Some great videos

I've been searching around Vimeo for sailing documentaries and stumbled across a few good ones I'd like to share. These offer a great glimpse on what it is like to cross oceans on a small sailboat, all of the good and bad things.

This one starts off a little slow and disjointed, but eventually follows a couple crossing the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.

Blue Water (part one) from Richard Gooderick on Vimeo.

Blue Water (part two) from Richard Gooderick on Vimeo.

These are segments from what will be a full length documentary about a guy near my age who buys a small boat (26 foot Contessa) and sails from Holland all the way back to his home in Australia. While my inspiration to fix up and sail a boat is a bit different than his, I can relate a lot to him.

Trailer for the full length:

Between Home (documentary trailer 2010) from nickj on Vimeo.

Segments from the movie:

Getting your Bearings / Sea Fever from nickj on Vimeo.

Monnikendam to Willemstad; The beginning from nickj on Vimeo.

Lisbon to the Canary Islands from nickj on Vimeo.

Sailing alone across the Atlantic in 30 days from nickj on Vimeo.

Solo from the Caribbean to New York in 28 days from nickj on Vimeo.

Singlehanded from San Francisco to Hawaii in 27 days from nickj on Vimeo.

This is a documentary (1 hour 15 min) about a group of crust punk/hippie kids who scrap together and buy a cheap sailboat, fix it up, sail to the Carribean, live off the land/ocean, and have a kick ass time. They have barely any money, but live out a dream.

This is what I'm trying to do with Windsong, though I am taking a bit more time with the rebuild. I have a lot of respect for what they did, but have a few gripes on how they went about it. I love that they sail everywhere without using the engine, catch their own food, and that they did all of this on such a budget that skill was needed to overcome easy technology. They squatted, stole materials and did some other things that I don't condone...but it's their spirit I love.

Hold Fast: Stories of maniac sailors, anarchist castaways, and the voyage of the S/V Pestilence...

Hold Fast from Moxie Marlinspike on Vimeo.

An incredible short film

Amazing visuals, fantastic narration, interesting story. Do watch...

WOW

Updates and Canaveral sailing

I am lagging behind on my trip write-up, I do apologize. I never announced it here, but sometime around early February I was offered a job in St. Augustine doing the same type of consulting I was in Orlando. It was a dream come true to finally be able to move to the beach, near my family, and also in the same town as Windsong. After I was laid off I was able to secure a small amount of contract work with my old company to keep the coffers full, and I was able to push my start date in St. Augustine back until mid April. As you know by now, I used that time to take on the challenge of moving Windsong from West to East Florida, a grand adventure so far!

I started working in St. Augustine last week and have loved being here so far. This town never fails to bring out great feelings inside me. My family always had summer vacations here when I was a kid, and in my teenage years I would drive to these beaches every weekend to surf and be with friends. My whole life seems to have amazing memories associated with St. Augustine, and I’m extremely excited to begin this new phase and make the most of it.

Windsong is currently in the Cape Canaveral area, and I plan on bringing her up to St. Augustine sometime in May. Once up here it’s time for the haul-out and the start of the grueling work to completely refit and repair. I continue to visit Orlando and Windsong on the weekends and have made progress deconstructing the interior and refinishing the woodwork.

I was even able to take a bunch of friends sailing offshore on a Saturday a few weeks ago. We left Port Canaveral in the morning, sailed South almost to Satellite Beach and then back to the inlet by the evening. It was a great sail in brisk 15-20 knot winds out of the Northeast and 4-6 foot choppy seas. Windsong cut through the chop well and I thought the ride was extremely comfortable, 3 out of 6 crewmembers thought otherwise as their lunches were returned to the ocean soon after setting sail.

I still have to write up the last leg of the Journey, Stuart to Canaveral, and will get to that eventually. For now, here are some pictures and video of the Canaveral sail:




Morning at the marina




Going out of Port Canaveral





















Sails up!














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Jumping dolphins



Pelicans eating our leftover bait

The Grand Plan version ???

Those who see sailing as an escape from reality have got their
understanding of both sailing and reality completely backwards.
Sailing is not an escape, but a return to and a confrontation of a reality
from which modern civilization is itself an escape.

For centuries, man suffered from the reality of an earth that was too dark
or too hot or too cold for his comfort, and to escape this he invented complex
systems of lighting, heating and air conditioning. Sailing rejects these and returns to
the old realities of dark and heat and cold.

Modern civilization has found radio, TV, movies, nightclubs and a huge variety
of mechanized entertainment to titillate our senses and help us escape from the
apparent boredom of the earth and the sun and wind and stars. Sailing returns
to these ancient realities.

-Robert Prisig


This weekend I took some time to catch the swell from hurricane Bill. I haven't surfed since my trip to Costa Rica two months ago, so it was great to be back in the water and have some fun. Saturday we went to New Smyrna Beach and enjoyed some of the most perfect Florida surf I have ever seen. They were not easy to get into, particularly because I had too small of a board for such large surf, but I was able to get many great rides. In the end, after about a hour of no waves, I caught one of the top 5 waves of my entire life, and easily the second biggest wave I have ever charged down (the largest being a wave from the latest Costa trip). Sunday we went to Cocoa but the swell had dropped and was doing nothing more than closing out in the shore break.

Now that I have had a two week break from the boat, I am ready to tackle it again. I haven't completely gotten my mind off of the boat as I have been continually researching, reading and doing more woodwork on the cabin door. I finally figured out how I am going to do the wood, and have settled on varnishing. Windsong deserves the great look of varnish, so I shall give it to her. I am experimenting on the door, and the first step is removing all of the old varnish. I have resulted to using a chemical peeler and have had some success getting the door down to the raw wood and color. Once I finish the whole door, I need to re-glue it back together (the door is in pieces) and then varnish.

As for the boat, there are currently a few phases that "The Grand Plan" (as I am calling it) will have to flow through:

1. Get the boat out of Inglis
2. Get it hauled out of water and decomissioned for shipment
3. Ship it to Green Cove Springs Marina for work
4. Launch and begin to sail the damn thing.

Step one would seem simple, but is proving to be quite the headache. Before anything can be done, the engine needs to be fixed. Hopefully I can talk to the PO and get some good guidance this week, and work on the engine with my dad this weekend. If the problem is beyond our abilities, I will eventually have to get a mechanic out there...something I can't really afford. I need all of the money I can save to get the boat hauled, shipped and stored.

Aside from the engine, the most glaring need is the Depth Sounder. The current sounder is an old Datamarine:

It's current condition is...broken. I can't even turn it on, so I don't know if it is functioning beyond that. The first place I am looking to repair is the terminal block that the wiring for the sounder goes through. It is very corroded in places and the wire terminals for the sounder itself are very loose and seem trashed:


I hope by replacing the terminal block and the wire terminals the sounder will be able to turn on. If not, I have no idea what to do because the transducer is through-hull, so it isn't an easy swap out replacement. I may be forced to go down the coast out of Inglis without a depth sounder. And on the one of the biggest coasts of shoaling in Florida, I'm not stoked on that idea.

Aside from the engine and depth sounder, I feel she is ready to go. I replaced the running rigging, so sailing is going to be how I take her down. I do not want to rely on the engine for long, but I must to get in and out of the Gulf using power. Currently I have my eyes on Hernando Beach about 45 miles down the coast. It is very shallow in approach, but locals say that if you come in at a high tide (3ft +) there should be no problem. Well, the problem is that I need to get out of the Withlacoochie in Inglis at high tide as well. So I need to leave at high tide, make my way down the coast in time for the next high tide, all within daylight (!!??). Or I would need to somehow spend the night out in the Gulf and wait till the next day to try to enter the harbor. I have no idea if it is safe to anchor in the middle of the shoals of the Gulf, but there seems to be little other ways around this.

Of course, I could continue south and enter a harbor with less shoaling, such as Tarpon Springs. But I am still faced with an overnight journey. Let me interject that I have never done an overnight voyage before, let alone in strange waters, on a strange boat, with little instrumentation. You can start to see the task in front of me...yikes!

If anyone is willing to help me out with this issue, click here to see the chart of the area.

The channel to enter/exit the Withlaccochie at Inglis is at the very top of the chart. Hernando Beach is at 28°29′11″N 82°39′28″W. Tarpon Springs is at the very bottom.

There are a few marinas in Hernando Beach or Tarpon springs that can haul the boat and get it ready for shipment. Getting the boat ready for shipment will be a pain, but not as big of a pain as I see the previous tasks (engine fix, cruise down the coast). And once it is out of the water I will be able to finally see how much work I have before me. I am anticipating worst case scenario where I will have thousands of blisters (pox) and some other major repair jobs on the bottom. If there is one thing I am learning...expect (and prepare for) the worst, hope for the best. I will be very happy once it is out of the water though, because I can then get a realistic idea of what needs to be done and how long it will take before I can finally use Windsong in the way it deserves.

Once on land, it's time to ship to Green Cove. I am currently sold on Green Cove Springs Marina because they are hands down the cheapest of the yards I have looked at, they are in a location close to home (parent's house), and have a lot of friendly expertise and help around the yard. I will spend as long as I need on the hard there fixing all of the things that need to be fixed and getting as much refinishing done as I can. I would like to get the boat in the water sooner than later, so I need to prioritize the projects that need to be done on land.

I have a rough list of projects I know for sure that need to be done, but will save the list for another post.

Contemplation of issues.

This previous weekend I had intended on staying on the boat and working on this and that, particularly the engine problem. I came alone on Saturday, expecting to have my Dad come down to help on Sunday. When I arrived I kicked around the boat for a bit before finishing work on the anchor chain. I may have mentioned this previously, but the anchor chain is in decent condition with the exception of two corroded links. I used some bolt cutters to remove the two bad links and replaced them with a connector link secured with seizing wire. I needed to feel good about something before I started the engine, so the anchor project was just a spring board for the day. But hey, I initially thought I would need to buy a whole new anchor rode, but I cut a potential $500+ job to under $10. Success!

So after the anchor chain fix I went to the engine room to begin my assessment. I received a lot of good advice from the forum posts I made and was ready to put the advice to good use. I took a moment to survey the area and the water pump. In order to reach the water pump, I would need to remove the refrigerator compressor and the alternator to have enough room to remove the pump. After much thought, I concluded that I would definitely need some help with the process and would wait for my Dad to show up. As I was getting out of the engine room I knocked over my one and only lamp for the boat, thus making it a potentially dark and dreary night. On top of that my only entertainment, the internet, was not working for some reason. I decided to call it a day soon after that and not bother staying. I also concluded that it would be a good idea to talk to the PO (previous owner) about the issue since he might have a solution. He has been out of the country for a few weeks and wont be back until later next week. Once I talk to him and get any info he has, I will get pops down and we will tear into the project.

On that boat trip I thought a lot about the work to come on Windsong. Lemme tell you...its a lot. I have started to feel the overwhelming pressure of the project before me, and I'd be a liar if I told you I haven't had a mental breakdown over the monumental task before me. I have previously had nothing but excitement for all of it, but since I got cut back at work the financial burden will start to hurt me soon. I spent so long getting out of debt and saving for this, to have the job taken back like this hurts a lot. But I'm not broke yet, and I have a little while before the paychecks start to shrink. I am searching for some positive motivation to keep my head up, but the one thing that I know would make it better is to be able to be near the boat. Driving 2+ hours every week for a potentially ruined work day from lack of preparation is becoming tiring already. My original plan was to get the boat safe and take it all the way down to Port Charlotte and work on the boat on the hard there, a 3+ hour drive from where I live in Orlando. I decided this previous weekend that there is no way that will work.

So the new plan is something I am pretty excited about, except the cost. I want to find a place to haul the boat out as close as possible to Inglis, then get it shipped to either Orlando, the DIY marina in Titusville or Green Cove Springs. If I bring it to Orlando, I can have it in a work yard very cheaply on a monthly basis, and I would be able to work on it every day if I so chose. The downside of keeping it in Orlando is that I would need it shipped again to the coast once I am done working on it, and I would need to buy things like jack stands to keep it on. The idea came from this guy who is currently doing a major restoration to his yacht in Orlando:




If I take it to Titusville, I would pay a bit more per month for their lot, but would have things like jack stands and would be surrounded by people who know what they are doing. Depending on prices, I am also considering Green Cove Springs Marina which has a great DIY yard and a community of old salts willing to give out knowledge. Though it would be a 2 hour drive, it is close to my parents so I'd at least have a place to stay. So I have to think this out, but I am in the process of posting this dilemma on different forums to get some more knowledgeable advice.

Cleaning, troubleshooting, rummaging

This past week I spent time rummaging through the things that came with Windsong. A lot of it junk, a lot of it useful, and most of it interesting to discover. It was like going through an old thrift store or antique shop and discovering old treasures from someone's past life. I'll do some inventory and post here what I found, but I took pictures to do that with and haven't uploaded them yet.

The best part of all of the junk were the manuals and charts. The old service records and manuals for all of the boat systems really helped me out to understand what is going on. Many of them date way back into the 80's and its hard to tell what modifications are still on the boat and what are in the past. The charts themselves were a blast to start studying too. I have been able to begin planning the trip down the coast and have been able to use those along with my navigation books to learn chartreading.

This weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday aboard Windsong. I studied the electrical system, engine, did some more cleaning, discovered more leaks and problems (this will be happening for some time), and did a lot of prioritizing and shopping list making. I pretty much know what I need to do for the engine now: oil and filter change, fuel filter change (primary and secondary), clean out raw water strainer, change air filter element, top off coolant. I also spec'd the running rigging and anchor chain further, now knowing how I am going to replace all of them. Next week, money permitting, I will have the rigging done and she should be ready to sail!

My parents came down on Sunday to check out Windsong and have some lunch. It was great to see them light up with excitement when they saw it. They know it is a long work in progress, but I know they are as excited as anyone about its potential.

I found a great website chronicling a man's journey aboard his 28' Pearson Triton back in the 80s'. His circumstances are a lot like mine, so I have been completely immersed in the story. Here is the introduction and any reader of this blog will find similarities in his situation and mine (and maybe yours!):

http://atomvoyages.com/

To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... "cruising" it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

-from Wanderer by Sterling Hayden

This voyage I want to tell you about took two years to complete. Though I’ve written about it before in short articles, somehow it has taken some 20 years to get around to telling the story in more detail. It took place in 1984-86 when I was in my mid-twenties, as close to broke as I dared to be, and hungry for the adventure and romance of a long voyage. The premise is not so unusual: a young man, lusting after adventure, knowledge, romance, his fortune, and finding little of it at home, strikes out to see the world. It has taken me those many years and thousands more miles under the keel to fill some of the hunger and give me a more balanced perspective on that life-changing voyage alone around the world.

The world of cruising in yachts has changed in those years. For better and worse, new equipment at more affordable prices has reduced the physical and technical challenges of voyaging, and reduced along with it the rewards gained from hard physical work, self-sufficiency, and the thrill of risks inherent in any true adventure. Meanwhile, the popularity of world cruising has made the search for untrammeled and unspoiled islands more challenging than ever. Part of my reason for writing this narrative now is to provide a glimpse at an alternative style of travel to which the modern backpacker or sailor may not have been exposed. And to remind them that they can voyage now as I did then, filling their lives with discovery and living close to nature on their own terms. Combining a sailing voyage with a land travel adventure is not unique, but it is often overlooked how well the two modes of travel complement each other. Compared to a simple boat, a backpack and my boots, the thought of fussing around with airlines, taxis, busses, hotels, restaurants, and all the other trappings of tourist travel leaves me uninspired.

When I began my journey I didn’t realize that along the way my growing commitment to walk across each island and climb their highest peaks was to be a bigger part of the adventure than the actual sailing. Like a richly lived life, as a voyage unfolds it evolves and carries you where it will.

My life is different enough now that as I read over my saltwater-stained journal and tattered log book and flip through the photo albums it seems as if it were someone else’s life. Was I really so rash to set out across oceans possessing only a few hundred dollars on a boat with sails so old you could push your finger through? Had I been that ignorant not to fit an awning or dodger over the cockpit for protection from the elements? Surely, I hadn’t been that lacking in judgment to walk into that dark cave in New Guinea and tumble into its deep black pit. Was it foolish to look for the love of an island girl when I must have known I would soon sail away from her forever?

While there turns out to be no perfect plan, no perfect life, I learned some things on this imperfect voyage that shaped my whole life in the best ways possible. What better reward for a journey of two years. May you also avoid a “routine traverse”.

Back in the Country, ready for Windsong

"There aren't many experiences more ripe with promise than buying a boat."

I spent this past week readjusting to life back at home from vacation. Costa Rica was a great adventure with some of the best waves I have ridden in many years. It had its ups and downs, and I'll be sure to post a good story about the whole trip once I have the time. Work didn't pile up too much over the week so this week wasn't all too bad.

I am extremely happy to be back for Windsong though. This weekend I plan on spending a whole day up there with the boat doing inventory, cleaning, and putting together an initial project list. I've been reading diligently all of the books that came in with my last order. I have been soaking up all of the information and enjoying it immensely. My mind is swelling with new developing skills such as diesel engines, electronics, rigging, navigation, fishing. All of the books I had written about have been fantastic so far and I can't wait to start to apply a lot of it this weekend.

Here is my sailing school so to speak. The books on the left are the ones I have read, the ones on the right are those that I am currently studying.


The paperwork isn't all in my name yet. The checks still have to clear and then the title company will do its thing to get it all in my name.

Thanks to everyone who has been commenting on previous posts. A few have asked for contact info for me so feel free to email me at: evanmalssen@gmail.com

RIP Buster

Its been a slow couple of weeks. Not many new boats have shown up on the regular boat search sites. I haven't profiled all of the good looking ones here so there are a few more to show, keep an eye out. I am going to go up to Green Cove Springs this weekend and check out some of the boats there including Frodo. I'll post about what I find when I get back.

I hate to de-rail the blog, but I figure this is a good canvas to make a tribute to one of my best friends who just past away. My buddy Buster was put to sleep last night after a good life of almost 17 years. I got him when I was 10 years old. He was my only dog growing up and pretty much started my love of canines.

He was a rambunctious Toy Fox Terrier in his youth. In his final days, he had gone blind, couldn't walk around, had no hearing, and was overall sad to see. He had deteriorated so much in the past few weeks that my Mom decided to have it done. The vet made a house call and was able to put him down in the comfort of home.

Some old pix:










Here he is just a couple of weeks ago, the last time I got to see him.









Pushing him along because he doesnt know where to go anymore







You will be missed little guy...



When God made the earth and sky, the flowers and the trees, He then made all the animals, and all the birds and bees.
And when His work was finished, not one was quite the same, He said, "I'll walk this Earth of mine, and give each one a name."
And so He traveled land and sea and everywhere He went, a little creature followed him, until its strength was spent.
When all were named upon the earth, and in the sky and sea, the little creature said, "Dear Lord, there's not one left for me." The Father sniffled and softly said, "I've left you 'til the end. I've turned my own name back to front, and called you Dog, my friend."

A Boring Week

It is hard to think of things to write about when I'm not reading a sailing related book. I finished all of the ones I own and have a few more coming. Until then, you may just have to deal with my ramblings.

This weeks accomplishments toward the dream has been more of the same: finding ways to save more cash. As mentioned previously, I finally have more cash than credit card debt, but I still need to pay it off. I want at least $2,000 in the bank above and beyond the balance of my credit cards for emergency cash. I think I can be at that point by mid February, and my last estimation was for March so I may be able to beat my target. This will be a huge day for me because it marks the day I can start to count my money towards the boat. Right now I am at a negative number in terms of savings for the boat, that day will finally show a positive one. I am reaching for that home stretch and finally get the debt behind me. I am trying to eat & drink cheap, not spend too much on entertainment, and driving very little. Almost there.

Once that day happens it is serious boat search time. I've been collecting all of the best boat search websites and assembled the list of boats I am looking for in the previous post. I do searches here and there and find many potential boats. But once I reach positive savings, I will start to seriously look at some of the ads and begin to go see boats. If I find a good boat at the right price, I am going to get it and not worry anymore about taking a loan on it. I plan to move onto the boat so basically my rent will be the boat payment. I will be able to begin to learn about my boat, outfit it, learn how to sail, and save money by living aboard. Can't wait till that day.