up off the tailing edge of the keel and a V-drive), but with a Volvo Penta and a Saildrive. The interior wood was rich and inviting - much more so than any other C&C including the C&C 35 Mark 1 one I subsequently owned. The cockpit was well laid out, spacious for a 70s boat and inviting. There was beautiful but sparce teak on the deck and in the cabin. The Bruckman was the first boat I looked at that had real "big boat" rigging and hardware, which was more than I could say for the Tartan 41. I liked the Tartan 41, but I loved the Bruckman.

Bruckman is C&C's custom yard. I don't know if it is the same yard that makes the absolutely gorgeous Bruckman 50 (the perfect boat for when I'm 72). Whether it is or not, they made some special boats. This C&C 43 that came on the market today is one of them.

The golden J-boat.

Goldfinger eat your heart out! Or, should it be called the Golden Egg?

Certified Sales, the broker for the unwanted, sunken and burned out (who formerly listed the First 42 RedHead after she burned), has listed a J120 that is entirely gold. Nothing appears wrong with it . . . well, that is, unless you find something fundamentally wrong with a gold Jboat.

See the listing, here.

Little Boat, Big Boat, Red Boat, Blue Boat.

Taking a moment not to focus on the amazing work going on over at Pearl and the fun I'm having with Out-Sailing, which I'll explain in detail at some point, here is a snapshot into my current sailing adventures.

I've joined a campaign of a large very successful Jboat and am practicing to campaign much smaller 29er. Very much on opposite ends of the spectrum, these two boats both are asymetrical spinnaker boats and both plane. Well, to be honest, the 29er plains in a whisper of wind and the Jboat plains in much heavier air. Yet, they are both fun in their own ways. I'm exhausted after a weekend of J120 racing during the days and US Open matches in the evenings. Next weekend, after the 29er initiation, I'm sure I'll either be equally as exhausted (at least I'll be in the Bahamas) or in a hospital suffering from a massive concussion (probably not in the Bahamas).

I'll be on the Jboat all fall. It is possibly my ride for Bermuda next year (Whoo hoo!). The 29er fleet will be less frequent, but will need much more practice. Here is the fun stuff:



It has been a summer of diverse sailing opportunities and setting things up for next summer. While I'm doing more than sailing at this point (a lot of hiking, work and even some tennis), the sailing is what is truly getting me excited. I'm pumped for the sailing ahead!

Not an ounce of drool.

I loved the First 50 design when it came out. The new first 40, however, not so much. Why doesn't Bruce Farr do it for me?

A 1990 Frers 45, however, WOOF!

Can you say opportunity?

Here is a project for someone who needs a project. Not me.