Sailing for SOS: Helping Children Find Home

The new and improved Sailing For SOS

2008-10-30T11:22:00.003-06:00

I am extremely proud to announce that the new permanent home of Sailing For SOS has gone live! You can view the new website at http://www.sailingforsos.com/. Please add it to your favorites as I will no longer be updating this blog. Blogger has served me well over the past few years, but as the scope and reality of the project have grown I’ve developed a new site to support the long term travel I’ll be undertaking.

Thanks Blogger. You’ve been great. Please stay with me as we make the transition to http://www.sailingforsos.com/. The latest blog highlights some of the new features of my new site. I hope you like it.

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Climbing the mast and time.

2008-10-26T11:52:00.000-06:00

Heights have never really bothered me, but I still get a little nervous climbing the mast on this boat. When I am doing it solo I rig two safeties. One is called an ascender and can be picked up from any store with rock climbing gear like an REI. It has a spring loaded cam in it with teeth pointing in one direction. It allows you to feed the line through the cam and slide it up. As soon as any weight is put on the ascender the teeth bite into the line and prevent downward motion. It forces you to open the cam and slide it down step by step on the way back down. The second safety is much more low tech. It is a simple piece of nylon webbing with two carabiners. One is clipped into my climbing harness and the other is clipped either into the mast steps as I climb or around the mast itself once I reach the height I will be working at.

I just finished replacing every bulb and two complete housings for my running lights, tricolor, anchor, and spreader lights. I tried plugging in some LED lights for the nav lights, but I didn’t like them at all. They are not bright enough in all directions and you really have to be careful with the colors. For instance, do not put the “white” bulb in your green bow light. It turns it a distinctive shade of blue. I am sure you could use a green light, but I think I am going to stick with the standard bulbs for the running lights.

I keep thinking about time. I think I can be ready by the 10^th as long as I keep my head down, shut out all interactions with people, and basically turn into a boat maintenance hermit. Sound like fun? I haven’t spent any time with my family since last Thanksgiving and this trip will most likely keep me away for several holidays over the next few years. I’d like to be able to take my time with a few more projects and also spend some time with my good friends and family. If I look at the next full moon in December it will really take the pressure off to rush projects and get home before I leave. I keep thinking I have to be through the Panama Canal by April to make the Pacific cruising season, but who says so? I don’t really know how long I’ll want to explore the Central American coast so why put a time limit on it?

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

One great big step.

2008-10-24T12:48:00.000-06:00

I’ve been stressing really bad all week. The time had come for me to send in my resignation to my company, Thermo Fisher. I’ve been working with them for over three years and it is in large part due to my success there that I have the funds to take a few years off to go sailing. My boss and I still need to sort out some details, but he was initially very supportive. My fear was that it would be taken badly as I’ve seen too many people get let go in a manner you wouldn’t believe. However, since I am not going to a competitor, or even into a related market, all is well.

Lately I’ve been thinking about all the deadlines I’ve been driven by as well. Even the countdown timer is a deadline that I’ve artificially imposed on myself. Odds are I’ll be leaving in November, but it doesn’t really matter if it’s November 10^th or December 10^th. What I suddenly have is a lot of time. That is the exact opposite of where I’ve been for the last six years. This evening will be spent unwinding a bit with two of my best friends from my days up in Washington State. Here is to learning to relax and marking major milestones. For the first time in my life I’ve chosen the route of greatest fulfillment instead of greatest financial benefit. Let’s see where this goes….

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Slow Going

2008-10-23T17:12:00.001-06:00

Plugging away at projects with my friend, but it is slow going. We got all the chain plate caps rebidded and spent the day working on my navigation lights. Had to replace two fixtures which took the better part of the day. Bigger news coming.

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Updated Punch List

2008-10-20T21:47:00.000-06:00

There are about two dozen projects not on this list, but these were the most critical at the start of last week. Not bad progress. Lots to go.

~~Cancel Slip – 30 Day Notice~~

~~Install flexible holding tank~~

Trace Alternator/Tach Problem

~~Change Engine impeller and spairs~~

Dremmel lip off the drop leaf bar

~~Oven security bar~~

Helm Mount the command mic (almost done)

Softwood plugs at through hulls

~~Pick up shackles for parell beads – Kemah Hardware?~~

Recaulk Chain Plates (stripping old caulk)

Rebed rusty stanchions

~~Plumb the water tank deck plate~~

~~Replace lazy jack boom cleat~~

Hang lifeline netting

Install Exhaust Elbow and Prop Lock (at fab)

Install new opening ports (on order)

Get Windlass cover made

Put new 100% on the furler (on order)

Install cockpit speakers (on order)

Design foux potty spot for dog (have grommet kit and turf)

~~Order/design Ditch Bag – Landfall Navigation.com~~

~~Change compression washer and lube furler~~

~~Grease winches~~

~~Fix plug and anchor chain holder for windlass~~

~~Get gas, water, and diesel cans x2 each~~

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Reinforcements are on the way.

2008-10-20T15:47:00.000-06:00

Saturday was a hard day. Yesterday was better. Today is even better yet. I am way behind on boat projects, but am steadily chipping away at them day after day. I hardly answer my phone right now. The storm jib is ready to fly, the water tank is plumbed, the holding tank is in and finished, the mount is ready for the VHF remote at the helm, and I am steadily pulling and cleaning all the chain plate caps for rebidding.

Two of my best friends, Jason and Center, are in town this week starting tomorrow. I was a little worried at first that this would throw me even further behind schedule, but I am putting Jason to work with me during the days while Center is in class. Jason rebuilt a Jeep and sailed with me to South Padre over New Years. I know he can take on a few projects of his own this week without much input from me. Plus it will make it much easier to pull the stanchion bases for rebidding and go aloft to change all the navigation light bulbs and mount the fixed radar reflectors. Holy crap I’ve got a lot to do.

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Not the best of days.

2008-10-19T11:32:00.000-06:00

I woke up early this morning ready to start knocking out projects with a vengeance. It’s now 5:30 and I’ve only managed to plumb the fresh water deck plate to the fresh water holding tank. This should have been a 2 hour job, tops. After getting all the parts I needed I got the hoses run without a hitch. I then went to drill the hole for the new fresh water fill fitting and that’s when it all went bad. I don’t know what kind of aluminum they used, but this stuff is impossible to drill. I attacked with a dremel diamond bit, rigid hole saw, and finally a knock out bit. In the end I ruined both bits and my drill getting the whole cut. Not to mention an extra hour trying to clean up all the metal shavings in the bottom of my water tank. I am worried they might shred the fresh water pump. I’ll be adding a couple of extra spares. I taped a bag under the hole in the tank, but the shavings were so hot they melted through and fell to the bottom of the tank anyway.

Rarely, very rarely, I am surprised at how quickly some projects go. More often, like today, what I estimate at a two hour project turns into a full day fiasco. I am going to back off for the rest of the day and hope tomorrow brings better boat karma. My boat looks like a prison cell that just got tossed. What a mess.

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Shopping List

2008-10-17T09:44:00.000-06:00

I’ve got to go get a bunch of random small parts to clean up a bunch of random small projects. Here is the list of parts and associated poject I am going out for this morning.

1. Galvanized carabiners – used to hank the storm jib over the furled headsail

2. 23 ¼ inch long x 1.5 or 2 inch stainless steel tubing and flat end caps – making a security bar at the stove

3. 3M 4000 sealant – for the chainplate caps and stanchion rebidding projects

4. Teflon tape – I just always run out of this stuff. Immediate need for engine zinc replacement

5. Engine zincs – these are sacrificial anodes that wear away instead of eating up the engine

6. Plumbing parts for water tank and hose – I can’t believe the deck plate isn’t plumbed to the water tank. It just dead ends in mid air.

7. Boom cleat for Lazy Jack line – Old plastic one broke

8. Heavy Duty zip ties – A must have, like duct tape. Need them for cleaning up the electrical harness and hanging my lifeline netting

9. 1/8 or 3/16 piece of teak – Have to make a mounting plate for a remote radio speaker and microphone for the VHF. Can’t hear it in the cockpit.

10. Teflon Grease to lube the FaMet Roller Furling compression washer.

Busy day, but the progress feels good.

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Sludge

2008-10-16T16:29:00.000-06:00

It was kind of a cloudy, rainy, miserable day and I didn’t get as much done as I wanted to. I did manage to pull and replace the old raw water pump impeller, get an impeller puller for next time, and add two spare impellers to the inventory. After that I went after my Racor 500 fuel filters since my tank was empty. I only have to run the engine for a few hours and the collection bowls fill up with sludge from the diesel tank. Hopefully now that they have been cleaned and scrubbed this won’t be an issue anymore.

Cheers to not letting your engine die due to clogged fuel filters!

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Punch List

2008-10-15T09:04:00.000-06:00

1. ~~Get 130 and Windlass cover to a canvas shop.~~

2. ~~Pull Opening ports and get replacements ordered~~

3. ~~Pull and replace exhaust elbow and prop-lock~~

4. ~~Measure and order cockpit speakers~~

5. ~~Order or buy binoks~~

a. ~~Nikon Action 7x50 EX Extreme ATB Binocular~~

6. Cancel Slip – 30 Day Notice

7. Recaulk Chain Plates

8. Rebed rusty stanchions

9. Hang lifeline netting

10. Trace Alternator/RPM Problem

11. Get Glenn to clean fuel tank

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

The things I think about.

2008-10-14T08:03:00.000-06:00

I pulled four different quotes for headsails yesterday. I wish I could provide you an apples to apples comparison of the various lofts prices, but no one designer would ever give me quite what I was asking for. Even worse, they often had their own ideas about what I needed and varied wildly from the quotes I was requesting.

Jargo came with two headsails, a great big 150% genoa and a 90% jib. Neither sail was really designed for a furler and both have quite a bit of age on them. I was planning on using the 150% as my primary and as such took it down to get a couple of patches put on and have the sun cover replaced. While it was in the shop I flew the 90% jib and used this sail all the way down to South Padre Island and back. What I found surprised me.

It’s no secret I single hand a lot. Smaller sails are easier to handle. I finally put the big 150% back on after Ike and went sailing this weekend. What a pain in the ass. As a result, I’ve decided to replace the 90% with a true, brand new, 100% jib with a high clew and use this new sail as my primary. I might lose a little bit of speed in lighter airs, but not wearing myself out should more than make up for it. Of the sail lofts I’ve spoken to Cameron Sails seemed to understand best what I was about and the owner should be on the boat shortly to take measurements for the new jib.

Jargo is after all a sailboat. If I am going cruising don’t you think I ought to put at least one brand spanking new sail on her?

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

Great Morning – Anchored Out

2008-10-12T08:22:00.003-06:00

7:30 a.m. – Rise and shine. Dog needs to go out. Lift her off the transom and convince her she can make the step from the swim ladder to the dingy. After landing on Red Fish Island and letting the dog do her business it’s back to the boat. Convince the dog, again, she can make the step.

8:00 – Coffee time. Start the pot and let it percolate. Good time to clean up the dishes from the spaghetti dinner the night before. Dishes done, I want strong coffee so I let it continue and go to the cockpit to raise the dingy on the davits. Done, boat can sail once I weigh anchor.

8:30 – Enjoying a strong cup of Community Dark Roast coffee. Looking around and soaking in the water, island, sunrise, birds, breeze, and sounds of my boat. Taking a moment to revel in the work done and contemplate the work to come.

9:00 – Firing up the laptop. Going to figure out how to post my first remote cruising blog. Problem with the sat phone installing on Windows Vista. Have to use my work computer for this one.

9:19 – That’s enough laptop time. Posting, unplugging, and enjoying the thought that there is nothing that I have to do today.

It's Alive!!!

2008-10-10T23:18:00.003-06:00

I swear I heard angels singing in the heavens when I finally got it all put back together.1 Every hose has been replaced. The toilet was removed, bleached, and completely rebuilt. I never thought I’d have this much respect for my toilet. The only downer is that I am one 1.5 inch elbow joint short of being able to connect the head to the holding tank. Oh well, at least I know it all works.

Going sailing tomorrow. After the IKE, the non-skid project, and a head rebuild I think it’s time to enjoy the old girl. Spending the night out at Red Fish if anyone is headed out. Have a great weekend.

Lee Winters

Skype: (281) 336-0855

Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853

Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com

The Head Project & The Ike Spike

2008-10-09T21:45:00.003-06:00

Tuesday morning I cleared the boat off and got her ready to leave the slip for the first time in awhile. After slipping the lines I motored over for a date with the pump out dock. For those not familiar with this particular boating joy, think of Mr. Slurpy from the dentist office only this one feeds off of the boats holding tank. Yes, where you flush. After emptying and backfilling the tank seven times I figured it was about as clean as it was going to get.

Wednesday found me pulling out the old holding tank and macerator. This was one of the single most disgusting jobs I’ve ever done, but the boat already smells better having it off. During removal I noticed that the 90 degree vent elbow on the flexible holding tank had broken. I am sure this is where the odor had been coming from for so long.

This morning, after tending a few emails, I started pulling and replacing every old sanitation hose on the boat. This stuff is like trying to bend steel tubing around small places with your bare hands. Unfortunately, I am no superman. What I thought would be relatively easy spiraled into a much bigger project as usual. Because the hose was so stiff I ended up removing the entire toilet and framing support for it from the head. It was the only way to get access to the hull where the hose needed to run.

Tomorrow I’ll tidy up the hoses, rebuild and clean the now removed toilet, and reinstall the whole lot. I’ll be happy to have this one behind me.

Before hurricane Ike around 250 unique visitors a month would check out the site. I was pretty happy with it. During and since Ike that number has shot up to almost 2100 unique visitors. I know many of them were one time visitors looking for info on the area, but there are many of you who have stuck around. I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to those who have continued reading and commenting during the more boring refit stage and welcome to those of you who may have recently found the site.

The clock is ticking and I hear it loudly. I started running again even though the days are long. I need all the extra energy I can muster to pull it all together. I am excited about the coming switch to the new site. Initial feedback has been resoundingly good.

LW

If all else fails...

2008-10-08T00:52:00.000-06:00

I am turning to pumpkin boat racing.

Long time no blog.

2008-10-07T23:26:00.000-06:00

The work continues. The non-skid project is all but done. I ran out of Kiwi-grip with every section completed except for the floor of the cockpit. Overall I am very happy with the way it came out. No complaints.

I spent some time today over at the pump out dock. I flushed and backfilled the holding tank seven times in anticipation of removing the old tank and all the old line. I also got a rebuild kit for the old Raritan PHII head and pump so I can renew everything before I go. I really don’t want to do this job, but I was once told that two systems eat up more cruisers time than any other, generators and heads. I should have both sorted before leaving.

It’s hard to find a fair balance of time these days. I still have a responsibility to perform my duties for my company as long as I am drawing a check. On top of that I’ve been seeing someone for a few weeks and enjoy spending time with her. Everything takes time away from boat prep, but it is getting done. It kind of seems like the fevered pitch of the election is tied to the pitch of my preparations.

I just got my new ships computer sorted with most of the software I’ll need for the trip. Next thing to do is test sending in blog updates from the SatPhone through the laptop. If this works I’ll do a little dance because I still don’t know how to use my HF Radio.

Sorry for the lack of updates more to come.

LW

IT'S BACK ===========>

2008-09-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

It started six years ago...

2008-09-28T14:06:00.001-06:00

I was lucky. Four months after I finished Graduate School I had a good job making some money in sales. Despite a little early success I could not shake a strong sense of foreboding. Something wasn't right.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but something had to change. That's when I began searching myself and the web for an answer. Eventually I heard the name Slocum and started digging in. Joshua Slocum was the first to ever sail a small craft around the world single handed. He documented the voyage in the book, Sailing Alone Around the World in 1900. Ninety six years later it would profoundly change my life.

Not long after reading Sailing Alone I came across a little website called Project Bluesphere. It told the story of a modern day Slocum, Alex Dorsey. Alex was showing in detail through video and blogs how to break free from the safety and security of the status quo and forge a life of rewarding experience and adventure on the sea. It was then that I knew what I had to do.

For over five years as I learned to sail and struggled through the corporate world I pulled inspiration from Alex and his updates. I was hooked and it was a rare day I didn't log in looking for a new post. The navigation and layout of his site was as familiar to me as my own home. It was that familiarity with BlueSphere that prompted the shock I received this afternoon.

David Wilson is the man behind the technical scenes of Project Bluesphere. Through a brief conversation with Alex I later met and recently began working with David. Amazingly he lives just down the road from me. David has taken the template of my new website and is turning it into the tool I will use to document my own circumnavigation.

David sent me an update today that incorporated all the advanced blogging features a cruising sailor needs. What astonished me was seeing the all too familiar navigation of BlueSphere, from which I've drawn so much inspiration, incorporated on a site of my own.

I was shocked at my own reaction to seeing the site. In many ways it is the technical realization of a plan five years in the making. David and Alex, Thank You.

(The new site should go live in the next few weeks.)

A fellow Cruisers Video

2008-09-27T14:56:00.001-06:00

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

Cool Hand Luke

2008-09-27T09:56:00.001-06:00

I just heard the news, Paul Newman passed on. I don't keep track much of popular culture, but Cool Hand Luke was a favorite movie of mine. I was thinking about that character this morning over my coffee and found a question I could not answer. Not to ruin the plot, but at the end Luke is shot down after escaping from prison for the third time. Knowing what his fate would be, he ran anyway.

I couldn't figure out if the story was about a man who chose to stay true to himself despite the ultimate consequence or did he ever have a choice to run? I know, it's just a movie, but we did lose a pretty great actor.

Since Ike a strange lethargy settled over my preparations. I thought it was just me, but after talking to my neighbors and friends down here it hit a lot of people. I guess after the intense exertion of the storm and immediate clean up everyone just kind of collapsed once a basic return to normalcy had been achieved.

I got shaken out of it by an email from David Wilson, my new web guru and the admin for ProjectBluespher.com. He sent me an email saying he was almost done with the blogging tool that will allow me to update the new blog remotely while I am underway. If a person who is volunteering their time is working to get me ready the least I can do is kick it back into high gear and do my part.

I am posting this blog from my new laptop that will be the ships computer once I am underway. As soon as this is posted I'll clean up the decks and start laying down more blue tape so I can finish the non-skid painting project.

This past week was the close of my 3rd quarter. For any salesman it's one of the busiest times of the year. I had a good finish and now I've got some decisions to make. It's about to get interesting.

It's a beautiful day.....get outside and enjoy it.

Lee

Dumbfounded

2008-09-20T12:20:00.002-06:00

It is not easy to strike me speechless. In fact, it's pretty damn hard. A couple of my readers figured out how to do it.

As I was walking down my dock I saw three good sized guys walking around my boat. One of them knocked and bellowed, "Lee Winters". I kind of figured I was in big trouble. Not being smart enough to choose the flight part of the fight or flight response I yelled over to them as I approached.

They quickly explained that two of them were boat owners in the Marina, but resided in Austin. When the media was reporting the area was a total loss they referred to my blog for specific updates on our area. In thanks, they handed me a brand new Flip Video Camera to replace the one I lost while wading to our docks.

I was so astonished I don't think I accurately expressed my gratitude. Fellas, Thank You. I still didn't get all of your names so please shoot me an email or comment here. It would be my pleasure to buy you a beer.

IKE - Seeing the good and the bad in people.

2008-09-19T18:06:00.002-06:00

Trying times tend to reveal a persons character. Mostly, the revelations I've seen have been resoundingly positive. Since IKE blew threw people have worked really hard around Clear Lake to support one another. It really has been neighbor helping neighbor and much has been accomplished. After the storm, with no power or water, neighbors began walking the streets and talking to one another. Often time for the first time since they had lived in their respective homes. Everyone seemed ready to pitch in and help at the drop of a hat.

The same went before the storm. Many people called me while I was in California to find out if I needed help securing my boat. Had I not been able to make it back I know it would have been as prepared as I was able to make it myself.

I've also been disappointed on more than a few occasions. The disappointments have come almost entirely from the marina management in which I live. I hate to say any of this considering I live here and life could get more difficult, but I think it needs to be said.

First, on Thursday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., 36 hours before the storm hit, the management turned off the power and water to the docks. When you are working your ass off in 90 degree heat, having water, electricity, and air conditioning allow you to get a difficult job done. I was astonished they would leave their residents high and dry.

Second, many boat owners knew that the slip they were in was not well protected enough to ensure they and their boats would make it through the storm. My marina is well known as the best hurricane hole on the Gulf Coast. If a boater wanted to weather the storm in a vacant slip, they only had to drop a non refundable two month rental deposit, on average around $900. It is not price gouging, as their website clearly states that there is a two month minimum. This still seems pretty heartless considering the storm that was bearing down on us.

Finally, the one that bothers me the most. The same guy owned both Sundance 1 & 2. Since Sundance 1 was wiped out by the storm surge some difficult decision had to be made. Unfortunately, a good friend of mine and the long time bartender at Sundance 2 was let go to make room for the staff from Sundance 1. Craig was a staple, a good friend, and one of the best bartenders I've ever known. Many of us will not be back until Craig returns.

A hurricane brings difficult times. How those difficulties are handled depends on the people who are working through them. I see individuals making incredible choices to help each other. I wish I saw more businesses looking after their people the same way.

Marina Report along Clear Lake

2008-09-18T11:16:00.008-06:00

Blue Dolphin Marina - 95 percent undamaged
Boardwalk Marina - 80 percent undamaged
Clear Lake Marine Center - 90 percent damage
Clear Lake Shores Marina - 70 percent damage
Hilton Marina - marina wiped out; 15 percent of boats undamaged
Lakewood Yacht Club - 80 percent damaged/destroyed on west side; 90 percent undamaged on east side; 60-, 70- and 80-foot boats sank
Portofino Marina - 80 percent undamaged
Seabrook Ship Yard - marina 50 percent damaged; shipyard 80 percent damaged
South Shore Harbor Marina - most boats undamaged; some torn sails
Waterford Harbor Marina - minimal damage
Watergate Marina - 60 percent damaged; many boats sank

Memory Lane Flooded

2008-09-18T11:16:00.006-06:00

I woke up yesterday with an overwhelming need to get my office emptied so that I could walk away from it for good. The salt water, mud, and sewage ruined almost every thing in the office. What took a U-Haul to relocate from New Mexico a year and a half ago only took a few square feet of my truck bed to evacuate yesterday.

The tidal surge seemed to place random value on items that in no way coincided with my own value for my stuff. Of the surviving gear I pulled out a news article on my parents form the 60’s, a valentine’s day card someone special gave me years ago, the slingshot my grandpa made for me when I was a little kid, the field book I used to record my masters thesis research. All around the office the faces of people from my past stared from water blurred photos as I moved waterlogged items to the dumpster.

That job is done. I am sorry to have lost so many reminders of times and people in the past. I did find one book soaked from cover to cover that I didn’t even know I still had. It was crumbling like wet toilet paper, but it opened to a page I remember reading very well almost 7 years ago. I’ve kept its message close in my mind as I’ve figured out what I am doing and where I want my path to go. I am quoting it here:

“Listen to the still small voice inside you. If you do not live your life completely, realizing goals you hold to be worthwhile, making your unique contribution to the world, nobody ever will. Your song will die with you.

Many of us have discovered what we want to do with our lives. We have a purpose that resonates to the very core of our being. Somehow our lives will never be complete unless we answer this calling. But, we refrain…the “still small voice” whispers a dream…but later that day or the next our vision starts to fade…immersed in the practical, our dreams and aspirations seem uncertain and perhaps a bit foolish.

We plod the highway of conformity, each following the other. We seek what others seek – comfort, security, money, power, pleasure. We are not alone, but only a stranger to our better selves. Years leave wrinkles upon the skin. But this loss of enthusiasm leaves wrinkles upon the soul.

It is impossible to tell another what path he should follow. Only you, in stillness and humility, can listen to that still small voice. Success and happiness are not distant goals to capture and hold. They happen incidentally while you are fulfilling yourself."
- Michael Lynberg, Author

We’ve taken a pretty good hit down here. Overall, I came out pretty well. Given the very limited time I had to prep I would do it again exactly the same. The boat comes before the office and “stuff” every time. I’ve pulled the countdown timer off the blog for now. I need some time to regroup and reassess where I am and when I can go. It will be back up. We are talking about days weeks, and maybe even a month or two, but not months or years.

Lee

Hurricane IKE - FEMA: Gas, food, water, and ice

2008-09-15T13:06:00.004-06:00

I woke up this morning after a great nights sleep on the boat. The battery bank and propane stove let me listen to the latest news and make a breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee. Having refueled myself I gathered the motivation to head over to my completely destroyed office.

Opening the door the first thing that hits you is the smell. It was inundated with a little over seven feet of muddy, sewage filled, salt water. I think a few fish may have died in there. I couldn't bring myself to push through the mess yet and opened the doors, taped them off, and left for a few hours to let it dry out.

Once I pulled out of the marina I headed towards a gas station that got power back on early. Coyote's had just received a load of gas so I jumped in line. An hour later I was filling up my truck and our jerry cans that Gary and Lisa brought over from the house. With a new full tank of gas I decided to go check out one of the rumored FEMA PODs or Point of Distribution.

It was located on Nasa Parkway by Clear Lake Park and was pretty well organized. It took about an hour and each car drove away with two bags of ice, two cases of bottled water, and what they are calling MREs or Meals Ready to Eat. They should have a warning label on them.

Military MRE's are not bad at all. They even come with several sides, an entree, instant Gatorade mix, and a little heater so you can eat a hot meal. These things are zip lock bags with canned lasagna, peanuts, a nutri-grain bar, and crystal light. I guess anything is better than nothing if you are really low on supplies. Luckily, I've got lots of food left before we'll really need to resort to canned lasagna.

I am off to check on the office. It's a nasty job, but no one else is going to do it. I am looking forward to getting back to a sense of normalcy.

Hurricane Ike - Taken aback at Watergate, Clear Lake, and Surrounding Areas

2008-09-14T19:24:00.004-06:00

I need to apologize to anyone I may have sent an email to saying that things had been over hyped down here and that all was well. It really wasn't the case. The truth is that I did luck out as did most people in Waterford Harbor Marina. The damage there is negligible compared to most the other marinas around town.

I took a walk today through Watergate to check on boats there in more details and determine how to handle my office. Well, much of my office and much of Watergate are both total losses. It seems that the close you get to Galveston Bay the worse it is. Additionally, the north side of Clear Lake got hit much harder than the south side. If your boat was at a fixed dock then odds are you'll have some damage. If it had not been prepped for Ike then you almost certainly will.

Fixed piers have accounted for the vast majority of damage to boats. Short piling fixed piers have washed away completely and long fixed pilings often ended up on the wrong side of the boats as the settled back down when the surge started to subside.

I've gotten a lot of requests to check certain boats and I am sorry I haven't been able to respond better. I've been overloaded and moving around is just not that easy. Many areas are still inaccessible. The video camera was lost while trying to reach my boat so still shots only from here out.
One of the piers across from the swimming pool by the restaurant in Watergate. Boats came lose, piled up, and came down on the wrong side of the finger piers. Many sung outright. Carnage is the only word that came to mind.

These are not small boats that got tossed around. The surge picked these vessels up and took them inland before dropping them down in many varied places. People were crying, many were laughing surprisingly, and life carries on. The ducks didn't know what happened.

One of the dealers thought that his boats would be better on the hard than in the water. That might be right when you don't get hit with a 13+ storm surge. The boats were floated up and off of thier jack stands. They landed all over the place.

Hard to believe all these boats have so far been from Watergate. It's crazy how they end up. Chaos. How do you even begin to start cleaning and recoving from this?
Found it. Now what? Watergate Marina drive next to the main office.

This last shot if of Clear Lake Marine Center on the North Shore of Clear Lake on Nasa Road 1. It was a total and complete disaster. Baots sunk, got tossed on the road, and crushed as they came to thier resting places. Many business will be impacted. Homes in the area are often in the same condition.

So far we are one of the lucky ones. The house we are staying in has had the water pressure come back on, but we are in the vast minority. The city is predicting weeks before power may be restored and days still before water is restored. Neither exists at Waterford. What amazes me is that FEMA hasn't started providing resources to anyone. They are still trying to figure out how to move supplies from the staging areas to distribution centers. I can't count how many times today I heard radio voices telling me that they were trying to figure out how to give food to people. Give me a #^%$ break.

Houston is in a bad way. Far worse than I thought. My friends and I are donig great supporting one another and luckily have about 5 friends who just went out of town. We've been restocking from their freezers as needed saving the presishable foods. We don't need the relief just yet, but some do. There is no gasoline anywhere in the city and Ice is extremely hard to come by.

Weathering Ike wasn't so bad. Weathing the full brunt of the aftermath is what's starting to scare me.

Hurricane Ike - Photos from the Clear Lake & Kemah area

2008-09-13T15:56:00.005-06:00

Here are the photos I got this afternoon. I finally got dry and without running water to take a shower I didn't want to go swimming in the salt water again. The city is pretty well shut down and road blocks are everywhere. Not a bad police presence. A few folks had asked for specific updates and my apologies if I haven't responded yet. Communications are spotty and I can only check things from a cell and a borrowed laptop on occasion connecting through a cell air card.....the old slow kind. Power is coming from a portable generator I bought that got delivered on Thursday. Got lucky there.

Waterford Harbor Marina. Water was 4 - 5 feet over the bulkead this morning. It looked really peacefull this afternoon compared to what we went through this morning. Overall, we fared excellently in this marina. On Nasa 1 there were a few marinas that were completely wiped out. Nothing left. Fixed piers on the North side of Clear Lake got hit hardest around here. If you were on a south side marina, especially Watergate, you have a fair chance of having a salvageable boat.

A tree in the front yard of the house we are staying at. Trees much bigger than this and everything smaller are down all over the place. Road crews have opened up the main roads really quickly. You still have to be carefull where you are going.

This is the scene at the intersection of 2094 and 146 a stones throw from the Kemah Boardwalk. Roads where shut down. I couldn't resist a shot of the evacuation route sign.

My friends and neighbors Gany and Lisa. These things are scattered everywhere. I've only seen one working traffic light in all of the Clear Lake Area.

This is on Nasa Road 1. Boats over here took a beating and reports say that the Marine Center here was wiped out. This sailboat came lose and grounded next to the Hilton. The hotel took quite a bit of damage and the marina behind it doesn't exist anymore.

In trying to get to Seabrook to check on a friends boat we found ourselves in the Home Depot and Target parking lot. It was a debris field. Here is a shot looking over another traffic light, not the one from the other picture, towards the Kemah Bridge.

These boats sit out in a field and have been there for years up on blocks. The surge got high enough to get at least one of them off. The sad part is a bunch of boats were put on blocks at the shipyard at Watergate Marina. We found them this morning scatted all over the place. Boats float. Don't put them on blocks when a storm surge is coming.

Typical structural damage all along Nasa Road 1. This side of the lake really took it hard. We though everyone was exaggerating about how bad this storm was. Turns out, we just lucked out.

We found almost every intersection looking just like this on the way to the marina this morning.

A resident of Clear Lake Shores looking over the debris in Kemah for any remnants that might have come from his house. There was no way for them to get to thier property as the water was, and is, still way too high. The first floor of most two story houses was completely covered. People were being brough out today by boat.

All over Houston billboards are down. We saw several of these in different states from unscathed to demolished.

The activity of the past few days is starting to catch up with me. Going offline for awhile so no worries if updates slow for a bit. Again, sorry if I didn't get back to everyone. Lots of questions and requests. We are alive, unhurt, and our homes - our boats, are OK.

P.S. For those who asked, my pup Georgia has no idea a hurricane even happened. She is happily sleeping on top of my feet as I write this.

Ike - The Aftermath

2008-09-13T11:21:00.002-06:00

I finally fell asleep last night around 2:30 a.m. when the first of the eye wall passed. The next thing I remember hearing was my neighbor Gary yelling across the room, "wanna go check on the boats"? I shot up instantly and yelled back, "Yeah".

Driving from Webster to Kemah required more than average attention. Trees and billboards covered the road and there wasn't a traffic light anywhere that wasn't missing it's frame or hanging by a single wire, if it was there at all. We made it as far as Blue Water Ships Store on FM 2094 before the water became too high to take my truck into any further. We parked and prepared for the hike.

Walking down the road in knee deep water we made it to the back entrance thinking we could find an easy route. When we got to the marina edge we were greated with howling winds and the machine gun like flapping of dozens and dozens of sails that had come lose and were flapping violently in the 30 - 40 knot sustained winds. Gusts easily hit 60+. Water had risen over the bulkhead retaining wall making progress slow. Eventually we arrived at our docks.

I looked with extreme trepedation at the water that lie between us and the gangway that connected the bulkhead to the floating pier. It was pointing up at a 45 degree angle and we had a lot water to get through before we could figure out how to climb it. Gary waded into the water with the rest of us following and we worked our way onto the dock with water up to our chest.

I don't think my heart has ever been lighter than the moment I walked up to my slip and saw that boat riding easily to the wind. Not a line appeared to be out of place and I knew we had weathered the storm. The sudden reliefe makes the damage sustained at my office seem negligable. The "stuff" can be replaced. The boat, and plans, are still in tact.

To be continued.......my flip video was lost to the surge when we worked out to the boats. I'll try to get some stills this afternoon.

A few vids I shot today.

2008-09-12T21:13:00.006-06:00

Once all the prep work was done, or at least as done as time allowed, we went to have a look around. These are a few vids I captured today.

In this one I had just realized that it was too late to do much to save my office. I got back into Houston from California Thursday afternoon. Almost every hour from then until the surge was here was spent prepping the boat to take on the full force of Ike. I got to the office just in time to save a few critical things.

When I got back later that day all I could do was laugh. It is only stuff after all. My stuff, but stuff none the less. Anyone want to buy a used bed and desk? Only slightly used. Minor water damage. I really am not looking forward to going back to that office. By now it is probably seven or eight feet under water. Not much left to salvage.

Watergate Marina, where I keep my office, is getting hit much harder than Waterford Harbor Marina, where I keep my boat. You can see that the docs are completely submerged. The big problem is that since these docks are fixed the boats can only go up so high. Most of these boats have already hit that point. If no one loosens the lines then they begin to hold the boats down instead of letting them rise. Something has to give. Also in the distance here you can see canvas being stripped off the boat by the wind. That's why I took everything I could off my boat.

My last for tonight is a quick look at my marina. I think she, my boat, can take the wind. What has me scared is the storm surge. The water has been coming in crazy quick and they are forcasting 15 - 20 feet here. Our pilings are 18 feet. Worst case scenario, the docks simply float off over the top of the pilings and pile themselves up in one huge wreck of a mess. That would do me in for awhile. For now, I believe all is well.

Signing off for tonight. No more blogs or tweets. I want to get some sleep and get back to the boat at first light if possible assuming the eye has passed and the winds abated. There is a lot of water down here.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-11T22:52:00.002-06:00

I'd put a long blog together documenting the work I'd gotten done lately, but it really doesn't matter at this stage. Hurricane Ike is forcast to come in right on top of us. Luckily its been downgraded from a Category 3 to a Category 2, but who knows before it makes landfall. I've got everything wrapped up in this boat so I am taking it pretty hard right now. She's tied up tight, been stripped of all her canvas and anything else that could create windage, and will ride the storm as best she can.

I really can't say it any better than the most recent marine forcast. Bay waters.....Dangerous.

Friday
Tropical storm conditions early...hurricane conditions expected late. Northeast winds 40 to 45 knots with gusts to around 60 knots increasing to 45 to 55 knots with gusts to around 75 knots in the afternoon. Bay waters dangerous. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning...then showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon.

Friday Night
Hurricane conditions expected. Northeast winds 55 to 75 knots with gusts to around 90knots becoming southeast 70 to 90 knots with gusts to around 110 knots after midnight. Bay waters dangerous. Showers and thunderstorms.

Saturday
Hurricane conditions expected early...tropical storm conditions expected late. Southwest winds 55 to 65 knots with gusts to around 85 knots decreasing to around 40 knots with gusts to around 55 knots in the afternoon. Bay waters dangerous decreasing to extremely rough in the afternoon. Showers and thunderstorms.

FREE SPOT MESSENGER SERVICE!

2008-08-29T10:51:00.004-06:00

Here is the story on SPOT. This little beauty uses the GPS satellites to determine its position. Once it’s fixed, it uploads a signal through the communication satellites and plots my position on a google map and sends out an OK email to up to 10 people. This seemed by far the easiest way to keep people informed of where I was. You can find the cheapest deal on a spot hardware unit from ManVentureOutpost at ~ $130 bucks with shipping. After that, log into Yahoo’s FireEagle and get their SPOT Application Code. When you register the unit with that code you get the $150 activation and tracking fee absolutely free. No catches, nothing to purchase, but it is only good until Sept. 15th so I wouldn’t waste time if you want to get it done. One of the things I’ve been working on is setting up my communications for travel. Cell phones are too expensive to roam all over the world so I set up a permanent Skype account. I can take this number with me everywhere I go and have unlimited long distance calls to North America, voice mail, and call forwarding for $60.00 per Year! It does mean finding an internet connections anytime I want to use the phone, but I can live with that.

The next step was setting up communication for being at sea. I love my parents and they simply were not going to let me do this without a satellite phone. After doing quite a bit of research I decided on Iridium and purchased a complete package including the phone, data kit, and 1000 prepaid minutes. I got my whole package from RoadPost. This will let me update the blog and send the occasional email while far out at sea. I also get unlimited free incoming calls and SMS messages which is great. As a fall back, I got several new chip sets and cables to try and connect my old HAM Radio up to my laptop. I’ve still got to get the Pactor Modem, but I think I’ve got my communication systems pretty well in hand.

I am off start boat projects. I kind of freaked out last night thinking about only having 8 weeks left to prepare. There is still so much to do.

LW

Working, but not on the boat.

2008-08-26T09:57:00.003-06:00

A good friend of mine from college is in town and I've been showing him around the boating life. Between that and trying to make some money at my day job there hasn't bee a great deal of progress on the boat. It's OK though. I need a short break. Three day weekend coming up and I've got projects aplenty laying around waiting on me.

As my trip gets closer and closer I've slowly stopped reading other peoples sailing blogs. There is one exception and Nick Jaffe just posted a pretty cool vid he took on his Atlantic crossing earlier this year. Enjoy.

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

Cruising couple attacked, one killed, on Guatamala’s Rio Dulce

2008-08-20T11:37:00.002-06:00

Dan and Nancy Dryden spent the last six months working on their sailboat Sunday’s Child preparing for an extended cruise. Horribly, four armed men boarded the boat one recent Saturday evening turning the dream into a nightmare.

The men boarded carrying machete’s and demanded money from the couple. Either not having money on board or being unwilling to part with it, Dan Dryden began to fight. Unfortunately, the ice pick he wielded was taken and used against him.

Despite her trauma Nancy is recovering in a local hospital having successfully called for help on the ships radio after the attack. Her three children have joined her in Guatamala to care for her during her recovery and to see to the cremation of their father.

In a bazaar twist, two more individuals lost their lives on the evening of the 14th. These were not sailors, but two of the four men believed to have taken part in the attack on the Drydens. Two men had already been arrested by the local police, but the rest of the community appears to have taken care of those the police had not yet found.

The people of the Rio Dulce river rely on the cruising community who visit its sheltered waters during hurricane season. Clearly, a message was sent that an attack on the sailboats will not be tolerated by the locals.

A Word on Pirates: The men that carried out this attack were cowardly thugs. They are no different from the cowards who carry out muggings or car jackings by land. The only difference is that they have a means to reach boaters thereby earning them the status of Pirate.

These kinds of attacks are incredibly rare and the odds of ever being victimized are far less on the water then they ever will be on land. Walking in downtown Houston is a far riskier proposition than sailing when it comes to the likelihood of meeting this type of bad element.

Texas A & M Sailing Accident Update - The Cynthia Woods

2008-08-16T12:52:00.002-06:00

On the first of this month a report was given showing the current state of the investigation. The link to the presentation is here. The Harvest Moon Regatta is coming up soon. It's a near shore race, but technically does qualify as an offshore regatta. The Cynthia Woods wasn't but about 60 miles off the coast when she capsized. Be careful folks, and if you have keel bolts make sure they are tight and your backing plates large and sound.

Never mind the Russians; I am at war with the Ducks.

2008-08-13T20:48:00.001-06:00

I can’t even get Georgia, a stone cold killer of a Siberian Husky to chase them anymore. I guess I kept her from it for way too long and now she just assumes I must be setting her up when I tell her to sick them. Yes, I know they are cute, but do have any idea how much poop a flock of 30+ ducks produce? They won’t go anywhere else and have camped out permanently on my finger pier and on the floating dock I keep in front of my boat. It’s like walking on a frozen pond it’s so slick with poop. If the hose and my running at them like a mad man doesn’t get them to relocate I’ll have to resort to the BB gun.

Before anyone calls PETA I’d like to invite any duck lovers to come down to the dock to keep a duck vigil. I promise them no harm as long as they stop pooping on my dock.

Progress has been good. The new cowl vents and the life raft are installed and looking good. I’ve been playing with my storm sails and think I’ve finally settled on a way to fly my storm jib. Instead of installing a new inner wire stay to hang it from I am going to buy six parrel bead necklaces and use them to hank the jib on over the roller furled head sail. It’s not perfect, but like everything on a cruising boat it’s a good compromise. Plus, at ~ $250 for the hardware it’s a whole lot cheaper than ~ $1,000+ for the inner stay.

I need to start taking pictures again……

Go Sailing.

Lee

Like Christmas……..but HOT!

2008-08-09T10:21:00.000-06:00

Ok, so after something like 17 days on the road I am back on the boat and very glad of it. We weathered Edouard which turned out to be a non event in Kemah. I think maximum sustained winds might have peaked at 30 mph. No big deal at all.

I’ve mostly been resting and recovering from the time spent on the road, but woke this morning ready to dig back in. My first stop was the marina office to see what new projects had shown up in the mail. Sure enough, I got my life raft. This is the six man Elliott SOLAS A that Practical Sailor Magazine just did a recent review of and found to be an excellent raft with a budget price. The trick will be mounting this 175 lb beast on my deck.

In addition to the life raft I got two gallons of Kiwi Grip for my new non-skid decks, my ABI stainless steel cowl vents, and nautical charts from Galveston Island to and through the Panama Canal. The vents direct air from outside down below into the cabin without letting any water down.

Just to make sure I didn’t run out of things to do I also placed an order for 100 feet of boat rail netting and a new SPOT Satellite Tracker. The netting is as much for the dog as it is for me. I figure it will be a little bit harder for either of us to go overboard with the nets up. It might even save a tool or two here and there.

It really does feel like Christmas with all the packages I’ve been opening. The only drawback is the 100+ degree heat in 95% humidity. I think each hour of work will be punctuated by a dip in the pool. Have a good weekend everyone. Go sailing, and if you don’t know how, take a lesson!

LW

DAMN YOU EDOUARD!!!

2008-08-04T15:46:00.004-06:00

This is kind of my worst nightmare. I am away on business and on short order a Tropical Storm /hurricane blows up just off the Texas coast. the forcast is projecting Edouard's path to run right over the top of Clear Lake where my boat is in its slip. I am at the LAX airport and assuming I don't get delayed or cancelled I should be home by 10:30 this evening for last minute preparations.

All I can really say is Thank You Gary and Lisa. My neighbors have all called to let me know they are there if I need them, but Gary and Lisa stepped up and already started getting my dingy off the davits and securing my loose canvas in prepartion of 60+ mph winds. To Gary and Lisa, all the good folks on 13, and friends on Clear Lake my heartfelt thanks for looking out for me. Hang on tight.....this should be quite a ride.

Lee

Still on the road.

2008-08-02T09:04:00.001-06:00

I got back from Philadelphia late last Friday night. I did laundry on Saturday and caught an early flight out Sunday morning. I thought I was heading home today, Thursday, but it turns out there is a meeting I need to be at in Thousand Oaks, CA tomorrow morning. So, I caught a flight out of Seattle bound for LAX instead of Houston.. Unfortunately I have to be in L.A. on Sunday for a demo Monday so instead of flying home this weekend I am just going to stay in CA.

In order to make the most of it I am renting a boat and sailing out to Catalina Island Saturday morning and will head back Sunday night. If I can’t sail my boat this weekend this is the next best thing. I am ready for some down time back on my boat. There are a thousand things to do and I want to keep my projects moving. The good news is it was a productive week on the road. I might close a few software deals and have a little walking cash for the cruise come November.

I’ve picked a date as well. November 13th. It’s a full moon and it falls on a Thursday. I’ll look for a 5 – 6 day weather window that surrounds the 13th and make a break for either Progresso or Campeche, Mexico. I’ve been practicing my limited Spanish in my mind in anticipation of using it. The travel is wearing me out, but I am excited.

Anyone want to go to Catalina Island this weekend? I tied the twitter feed on the right into my cell phone so I'll do mini blogs more often.

The Donkey, the carrot, and the stick.

2008-07-26T22:44:00.003-06:00

I think everyone knows the analogy of the carrot and the stick. It seems like I’ve been chasing carrots myself for a long time now and they’ve always been tied to a stick that was wielded by someone other than myself. Something happened when I turned down the offer of promotion at work. It really set in that I’ve got my own stick now and it’s called a mast. It is that thing the sails attach to allowing my boat to harness the wind. I just gave myself a big carrot too and now I am grinning like a little kid.

For those that have been reading long enough you’ll remember that I got ordained online several months back. Well, it wasn’t just a joke as I am scheduled to marry, performing the ceremony as a reverand, two really good friends on mine in late March 2009 in Louisiana. With a little luck I should be in Panama by then and I just booked a flight from Panama City, Panama to Springfield, Missouri USA, round trip mind you. I don’t want to tempt fate by making my plans too firm, but I think it is a good sign of my mindset and determination to start this voyage in November.

The blogs have been slow lately as I was called out to Philadelphia for a company meeting. People keep asking me if I’ve totally detached yet, but I haven’t really even come close. It’s my last quarter to close some business that I’ve been working on for over a year. Plus, if I don’t get the deals closed now I’ll never get paid for the effort to date. It would be nice to have a little money to walk away with.

After my meeting in Philly wrapped up on Thursday I hopped a train down to Washington, D.C., the home of SOS Children’s Villages USA. I got a chance to sit down with Heather Paul - CEO, Mark Neidig - Chief Development Officer, and Lisa Vogt the Director of Internet Marketing. It was a great chance to meet their team in person and establish the relationship I hope will carry us around the world. I’ve got high hopes for what we will be able to accomplish for their cause.

No real boat progress to report as I barely had 36 hours at home this weekend before I have to head back to the west coast for work. Go sailing.

LW

Dancing with Hurricanes

2008-07-21T08:09:00.002-06:00

After a few hours in the office this morning I’ll be heading to the airport for a weeks work in Philadelphia. Before I go, I’ll be doubling all my dock lines and centering the boat in the slip.

Hurricane season is no joke down here for the boaters. I am lucky in that I live in the best hurricane hole on the Texas Gulf Coast, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to get lazy about boat prep. As a standard, every time I leave for more than a day, I fill the water tank, charge the batteries to full, shut down everything but the bilge pumps, add additional dock lines including extra spring lines, and center the boat in the slip giving it as much room to move and dance as possible.

Dolly is on the way towards South Texas, but these forecasts have a habit of changing. If you want to keep a close eye on the storms down here check out the National Hurricane Center. The do a great job of tracking these lows from their earliest formation out in the Atlantic or sometimes even over Africa. Have a good week and go sailing.

LW

Where to begin?

2008-07-17T09:24:00.001-06:00

For starters, I withdrew from consideration for a promotion at work. I’ve always been driven to climb the corporate ladder and this marks a major shift in the path I am on. The surreal part is trying to explain that I withdrew from consideration and was not passed over. Simply put, I don’t think people believe me. Such an action is outside the character my colleagues have come to know. It doesn’t help that I am not yet sharing my real reasons for withdrawing. I’ve been explaining that, “I am holding out for a management position” or “I am not ready to commit to an ill defined, new position for two years”, none of which ring quite true.

The other side of the story is that the position had come down to a heads up competition between me and a colleague I have a great deal of respect for. I could not in good conscious compete for a job, possibly pushing her out of hers, knowing I am leaving soon. I couldn’t think of any way to cut it where that could have been considered anything but a vile move. That’s not how I want to make an exit.

I am also coming off of two weeks of boat work. Actually, the work days were punctuated by weekend sailing trips. It felt really good to get the old girl back on the water. Three weeks ago was the first time I’ve left the dock since I sailed to South Padre. That was just over six months. I made a lot of progress, but far short of what I wanted to get done.

A few big projects included installing the new chartplotter and removing the old gps, flushing and rebuilding the old watermaker, replacing the secondary anchor line, replacing the boom topping lift and its blocks, pulling out 20 years of wiring that was no longer in use, repairing the air conditioner, installing the new shower bilge pump, changing the engine oil and filters, and a few other miscellaneous items. It was good progress, but there is so much more to do.

As a start, I just put in orders for quite a bit of new equipment. I bought an Elliott six man Solas A canister life raft I’ll deck mount, new stainless steel cowl vents for the main cabin, a hand held gps mount for the nav station, new blinds for the fixed ports, and Kiwi Grip so I can redo the non-skid surface of the decks. I am really racing the countdown clock. I am feeling the pressure to get it done like I’ve never felt pressure for any other project. I am pushing to get the decks done and re-caulk all of the deck fittings and chain plates. I need to get this boat water tight.

On a similar, but different note, I think I am going to drop about 1K for a little portable Honda 2000 watt generator. I can set this on the deck at anchor and use it to power the battery charger and refrigerator and freezer. The only other option would be to run the engine for two hours a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I am scared of my engine with ~9000 hours on it. That’s a lot of hours for original equipment. I think Rusty the Westerbeke can make it, but I don’t want to ask him to push the boat and keep my food cold. I can’t afford a repower.

There are about 55 projects on the To Do list and despite knocking them off as quickly as possible it is growing, not shrinking. I have to find a way to fly my storm jib. I have to redo the opening ports. I need safety netting along the lifelines. As for the rest……I’ll just do the best I can and sort it on the way.

I am finally going to D.C. to meet the people at SOS Children’s Villages USA. It’s important to me to meet people in person. Especially considering how much this organization is shaping the course and content of my voyage.

The new website isn’t up yet. It’s coming along, but taking far longer than I’d hoped. If there is anyone reading this good at slinging code who can help me set up an embedded google map and blog, both of which must be capable of being updated via basic text email or SMS/Text to an email address, I could sure use your help.

Reading back through this I realize I went on quite a ramble. I think writing helps me solidify my thoughts. I am tired and a little overwhelmed and it is showing. Despite it all, I am much more excited and thrilled to be seeing it come together than anything else.

I am going to try and sail around the world. I am leaving in November.

LW

Testing...just ignore me.

2008-07-13T18:40:00.003-06:00

View Larger Map

Proudly Introducing Our First Major Sponsor – Emily Nash Photography

2008-07-10T10:54:00.004-06:00

I first met Emily Nash when she was doing corporate photo shoots in Albuquerque, NM. The University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Business hired Emily for all of their shoots, including my EMBA Graduation.

The first thing I noticed about this lady was how much fun she was having with what she was doing. The second thing was that she was not taking your typically boring graduation/business shots. Emily built a business combining an amazingly creative eye, a natural talent for working with people, and an incredibly sharp business mind into custom photo shoots that yield unapologetically bold and unique images.

Showing no fear, Emily agreed to come to Kemah from Austin, where she now resides, and join me for a three day cruise. The resulting images went way past my highest of expectations. I think she really captured the feel of what Sailing for SOS is trying to accomplish. Em, I am forever indebted.

If you have photographic work to do and want to work with the best in the business, contact Emily Nash Photography. http://www.emilynashphotography.com/

Emily Nash
505.907.6011
emilynash@mac.com

Galveston kids eat anything.

2008-07-07T17:17:00.002-06:00

Yeah, so we did offer the kid 20 bucks to eat the fish. I think he would have done it anyway. Spent the weekend sailing around with the photograher for the new site. Great shots, I'll post a few images shortly. In the mean time, enjoy.

It's confirmed.......I am a nerd.

2008-07-02T21:39:00.007-06:00

Want to know how much of a geek I am? Here is what I’ve been doing on a Wednesday night while on vacation. So I want to swap all my lights out to LED so I can take it as easy as possible on the batteries. It’s an easy formula, Amps = Watts/Volts. My battery bank is around 530 Amps. My battery voltage is 12 volt and is relatively constant. So, if you take your average 20 watt halogen light it burns 1.67 amps/hour. I also had a few 50w bulbs that burn 4.17 amps/hour. With a total of 7 of these fixtures this type of amperage draw really adds up.

Your average LED bulb will run around 1 – 5 watts or the equivalent of ~.3 amps/hour. That’s a big savings. The only problem is finding a good LED light that puts out anything even approaching the output of a 20w or 50w bulb. For a long time I didn’t think they existed. After a few bum LED bulbs I stumbled onto a small business run by a cruiser who specialized in these bulbs. He sent me a few to play with, actually I bought them to play with, and the results are below. I am not naming the company because there is one bulb in particular I’d like to use all over my boat. Sponsorship anyone?

Ok, so to get some thing approaching an unbiased, uncorrupted, analytical result I used my new camera. I plugged in a standard 20w bulb in one of my fixtures and found the settings that would yield the best possible picture. Now admittedly, this is somewhat biased because I chose to use the 20w as the control, but hey, I had to start somewhere. Anyway, after a few test shots I ended up with an f-stop of 16, 8 second shutter time, and ISO 800. That might mean something to you photogs. For the rest of us it just means I didn’t change the camera settings for any of the following pics.

This is the control with the 20w.

Here is a picture of the 50w. Somewhat brighter, but hardly worth it for the extra 2.5 amps/hour. Not to mention the fixture actually started smoking since it hadn’t had the 50w bulb in it before. These things will melt your face off.

Now the real telling photo. I bought this little gem, an 18 LED cluster, off of ebay and got two for $10. They were supposed to be equivalent to a 20w bulb, but as you can tell, it’s hardly visible at all. Junk.

I am impressed with this bulb. It has nine of the Surface Mounted (SMD) LED lights and is still a warm yellow, but not so much as some others. It’s not the same as the 20w, but for 2 watts or 0.17 amps/hour it’s a real winner. I’ll just plug two of them in.

Finally, I had high hopes for this bulb, but it let me down. It is a 33 LED cluster, but it is so yellow that the light just seems dirty. It was also the most expensive bulb in the lot at ~$50 USD. The other draw back is that it is so heavy it works itself out of the fixture and falls if not very well secured. Fortunately this one never hit the ground.

So from left to right you have the 50w Xenon, 20w Xenon, 18 LED cluster, 9 SMD LED cluster, and the 33 LED cluster. Anyone else want to buy the 9 SMD LED cluster? Let me get my sponsorship request letter back to the business owner and see what we can do. They’ve been extremely patient with all my question and have shipped the orders right out. Good people to work with. I’ll keep you posted.

Tomorrow’s TO DO List

2008-07-02T16:56:00.001-06:00

Almost my entire day today went to working for Thermo. It’s OK since I still need to pay for everything, but I feel really behind on my projects for this week. I just laid out my plan for tomorrow and probably a good deal of Friday. Here it is: Pump Out and flush the head lines, change engine oil and starboard racor fuel filter, pull two more loose sets of wires running aft on one side and to the engine on the other, pull the anchor and wash off the mud, install the new secondary anchor rode and line, rebed the cockpit scuppers, install the new shower bilge pump, run up the mast and fix the new boom topping lift, run the new reefing lines, and clean out and rebuild the old PUR Powersurvivor 35 Water Maker. I’ll be renaming her Jargo soon.

Two Weeks

2008-06-30T09:52:00.001-06:00

I’ve taken this week and next week off of work and will be focusing on boat projects. I’ve got projects lined up and ready to go as soon as I start giving them some attention. I am kicking today off with the installation of my new Garmin GPSMAP 545. I’ll follow that up with new gauges and alarms for the oil pressure and engine coolant temperature. After that comes another trip up the mast to redo the main boom topping lift. I bought a rebuild kit for the water maker and will try to bring that system back to life. I am excited. Big progress coming.

Not much new on the Cynthia Woods investigation from below. It does look like the keel was brought up with the keel bolts and backing plates still attached. I am not investigator, but that tells me that the fiberglass on the hull of the boat failed where the keel was bolted. It’s rumored that the backing plates were undersized and should have had one large plate for the installation instead of single smaller plates for each bolt. You can think of the backing plates kind of like big washers on smaller nuts and bolts. They distribute the load of the keel across a larger surface area.

Go Sailing.

LW

Gulf Coast Sailing Accident

2008-06-22T09:50:00.003-06:00

I’ve been reading as many of the news releases as I can find this morning regarding the sailing accident during the Race to Veracruz involving a Texas A & M sailing team. One man lost his life and everyone wants to know why.

No conclusion can be drawn yet, but evidence is surfacing indicating the boat, Cynthia Woods, had been run aground between 3 – 10 times prior to being donated to A & M in 2005. In 2007 the ship was run hard aground doing damage to the keel again. It us unknown at this time how well that damage was repaired prior to the offshore race this June.

The keel was found in ~110 feet of water by the same offshore salvage company that towed the boat out of the gulf. The U.S. Coast Guard and A & M will use the keel to try and determine why the keel separated from the boat.

Those are the facts as I understand them from the available news this morning. First, no boat that gets used along the Texas Gulf Coast is going to avoid running aground. The inland waters are shallow and it is going to happen. I’ve been aground two or three times since I’ve been sailing here the past two years. However, Cynthia Woods is a Cape Fear 38 and has what is knows as a bulb keel. It is bolted onto the boat and has a long stretch of material before it connects to a bulb at the bottom with the majority of the weight that acts as ballast.

This design is a great, fast design for boats operating on deep, open water. I don’t think it belongs in a fleet sailing in shallow Gulf Shore water or going far offshore. This design is the polar opposite of the full keel design I wanted for my cruising boat and found on my Allied Mistress. Bulb keels cannot take repeated grounding and maintain structural integrity.

I want to make it very clear, every boat design is a good design when it is used for sailing where and how it was designed. There is nothing inherently wrong with this design, but I think it was a donated boat put into service in a region unsuited to it. The builder has stepped up and is helping extensively with the investigation.

Changing tacks for a moment, I finally got my boat out of the slip again. Something happens when this boat gets out of the marina and out sailing or lying to anchor. I love this boat. I’ve been confusing everyone calling the boat by both the names Romance & Jargo. I haven’t formally changed her name yet because I want her to be mine, not the boat I bought, before I rename her. I think I am getting close. I am making a list of projects to do that include a few new items. One of them is finding and installing low oil pressure and engine temperature alarms to let me know before major engine damage occurs. I am looking forward to a two week vacation where I can do nothing but focus on boat projects.

Determination and Persistence

2008-06-16T22:39:00.002-06:00

In the past few months/weeks I’ve rebuilt the windlass, installed a new starter and solenoid, installed a new macerator pump, purchased and bottom painted the dingy, replaced the dingy davit lines, replaced the spinnaker halyard and block, repaired the main, mizzen, and geneoa, applied for my ships radio and restricted operators permit, found and purchased an auto tuner and pactor modem for the HF, replaced the lazy jacks, replaced the mizzen staysail block, run halyard wrap preventers across the mast steps, replaced the main and mizzen sheets and halyards, lubricated both main and mizzen mast tracks, replaced the radar, purchased, but not yet installed the new GPS, installed the new AM/FM stereo and iPod player, started converting LED lighting, begun sending out sponsorship packets to a few vendors, had the bright work done, got my sextant, almost replaced the shower sump (again), purchased and about to install 300 feet of new secondary anchor line, and last, but certainly not least, gotten the test site up for the new website!

The test site is only an infant, but it represents the change from designing the new site to building it with real, substantial code. There are a lot of tweaks to be done and some fairly complex coding to be built in, but it’s a good start. Check it out over the next few weeks and please give me some feedback on it once it gets filled out a bit more.

One other thing I did this past week was get my first sponsorship rejection. The cool thing is I am almost has happy as if I’d gotten the sponsorship. Not that I am done trying with this particular company, but for everyone that says “No”, I am that much closer to finding the one that says, “YES”.

The one thing that I have not been doing is sailing. It’s a problem that has come to a head. I’ve been so lost in working on the boat I’ve lost sight yet again of how important it is to enjoy her some as well. An old friend of mine is swinging through town this weekend for a job in Houston and I’ve committed to taking us out sailing. It’s about time and come hell or high water, it’s time to fill the sails.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” - President Calvin Coolidge

Tragedy over the weekend.

2008-06-09T07:54:00.002-06:00

Word came out Saturday that one of the boats from the Regatta de Amigos or Race to Veracruz (http://www.veracruzregatta.com/ ) was missing. I think everyone from Galveston to Houston was holding their breath until some news, good or bad came in. Stories like this always remind you of your own mortality. Going offshore is no joke, even in the best of conditions. I think the best thing that can be taken from this is you cannot over prepare yourself or your vessel. Yes, at some point you just have to go, but there is no excuse for not taking every caution and care your budget and time allow.

Sailor called 'hero' for helping save 5 others
By MONICA RHOR, Associated Press Writer

GALVESTON, Texas - Four students and a safety officer had less than a minute to escape their sinking ship once it began taking water during a regatta on the Gulf of Mexico, the safety officer said Monday.

The survivors praised the boat's other safety officer, 53-year-old Roger Stone, for rushing them off the craft within seconds of realizing it was taking water, putting their lives ahead of his own. Divers pulled his body from the boat Sunday afternoon.

"Roger was a friend, a great sailor, a good coach and a true hero," safety officer Steve Conway said on NBC's "Today." "Our hearts and prayers go out to his family in their time of loss."

Conway said the students kept their composure over 26 hours in the choppy water. They used belts and rigging to hook themselves together, with the five men sharing four life vests, Conway said. He told them stories to keep them encouraged.

"They remained positive, they didn't panic," Conway said. "They kept working as a team and helping each other."

Three of the students — Steven Guy, Joe Savana and Travis Wright — attend Texas A&M at Galveston. The fourth, Ross James Buzbee, attends Texas A&M in College Station.

Buzbee said Conway kept their spirits up while they waited for rescue.

"Steve, he told us stories to keep us entertained and to keep us focused," Buzbee said on "Today." "It basically gave us a positive outlook on everything."

The five spent Sunday visiting with family and nursing minor sunburn and dehydration.

R. Bowen Loftin, CEO of Texas A&M at Galveston, expressed condolences to Stone's family — including his wife and two children — in a message posted on the school's Web site.

"We hope they can take some comfort in knowing all five survivors of this tragic accident credit Mr. Stone with heroic efforts that were instrumental in making possible their survival," Loftin said on the school's Web site. "We now know that Roger Stone died a hero in the classic sense of the word."

Conway is the director of computer information services at Texas A&M at Galveston and assistant coach of the school's Offshore Sailing Team, the school said. Stone was another of the team's assistant coaches, according to the school Web site. He also was a logistics officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, according to the UTMB Web site.

The search for the sailors began Saturday morning after the 38-foot sailboat Cynthia Woods missed a radio check. The boat, which lost communication around midnight Friday, was one of 26 vessels competing in the Regata de Amigos. The race from Galveston to Veracruz, Mexico, has occurred every even-number year since 1968, according to the regatta's Web site.

Loftin said Conway used a flashlight to signal Coast Guard searchers. The five stayed afloat in 4- to 6-foot seas, Loftin said.

Coast Guard officials said the keel of the overturned vessel was ripped off, indicating the sailboat may have hit something in the water, according to the school. Race director Kevin Box said the loss of the keel can cause a boat to overturn in seconds.

Conway said it was "premature to speculate" about whether the keel broke off before the Coast Guard completes its investigation.

A helicopter crew from Air Station Houston pulled the five men from the water 23 miles south of Freeport about 2 a.m., Coast Guard Petty Officer Renee C. Aiello said Sunday. They had drifted about five miles northwest of their capsized boat.

In an interview Monday, Lt. Justo Rivera, the helicopter pilot, said his crew searched the Gulf of Mexico for two hours before they had to return to their Galveston base to refuel. The crew resumed their search when Petty Officer Louis Bishop, the flight mechanic, spotted the flashlight's tiny glimmer.

Only after Chief Petty Officer Albert Shannon, the rescue swimmer, dove in did the crew learn there were just five people in the group.

"It hurts not being able to save that one individual," Rivera told reporters.

The regatta, sponsored by the Mexican government, continues into next week.

___

Associated Press writers John Porretto in Houston and Linda Franklin in Dallas contributed to this report.

A quick video walk through.

2008-06-06T13:40:00.000-06:00

Smashed it!

2008-06-04T09:07:00.002-06:00

No, not the boat. In an effort to keep up the motivation to get in shape I entered into another 5K run. This one was done locally by the Houston Astros. The cool thing is that I recruited two of my friends to come with us and by race day we were a four pack. Three of us ran, one of us walked, and we all had a really great time.

My finish time for this one was 29 minutes and 23 seconds as compared to my last time of 31 minutes and 52 seconds. That’s a 2.5 minute improvement! I am pleased. I also got confirmation that I am the “Ideal” man. At least that’s how I am interpreting the results from the free body fat analysis I got at the race. Apparently I am ideal, I knew it all along, but now I have independent confirmation.

So what’s the next step in the quest for fitness? We are getting the band back together for another 5K on June 28th up in Deer Park, TX. There are a few new additions that will be running this one. Apparently the word has spread how much fun we have at these things. I know, hard to believe considering how much I don’t like to run. Must be the camaraderie of the thing. If anyone wants to come out with us, all are welcome.

There is one other idea brewing that seriously scares me. Somehow, someone got the idea that we should do one of these things called a sprint triathlon. They have three back to back events including a 500 meter swim, 16 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. I don’t have a bike which is my first excuse. I am sure I can come up with more in the next few weeks. There is one scheduled up in Katy on July 13th. Hummm…..

Unabridged Sterling Hayden: What choice will you make?

2008-06-02T12:34:00.001-06:00

Ideas can change the world. I’ve always liked quotes because they are typically the distillation of an idea into a single shot of wisdom. The Sterling quote from the last post was from a friend’s blog, but was picked up by another blogger I’ve got a lot of respect for. Her post reminded me of why I started writing in the first place. It isn’t to bore you with details about boat work, but to try and inspire you, even just one of you, to take a chance and go after the dream you may have put on the shelf.

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. I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life? - Sterling Hayden in Wanderer

Conventional dogma tells us to go to school, get a degree, get a good job, get married, buy a house, have 2.5 kids, and he with the most at the end of it all wins. What if you took a step back and looked at your daily, weekly, and monthly routines? What could you be doing if you didn’t have credit card payments, house payments, car payments, gym payments, HD TV cable bills, and the rest of it? It’s our very desire to accumulate objects that eventually traps us in our routines.

In Walden Thoreau referred to those who chase comforts as though comforts themselves were life like this, “With consummate skill he has set his trap with a hair spring to catch comfort and independence, and then, as he turned away, got his own leg into it. This is the reason he is poor; and for a similar reason we are all poor in respect to a thousand savage comforts, though surrounded by luxuries”.

As I ponder my trip safety often comes to mind. What must I do eliminate risk where I can? All the toys, life jackets, life rafts, EPIRBS, and other things we buy to keep us safe are a poor substitute for taking responsibility for our security. Knowledge and experience are the only real safety nets any of us have. Henry Ford said, “If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability”.

As some point people have to make a choice. Stick to the safe and secure that is known to you. Even if this isn’t providing you happiness or fulfillment it’s the path most people take. The other option? Choose. Choose to make the life you want. This requires thought, effort, and a sustained commitment to your dream. You have to ignore those who tell you that you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” do something. Your true friends will listen to you and encourage you. Whatever your dream is.

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless deeds and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."

- Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe

Allied Rally and the stars.

2008-05-28T11:08:00.004-06:00

10 Allied Sailboats got together earlier this year in Florida. They put together this little video that shows the boats, the owners, and a few arial shots taken during thier sail. Wish I could have made it. I do love the lines of these old boats.

Progress continues. The windlass is back on the boat and rebedded. I scrubbed the dingy down last night and will be adding a coat of MDR Amazon's inflatable anti fouling bottom paint this evening. Money continues to hemmorage, but I've just added a small video camera to the boat stores called the Flip. http://www.theflip.com/ I also purchased a sextant as a back means of navigation to the two GPS units I've got on board. I like the idea of being able to navigate by the stars the way the ancient mariners did. Now all I have to do is learn how to use it.

Rust, powder coat, and Sterling Hayden

2008-05-25T11:12:00.003-06:00

Powder coating isn’t as durable as I was hoping it would be. The previous owner found an ancient manual windlass off a 60 foot boat and mounted it on the front of Romance. I like having a manual windlass and this one is super heavy. The only bad thing is that the windlass has been allowed to rust, a lot. I needed to pull it off the boat to get it cleaned up. I was going to just hit it with spray paint, but decided to spring for sand blasting and powder coating. Turns out cast iron isn’t a good candidate for powder coating. It degasses and the finish is pretty fragile. Not good for something that takes much abuse like a windlass. Oh well, so I’ll have to hit it with paint every now and then. It is still a significant improvement over where I started.

The other thing I had to do was get two teeth welded up on the main cog. I found a good machine shop that welded lots of new metal back on where the old tooth used to be. Once enough material had been built up he ground the metal into the same shape as the rest of the teeth. This way the windlass won’t skip when I am actuating the lever. By the way, the windlass is the big winch that pulls up the anchor and chain.

I was cruising a few blogs and rediscovered one of my favorite quotes.

"I've always wanted to sail to the South Seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?

-Sterling Hayden (1916-1986)

It’s still hard for me to part with so much hard earned money. This quote reminds me why I’ve made the choice I have. At the end of my days the size of my bank account is of little consequence. I want to enjoy the time I’ve got. Five months to go….tick, tick, tick.

The Rock

2008-05-23T11:05:00.002-06:00

I am back in town for the long weekend after several days working in the San Francisco Bay area. I finally made good on a promise to take two of my good friends out sailing. I've always heard that the San Fran Bay was a difficult place to sail with high winds and very strong currents. We rented a Hunter 31 and ventured out in winds that were sustained 25 - 30 knots and gusting higher. Once we rolled up the jib and proceeded under full main sail alone we were perfectly powered for the conditions.

The wind was out of the NW which made it really hard to beat up the bay from Alameda, CA where we started. We did make it under the Bay Bridge and got about a mile off Alcatraz before we turned around and headed back for the relatively sheltered waters of the lower bay. It was a beautiful day and I can't wait to do it again. I want to sail around Alcatraz and Angel Island.

On another note the boat work continues. I am shooting for finishing up the windlass rebuild and getting it mounted, splicing the radar cable back together and cleaning up the harness, and installing my new Garmin 545 GPS chart plotter. I've got three full uninterrupted days to work on the boat. Let's see what I can make of them.

Getting things in order.

2008-05-15T20:42:00.000-06:00

The boat work goes on, but I’ve started a new focus as well. I still haven’t fully sorted out my personal business such as getting mail, arranging my finances for long term cruising, or figuring out how I’ll stay in communication.

I did take one giant step towards being ready this week. I paid off my boat! I had been hanging onto the loan both because it was a low interest rate and I needed the tax deduction. I also use ING to save the cruising kitty and was doing pretty well on the interest I was accruing until the past few interest rate reductions by the Fed. http://home.ingdirect.com/ If you are saving money in a savings account that is only paying 1% check out the high yield checking account that is closer to 4%.

I took a hard look at my spending and cut out a few others luxuries like the gym I never go to. In about 3 hours work I saved myself over $450 in monthly payments I didn’t have to be making. It’s time to start spending like I am already cruising. My savings is going to have to last.

My next step is to find a real estate agent in Dallas who can sell a little condo I rehabbed up there right after grad school. I got a great buy on it, but the home owners association is making it impossible to keep it as an investment property. They are assessing so many fees they’ll effectively drain my kitty if I don’t get rid of it. Plus, I really don’t want to have to worry about managing business affairs here at home while I am out sailing. I think the extra work now to get clear of a few things will pay off in the long run.

I bailed out of the race to Veracruz. It would have required me to take two weeks off of work in June that I really can’t spare. That’s when I need to be closing business to pay for the rest of the repairs I still need to make. Instead, I am taking two weeks off in July when I can work uninterrupted on the boat. I can’t wait to be able to give it that kind of focus.

The TASS sailing club is running town to Freeport, TX over Memorial Day. I always come back from a trip rejuvenated about working on the boat. I think it’s time to give the old girl a kick and go sailing for a weekend. I got the old windlass torn down which is a story I’ll save for another post. This weekend is focusing on finally knocking out the radar and hopefully getting the windlass rebedded on deck. Cheers Everyone. Here’s to living life debt free!

Lee

Want to hear the story behind naming the boat Jargo?

2008-05-13T13:55:00.002-06:00

THE DAY I RODE JARGO
Originally Written November -1963
By Grace Rice

Edited here by Lee Winters

Editors Notes: The man referred to in this story as “Lum” is Christopher Columbus Winters, my Great Grandfather. He was the last man in our family to be invited to the Indian dances, he carried a bullet in his neck for 30 years as a souvenir from a poker game, and carved a life for his family on the plains of southwest Oklahoma.

On the evening late the 4th day of April, 1921 my mother, husband, and three small children decided to go to the cellar as there was an ominous cloud in the northwest. We lived in low land and the cement cellar was about 100 yards from our home. My husband didn't think it necessary to go to the cellar, but I told him that it is always the unexpected that happens. Sure enough the unexpected happened early next morning.

We stayed for awhile at the cellar that evening and nothing happened. Howard, our two small children, and I came back to the house to sleep while my mother and four year old son Dennis stayed at the cellar, black cloud still in the sky. I lay down in my clothes thinking we might have to make a run for the cellar yet again. I slept through the night dreaming that the earth was parched dry. Howard, always an early riser, got up at 5:00 a.m. yelling that water was running all around our house. I woke just as the water was coming over the floor.

There was a great cloud burst many miles up river and the water rose at one foot per minute. I told Howard to stay calm, but to go immediately to the cellar and raise the door. Howard made it to the cellar but couldn't make it back on account of swift water. I went to a kitchen cupboard and placed two gold rings on my fingers I always took whenever I left the place.

I moved by the children’s beds where my two babies were sleeping. One bed had already begun to float. I felt the need of prayer and I prayed earnestly and silently to be rescued. As I said, “Thy will be done” I heard a voice outside. It was a neighbor riding another neighbor’s horse as he couldn't get to one of his own. This horses name was Jargo and he was 16 ½ hands high. He was a high strung nervous type and he stood on his hind feet twice as I was being helped on him.

This man, Lum, was raised on this river and he was an excellent swimmer. He left his own family safe and dared the raging waters to come in for us. I took hold of a small part of Jargos’ mane and carried the two year old in front of me. Lum carried the baby Earl who was 3 months old that day. The older part of house was creaking and breaking away scaring Jargo as we were trying to mount. Never the less, we started out downstream. Lum told me “Grace we will make it out all right, but it will be down the river a mile."

We had gone about three hundred yards when Lum told me to look back. Our home, where we were just standing, was gone. It had just hung for a few minutes on a pump in the yard.

Lum swam and carried the 3 month old baby until Jargo pulled all four of us near a slough 1/4 mile down. The slough had collected flood debris of all kinds and Jargo was going full blast when he hit the drift and came up and over, backward. Lum had only a rope around Jargo's neck, but knowing he would have to maneuver and manage Jargo he had given me both children just before we hit.

When we did, I came off but held onto a tiny bit of mane. Jargo was scared and he ripped, circled, squealed, and nickered. He circled three times and I washed down stream over him again and again, but held on. It is true that a drowning person will cling to a straw.

I dropped my baby the 1st time I came off, but grabbed the two year old Buddy with my left hand. I couldn't speak for a time, but when I could I screamed that I'd lost my baby. Lum said, “I've got your baby”. Jargo eventually broke through the drift and Lum said, “Grace, Jargo is going to make it”. I said do you think the baby will be alive? He told me no, but it was a consolation to know we even had it.

When we finally made the waters edge Jargo stopped, riderless. Lum and I both fell to the ground breathless from the ordeal. That’s when I saw Lum uncover my baby’s face. His gown had washed over his head smothering him, but also keeping out a lot of mud and water from my baby’s lungs. Miraculously, I saw my baby gasp and start breathing again.

I was looking at them under this horse, Jargo, as we rested a few seconds. Lum didn't get up for awhile as he was more exhausted than I. The veins in his temples stood out as big as a pencil is around. An elderly man met us there and I told him to take off his jumper to wrap my baby in and take him to the Carroll’s home as quick as he could. He did, but he later told his wife he thought the baby was dying while he had it.

Lum soon overtook me and took Buddy out of my arms going ahead of me to the Carroll’s home. When I arrived Lum was trying to kindle a fire and had stripped Buddy putting him in bed. Mrs. Carroll was changing Earl into dry clothes, an old dress she was wrapping around him.

Amazingly, the water kept rising and we all had to leave the Carroll house heading to another place up the road. The water was side deep to the horse as we went. Someone led my horse and carried Buddy. Someone else carried Earl on another horse as the water rose higher and higher. The men built rafts and one man tried to get to my husband, mother, and four year old child still on the cellar roof, but the water was still raging and too swift.

We found Howard standing on top of the cellar with water already above his knees. They stood there until about 5:00 p.m. when the water went down a great deal. A few men rode horses into the flood and took a boat with a rope tied around the saddle horn.

My mother and Dennis sat in the boat while Howard rode a horse out. Howard had to borrow some of Lum's overalls as he was out there in nothing but his shirt and underwear. My mother had only her coat and a little over $80.00 in the pocket. We not only lost our home and everything in it, but our chickens, turkeys, and corn in the barn. All went down the river including our 3 month old white shepherd pup that was found next day floating on the base of our dresser. He growled and showed his teeth at the man who tried to approach him, but was plenty glad when Howard rescued him. I cried when Howard brought him to me on the horse he was riding. This dogs name was Rufe, and we always cared a great deal for old Rufe.

There were more than 50 people stranded on each side of the river. A good many silent prayers were offered on that day. People were good in both counties to us. I had 29 quilts sent to me besides mattress, pillows, clothing, feed, chickens, cash and everything else. I could go on and on.

We never did go after some things people had asked us to come get such as feed and a few other things. We were all thankful to be alive, and I said it took everything but us and our debts, but we made a good crop and a better price in 1921.

Howard said one thing was for certain; we won’t ever live in lowland again. I still dream of living on that place, especially when I am troubled or sick. I guess that day left an impression that will always be in my sub-conscious mind. One thing is for sure, I believe that prayers are answered. I am not the best of person, but I always felt like I must be a Christian and I have lived a long time now and can count many, many blessings.

God Bless You,
Mom

P.S. Lum lived 40 years to that day an unsung hero - May God rest his soul.

Projects, projects, projects.

2008-05-09T21:44:00.001-06:00

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a little while. I’d actually cranked out two new entries, but somehow they were not on my laptop any longer when I went to finally post them. I don’t have many IT problems considering I sell software so this one kind of befuddled me. Oh well.

I am back from a week on the road in Seattle for work. I’ve got a lot of history wrapped up in that town. I kind of felt like I was chasing ghosts around the restaurants, pubs, and hotels near the Pike Market. I met and somehow lost someone very special in that city years ago. Oddly enough, we reconnected over the phone this week and it was good to hear her voice.

I am back on the boat now, and after a day that reminded me why I don’t want to sell my days to the corporate world, am ready to dig in full force on boat repairs. Here is the immediate plan of attack. First, use the borrowed Electrician’s Fish Tape to run a new messenger up the mizzen mast and get the radar signal cable run. This project is starting to drag on longer than the eternal autopilot instillation. I am really hoping I can do it with the Fish Tape so I don’t have to pull the mast. Second, pull the old, rusty windless off the bow of the boat and get it over to the powder coater. She is a great manual windless that is incredibly oversized for my boat and I love it. It’s got lots of rust scale, but it’s a beautiful piece of machinery. Third, I’ve got to paint my dingy. That’s right. I have to paint it. No, not the tops but the bottom. See, if you leave a dingy unused for too long it starts to grow barnacles and sea grass. So, I’ll paint the bottom with anti-fouling paint to keep it nice and clean. Now I just have to scrub off all of the weed that’s already accumulated.

Nose to the grindstone time. I can hear the clock ticking.

Compromise!

2008-04-30T23:12:00.004-06:00

I had dinner with Steven again last night and had a look over the next revision of the web site. I think he got it right. Again, these pictures are place holders only and will change on a regular basis. I'll use them to let people know when the blog has been updated or there is a new SOS site visit coming up. I like it.

Six Month – 32 Years

2008-04-29T13:46:00.003-06:00

I’ve been leading a double life for the past year. On one side I’ve been working like mad for my company trying to earn as much as possible and advance my career. On the other hand I’ve been preparing a boat and making a plan to cut loose from that life to go cruising and help others. Things feel like they are coming to a head.

I turn 32 on Thursday. I’ve spent last Friday and yesterday interviewing for a couple of management roles both in the U.S. and in China. I don’t know if I’ll be offered the jobs yet, but it is a real possibility. At the least I think I’ll be offered a job handling a few accounts globally instead of on the west coast like I’ve been doing. The juxtaposition of the activities I fill my day with can hardly be reconciled for much longer. I will have to choose a path.

Thursday is May 1st. Not only is it my birthday, but it marks six months until I am supposed to cut loose and head to my first stop in Mexico. This is a bit of a reality check as I need to accomplish at least twice as many projects as I knocked out in the past year. I can do it, but it is time to put my head down, and grind out the remaining items on the punch list.

It’s time to go to work. For now, I’ll keep selling during the day and refitting the boat by evening. Below are a few shots I took for the photog classes I enrolled in. I like my camera.

I’ve got some pretty cool readers.

2008-04-22T10:01:00.003-06:00

First, thanks to everyone who provided comments and email feedback. That post got far more of a response than any yet to date. This whole blog thing is a lot more fun when I hear back from you so keep it up. The feedback was intelligent and valuable to me, so thanks. I’ve really got to give Steven Malm, my web designer, some credit. I really like both designs. He came up with two templates that match the basic requirements we discussed.

Having said that, my personal taste seems to run against the grain. I really like design #1 with the white background. One reader called it, “simple and smart” which is kind of the look I was leaning towards. However, based on the overwhelming support by you, the readers of these blogs, I am going with design #2. Steven and I will work to tweak it a bit, but we’ll probably keep with the basic three image format with a slightly modified header, and textual excerpts from the daily blog and children’s blog to help draw readers deeper into the site.

I got a lot of comments on the eagle and I couldn’t help but laugh a little every time. I don’t know if we’ll actually use any of the three pictures that are on the template now. Steven just grabbed three pictures to plug in while he was working on the layout. Most likely it will be some version of a pic of me with my blog text below, a SOS child from the next site visit I am going to make and a letter from that child telling about themselves, and finally a boat pic project details. The end result will be a hybrid somewhere between the two styles. Maybe a white background version of the three image layout? We’ll see. Steven’s got a much better eye for design than I do so I take most of my cues from him on this one.

In a random twist, I am now legally ordained. Yep, you can call me skipper, captain, or even Reverend! Two of my good friends are getting married a year from now in April. They wanted a non religious ceremony and a way to keep it on the lighter side. So, yours truly will be consummating, no wait, I mean solemnizing the wedding. This is going to be fun. I should just be ready to cross, or just finished crossing the Panama Canal so it will be a good time to come home before I head into the Pacific.
I went to my second photography class last night to learn more about photographic composition. It wasn’t much better than what I got off of google, but still helped a little. I am supposed to snap a bunch of pictures highlighting the various aspects of composition and we’ll review them in class next week. I think that will be more helpful than anything. Hopefully I’ll be able to start posting some more interesting pictures in the next few weeks.

And now, having already removed the old Furuno 1621 radar dome from the mizzen mast, I’ve got to climb back up it with the new one and get this project crossed off my list. I almost had a heart attack when I looked at the little counter in the top left last night. It slipped below 200 days and I didn’t even notice. The Race to Veracruz is June 6th and I’ve got a lot to do to get this boat offshore ready again.

I need your feedback! Leave comments, send email etc.

2008-04-16T15:02:00.004-06:00

I sat down with Steven this morning to look over the ideas for the new web page layout. Two in particular stuck out. I am not telling you which one I like. They are pretty different and the text on each along with the pictures will change, but they both give an idea of the layout format. Let me know which one you like the most and most importantly, why.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Give me some real feedback on these. I need your help. You can comment directly on the blog by hitting "comment" below or email me directly at r.lee.winters@gmail.com.

Proof!

2008-04-10T10:38:00.002-06:00

T-shirt in hand, keys in the pocket......next time I'll be more prepared. On another note, I just got my AB 10.5 foot RIB dingy and I love it. This is a part of boating I haven't explored at all since I moved onto my boat. Running at 20 knots across Clear Lake exploring all the small canals and bayous is a great way to spend an afternoon. There are about 20 different places to pull up and eat around here if you have a good dink. Now I just need to make it legal by registering it.

How not to prepare for a 5K.

2008-04-08T10:54:00.002-06:00

First, don’t stay up until 2 a.m. the night before. Sleep is one of the most critical elements of feeling good for a days run. Second, do not confuse carb loading with beer loading. Despite how much fun it is to see old friends again, Miller Lite is not appropriate fuel for running. Third, if you are used to eating a regular meal of two eggs, yogurt, and an orange don’t think cramming a power bar in your mouth is going to provide you with stomach ache free running. Forth, stretch. This seems obvious as you’ve done it before every other run you’ve ever made, but that leads me to number five. Five, leave at least two hours before the race. I got there so late that I had to run from the parking lot a mile to the registration booth. Once I got my shirt banner and shoe tag I ran outside thinking I had a minute to stretch. Nope. No sooner had I found a small spot to sit than someone yelled, “GO” over a loudspeaker. So, shirt in hand and cold unstretched legs, I ran across the starting line. Six, no matter what, take the time to use the restroom before you start running. It’s not like I had an accident or anything, but I was far from comfortable.

Now that we’ve covered what not to do, the good news is I ran non-stop and completed the race in exactly 31 minutes and 52 second coming in 222 out of a field of 498. That time tells me I kept my training pace of almost exactly 10 minutes per mile. Given the slightly less that stellar preparation I gave myself the day before the race I am excited to do another one more locally. There is one benefiting a local dog rescue organization at the end of April I think I’ll try. Despite a difficult start it felt really good to come across the finish line with everyone cheering the runners on.

On another note, I just spent the morning with Lori Brewer of Waterford Portrait Design. Lori is a professional photographer who very generously donated her time and talent to taking pictures of me, Georgia, and the boat for the web page. We should have the shots back in a week or so and I am still hoping to have the new website up by the end of the month. I snapped a quick shot of Lilly, Steven, and myself. These two have been a world of help in putting me in contact with resources, watching Georgia when I travel, and obviously the logo and web page. Thanks guys. Your help is greatly appreciated. Special thanks to you too Lori. Your professional eye will make all the difference.

Finally, I’ve registered three different names to host my page. I will make them all redirect to the final page, but I am curious which one people like best? Which is the easiest to remember and least confusing?

http://www.sailing4sos.com/
http://www.sailingforsos.com/
http://www.s4sos.com/

What is accomplishment?

2008-04-02T17:28:00.000-06:00

My 5K race is this Sunday. I have not yet run 5K on the road, but I’ve been using the treadmills at the hotels I stay at while traveling for my day job. I just cranked out my first ever 5 kilometers or 3.1 miles. It’s supposed to be much easier on a treadmill than on the road, but I am still feeling pretty good about it. If you are interested at all in starting to run then I highly recommend www.marathonrookie.com. They give you complete training schedules and can also hook you up with all the races around the nation if you want to enter a run.

Going from very poor cardiac condition to 5K ready in five weeks also got me thinking about accomplishment. The running website also gave me the following quote to think about when it got hard to get motivated to run.

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."
- George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian.

It’s always easier to do nothing than it is to make a choice to change. Despite the difficult nature of making such a decision and putting in the effort to see it through comes the sense of self gratification. I apply this to my own life with both the running and the Sailing for SOS project. I’ve never been happy with my career choice, but despite that it’s extremely hard to carve out a new path. I know so many people who hate what they do, but choose the security of the known over taking a chance to try something different that might bring happiness. One smart lady put it this way.

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it. “
- Margaret Thatcher

Whatever it is you want to do, make a plan to make it a reality and take action on that plan. It’s amazing how quickly you’ll find energy to give the project you never knew you had. I guess it’s a quote day. One last one to finish off.

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-03-30T08:44:00.002-06:00

Don't send a lame Birthday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Happy Birthday to Max Winters! That's my Dad.

Short post today. I am just finishing off some breakfast this morning then I am headed up to Houston for a photography class. I put a little money into a really good still camera, a Nikon D40x. The Houston Center for Photography has basic and intermediate classes so I am starting at the most basic class they offer. Hopefully the effort will show up in the pictures I post.

On another note. I am selling the 12 foot, rigid fiberglass dink that come with Romance. It's way too big for the deck when I am offshore and I can't leave it on the davits when I am sailing in open water for fear a wave could crash in it ripping it off the transom. I should get my new AB 10.5 foot dingy next week. My neighbor needed one as well so we pooled our purchasing power and got a pretty good buy. Can't wait to go for a ride. When you are out cruising your dink is just as important as your car is to you today. I got a good one.

Less is more

2008-03-24T20:02:00.002-06:00

This is true more often than we might think. It’s a concept I am struggling with almost everyday for the past few weeks. My departure date is almost 8 months away now, but I really feel like it will be here tomorrow.

Six years. I’ve been planning this and working to make it happen for six years. In that time I’ve almost gotten married, but ended a four year relationship, held three different jobs, lived in three different states, lived in four different cities, finished an MBA, learned how to sail, owned two boats, rebuilt and learned to ride a motorcycle, and bought the boat I think can take me around the world.

I am trying to reconcile 8 months with the need to see and spend time with my family and friends, find and secure sponsors, finish the four dozen projects on the boat, make enough money in my present job to pay for all that still needs paying, finish the website and solidify the partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, give up a six figure salary, raise the media machine I need to get donations going to SOS, learn how to take good photographs, hire a professional photog to take pics for the website, take some writing classes, and generally keep a good handle on reality.

I’ve been running more and more lately. I don’t know how to describe it without sounding a little touched, but whatever the thing is that pulls me to go sailing is also pulling me to run. The closer I get to it the more I feel it. Sailing, and running, has become a need. They are no longer a want or desire, but things I know I have to do. I literally feel pulled to do them just like a fish on a hook. Hopefully I won’t end up in a frying pan.

I’ve been using the marketing side of my brain the last few hours trying to figure out how I can add to the draw of the blog and get more readers involved. I think the best idea is to have the site sponsor an individual child from each country I’ll be visiting through SOS Children’s Villages. http://www.sos.usa.org/. If I can do this I’ll be able to generate a dialogue with a child under the care of SOS learning about them before I arrive. That way when I do get there we’ve already got something of a relationship and I can get to know them much better in the short time I’ll be at their village. This should also give the readers a chance to get to know the kids better.

The other little known aspect is that my pup, a 10 year old Siberian husky will be making the trip with me. If I can get the some publicity with dog and animal lovers it’s a huge market to break into. That should add huge numbers to the readership. For those who have no idea why I am concerned with readership, well, it all boils down to charitable donations. In the end, part of the measure of success for this trip will be the amount of dollars donated by my readers to the multi-national 501(c)3 non-profit SOS Children’s Villages. I need my trip to be about more than my personal gratification.

It is all coming together. It’s going to be a long push between now and November, but it’s happening. It seems like I’ve lost a little of the whimsy that I usually have and no doubt there is a little stress to pull everything off, but it is all really good. I can’t wait to go sailing.

UPDATE: The above was written last night as I was flying to San Francico for work on Easter Sunday. I’ve been smiling all day. I had a great talk with the folks at SOS Children’s Villages and I got a little more reassurance that we are all on the same page with the project. The sent me a picture of a little girl that lives in Limon, Costa Rica. That is one of the sites I’ll be visiting on my route to the Panama Canal. Kind of pulls at the heart strings huh?

I’ve really got a problem.

2008-03-18T19:54:00.006-06:00

But it’s boring to lead a blog with the problem of the day. Despite my problem, want to know how I can tell I am in a good mood? When’s the last time you gave your shopping cart a big shove and jumped on not to jump off again until you almost cream some random car in the parking lot? That was me coming out of the Target today. It’s been awhile since I’ve done that and I used to do it all the time. I highly recommend it.

Now, on to the problem. I already said I set a lot of goals for myself. I just found out there is a single handed race coming up on April 18th. Single handed is when a person sails a boat by themselves. Something I do quite a bit. It’s called the Conundrum because there are 3 oil rigs you have to sail out to and sail back from one at a time. The trick is to determine what order you should go after them. Hence the name Conundrum. I’ve got a lot of work to do to get the boat ready for an overnight sailboat race, but I’d sure like to try my hand at this one. Not so much because of the competitive nature of the race, but just for the experience. It will also make a good shakeout sail before the Veracruz shakeout in June. A shakeout is a sail designed to test the limits of the boat. This would also introduce me to other single handed sailors so I can see how they rig their boats.

Speaking of getting ready, I continue to make progress in spurts. I’ve had minor back pain since I moved onto the boat and I am almost 100% sure it’s from a crappy foam mattress I sleep on. I just lugged my v-birth (the front of boats are pointy so they call it v-birth) mattress to a mattress factory where they are making me a custom mattress. Random note, stomach sleepers should sleep on firm mattresses, not soft mattresses.

Most excitingly, I think I am going to buy two new sails. I am on a sailboat after all and it seems that if I should be investing refit money anywhere, it should be new sails. I met the owner of Banks Sails Clear Lake and he has been extremely helpful. First, I need to replace the 30 year old furling system that rolls up the sail on the front of the boat. Once I do that I’ll make a new headsail (headsail is the front sail) specifically designed for Jargo. (a.k.a. Romance) As of today, I have no means to rig my storm jib which is kind of critical if and when I ever get caught in a storm. Mark from Banks showed me an easy way to bring my inner forestay back into play so that I can use my old hank on sail. This gives me a secure means to fly a very small foresail when winds pick up over 35 knots. I’ll also finish up my sailing rig with a new mizzen for the back of the boat. With a heavy duty cruising mizzen, new 130% genoa foresail, and storm jib this is going to be one hell of a sailboat.

I’ve also kept up with my running. I am in week three of five weeks before the 5K and I am really starting to feel the difference. Not only do I have more energy and am generally in a better mood, but my knees are killing me! I broke down and went to a running specific store to get my feet measured and my stride analyzed for a good pair of shoes. I hope they make the difference. I’ve got chicken legs.

I hope everyone is well and keep in touch!

Lee

Jason just sent me a few shots from our sail down to South Padre.

This was the sunset on the first day just as we came around Galveston through the jetties and out to sea.

Of course we hoisted our spinnaker just at dark. Boy, that was stupid. I had to cut the dousing line on the sock that knocks the air out of the sail to get it down. First and last time I ever try to fly a spinnaker at night.

Pretty first night.

One incredible sunset in Padre wasn't a bad pay off. Not to mention fireworks for New Years and meeting some other great cruisers who were hanging out down there.

I never met a goal I didn’t like.

2008-03-08T22:14:00.001-07:00

There is no question I get infinitely more accomplished when I have a well defined goal set in a realistic timeframe. That little statement is a pretty big self insight I am starting to really understand and use. Enter the Regatta de Amigos.

This little race, http://www.veracruzregatta.com/, is a 630 nautical mile sail due South from Galveston, TX to Veracruz, Mexico. I got turned onto this race by friends of mine looking for crew on their boat. Instinctively I said no way. My immediate thought was I could never get two weeks off work to go sailing, and if I were to take that kind of time off it needed to be spent pulling my own boat together for cruising. About the time this thought solidified in my jello like mind, I remembered that without a real goal, set in stone, I don’t necessarily make the best progress. So, why not take the time off to go to Veracruz?

Here is where my thought process stands today. It’s March 8th, almost exactly three months before this race kicks off. Even if I were to take a week or two off and do nothing but work on the boat, I don’t think I would get as much done as I would if I were preparing it to take myself and crew on this regatta. I’ve already two friends volunteer to crew which give me plenty of hands, help, and makes it a real commitment. It would also be a great trip to build on the experience I gained from sailing to South Padre.

I made up another quick map in Google Earth below. The black line was the Harvest Moon Regatta from Galveston to Port Aransas. The white line was the 520 mile run, down and back, to South Padre. The red line would be 1,260 miles, down and back, from Galveston to Veracruz. This would be another great shake out to test all the work I’ve done since the Padre sail.

Another reason this is looking more appealing is that I don’t think I will have time to hit the western Gulf Coast of Mexico when I go on the big cruise. This way I get to see some of this country before I set off down Central America.

I’ve gone running five days this past week. The Dallas 5k helps keep me focused on getting up each morning to make my progressively longer runs. I think I need this race to keep me focused on getting my boat ready.

Glutton for punishment

2008-03-02T12:16:00.006-07:00

I get seasick. I know this. It’s unfortunate, but very manageable. The only reason I mention this is because it prompted a visit to the doctor for some meds. What I wasn’t ready for was stepping on the scale in his office. I am by no means obese, but for the fist time in my life I topped 200 lbs. Not out of the ordinary considering I am 6’1, but still about 15lbs more than I carry at my target weight of 185.

I’ve also notices I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything I need to do to prepare for this trip, including making the money to pay for it. It sounds crazy, but the only thing I could think of to deal with it was to do more. It sounds counter intuitive, but I know I am out of shape right now. I figure if I can spend 45 minutes to an hour every day getting back in shape I’ll be much more productive than I currently am with the rest of the hours in a day.

Of course I signed up for a race. Only the fear of public humiliation can force me to put running shoes on in the morning. Plus, combine that with a chance to spend some time with good friends in Dallas and this is a sure winner. So, April 6th I’ll be heading up to D-town for the Big D Challenge. http://www.texasmarathon.com/ It also seemed somewhat serendipitous that this race is exactly 5 weeks away and Marathonrookie.com proposes a 5 week training schedule to go from non-runner to 5K ready. That’s three miles. Yeah, I had to look it up too.

On a totally unrelated note, I love me some pork chunks. I tell you what, I was incredibly skeptical about this canned meat idea, but they are actually very good. This wouldn’t have been discovered if I had followed my first instinct to though them all away after taking the lid off the pork chunks. The picture below doesn’t even do justice to how disgusting this tin of meat looked. It almost appeared cancerous with the little white specs of fat clinging onto it. Nevertheless, I put it in a pan with garlic, onion, a can of stewed tomatoes, salt, pepper and served it on top of a bed of couscous. Outstanding. It was really good. I’ve already gone through the beef chunks and boneless chicken and I can seriously give this stuff a good recommendation.

On another front, I’ve been thinking about how I want to document my trip. The blog was the primary outlet for relaying my experiences, but I keep thinking about the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. I agree with this when the photographer is competent. I am not a competent photographer. I also shelled out a few more dollars than I was expecting for a good digital SLR camera. This will let me take some professional quality pictures along the way. To make sure I didn’t just buy a really expensive point and shoot camera I enrolled in three classes at the Houston Center for Photography. First up, camera basics. Followed a month later with basics of composition. Hopefully this will let me bring you, dear reader, a story that is aesthetically pleasing as well.

Now, I am off to hoist myself up the mizzen mast to try and install my new 16 mile radar. Wish me luck. I’ll leave you with a quote from Francis Chichester. Chichester sailed round the world making only one single stop in Australia.

Nobody, I am sure, can be more aware than I am that my time is limited. I don’t think I can escape ageing, buy why beef about it? Our only purpose in life, if we are able to say such a thing, is to put up the best performance we can – in anything, and only in doing so lies satisfaction in living. – Sir Francis Chichester Gipsy Moth Circles the World

Planning ahead: Pork Chunks!

2008-02-24T09:39:00.004-07:00

All is well, but I've been pulled back into my day job in order to get this trip paid for. I've still managed to answer a few questions surfing the web even if I am not physically working on the boat. One question was what kind of canned meats and cheeses were available in the U.S. for provisioning. I found a site called http://www.internet-grocer.net/ and made a small purchase. I can't wait to see how my pork chunks cook up. mmmmm. I couldn't resist and cracked right into one can of Kraft's pasteurized process cheddar cheese spread. This stuff is exactly what comes in the individual singles packs. Not bad, but I wouldn't want to live on it. It does make a mean grilled cheese sandwich.

Other than ordering chunked meat, I've been pulling together some charts showing the Central American Coast and three different cruising guides that cover my course from South Padre Island, TX all the way down and through the Panama Canal. I am having a hard time balancing how many stops I want to make along this trip. I'd love to hit every little port so I can see more of each country, but on the other hand picking a few ports will let me stay at each longer really getting to know them. I think I am already leaning towards the latter option. I did a whirl wind backpacking tour of Western Europe as far east as Prague when I was just out of college. It was a great trip, but it was too much to fit into 2 months. I think I'd rather get to know the people and places I visit more deeply than is possible with rapid fire visits down the coast. Yo necessito estudiar mi espaniol. Adios!

Lee

Another Vote!!!

2008-02-18T14:46:00.004-07:00

I don't know why these are coming out orange. The logos will be the same blue used in the logos below. Just voting on the style for now. Please cast your vote to the Left!

LOGO #1 LOGO #2

Struck by lightening.

2008-02-15T10:45:00.005-07:00

No, not the boat. Me. That is the closest possible way I can describe the feeling I’ve had the last two weeks. I think it started with getting motivated to start working on the boat. I knocked out the macerator pump, that’s the one that pumps the sewage off the boat. Nasty, nasty job, but I got it done after finding several leaks that had to be fixed. Unfortunately, I figured out that the holding tank leaks so I need a new 15 gallon bladder tank to replace the old one. I also got the lines replaced for my main sheet, mizzen sheet, and running back stays.

I called the guys over at Blue Water to help me with the starter which has been malfunctioning occasionally since I bought the boat. We got the old starter pulled, rebuilt, and reinstalled along with a new solenoid. In the most frightening moment of my short boating career, I pushed the button to test the install and heard nothing but a click. Knowing something wasn’t right I dropped down below to have a look and realized I couldn’t see being engulfed in smoke. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and opened the engine compartment expecting to see flames, but there were none. In fact, aside from the smoke all seemed OK.

Apparently, new starters need a lot of amps to turn over the first time. The bad news was my older wiring had such a large voltage drop due to corrosion that the starter didn’t get full power when I hit the ignition button. What did happen was a total meltdown of the starting wire that runs from the solenoid to the starter, the battery selector switch, and my engine temp and oil gauges. Oh well, better at the dock then at sea. Now at least I know I’ve replaced the weakest link in the starting circuit.

Amazingly, the feeling I’ve likened to being hit by lightening didn’t come from my close call with an electrical fire, but with the interaction I’ve had with several people over dinner last weekend. I finally got a chance to sit down with my web designer and review his draft logos for the sight. I was impressed. I’ve copied three of them in below and would love some feedback. These are being revised based on some input from me and others so the final draft should be coming soon. Knowing I don’t have any creative talent myself I invited the crew of Transcend from the South Padre trip and one of their friends. What started out as a discussion about which logo looked the best turned into a full on brain storm about how to make this trip happen and make the absolute most of it. To Jesselyn, Sharron, Joe, Lilly, Steven, and Jackie, thanks. Your enthusiasm means more than you know.

So, coming off that dinner/logo meeting I’ve started filling out the paper work to incorporate my own 503c non-profit allowing readers to purchase shirts and such to support both SOS and myself. It’s a way people can give a fully tax deductible donation that keeps me sailing and gives directly to SOS. It’s going to be a pretty cool logo. I’ve also drafted my first press release. My feeble mind was just planning on sending the release to the sailing mags and the non-profit mags, but the group is going to help me get this out all over the place. Sponsorship for the trip is starting to look like it might actually be a possibility. Timing on the first media blitz is going to be pretty crucial. I don’t want to get fired before I am actually ready to go. Then again, that might make for an even more interesting story.

The end result of all this activity is that the reality of this project is sinking in. It still seems surreal that I’d quit my job and try to sail around the world to help orphans. Crazy huh? I am really starting to love the work I am doing to get ready for this trip. Somehow, it’s taking on a life of its own. I don’t really feel like I am pushing anymore, but that I am being pulled to it. There is lot’s to do, but it’s getting easier, not harder.

I am going sailing.

Lee

Wow, that smells like…….!

2008-02-06T22:11:00.001-07:00

Big couple of days this week. I haven’t been on the road due to a cancelled business trip so it has felt like found time and I’ve taken advantage. I went to talk to the guys at Blue Water and realized I could spend a week on this or have them over for an hour and a half and have it done. Needless to say, they come over the next day and took the old starter off the boat. I am having it rebuilt for $200 and a rusty spare rebuilt for $280 so I should have starters covered. They’ll be back and installed with the new solenoid by the 15th.

I also got motivated and spliced in my new main sheet, ordered the hardware for a new mizzen sheet setup, and tackle for both of my running back stays. The hardware will be here Friday and I’ve already got the line ready to splice in. I also started to tackle a job I’ve been dreading. The fear of a 15 year old macerator pump and what may lie inside is paralyzing. Ok, I know I don’t always slow down to explain all the sailing lingo, but this one is worth it. A macerator pump has two purposes. On fishing boats they use them to drain live bait wells of anything that may still be in them. They are really good at it because the little blades inside chop everything up and make it pump out the hoses nice and easy. Fish and all. The second use is to empty the holding tanks on pleasure boats like Romance. Yep, septic.

So, I donned a pair of fashionable latex gloves and started wrenching the old pump out of the boat. Guess what came out with it? You got it. Goo. Lots of very old, very smelly, gut wrenching, vomit on the spot, poop. I almost had to toss the whole damn sailing thing out the window. However, fortified by a cerveza, I rushed back into the head and wrapped the offending rags and pump in plastic trash bags and got it off the boat. This maneuver was followed by a quick epoxy job to shore up the mounting plate for the new pump and in it will go, tomorrow.

While that all dries I’ve dropped a couple of oil absorbers down into the bilge to try and mop up what amounts to way too much oil. I’ve been checking out a product called BioSok that is supposed to use bacteria to breakdown the hydrocarbons into non toxic compounds. I am a science geek. This stuff excites me and I can’t wait to try it.

Feeling pretty good.

2008-02-03T12:30:00.001-07:00

It’s amazing what a couple of days of sunny, warm weather do for my motivation. The boat and I both smell like diesel again and I like it. On the way home from Padre I had a filter clog and had to switch over to the second Racor. This is a great redundancy that saves a lot of time. I dug in today to replace both filters, but of course my starter solenoid is finally out for good which means I can’t bleed the system. I’ll give the old girl something, she didn’t leave me stranded out there in the Gulf. The only break downs I’ve had all occurred at the dock. Anyways, I swapped out both filters and learned a little more about my fuel system. It’s still dirty so I need to keep lots and lots of filters on board. I’ve also got an electric pump to help bleed the system, but only up to the injectors as I need the starter to bleed past the high pressure fuel pump. I’ll head to Blue Water tomorrow to order a new solenoid.

I can really feel the clock ticking. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the expanse of a year in front of me and realized how quickly it would all pass.

The logo for the new website should be done next week and an amateur photographer is going to come by the week after to take some pics of the dog and I on the boat. I’ll send them into Latitudes and Attitudes and hopefully get the site launched by March. I am expecting things to go into high gear as the weather warms up and am getting my game plan in place.

Waxing philosophical

2008-01-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

Something has been bothering me and I haven’t been able to crystallize what it is. I’ve known for a long time that the U.S. economy is based on capitalism. In other words, consumer spending is what keeps the U.S. going. If something happens that makes consumers stop shopping, like a pack of bad loans or a terrorist attack, we may run into a recession. Today congress passed an economic stimulus package of 1.5 Billion dollars. Most of that will come in the form of tax breaks for big business, but another chunk boils down to giving free money, $1200 for couples and $600 for individuals, to the people and telling them to go shopping. Go buy a LCD TV for the sake of your country.

I am not smart enough to think this through to any logical conclusion, but it doesn’t seem like it’s possible to sustain this model indefinitely. At a minimum, one of two things if not both need to occur for continued growth of the U.S. economy. First, people have to start spending more of their total income. I don’t know how this one works. It seems like people have already surpassed what should be a spending maximum. I don’t know how many people I hear about who spend will beyond their disposable income and run up huge credit card debts. The mortgage crisis is another example. People thought the housing boom would last forever so they bought way more house then they could afford and foreclosures now show a double digit increse.

The second option is to make sure we have a rapidly growing population adding to the work force resulting in more people out there shopping. I don’t have any numbers to back it up, but I though the U.S. and most western nation’s populations were declining? A lot of younger generations are holding off longer and longer on marriage and having children later in life. This combined with the aging baby boomers would significantly reduce the number of spenders we’ve got.

Up until I bought the boat and started the refit I’ve never been a big spender. I used to read financial planning books like we were about to loose them all. I even pass them out to friends of mine because the issue of personal finance is an important one to me. No one has found a better system than capitalism, but shouldn't we be looking pretty closely at it? The politicians argued for awhile about whom to give the rebates to because they didn’t feel those above a certain income level would pour the money back into the economy. People who tend to be financially savvy save, not spend. It’s the bunch in the rat race that the money is mostly targeted to. These are the people that drive the economy. They can’t get ahead because they buy cheap consumer goods that break in a year or less leaving them no better off had they not had the money at all. Those considered wealthy buy things that make money. They spend it, but they spend it on things that show a return on the money like property and businesses that feed the consumer market. Their money earns interest, they don't pay it.

Something seems wrong to when the best thing we can do with 1.5 Billion is to give Johnny Suburb a check for $600 and send him off to get an iPhone. Here is the message from my soapbox. If you haven’t already started really securing your financial independence and need help understanding how, go get a book called The Wealthy Barber. It’s an easy read with 10 things you can do today to get your finances in order.

Oh wait, this is a sailing blog. Ok, I read the above mentioned book about six years ago and now I am about to go cruising at 31. It wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t learned early on how to manage my money. I think this is a skill common to a lot of sailors I’ve spoken to.

My parents called my Lucky Lee…

2008-01-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

Lucky Lee stuck for more than just the alliteration. I have a habit of falling into good things. I am lucky. Always have been, but then again I also believe that luck favors the prepared mind.

It’s Sunday morning and I am flying out to California for a business meeting tomorrow. I am on the cattle cars that fly the skies, Southwest Airlines, and settling into my seat I pulled out a book called Blue Latitudes. The next thing I hear is a voice from the passenger beside me saying she’d read it and wanting to know if I was a boater. With a cheerful voice I responded absolutely and that I was even crazy enough to live on a 39 foot sailboat. With that she sent an equally charming smile back my way and confirmed that she too lived on a 54 foot sailboat. I like this lady already.

As more and more people file onto the plane the previously empty seat between us gets taken by another business traveler not all too thrilled to be sitting between us. Mostly immune, we carry on as she fills me in on the details of her 3 year cruise from California down Mexico, out to the South Pacific Isles, up to Hawaii and back. We’ve been sharing boat pictures on our laptops and of course I am full of questions in anticipation of my own cruise.

Now, sailors are typically always pawning off the dog eared copies of the various sailing mags we have about us. I wasn’t all that surprised, but very grateful when she reached into her backpack and pulled out a recently read copy of Latitudes and Attitudes. She indicated she’d been looking for a person to give it too and that she worked for the magazine. Robin, as I should be addressing her, then asked me to send in a picture and she’d get it in for me. Little did I know I was sitting next to the Publishing Manager for one of the top two cruising magazines. What a break.

My new evening project will be to pull together a quick and dirty press kit to send to Robin. I’ve been reading through the sailing mags websites looking for contacts exactly like Robin and now I come to find myself sitting next to the person I’ve been looking for. I really need my logo and web page up so I can start drumming up some interest in the SOS Adventure. My dad always used the old cliché, “I’d rather be lucky than good any day”. I am hoping I can be both.

BM Boat Works, Y.E.S., and Blue Water Ships Store

2008-01-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

I've had a few people asking me about who they can trust around Clear Lake, Texas for boat work. I've been through the ringer here knowing squat about boats when this all started. At first, I hired BM Boatworks, run by Ben Miller. BM did do a good job on some basic blister repair and the bottom job. I wouldn't use the same paint he used again but the work was fine. However, I was less happy about some electrical work he had done. The ST 60 instrument pack was installed well, but he didn't bother to run the wires along the existing wiring harness. They ran them across the water and fuel tank back to the board, the shortest distance and in my opinion poor quality work. I also purchased a 3K prop based on his recommendation that it would fit. It didn't. Fortunately MaxProp only charged me for the shipping. In short, bottom job, sure, anything else.....Call William Hensley at Blue Water Ships Store.

William Hensley used to work for Y.E.S., but Blue Water fired their entire service division and brought in William to rebuild it from the ground up. He is salt of the earth and will do the job correctly the first time at a reasonable price. I used to be evangelical about not using Blue Water which is kind of funny considering that is the only place I'll let my friends go now. Blue Water were the jack holes that tore out my old transmission and broke off a thru hull in the process leaving my boat with out power and slowly sinking. They then cut the line feeding the salt water wash down pump leaving my boat with air conditioning, but slowly sinking without power to get to a yard for haul out.

William fixed me up. I had to leave town for a business trip and they had the boat towed, thru hull replaced, and back in my slip in a day. The also reinstalled my new transmission in a day and it was perfectly done. In short, don't waste time or money going for a discount deal on boat work. Call Blue Water, but if William has moved on, I would too. And No, I am not affiliated with them in any way.

South Padre & Today

2008-01-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

The trip to South Padre was excellent. We left the Kemah fuel dock at ~2:00 p.m. and pulled into South Padre at 2:30 p.m. two days later. My buddy Jason, who knew nothing about sailing at the time we left, could handle the boat on his own by the time we got back home. I was really impressed with how quickly he picked everything up. The sail down had us running for 48 hours with winds ranging from 15 – 30 knots. I think I tried almost every sail combination possible with my rig. Right after we got out of the Galveston Jetties I saw the spinnaker go up on Transcend, the boat that sailed with us. Not to be outrun, Jason and I spent the next 30 minutes at sunset trying to hoist my spinnaker. It didn’t exactly go as planned, but we did get it up. Not two hours later the 15 not winds picked up to 25 knots which was way too much for us. Unfortunately, when we went to strike the spinnaker, the line that controls the dousing sock got fouled on my mast. There was only one way to retrieve it without going up the mast. Not something I was prepared to do at that moment. So, with Jason laying across the sail on the foredeck I ran down below for a knife, came up, and viola, no more tangle. Sure I’ve got to replace that line now, but it was better than the alternative.

The rest of the sail down was fairly uneventful. We arrived in South Padre and immediately after securing the boat, went for beers and oysters at a place just across from the marina. We were supposed to hang out with the crew of Transcend that evening, but wiped out from the trip, I fell asleep at 7:00 p.m. and slept undisturbed for 14 hours. It was a lot of work for two people. Jason and I started out with three hour shifts, but neither of us was getting enough useful rest to be any good to each other or the boat. There was never a decision made, but we naturally started taking longer and longer watches letting the other person sleep until the person on watch needed a break. This was typically 4 – 6 hours. I think this worked much better for both of us.

We woke up the next morning, New Years Eve, to a beautiful sunny day with 80 degree weather. We took a few walks around Padre and knocked off a few boat projects before settling into a place called Coconuts to ring in the New Year. The local bars pull together every year and set a fireworks barge off at midnight on the back bay. It was a great show and a great way to start the New Year.

The crew of Transcend were late additions to this trip, but they made it infinitely better. I was having a drink or maybe two at the marina restaurant and saw a group of people I knew in passing from my time here. They invited me over and we all got to talking about sailing and boats, of course. Next thing I know I am regaling them with the woes of Project Romance and they are laughing hysterically. When I start talking about the pending shake down cruise, Joe, the Captain of Transcend looks at his main crew, Jeslyn, and they are immediately in. These two people, mere acquaintances before, are now very good friends of mine. They are both great sailors and just good people to boot.

The trip home was a one tack deal. We headed out on Thursday the 3rd after the norther blew itself out and made the reach home in good time. The only real difficulty came when, about 60 miles from Galveston, the engine quit on Jason’s watch. I figured it was a clogged fuel filter, but the problem was compounded by the fact that the solenoid picked this inopportune moment to go out again. So, with trusty jumper wire in hand I climbed into the engine room to jump start Rusty, my Westerbeke 4108. Sure enough the jump got the engine spinning, but still no start. I figured out how to switch the lines to get the alternate primary Racor fuel filter in line and started bleeding the engine. Eventually she started purring again. I’ve got a leak in the line somewhere that is letting air in as my RPMs are not holding steady. Another project for the punch list.

I also learned I get really seasick. Not debilitatingly so, but enough that my head was over the rail a time or two. Again, Jason, who is completely unaffected by the sea, stepped in and did all the cooking saving me from any more time spent down below than was absolutely necessary.

There were a couple of the most serine moments I’ve ever experienced on the trip home. I literally spent hours with the autopilot on gazing up at the stars. The Big Dipper was HUGE and we were pointed right at it. My stargazing was only interrupted by the rise of a quarter moon bright orange on the horizon. The sun rose not much later and the dawn brought dolphins. I see these beautifully graceful creatures all the time playing around the entrance to Galveston, but I wasn’t expecting them 70 miles offshore in 250 feet of water. They spent 30 minutes riding the tops of the swells into my bow wave and running back to do it all again.

I learned more about my boat in those 540 miles of sailing than I have in the 13 months I’ve owned her. I think this new found knowledge along with the New Year has really kind of freaked me out. The scope of the project I am undertaking is setting in and I am figuring out how to deal with it. You can see the current punch list below of projects, but the scariest part for me will be actually quitting my job. To leave the lifestyle and security I’ve come to know. A sales role like I am in requires you to earn your living by getting the job done, otherwise you don’t get the commission check. I guess sailing isn’t much different, get the job done or you don’t get there safely.

I am getting serious about the planning stages for the trip. I realized I didn’t even know where I was going or how to get there. Pouring over the maps, I’ve decided not to head East first. Rounding the Dominican Republic before turning south for Panama will not give me time to explore the places I visit like I want too. Instead, I am going to run down Latin America on a more direct route to Panama. There are at least 4 SOS Villages I can visit on this route, 2 more than I could have hit going the other way. I’ve ordered large scale charts for route planning, mapped the SOS Villages and tentative routes on Google earth, purchased cruising guides for the western Caribbean, and purchased Spanish language lesson tapes. It’s time to get serious or this will end up like too many other cruising dreams and never make it to reality.

To-Do List
high
Source Life Raft

high
Buy and Install a new Radar

high
replace lines

high
repair/replace macerator

high
buy and install GPS

high
running lights and bulbs

high
repair spinnaker sock

high
replace spinnaker halyard with swivel

high
bleed engine and replace primary racor

high
pull windlass and have painted/powder coated

high
Pull starter and solenoid to replace

med
Take main and mizzen into Cameron Sails

med
paint nonskid

med
fix the radio!

med
clean out and test water maker

med
recast and make brakes for prop lock

med
redo toilet lines and get rebuild kit

med
positive latches on all drawers and storage locations

med
run line to mast steps to prevent halyard wrap

med
anchor chain howser replacement

med
rig secondary anchor with rode and line

med
calibrate knot/speed log

med
inspect/replace cabins side ports - bronze flush

med
rig removable inner stay

med
replace storm jib halyard and block

low
weather strip fridge and freezer hatch

low
re-enforce dock steps and paint

low
Seal anchor chain hawse pipes with epoxy

low
Rewire and get battery for dingy

low
Book ASA 105 Test

low
get dogs chipped

low
replace 70's lamp

low
Georgia platform

low
design maintenance log

low
recover barge

low
paint interior

low
New cushions and recover

low
Photo classes

low
replace cowl vents with permanent fixtures

low
cockpit burner

low
upgrade solar panel

low
weather seal port lights

low
Put 150 back on

low
get pot holders from transcend

low
grind lip of drop leaf table mount for easy removal

low
Helm Mount: Autopilot R/C and Commandmic

low
plumb water deck plate to tank

The Return.

2008-01-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

Amazingly, we never hit the squall line. I guess I need to learn how to read teh clouds a little better. In fact, I spent most of the night steering the boat by keeping the big dipper 5 degrees starbord of the mast. Bigger post coming. Lots going on, just little writing.

Happy New Year......We did it!

2008-01-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

We are resting and relaxing watching the bowl games in South Padre. We made the 270 miles in 48 hours. We had steady 20 knot winds gusting to 30 with 3 - 5 foot seas. I'll write up the whole trip later including have to cut the spinnaker sail rigging when it tangled in heavy winds. Overall, no injuries and a great, great sail.

The Family is in for Christmas.

2007-12-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

I woke up early this morning with the chance to take my brother out for a sail. He also provided some extra crew while I read up underway to figure out how to finish the Raymarine autopilot commissioning. I learned something new today also. If you push the ignition button on a diesel engine and they don't start, they are pretty easy to hotwire. I think my starter solenoid is going bad, but a jump from the battery post across the ignition circuit did the trick tog get the engine humming again. Thanks Julie! Your book, Boat Owners Mechanical and Electrical Guide, saved the day today. Luckily, my mom was standing at the Kemah Boardwalk on our way back in and snapped a few shots of us under way.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2007-12-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

I think we are going to go for it. The boat is cleaned up and most of the loose ends have been taken care of. Jason flies in the morning of the 27th and we should be ready to head for South Padre. I am almost giddy with excitement. I am going to restow the cabin today make room for Jason to get his gear stowed. I need to pick up a few more things like a 4 in. cowl vent, new life jackets for guests, and get provisions the day before we go. I’ve been checking the weather conditions every day for the past week and it’s looking like rain right now, but hopefully we’ll catch a break. For sea conditions I use http://www.nws.noaa.gov/. You can click on the region you want a forecast for. I also check the conditions at the blue buoys at http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/maps/WestGulf.shtml. There are three blue marks approximately on the line from Houston to South Padre. These guys give you the wind speed, direction, and wave height and period. Good stuff to know before setting out.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you are all having a safe and happy holidays.

It's alive!

2007-12-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

I got the autopilot back from Raymarine today and all is well. Fearfully, I plugged in one component at a time starting with nothing more than giving the unit power. After it was all plugged in it beeped happily and I started the dockside comissioning process. All is well. I can even describe what a reliefe it is to have that project in and on time to go to Padre. I also tore out the old battery box, fiberglassed in new supports, and will add the tie down mounts tomorrow. The boat is getting a good compound waxing this week and should be ready to go by the 28th.

Good news on the flotilla. I've got at least one other boat with 4 crew going down. It will still just be Jason and I on my boat, but this gives us all some added security. Not to mention they are fun people. During the rest of the week I need to buy a fishing rod and license, replumb the replaced exhaust thru hull, add the battery tie downs, swap the 110 jib for the 150 geneoa, replace the mainsheet, fill diesel and water tanks, provision, sea trial the autopilot, and if I am really aggressive maybe I'll install a new macerator pump and the radar. To do lists on boats are never ending.

Getting back on track.

2007-12-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

I finished up my autopilot! Almost. I finally get everything mechanically installed exactly the way I wanted it, ran all the electrical per the manufacturer specs, and plugged it in. Snap! The breaker threw. What do you do when that happens? Try it again. Snap! Ok, something is wrong. So, I checked all the connections to every piece of the autopilot and found one wire that was not connected terribly well and replaced the whole run of wire with brand new stuff. I then reconnected power and, POP! I didn’t know what the sound was, but at least the breaker didn’t blow. So, I start digging around again and sure enough, I blew the 30 Amp fuse on the autopilot course computer. That’s the brain of the whole deal. I blew a couple more of them both out of frustration and in an attempt to troubleshoot the install. Fortunately I got Raymarine on the phone the next day and they informed me that the only problem I had was with a bad piece of equipment, not my install job. So, $130 bucks and a day later it is sitting on their workbench in RI confirming the computer was faulty. I should get the replacement back Monday to commission and test the new unit. Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe say a prayer.

I also tore into my battery box problem and if it will stop raining think I can knock it out in a day or two. Nothing major, but I need to fiberglass in a few reinforcements to carry the extra weight of my Trojan T-145 golf cart batteries. These little dudes are heavy, but I love them because they give me lots and lots of juice.

I may have recruited another boat to sail down to Padre with me as well. I was absorbing a rum and coke last night and ran into a group of people I met when I first moved to Kemah. We laughed hard for a few hours, mostly at my expense regaling them with tails of my boat projects. Next thing I know we’ve got volunteers to sail down for New Years with us. Now, this may be one of those late night great ideas that never really materialize under the light of the next day, but I am hoping it does. It would be fun and a bit safer to make the trip with some friends. We had 50+ mph gusts of wind last night. I hope we get better conditions for the Padre trip.

I'll leave you with a quote I pulled from another sailors blog. You can check out his page by clicking on the title to this blog entry above.

“To me a voyage is essentially an act of will and a testing of the human spirit. If a sailor doesn’t learn anything more important from the sea than how to reef a sail, the voyage wasn’t worth making. One of the pleasures in setting out on a voyage is not knowing where the sea will lead. On a voyage a sailor is at risk. On a voyage a sailor knows he is truly alive. A voyage is not an escape from life; it is a reach for life.” - Webb Chiles

Slow going.

2007-12-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

I’ve ordered the charts and am halfway done with my autopilot installation. My buddy Jason is flying in on the 27th and we are setting sale on the 28th for South Padre Island. There is a slew of work to be done and I’ll never get to it all as every project takes three times longer than I imagine it will. I think I’ve been fighting with my autopilot for almost three months now. Some of that is me just finding other small projects to work on. I can’t leave on this trip unless I have my autopilot in and my battery box rebuilt. Considering I have three weeks that shouldn’t be too much by any means.

The votes are in and Jargo is by far the front runner. The more I think about that name the more I like it. I’ve also never heard of another vessel named Jargo and Google searches turned up almost nothing on the name except for a bad German movie.

I need help. I still haven’t found a developer for the SOS website who has really sold me on their ideas or ability to do what I want. If you know anyone who is really good at both graphic design and the back end database coding please refer me to them. I am starting to feel the pinch of time. It’s less than a year before I need to be ready to sail. I’ve hit the financial goal I set for taking the trip, now I just need to make this old boat seaworthy.

A Vote!

2007-11-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

I suppose I got in the mood for a vote after the most recent democrat debate. I still am not sold on the name Romance for my boat. A single guy sailing a boat named Romance seems a little presumptuous. So, I've been racking my brain coming up with a few ideas. They are on the survey to the left of this post. Let me know which one you like best.

Sundowner: A person who makes his home anywhere the sun sets. I kind of liked this since I am looking at traveling west or following the sun around the world.

Jargo: My great grandfather was Christopher Columbus (Lum) Winters. Talk about a nautical name. Anyway, there is a great story about Lum riding his horse, Jargo, across a river to save a woman and her child from a flood.

Orion: Does anyone else look up at the night sky in the cooler months for this constellation? I don't know why exactly, but seeing him up there is like having an old friend around.

Pitchfork: I've got a great article framed in my office that features my parents when they were chasing a dream of theirs. The title reads, "A dream named Pitchfork". The Pitchfork was a ranch in OK they started for kids.

Sandra Mae: Well, that's my mom. Hi mom.

Romance: Current boat name. Saves the cost of relettering and re-registering the boat. And, there really isn't anything that isn't romantic about this whole scheme.

Rocinante: The noble steed of one Don Quixote. Read it if you haven't. It was also the name given to the truck John Steinbeck took around America in Travels with Charlie. Charlie was his dog. I've got one of those too.

Bayou life is pretty good.

2007-11-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday Nov. 11th:
I woke up this morning with my boat nosed into the bank of the river. There are beautiful tree lined banks on both sides and the gentle flow of the river keep my stern lines tight. This is a beautiful place. I’d never really considered rivers a part of the cruising ground in TX, but this has changed my view towards the local cruising opportunities. On top of that, the TASS club had a showing of about 18 boats and probably 60 people. They deep fried turkeys and had an amazing Thanksgiving feast. There were guitars and campfires until late in the evening.

Now, as beautiful as the setting is this morning, getting here wasn’t so easy. The sail across the ship channel was idyllic. There was 15 knots out of the south that kept me moving at a steady 6.5 kts. All went really well until I started up the Double Bayou channel. The old Famet headsail furler caught the recently installed spinnaker halyard and wrapped itself up pretty tight. Not too major, but it took some time to get everything unwound and to free the halyard. Moving up the channel, the water went from 8 feet to 3 feet instantly. Yep, I was aground yet again. I spent a half an hour trying to work myself off without success. With the sun just dipping below the horizon I caved in and made a call to TowBoatUS. I love those guys. Amazingly, I floated free of the ground just a few minutes after I placed the call. I was using the prop wash off the rudder to turn the boat and suddenly she went in a full 360. I was floating and able to plow through a bit more mud back into the channel. Save the trip TowBoat. I thought all was well until I got boarded by the authorities about an hour later. Texas parks and wildlife hit almost every boat in the fleet. Since I was the last they certainly weren’t going to let me get by. They brought the patrol boat alongside and put a man aboard to check my vessel documentation. Luckily, I just got it all back about a month ago. No fines this time. I even got a tip, I don’t have to register my dink. If I’ll just put the same number on it as I have on the boat plus -1 it becomes a legal ships boat.

Ok, breakfast is cooking at the campfire. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Nov. 14th: TASS is made up of an amazing group of people. Like all boaters they tend to watch out for one another, but this is more like a close knit family. This group has seen each other through both the good and bad in their lives and collectively raised each others children. I joined up and am happy to have done so. They take a lot of great trips. Let’s see what’s next.

Things are brewing.....

2007-11-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

And no, it’s not my GI tract. I am doing a little river navigation this weekend with a group called TASS. I won’t tell you what that stands for. We are heading across the bay to a place called Double Bayou. I’ve had good luck on bayous so far so I hope this one holds true. Like my fellow Show Me Stater, Mark Twain, I’ll be navigating a few miles up a river. Remember, deep water is on the outside of the turns. Once to the spot, I’ll nose the boat into the bank and tie the stern up to some trees. This should make some good pictures. I am sure four letter words will be plentiful as well as the water gets really shallow. Especially with the low winter tides we’ve been having.

On another note, a good friend of mine is quitting his post doc to get a real job with a petro company. We are looking at taking a few days off in late December early January for a trip. Not sure if we’ll make Brownsville or Port A, but it should be fun. In lazy blog fashion, I’ll share the email I just sent him. Let’s see what he has to say back.

I am thinking of two trips depending on how well the boat holds together, we hold together, and weather. First, we do a two day offshore sail down to Port Aransas. A small little coastal town that might have something going on for new years. This would let us take our time coming back up the intercoastal waterway if the weather is bad. Alternatively, we could go all out for Brownsville, TX which is at best a 48 - 60 hour sail or two to three days at sea. It is also next door to Mexico so jail is a real possibility. The second would be real offshore stuff. Hard part here would be getting back home for work if the winds were not in our favor, but we can always watch the weather forecast and make that call at the time. Hummm.......Time to start repairing things again.

Harvest Moon – DNF

2007-11-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

DNF = did not finish. That was our official standing in the Harvest Moon Regatta this year. Regardless, we had a great time and I believe made the right decision to call in quit, cut the motor on, and make it to harbor in time for the party. Our crew was mostly inexperienced and we went into the race with one objective, to have a good time. By those standards we were definitely a winner. I also got the experience of my first offshore, overnight passage.

I am working on putting all the pictures and video clips together into one short film I’ll upload when it is ready. Until then, here are my two favorite pictures from the trip. These were taken only a few minutes apart. One is the sun getting low in the sky and is almost eclipsed by a cloud of smoke from some fire burning in the distance. The sun set our course for the last few hours of the day. As that big ball of orange fire set ahead of us the Harvest Moon began to rise behind us. It started out the same color as the sun, but faded to a brilliant white as it climbed higher off the horizon. It was a pretty magical time of day.

Getting back to my own boat, progress has been a little slow. I still haven’t seemed to muster the motivation to finish the autopilot installation and my new radar has turned into a great footrest under the dinette. There has been a lurking fear in the back of my mind about the trip. For some reason I am really having a hard time seeing myself go through with it. Oddly enough though, I’ve made good strides towards getting the site sailing4sos.com going. I am meeting with the same designer that does www.projectbluesphere.com on Tuesday. Alex gave him a really good reference and I am excited to learn how to get things going on the site. I still really need help with the design aspect of the site and a logo I can use on the site, for press releases, and potential merchandise through cafepress.com. Please let me know if you can help with this aspect of the trip. I need a cool logo.

Speaking of design, I am trying to figure out how to make the interior of the boat more comfortable and a bit more mine. I need to repaint the ceiling and get rid of the wood grain formica that covers too many of the walls. Now if I could just pick a color I think I could dig into this project. I also need to redo the cushions and the mattress as my back is starting to hurt and I think it is how I am sleeping.

Personally, life is pretty interesting these days. I’ve really started dating again which has given me some good new stories. Turns out hobbits are real and they walk among us. I went on a blind date and an honest to god hobbit walked through the door. Fortunately, a few other prospects are looking more promising. Too soon to tell. Less than one year to go. I am moving things up and resetting the counter. Nov. 1st is the date.

Potential Logo

2007-10-21T12:31:00.000-06:00

Ok, so this is a free logo designer I found on the web. I've contacted an old friend from TCU who does this for a living and can pretty this up, but it's a start. Give me some feedback!

SOS…….SOS Children’s Village that is.

2007-10-21T09:24:00.000-06:00

It’s really easy to get caught up in our own problems from financial hardships to failing relationships. Last week I forged a partnership with one of the most amazing groups of people I’ve ever had the privilege of calling my friends. They toil effortlessly for the greater good of children who can’t help themselves.

I know that I will get very bored if I don’t have something to work for on my circumnavigation other than the physical sailing and exploring. I also been feeling the need to start giving back having been very self focused for the past several years. I’ve found corporate success relatively easy, made some money, but the effort seems hollow. It’s time to put some effort into helping others.

I started searching for a multi-national nonprofit that I could join forces with to drive revenue and raise awareness for. The search turned of a long list of respected organization from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation to the Red Cross. However, there was only one that really pulled at me. SOS Children’s Villages.

I sent one email to the USA office of SOS and within 24 hours received an overwhelmingly positive response back from them. SOS has operations across the globe and they’ve truly opened their doors to me adding a much needed philanthropic dimension to my plan. The general plan is to sail from Houston ESE around to the south coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic stopping at the SOS Villages there. I’ll be documenting the visits with pictures, film, and blog. SOS has invited me to stay for several days at each facility allowing me to get to know their individual characters and a chance to bring to life the story of one of the children or the many staff who make the villages possible.

From Haiti I’ll head to Jamaica, Columbia, Panama, and finally Tahiti visiting SOS sites in each country along the way. I don’t know much about public relations or how to use the media to my advantage, but SOS have put their resources in place to take care of press releases and getting the story out. Once I actually sail, they will be using their site as a platform to help track my progress and as a board to post my feeble attempts at telling their stories.

This past Monday morning was spent with the staff of SOS Children’s Village of Florida. I met the kind of people who can easily restore your faith in humanity. I want to tell their story in detail, but think the SOS stories deserve a page of their own either on this blog or on my other home page. To do this effort justice I am looking at a total redesign of the site that will include a donations page for SOS along with blog, photo gallery, and position tracking all in one place. If anyone is good with web development or knows someone who is that works at reasonable rates please point me in their direction.

Check out my new partner! http://www.sos-usa.org/

It’s been a surreal two weeks…

2007-10-08T20:04:00.000-06:00

When I was a senior at TCU in Fort Worth, TX there was a pretty tight nit group of graduate students in the Geology department. One or two of which I’ve stayed friends with over the past 10 years. The weekend before last I went up to a reunion they were holding at TCU. I think with one exception they were all married with children. It was great to visit with them and the weekend has really set my mind to thinking. It’s hard not to question ones actions when you see the look on friends and family members faces when I tell them what I am up to.

There is no doubt that the risk that scares me most about the trip is the difficulty of forming and holding onto a relationship. Let’s face it, convincing a sane and supportive female to jump on board a boat with a guy who she has known less that a year is a difficult proposition at best.

Seeing how happy some of my old friends where certainly argues a good case for the four bedroom house with a two car garage and 2.5 kids. I think I am even more afraid though of giving my life to a company whose values and goals are not inline with my own. It seems there are almost as many of my friends who are still asking themselves what they want to be when they grow up. I think I am somewhere in the middle. At least I know who I want to be, the what I want to be will fall into place if I start taking care of myself and doing the things inline with the who part of the question.

Now on to a much dirtier topic of conversation. Do you know what happens to the holding tank on a boat if you pump it one too many times without pumping it out first? I bet you can guess. C’mon, think about it. Yep, it has an overpressure valve that lets the over pressured solid/fluid mix inside weep out a little bit. I don’t care who you are or what head deodorizer you use, it stinks. So, I’ve spend the late afternoon and evening hosing out my forward bilge and wiping everything down with Clorox Clean Up. I am really hoping it does the trick. For those who remember reading about the shower sump debacle, it’s baaaack. Damn thing won’t start pumping water unless you give it a sharp rap with a heavy object. So much for West Marine brand systems. Damn thing’s got to be pulled out and replaced. Oh well, low priority. Until the next cruise that is.

Otherwise, slow but steady progress. I’ve ordered new main, mizzen, mizzen staysail, and flag halyards. To that order I added my new 406 megahertz EPIRB, Furuno 1623 radar, and Sampson line splicing kit. Now if I can only finish the autopilot installation!

Much love to the friends and family who’ve supported me in this trip. You are a rare bunch and I am lucky to have you. Anyone notice the counter up in the top left?

Lee

Getting ready for the Harvest Moon Regatta!

2007-09-16T12:58:00.000-06:00

I don’t know if I’ll sail as a part of the race or not, but I am going to take advantage of the full moon and do a shake out sail offshore. It’s about time. I still haven’t had Romance outside the Galveston Bay jetties so this isn’t a small undertaking for me. I’ve got a short list put together of things I need to accomplish on the boat before I could even meet the Category 3 offshore racing requirements. Not to mention it’s just stupid for a novice sailor to go offshore without some of these things. A few of these have been on other lists, but things like fixing the transmission took priority. I am really excited to be back on track and getting my boat ready for offshore cruising.

Must Do:

1. Purchase and install an offshore life raft. Practical Sailor just did a big spread on life rafts. I may take their advice and buy the budget recommendation. Avon makes a good raft that is relatively budget conscious as well. I need to pull the trigger and get this piece of gear mounted on my deck.
2. Buy an EPIRB! I can’t believe I’ve left this off the must do list for so long.
3. Replace the old Furuno 1621 Radar with a newer 1623. My old unit has crapped out and as with all my old electronics I have realized they are not worth repairing. To do this right I just need suck it up and buy new gear. The 1623 is a direct upgrade to my old unit so should be an easy install. It draws low power and has a 16NM range which should be plenty for me.
4. Finish the autopilot install. I don’t know why I’ve let this drag on, but it’s time to wrap it up.
5. Boil out the heat exchanger on the old Westerbeke 4-108. She still overheats above 2000 rpm.

Nice to do:

1. Buy a Garmin GPS chartplotter. I haven’t decided between the old 492 or one of the 550 models. One is discontinued and the other just had a major recall. Probably the newer one since Garmin does have great customer service if it has a problem.
2. Replace the mainsheet, main halyard, move the current main halyard to the spinnaker halyard.
3. Replace all running rigging on davits, mizzen mast, and spinnaker pole.
4. Get my Garmin handheld back to Garmin for repair.
5. Install lifeline netting on the deck to keep me and the pup onboard while underway.
6. Pull the windless and get it sand blasted and powder coated.
7. Do a top and bottom oil change on the 15 hp Johnson outboard.
8. Get the Main and Mizzen over to Cameron for repair, renewal, or replacement.
9. Secure the second CQR to the anchor chain and road with new stainless fittings.
10. Win the lottery to pay for all of this.

Last Video from Labor Day

2007-09-06T10:07:00.001-06:00

Monday Night at Red Fish Island

2007-09-05T21:22:00.001-06:00

Labor Day: Part One

2007-09-04T16:20:00.001-06:00

So I should note here that I was motoring to both check the engine, and because Red Fish was dead into the wind. Yes, I could have beat my way out there, but the concert only lated an hour and I wanted to hear a little of it anyway.

The noise from the power boats was deafening. I stayed way out on the perimeter of the anchorage until almost everyone was gone before I moved into the lee of the island.

This wraps up day one. More to come as I get them uploaded. I am thinking about buying a software package called Pinnacle for video editing. Does anyone have any experience with it? I'd like to be able to cut these together and get the whole story put into one video instead of five or six shorts. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I know I am not ready to go back to work.

A typical chain of events.

2007-09-01T08:16:00.000-06:00

Romance did leave the slip last weekend. I finished up the major clean up and repaired the engine kill cable, but figured it was more important to get the boat out of the slip than spend more time on the autopilot installation. I was a little concerned right off the bat because the engine was running a little hot. Nothing major, but around 190 – 195 when she should hold at 180. Georgia and I made it out to Galveston Bay and after feeling sure the transmission was working well decided to hoist the main sail for a quick run under sail.

This is the first time I’ve ever had romance out single handed and it was an interesting challenge. I got the main up, but had a batten get hung on the outside of one of the lazy jacks so it looked terrible. While I was fighting with this, Georgia let me know she didn’t quite have her sea legs yet. She was walking around very carefully concerned that the place she was about to put her paw might move out from under her. Nothing she won’t get used to.

After fooling around on the water for a half hour or so I headed back to the slip. Everything was going pretty well until I heard my bilge pump go off just as I was pulling into my slip. Any time that goes off it means the boat has taken on some water. Once every once in a long while is ok, but the damn thing went off again about 3 minutes later which meant I was taking on water and rapidly.

I crawled down below to find the leak and was shocked to find water pouring out of my hot water heater. My first reaction was to turn off the boats water pressure pump and luckily that stopped the flow of water. I mulled it over awhile and concluded it had to be one of two things. First, the over pressure valve on the hot water heater could have gone bad as they are known to wear out easily. This would have been the easy fix. The second option was that the over heating of my engine was in fact boiling the fresh water in the hot water heater tripping the correctly functioning over pressure valve. The raw water that cools the engine runs through the hot water heater so that you don’t have to use electricity to heat the water while you are under way. To test it all out all I did was let everything cool off and turn the pressure pump back on. Sure enough it held water so I had an engine problem.

Yesterday I had the mechanic out from Y.E.S. to walk me through the diesel servicing procedure for my engine, a Westerbeke 4-108. Having a professional walk me through the procedure probably saved me many days of fumbling around the engine lost on my own. He also gave me tons of insight into trouble shooting and general maintenance tips. His first suggestion was to replace the coolant reservoir cap and see if it helped. Five dollars later from O'Reilly auto parts I got the new cap on the engine held her temp almost exactly at 180. This made me really happy. Just to be sure all was well I pulled off the engine cover and to my dismay found coolant being blown all over the engine. The mist was so fine I could actually taste the sweetness and realize how this stuff kills so many pets who find open bottles lying around. Anyway, I shut down the engine and luckily it’s nothing more than a hose that needs cleaning up and refit to the engine. A 20 minute job. Having the new 7 lb cap on the coolant reservoir increased the pressure of the closed system and forced the hose to blow. Better to find out now rather than later.
Overall, I am ecstatic with the progress. The boat is literally ready to go sailing at the drop of a hat. I know how to maintain most of the systems and believe I can keep this boat running. I do still need to learn about the refrigeration systems, but that is for another day. Today, I am going to write up the servicing procedure so I’ll have the reference for next time and may head out to anchor somewhere by Galveston or Red Fish. There is a big party called the Red Fish Raft Up on Sunday and it sounds like a good time to me.

What’s that noise?

2007-08-24T10:28:00.000-06:00

Something very unusual disturbed the peace and solitude that has existed in slip 1334 in Waterford Harbor Marina. A rumbling growl shook wind and water this morning sending fish to the deep and ducks flying in panic. My heart beat began to race and I realized that it was quickening in perfect unison with the throttle lever I was gently easing forward in my right palm. After five long months of languishing under the Texas sun, roasting in the juices of the Houston humidity, the heart of Romance, and my own, roared to life after too long a silence.

I’ve had a difficult time wiping the smile that runs from ear to ear off of my face. For the first time I realize why some moments with boats deserve nothing less than a bottle of champagne. Unfortunately, my refrigerator has only a few cans of Coors Light, so despite the early hour, I’ve cracked a can and am reveling in the moment. My boat is no longer a floating condo, but once again the sailing vessel that can carry my dreams and I across the oceans.

There is much to do this weekend to undo the five months of slumber. Romance has months of dust and grime built up on her hull that will be washed away with soap and water. The drive arm of the autopilot still needs the rudder indicator arm, control head, compass, and computer installed. The wooden panels that make up the cockpit lockers have been removed to make room for both men and hardware and will need to be fiber glassed back into the hold. Some how in the past five month the kill cable for the engine has come undone and must be reattached otherwise killing the diesel will require a trip below decks while on the water. With luck, with projects partially finished or in full, Romance will go sailing this weekend.