Crew Change...
My crew has been an important part of my trip up to this point... Since I am planning off-shore sailing during this part of the journey I need crew to help me with the routine of sailing the boat.
Off-shore sailing entails sailing round the clock as you go from port to port. I have done several overnight sails before on small boats in addition to the long term sailing I did as a CoastGuardsman...
So - I know that on a small boat, sailing round the clock is not a single-handed venture.
For the first leg of the trip Janet was my crew... Now - don't laugh - even though Janet doesn't do much on the boat she can and does help me when needed... For example, when we first left Miami we had a semi-serious issue where water was back-siphoning through our bilge pump. The boat was flooding and the pump had shorted out... Janet manned the 'manual bilge pump' while I sorted out the problem...
Additionally, on one of the days, we were planning an early morning, pre-dawn departure in order to arrive at our destination on time in Fernandina... Janet manned the bow of the boat with our hand-held search light and scanned the black waters to help locate the invisible (until she shined the light on them) channel markers...
Does that look like a girl who can crew a sailboat???
After Janet left Rich and Kendra came aboard as crew. I could not think of better crew-mates. First of all because they are my son and daughter-in-law and I love them so much - but also because they are true adventurers. They really looked at the opportunity to sail with me as an adventure both in terms of the sailing experience and also the opportunity to see some of the places along the way. See their guest post from the other day.
As crew - I must admit they are better than Janet. They actually want to and do participate in the routine of sailing the boat. They help me plan, navigate, cook, clean, and sail the boat. At the same time they know how to relax, have fun, and find quiet/separate time. They are also interesting conversationalists and we passed many hours together just talking about 'stuff'... I know the overnight sailing experiences we had together were new to them and me as well and we all approached it with a sense of adventure, newness, and wonder. They learned how to steer the boat in some hefty breeze with a following sea... They learned that that type of sailing can make you a bit queasy... They learned that not all lights on the ocean at night are ships with plans to run you over, sink you, and kill you...They learned how to rotate and stand watch overnight - around the clock. And - so much more. I hope they also learned, again, how much their Dad loves them and is proud of them and their accomplishments and achievements in their lives. My only wish is that this fine crew could have stayed with me longer...
Rich and Kendra left a couple of days ago and were replaced as crew by a good, long-term friend of mine Rich Z. Rich and I go way back as friends to my early days at McMaster-Carr. We played hockey together back in the day and attended Jimmy Buffet concerts with other friends on multiple occasions. We've also played quite a few rounds of golf together and stared each other down across the poker table daring to call a bluff. Rich has always had an interest in sailing. I had him as a student years ago when I taught 'sailing 101' classes at Chicago Sailing School. He also sailed with me many times on Sun of a Sailor in Chicago. He has leased boats with Pinnacle Yachts and has also taken several sail/cruise classes in Florida. He recently retired from McMaster and is considering buying his own boat so it's only logical that he spend some time on this cruise with me to gain some experience and help me along the way. We are in the middle of Rich's week as crew and things are going well. We sailed initially offshore on an overnight sail from Charleston to Southport, NC. We had strong winds, sizable waves, and a crazy middle of the night lightning storm... Just today we did a 25 mile cruise on the Intra-Coastal Waterway. Due to serious shoaling issues on the waterway from the recent hurricanes, Rich and I teamed up and used an Army Corps of Engineer Survey Map of the water depths and our depth finder to safely navigate from Southport to Wrightsville Beach. We plan to leave here early in the AM and head back offshore to Beaufort NC which will be our last stop prior to heading out and rounding Cape Hatteras to Norfolk. My hope is that Rich enjoys being part of my crew as much as I enjoy having him...
After Rich Z and I wrap up this week - Carolyn and Phil will be my next crew. Can't wait to see what adventures await us..
Off-shore sailing entails sailing round the clock as you go from port to port. I have done several overnight sails before on small boats in addition to the long term sailing I did as a CoastGuardsman...
So - I know that on a small boat, sailing round the clock is not a single-handed venture.
For the first leg of the trip Janet was my crew... Now - don't laugh - even though Janet doesn't do much on the boat she can and does help me when needed... For example, when we first left Miami we had a semi-serious issue where water was back-siphoning through our bilge pump. The boat was flooding and the pump had shorted out... Janet manned the 'manual bilge pump' while I sorted out the problem...
Additionally, on one of the days, we were planning an early morning, pre-dawn departure in order to arrive at our destination on time in Fernandina... Janet manned the bow of the boat with our hand-held search light and scanned the black waters to help locate the invisible (until she shined the light on them) channel markers...
Does that look like a girl who can crew a sailboat???
After Janet left Rich and Kendra came aboard as crew. I could not think of better crew-mates. First of all because they are my son and daughter-in-law and I love them so much - but also because they are true adventurers. They really looked at the opportunity to sail with me as an adventure both in terms of the sailing experience and also the opportunity to see some of the places along the way. See their guest post from the other day.
As crew - I must admit they are better than Janet. They actually want to and do participate in the routine of sailing the boat. They help me plan, navigate, cook, clean, and sail the boat. At the same time they know how to relax, have fun, and find quiet/separate time. They are also interesting conversationalists and we passed many hours together just talking about 'stuff'... I know the overnight sailing experiences we had together were new to them and me as well and we all approached it with a sense of adventure, newness, and wonder. They learned how to steer the boat in some hefty breeze with a following sea... They learned that that type of sailing can make you a bit queasy... They learned that not all lights on the ocean at night are ships with plans to run you over, sink you, and kill you...They learned how to rotate and stand watch overnight - around the clock. And - so much more. I hope they also learned, again, how much their Dad loves them and is proud of them and their accomplishments and achievements in their lives. My only wish is that this fine crew could have stayed with me longer...
Rich and Kendra left a couple of days ago and were replaced as crew by a good, long-term friend of mine Rich Z. Rich and I go way back as friends to my early days at McMaster-Carr. We played hockey together back in the day and attended Jimmy Buffet concerts with other friends on multiple occasions. We've also played quite a few rounds of golf together and stared each other down across the poker table daring to call a bluff. Rich has always had an interest in sailing. I had him as a student years ago when I taught 'sailing 101' classes at Chicago Sailing School. He also sailed with me many times on Sun of a Sailor in Chicago. He has leased boats with Pinnacle Yachts and has also taken several sail/cruise classes in Florida. He recently retired from McMaster and is considering buying his own boat so it's only logical that he spend some time on this cruise with me to gain some experience and help me along the way. We are in the middle of Rich's week as crew and things are going well. We sailed initially offshore on an overnight sail from Charleston to Southport, NC. We had strong winds, sizable waves, and a crazy middle of the night lightning storm... Just today we did a 25 mile cruise on the Intra-Coastal Waterway. Due to serious shoaling issues on the waterway from the recent hurricanes, Rich and I teamed up and used an Army Corps of Engineer Survey Map of the water depths and our depth finder to safely navigate from Southport to Wrightsville Beach. We plan to leave here early in the AM and head back offshore to Beaufort NC which will be our last stop prior to heading out and rounding Cape Hatteras to Norfolk. My hope is that Rich enjoys being part of my crew as much as I enjoy having him...
After Rich Z and I wrap up this week - Carolyn and Phil will be my next crew. Can't wait to see what adventures await us..
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