Our New Boat, Sonder, is Homeward Bound: How Hurricane Irma Took but also Gave

I got little choked up as I re-read Scott's last "I love you message" as he sailed out of cell reach this morning.  The culmination of six months of shock, anguish, gratitude, uncertainty, stress, exciting new beginnings and heart breaking disappointments suddenly bubbled up as it dawned on me that - finally - things are starting to come together. Part of the emotion, of course, is also a healthy dose of anxiety around the fact that Scott will be largely out of communication for the next ten days as he sails our new home offshore with his trusty crew of two. I will be getting daily "we are okay" or "send help" messages that will come through our basic but effective satellite communication system on board, but not much more than that. Long time readers know I am, and have always been, a professional worrier when it comes to boating. The trepidation is compounded after having been affected so completely by Hurricane Irma; we are now closely associated with loss and intimately aware of how quickly things can change. I'm trying to push those thoughts out of my head and keep a positive outlook, but I'd like the next ten days to hurry up and be here.

***

Anxiety aside, my heightened emotional state was also out of sheer joy that finally we will have our very own home again and, after spending almost half of the last six months apart, ours will be a (more consistently) two-parent family. While I am very accustomed to solo parenting our three girls, it's not always easy and sometimes can get downright ugly (ask me about how many balls I drop on a daily basis). Daddy being a regular presence and influence around here will be SO welcome. The fact that Scott is also sailing our dream boat (and home) back to us is also quite incredible and surreal. Scott and I have been dreaming of owning a Hallberg-Rassy 46 since we owned our very first Hallberg-Rassy, Rasmus. The other week, in fact, a blog follower wrote me with the screenshot of a three year old Facebook post in which I had posted a picture of a Hallberg-Rassy 46 and wrote, "One day we *will* have this boat". I have no recollection of putting it out there like that, but I did, and if that isn't a point for how the Universe works and manifestation, I don't know what is. 

The truth is, for as much as Hurricane Irma took from us and all the stress she bestowed on our family, she gave us so much as well. Not only do we now own the boat of our dreams - an ironic turn of events that is not lost on us - but we have made some truly incredible new friendships that began and grew because of the storm. We are under contract on a new boat better suited for our daysail company, and every single day I am so grateful that we are able to live on the island we love, slowly putting the pieces of our life and business back together with some amazing people in our corner. People hear our story and often express sorrow for us. I am the first one to say, "NO! Please do not!" While obviously we'd have preferred Irma to have not upturned our life and those of so many others, we are some of the really, really lucky ones. We had insurance for both our home boat and business boats, we were paid our claims in full, we had a nice chunk of money saved in the bank, did not have to endure the horror of a Cat 5 hurricane with our kids, and we had the open arms and incredible generosity of friends and family to fall back on when we were lost...we were and are FINE. There are others who were - and continue to be - way worse off. Our hearts go out to those people who continue to suffer and who's lives have been changed irrevocably. We are not those people. We took a hit, for sure, and our path and inner-selves are forever altered by the events of the 2017 hurricane season, but we are back and - ultimately - stronger for it. Irma, it seems, might just have changed us and our lives for the better...

***

Our new boat, after much research and deliberation, has been named Sonder; the suggestion of my good friend Christel from Stell and Snuggs (the merry family of roving sailboat musicians). We loved it immediately. Our criteria was 1) one word 2) easy to read and pronounce 3) unique and 4) a great meaning behind it. Sonder is a sort-of made up word from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (fascinating and worth a gander) and means:

Sonder: n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

In short, the word means everyone has a story. As both a writer who loves stories and someone who, particularly after Irma, is hyper aware of the fact that we all walk around with a well of stories and scars within us that are not apparent to the naked eye - it just made sense. So s/v Sonder she is.

This story is ours, and today marks the start of a brand new chapter. s/v Sonder is finally homeward bound, and we are so excited for what lies ahead.

Another Hallberg Rassy Rasmus For Sale

Image courtesy of Swedish Snowbird

If you were interested in our Rasmus, but 'missed the boat' so to speak...Fear not! There is another beautiful, well-maintained Hallberg Rassy Rasmus for sale!  Our friends, Johanna and Martin, have put their beautiful Swedish Snobird on the market in Grenada for about $52,000 USD ($350,000 Swedish Kroner).  She's ready for new adventures in the Caribbean and beyond!  I don't think you need to ask us how great we think these boats are...

Take a look at their site to learn more about this fantastic boat.  The page is in Swedish, but you can use the "translate" button at the top of the page and read it in any language you chose. Pass it along!

Fair winds Snobirds! We'll miss you on the water!

Rasmus is Empty, My Heart is Heavy

September 28th, 2010.  The day Scott and I left Chicago on this journey.

Rasmus is now devoid of all our personal items.  Scott has been in Trinidad the past week working himself to the bone to get her cleared out.  All our clothes, our little trinkets, our personal touches and good luck charms are gone.  Everything that made her "ours" has been removed.  As many of you know, she is for sale and we have bought a new boat to continue our journey on.  This purging of our things needed to happen sooner or later, as hard and emotional as it was.

It felt so odd for me to be up here, while Scott took on the monstrous task of removing three years of our stuff from her.  If felt strange to be skyping with him about items that we should take with us, and items we should leave for her next owner.  I felt bad knowing that he was working to the bone from dawn till dusk to ready her*, with time working against him.  Worst of all, it felt so wrong that I was not there to say 'good bye' to our old girl.  I honestly don't know if I'll ever see her again, and the thought of this brings tears to my eyes.  I feel...guilty.  I feel like we've abandoned her.  Like we've got this great family dog who has been so wonderful and loyal, and we're moving into a new home that doesn't allow pets and so we're giving her away.  It's like that.

"I'm not going to lie" Scott told me the other day, "I had a good, long cry on board her today".  Scott is not prone to emotional outbursts, so this tells you a little something about the intense love we have for that boat.  I've even written about my uncertainty over whether we'll ever love another boat as much.  I honestly don't know.  What I do know is that she will forever be etched into our hearts as the most important boat of our lives.  She was the one that we took a leap of faith in, she was the one we put countless hours of work into and she was the one that we trusted, implicitly, with our lives.  She forgave us for our mistakes, was strong when we were not, and gave us the confidence to keep moving forward.  Not once did she disappoint us.  That's a pretty good track record for a boat.   She treated us well, taught us a lot and gave us memories that Scott and I will cherish forever.

She is now ready for her next owner, whomever that may be.  My one wish is that she goes to someone who deserves and appreciates such a fine boat, someone who will continue to take as good care of her as we did, who will sail her and, most importantly, love her just as we have.  The thought of someone neglecting such a thoroughbred after all we've done to her is heart-breaking to me.  We know the right person will come along when the time is right.  We know that Rasmus's journey, like our own, is far from over.

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

* HUGE thank you's to our cruising family in Trinidad who helped Scott this week.  He could not have done it with out you:  Jason, Karly and sweet baby Lucy, John and Kathy of s/v Oceana, Ian of s/v Leila and the ever amazing and accommodating folks at Peake Yacht Services.  THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

Rasmus is For Sail...er, SALE

Photo by m/v Finally Fun

Okay, that was bad.  But she is. As much as it pains me to write that, we don't want to own two boats.  As many of you know, our Hallberg Rassy Rasmus 35 is a fantastic, blue-water cruising boat that not only benefitted from a total refit in 2010 but also the impeccable (and slightly OCD) maintenance of Scott and I over the past two years.  She is a head turner, and she is ready to go.  Whether it be the Caribbean, the ABC's (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) the San Blas Islands or beyond that beckon you - she is right there, ready to go and she can carry you to wherever your dreams may take you in safety, style and comfort.  To learn more about why we chose her, read this post.  For those of you just joining and wondering why we are selling such a great boat - we recently added a new crew member to our family (and plan to add more) and we'd like a little more room to stretch out...

Rasmus At A Glance:
(this is just a little taste to wet your whistle, the full specs are below)

• Hallberg Rassy Rasmus 35 (1975)
• Draft: 4 feet 6 inches (perfect for the Islands!)
• Water: 60 Gallons
• Fuel: 65 Gallons
• New Yanmar 4JH5E 53 HP Engine (2010)
• New Doyle Jib and Mainsail with Stackpack (2010)
• New standing and running rigging (2010)
• New Edson chain and cable steering (2010)
• New Village Tec Little Wonder 5GPH watermaker (2010)
• New seacocks and through hulls (2010)
• Boat has been completely re-plumbed and rewired (2010)
• New B&G Electronics (wind, speed, depth) (2010)
• New Simrad Chartplotter with AIS (receive and transmit) (2010)
• New Insulated backstay with SSB (2010)
• New deep-cycle AGM battery banks (2010)
• New Victron Energy Inverter/Transformer (2010)
• New Lofrans Tigres Windlass and ground tackle (2010)
• Custom built radar/solar arch with dinghy davits (2010)

...AND SO MUCH MORE!

Her full spec sheet can be viewed here.  As I mentioned, she underwent a complete refit in 2010 with top of the line marine gear and electronics and she also has had countless upgrades and additions as we cruised.  We do not cut corners and we do not half-ass (pardon my French).  She will be listed through this site for $79K.  Now I know I always write that "no boat is turnkey" and while I still stand by that sentiment, our Rasmus is about as close as it gets!  She is good to go.  She is, hands down, the best Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus on the market.  She is currently located at Peake's Boat Yard in Chaguaramas, Trinidad where she is under a full enclosure, being washed down and monitored (she has a dehumidifier running) twice a month.  I hear Trinidad is very nice this time of year (wink, wink). 

Photo by Lara Neece

Photo by Lara Neece

If you or someone you know is interested in setting sail in a world class blue water cruiser, share our site with them.  To learn more about our beautiful boat, you can contact us at windtraveler09(at)gmail.com.

How much longer can you put off your dreams of sailing off into the horizon?  What exactly will it take to make those cruising dreams come true?  Rasmus was the impetus for us, perhaps she can be for you too?  Remember, it's not the things you do that you will regret most in life - but the things you didn't do...

NOTE: OUR BOAT SOLD 55 DAYS AFTER SHE WAS LISTED.

Next Steps...

Lots of questions coming in about our next steps these days!

When we announced that we were having a baby back in September, I also mentioned we would be going home to have her around the beginning of the new year.  Well - believe it or not, here we are!

After much deliberation, we decided to bring our beloved Rasmus to Trinidad for the seven months or so that we will be away.  While there were a lot of reasons contributing to this decision (more in a later post) we also got a fantastic deal on high-security storage with our newest sponsor Peake Yacht Services, the Caribbean's largest and most comprehensive yacht haul-out facility.  We are honored and excited to partner with such an esteemed yachting facility.

So, weather permitting, we will be sailing for Trinidad this coming Saturday.  Being that I am eight months pregnant we thought it might be nice to have another hand on board in case things get dicey (as they do from time to time on the water) and I threw out an invitation to my dad.  Lucky for us - he took the bait and booked a ticket.  Seeing the news on Facebook, his best friend (and the best pseudo-uncle there ever was) called him up and said "I'm coming too".  So now, we will be a motley crew of four and having my dad and uncle Tom along will make what will be a bitter-sweet journey err on the "sweet" side.

Once we're in Trinidad, Scott and I will be thrown back into "work mode" prepping the boat for long-term storage (again, more on this in a later post!).  From there, we will be flying back to Chicago where we will live with my parents (believe it or not, all parties involved are excited about this!), have our baby (due March 21st) and remain home with our little sea monkey for the 2012 hurricane season as we adjust to being parents.  Scott will get a part-time job to make more money for our cruising kitty and will also be returning to Grenada for five weeks in July to work for Island Windjammers.  We have lots of places to visit and people to see while we are home, so we're going to be busy and if the past year and a half is any indication - time is going to fly!

We plan on returning to the Caribbean next September to complete some projects and continue cruising full-time.  There is talk about getting a bigger boat, and we're exploring our options on that front.  We'll keep you posted.  We will remain here in the Windward and Leeward Islands and we'll probably head south to the ABC's (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) or somewhere else after next season.  We're not sure where we'll spend the 2013 hurricane season but we don't want to sit idle on our boat in one place again and we're liking the idea of renting a house in Costa Rica for a few months and surfing every day.  Who knows?  When two dreamers like us get to talking and planning, just about anything is possible!

Windtraveler is not going away!  We're only taking a little break while we amp up for phase two - this next year is going to get really interesting and rest assured, we'll keep you in the loop!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

Seeing Double

There were over 750 Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus' made between 1967 and 1978.  That is a LOT of boats and speaks volumes to the success of the model and the quality of the brand - not many blue water boats can boast such numbers.  We have actually seen about eight other Rasmus's (Rasmi?) since we bought ours, but we have never had the pleasure to go aboard another...until the other day.

I was walking down the dock back to our Rasmus when, all of a sudden, I noticed a boat with a glass windscreen exactly the same as ours (the signature of a Hallberg-Rassy), I stopped and slowly took her in from stern to bow; recognizing every line, angle and arc.  It was another Rasmus!  I had to say 'hello'.  I introduced myself to lovely Caroline and we immediately made a date to check out each other's boats the following evening.  They had some questions about how we did things and we had some questions as well.

What a treat it was!  They love their boat just as much as we love ours and it shows in her impeccably maintained interior and exterior.  Caroline's wonderful husband, Urs, is a very skilled at woodworker and carpenter and he made a lot of great customizations to their boat.  Take a look at the pictures of our boat (right), versus the pictures of theirs (left).  Very similar, but slightly different.  Pretty neat, huh?

Big thanks to s/v Petit Fleur for the hospitality and for inspiring us to make some neat changes aboard our Rasmus!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

Pure Energy

When you're living out here, power management is key!

Energy management is one aspect of life on a boat that very few boaters have mastered.  After living the cruising lifestyle for over nine months I think we might have met one boat who has their energy situation perfectly worked out.   After my post about our favorite systems on our boat, we got a few comments and several emails asking about our energy situation. One of the greatest challenges of living on a boat is living "off the grid".   Our power doesn't come from a company and it can and will run out if improperly managed.  Because of this, we strive to be energy efficient and we are hyper aware of our carbon footprint; we catch wind in our sails to propel us forward, we capture the sun's light to charge our batteries, all of our appliances are energy efficient, and so on.

We have two six volt deep cycle AGM marine batteries in series for our "house" battery bank (this is the 'bank' that runs all our systems; lights, electronics, fans..etc.) and one 12 volt deep cycle AGM for our dedicated starter battery (that way, in the very unlikely event that we run our house battery bank down to zero - we will always be able to start our engine, which, in turn, will charge those batteries back up).  This means we have about 220 amp hours to work with.  Before you go building your battery bank, however, you first need to know what your energy needs will be.  Without getting too technical, you must calculate how much power you consume and thus begin a balancing act with your batteries (we have a Victron battery monitor so we can always see what we are pulling out of our batteries, how much life is left in them, or what we are putting back in).  There is a good worksheet here if you are interested in doing some math.

When we are at anchor, we are usually "balanced"; meaning what we take out of our batteries, our 65 watt (4 amps) solar panel can usually put back in.  When we are sailing, however, we draw much more power than we can replenish (chartplotter and autopilot are the main drainers) and after 24 hours, we typically need to run the engine for a few hours to put some juice back in (we have an alternator that puts power back into our batteries, much like a car would do).

One thing we did NOT want to have aboard is a generator.  Not only are they messy and noisy - they take up a fair amount of space that we would rather use for other things.  In addition, we've found that we motorsail enough that we don't need one.  This is one (of the many) reasons we selected our Village Tec Little Wonder Watermaker.  It runs right off our batteries and draws 11 amps.  We don't need to start our engine, we don't need to fire up a clunky generator and, after one (quiet) hour - we have added our daily 4-5 gallons to top off our water tank and taken precious little out of our batteries.  Obviously, if we are motor sailing - we try to make water then so as not to drain out of our batteries - but knowing that we don't have to is nice.

What is also nice is the fact that we are a very low amperage boat.  If you, for example, have refrigeration/air conditioning/television/Sony Playstation (?!) - you will need significantly more amp hours than we have.  Despite the fact that our energy demands are low - we need more power to stay ahead of the game!  Solar power, while great, is not very efficient.  The sun doesn't always shine, night falls, and if there is a shadow on the panel the amperage drops considerably.  We think a wind/solar combination is ideal and are currently in the market for a wind generator and we'll be adding at least one more solar panel by the end of hurricane season.  We have also been looking into this gadget but the jury is still out on whether the pros outweigh the cons...

The battery balancing act is complicated and, to be quite honest, can make your head spin.  We are by no means experts - but, like everything when it comes to cruising, you live and you learn!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

A lot of people ask us if we'd like a bigger boat.

While our boat is by far not the smallest boat we've seen on our trip, it is by no means the largest either.  When guests come aboard for the first time they often say with a cocked head, "It's... cozy".  "Cozy" being a really cute word for "small".  We don't begrudge this term - because it's true.  Our boat is cozy.  It's packed neatly and tightly, it's tidy and homey, and there is nary a space unused.  To use a phrase made famous by my British mum - you could not, quite literally, "swing a cat" in our boat.  A kitten, perhaps.  But definitely not a cat.

Despite this fact, we have actually never lamented that we want a bigger boat.  We've talked about how we would like to add another solar panel, maybe install a wind generator, and -in general - dreamt up ways to make her work better (and more efficiently) for us - but we've never wished for bigger.  The bottom line is the simple fact that she works for us.  We have no need for more space.  Could we use it?  Sure.  Would another locker be helpful?  Of course.  But, as cruisers, we are not living in a world where more is better.  We live in a world where less is more.  A bigger boat, to us means more expenses, more potential problems, and - more importantly - more space to put more stuff (i.e. "crap").

We've met a lot of cruisers who are always on the hunt for their next boat, forever dreaming of something bigger, something better.  Maybe we just got lucky with our Rasmus?  Maybe, like Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade, we chose wisely?  It's no secret that our boat has served us incredibly well.  The work we put into her, her sailing performance, her beauty, her bones, her pedigree and heritage all combine to make her exactly what we need.  A bigger boat just isn't in the budget for us (at least not in the foreseeable future) - so we remain happy with what we have.

After all, don't they say happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have?

If that is the case, we're right where we need to be.

Love,
Brittany & Scott

PS.  Any would-be cruisers looking for a boat like ours - you are in luck!  There is a sister ship to Rasmus for sale in Traverse City, MI.  Check her out!

My Love Affair with the Rasmus - A Guest Post by "Uncle Al" (Scott's Godfather)

Al, Will, Brittany and Scott at dinner

I want to merge this post with an "Awesome Person (People) of the Week" post and give a shout-out to  Scott's Godparents, Al and Willa Thiess, who have gone above and beyond for us wayward travelers.

Not only have they been completely and utterly supportive of our journey by way of emails and well wishes, they hosted us in Hilton Head as if we their own children!  They got a slip for Rasmus (thank you John and Monique Duffey!!), they put us up in a lovely cottage (with a KING bed!) and treated us to more than one fabulous meal.  They are wonderful people and we were so happy to spend the time with them....but the time was not over - as "Uncle Al" joined us aboard mighty Rasmus, and he has a few things to say about her!

My Love Affair With The Rasmus

My wife and I who live at Hilton Head Island were thrilled when Brittany and Scott told us they were stopping on their way south.  I met them in Beaufort, SC, and then accompanied them for the 25 miles from down the ICW to Hilton Head.  After a couple of days of rest and wine, they planned to leave on Sunday.  They wanted to run the next leg of their journey in the ocean, but there were full Gale warnings in effect on Sunday – thus the departure was moved to Monday when the weather was supposed to calm down.  And on Monday morning – we thought it did calm down.

By Monday morning, I had plied Brittany and Scott with enough food and wine to finagle a ride on the Rasmus to Florida and we set off at noon on Monday.  The first decision was important.  There are two exits from Hilton Head, the Port Royal Sound exit that is very deep water, and the Calibogue Sound exit to the south that is very shallow and shoaled.  Of course, the Port Royal exit was almost twenty miles farther to go south, so we had to make a call.  My son Brandon is the Captain of a charter fishing vessel so we turned to him for advice.  He told Scott that it’s easy to go out the south entrance - you just go to the south channel, find the last “green", make a thirty degree right turn, then go towards the three sticks, and then 100 yards short of the sticks, turn thirty degrees south and you’re out.  Which “green” Scott asked?  I don’t know!  What are the “sticks”?  I don’t know said Brandon.  Well, as you can imagine, we were all perplexed.  Finally, after kind of finding the “last green” and something that could be the “sticks” on a chart, Scott made the call to go that way.  It worked out well – we avoided the shoals and saved twenty miles.  Thus began the largest test yet of the Rasmus.

At first, it was just cold – at least for South Carolina.  While brisk, the wind was not bad and the seas were probably 2-4.  By nightfall, the wind had gone to 20-25 and the seas to 4-6, and they both continued to build.  My next watch was midnight to 3 am.  By that time, the seas were 6-8 and the winds were 25 to 30 with gusts to 35 – and it was colder.  It was then that my love affair with the Rasmus began.

I have done my share of sailing and racing in the Great Lakes and California - 20 years ago - on a number of boats, including some quite a bit larger than the Rasmus.  Never however, have I been on a boat like her.  There in the cold darkness, a series of steep eight footers would roll in off the beam with the boat healed over in 30 knots of breeze.  The bow would be eight feet above the wave in front of us and then falling toward it.  At the same time, the wave behind would be ready to ponce on us.  And the Rasmus wouldn’t flinch.  Instead, she would do a ballet dance over them and between them – one after another, just tip toeing from one wave to the next– and stable the whole time.

Then a surprise wave would hit at the same time from another angle – the kind of waves that cause most boats to shudder with a thunderous slamming sound – but not the Rasmus.  She would just cut through them with her full-length keel like a knife through warm butter - ready to begin the ballet dance all over again.  She danced through the evening, danced all night and was still dancing in the morning.  And how many times did Rasmus do this?  Well, I was once an accountant, so the answer is easy.  Let's see, a six second interval which makes 600 per hour, so for the 18 hours we were in the big seas, Rasmus did her little dance almost 11,000 times and never got tired.  Quite a lady!

Even though good sailors do not want to sail in these conditions, and seek to avoid them, being at the helm of Brittany and Scott’s boat last night was – well, fun.  I just have not seen anything like the Rasmus!

At 3:00 am this morning the spell that Rasmus had over me was broken when Brittany relieved me.  And what did she get - the wind and seas picked – UP!  While I am sure Brittany was in love with her boat before last night, at 3:00 am with the wind howling in the Atlantic, she looked just a little bit apprehensive.  When Scott and I got up at 6:00 am at the end of her watch, she was like a kid with a new favorite toy.  She had a grin – although a cold grin – on her face and said something like – “I get it - this isn’t just a boat I love, it’s a boat that loves me back, and a boat I can trust.”

I guess this is what I am trying to say to all of you out there in the Windtraveler blogosphere who follow Brittany and Scott on this journey - while things can always go wrong at sea, and usually something will, one thing none of you who follow them, or me, has to worry about is the mighty Rasmus.  She is a gentle lady with a heart of steel.  If any of you have the opportunity to go off shore with Brittany and Scott on the Rasmus – take it and enjoy the ballet ride.

Now we’re off to enjoy a day in St. Augustine, even though it's still cold.

“Uncle Al” Thiess
December 7, 2010

Update on our Bottom

Lots of people have been waiting with baited breath* on the state of our hull after our little meeting with a submerged rock.  Well...drum roll please...

I am happy to report it was just a flesh wound!

We decided not to haul the boat until after Scott dove it to assess the damage from underwater.  He did, and aside from a few scratches and a small gouge about 1/4 inch deep and an inch long - we are solid and sound.  If you knew how hard we hit, you would be shocked - I mean, the boat bounced for heaven's sake!  Bounced!  God I love our boat.

So, we're saving the $250 it would cost to do a short haul and going to wait to haul the boat in Florida, where we planned on hauling anyway to do a little work.

Seriously, thank you Hallberg Rassy for making a hull that is over an inch thick with fiberglass!  Our boat is strong, strong like bull.

Comforting.  Very, very comforting.

Love,

Brittany (& Scott)

*Not really

Two Weeks In: What We Love, What We Don't

We just hit 800 miles and it inspired me to post about what we love, and what we don't so far about our boat and cruising.

Day sailing on a boat and calling it 'home' are two very different things.  Moving aboard for an extended amount of time offers you ample opportunity to learn more about what you like and, unfortunately, what you don't.  I was originally going to list 10 things we liked, and 10 things we didn't, but Scott and I couldn't come up with 10 things we didn't like so we'll just see how this goes...

Top Things we LIKE (actually, LOVE) so far...

1)  Our AIS transponder and receiver.  AIS stands for "Automatic Identification System" and is an automated tracking system for ships.  Basically, we can see every single ship within 30 miles of us - where they are heading, their name, how fast they are going...etc.   It's overlaid on our chart-plotter and is great for peace of mind when night sailing.  It also saves a lot of energy because we don't need to run our radar all night long.  As I type this, Scott is adjusting course to avoid coming too close to a ship that is over 30 miles away.  We are also sending a signal, which means those same ships can 'see' us.  This system is seriously AWESOME.
2)  Our Force 10 Propane Heater.  When we first bought the boat we looked at the funny little heater in our main salon and thought, "What the?!" - but now, we love that thing.  It is amazing on chilly nights, it is fantastic for drying out wet gear and it makes for a suuuuuper cozy and toasty cabin.  We are told it will be great in the tropics as well for nipping humidity in the bud and drying out the boat.
3)  Our Hard Dodger and Fully Enclose-able Cockpit.  If we didn't love it before, we sure did after this debacle.  Hallberg-Rassy knew what they were doing when they did this, and boy oh boy has it proved it's worth a thousand times over.  The cockpit is almost always dry (and I mean, bone dry), and even sailing upwind in 45 degree fall weather with 5 foot waves we chill out in the cockpit, totally unaffected,  in sweatshirts and flip-flops.  I am sold for life on the hard dodger and when we are in the tropics, our bimini will provide some very essential SHADE.  There have been MANY times where we have said, "Wow, if we were in another type of boat we'd be in head to toe foulies and freezing right now!". love love love you Hallberg-Rassy for the ingenious design.    Comfort = Happy Cruising.
4)  Our on deck Navigation Station.  We have our Simrad chart-plotter (with Radar and AIS overlay) right here in our cockpit.  We can be steering and simply look up at our course and see what is around us.  We also have a spot for our paper charts (yes, we have paper charts too...) right next to it so we can do all navigating from the cockpit.  It's very nice not to have to go up and down and back and forth for all this.
5)  All the storage on this boat.  We have a TON of storage space.  We have empty bins in our lazarettes and still some storage space to spare!  We also did a great job of storing stuff, putting all our clothes in labeled zip lock baggies (they stay fresh and dry no matter what!), and all our other 'stuff' in bins that are clearly marked and labeled.  Sure, I have to lift a cushion and remove a bin or two to get to the bin holding the canned goods, but they are safe, secure and not shifting around!
6)  Our water heater.  We had taken ours out thinking we didn't really need it, but thankfully my dad (who has cruised extensively with my mom) hinted, "Britt, even in the tropics hot water is nice".  And he was right.  We love having hot water for dishes and face washes.  Again just another little perk that makes life just a little more comfy.
7)  Having internet on board.  Can you tell I enjoy blogging?  But seriously, it's been great to get further weather data, and connect with great people (like our friend Bill Flemming in Buffalo!) who are helping us out along the way.  Since we are under way 90% of the time, we would have very little time for internet cafe's and such.  The connectivity isn't always there and will only be available where there is a cellular signal, but hey - it's better than a kick in the face!
8)  Our new sails and the "stack pack" system.  The stackpack makes setting and dousing the mainsail a piece of cake.  Seriously, it wasn't cheap - but it makes our lives a lot easier and safer.  It can easily be done by one person which is also nice.  Our sails are up right now and we are motor-sailing along at over 7 knots.  Boo yah!  They also look beautiful, which is always a bonus.  We kind of dig our color scheme of beige and toast too.
9) Autopilot*.  Scott is up on deck clipping his nails right now, and I am sitting in the cock-pit, blogging.  No one is at the helm of the boat.  'Nough said.
10) Our Galleyware Cookset - It's nesting, compact, and stores like a dream.  We love our set and use it every single day.
11)  Our brand new Yanmar Engine.  Purr's like a kitten.  She brings us tremendous peace of mind and we call her "Jenny".  She is becoming a very good friend.
12) Cruising.  We seriously are loving every second of this.  We love being together, we love tinkering around on the boat.  Whether we are on an eight or a forty-eight hour passage, we just love our boat and being on it.  Just last night we were talking and I said, "You know what?  I want for nothing right now.  There is nothing I feel like I am missing or wish I had".  That is a pretty awesome feeling considering  just two weeks ago we turned our lives 180 degrees.  We both have adjusted, dare I say, seamlessly.

Top Things We DISLIKE - or things that need improvement:

1)  Our line management at the mast.  We have a LOT going on on our mast.  This is not that unusual, but it's not ideal.  We need to find a better way to keep all the halyards and reef lines separated, stowed, and organized.  It's like spaghetti soup up there and when it's blowing it's a little bit of a pain to work efficiently.  We'll fix this eventually, so we'll consider this a temporary problem.
2)  Head Odor.  The lazarette where our holding tank is smells...always.  Not like poop or urine or even a port-a-potty...just gross.  The locker has "perma-smell" and I think the fiberglass has just absorbed it.  Luckily, we can't smell it anywhere but the "poo locker" so I guess that's a good thing?
3)  Our Nicro Vents - They are solar powered and are great for moving air around the boat, but make a constant whizzing sound which annoys both of us so we have to turn the one by the v-berth off at night.  (can you tell I'm struggling to find things we don't like here!?)
4)  Having to dig to find everything.  We are getting pretty good at this, but when you want to find, say, a rubberband, and have to open the locker, remove a bin, shift another bin to the side and then reach back and grab the appropriate bin to get the rubberband and then put it all back together again, it's kind of annoying.  But that is life on a boat and we're just rolling with it.
5)  The weather.  ...And having to watch it like a hawk all the time, lest we get caught in another gale.  Again, just part of cruising and the way it is.  Also - the wind is rarely ideal for sailing, so we have to motor to make headway (see number 8).
6)  Our furling line.  This pulls our jib in.  It's too small and not as smooth as we'd like.  Rough on our pretty little hands.
7)  Night sailing.  This is more me than Scott.  But being alone on deck in the middle of the night (while exhilarating) is a little freaky.  You can't see anything (and I mean ANYTHING) and every single sound seems reason for alarm because every sense is totally heightened.  This is something I, obviously, must get used to.  This boat isn't going to cross the Pacific on it's own!
8)  The fact that we've been motoring so much.  We are chasing Fall and really want to get through the Erie Canal and start heading SOUTH, so we need to make tracks!

So, that's it for now.  I'm sure this will change as we head into warmer waters and start "really" cruising.  However you slice it though - we are loving life!

Love,
Brittany (& Scott)

*We will be getting a windvane (powerless self-steering) somewhere on the East Coast or before we make our Pacific crossing, for now the autopilot is working just fine.

Home sweet Home!

So our boat is home and is floating ever so proudly on can 38 at Belmont Harbor. I am not going to lie; I actually drive by just to see her. It’s amazing. She is beautiful. She is our “baby”. In fact, she even keeps us up at night...just like a baby. Two nights ago I wake up and Scott isn’t in bed, so I get up and find him on the couch. “Honey, what are you doing out here?” I ask. Scott stirs just little and mumbles sleepily, “There was no one at the helm and I wanted to be on watch.” WOW. I guess that’s what 4 straight days of delivering a new boat will do to you. I too was awakened in the night with a startled jerk when, in my dream, our boat had come loose from our mooring. Sigh. When I told this to my dad he laughed and said “welcome to owning a boat”. Indeed.

The delivery was fantastic and it reawakened and reinforced our love of cruising. We flew up to Traverse City on Thursday, July 2nd with the plan to gather what was left in the boat barn and bring it to the boat. We were met by our broker – loaded up the cars and headed to the harbor. That’s when it hit me. Holy crap! We’re taking this thing tomorrow morning!! I am actually buying a BOAT!! Step one in turning our dream into a reality is ACTUALLY going to happen. Folks – let me tell you, the realization of dreams is surreal. I nearly had to pinch myself.

The next morning we headed to the brokerage where I signed a litany of papers that all lead to my officially being the owner of a Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus 35. No fireworks went off; no streamers fell from the ceiling - just a handshake…and a hug (I had to hug our broker after all I put him through). I owned a boat (excuse me while I scream again). Once at the harbor and with all the provisions on (thanks to Scott’s mom, Sue!) and fully loaded – we hopped on board to get going. Scott, ever the practical thinker, said “I think I’d like to have Captain Dave come aboard to help us get started” (Captain Dave, if you recall, was our fabulous sea trial captain) and so we called him. In typical Captain Dave fashion he was over in 5 minutes with a smile on his face and a spring in his step and in 10 minutes he was in our engine compartment working away. Honestly, if it weren’t’ for Captain Dave I have no idea what we would have done. He helped us without any hesitation for FOUR hours (our engine wasn’t starting) – teaching us how to bleed air out of the system, how to drain our fuel filters, how to siphon diesel out of our tank and check for water… he checked our rig and showed us how to sanitize our water and he even had his lovely wife, Bette, drive me to the hardware store to pick up engine oil! His willingness to help us and complete selfless generosity reminded me of why I love traveling so much – people like Captain Dave who the universe puts in your way to hold your hand and take you along for just a little bit. Brilliant. I cannot wait to pay it forward one day.

So we were off! We motored out of Elk Rapids Chicago bound with the wonderful company of Scott’s mom, Sue. Our excitement was so palpable I swear it was bubbling out of the (enclosed) cockpit! The delivery was fantastic. If you have ever cruised along the western coast of Michigan you know what I am talking about: daylight until 9pm, deep, rich sunsets over an unobstructed horizon, azure water and beautiful dunes along the shoreline…it’s magnificent. We motored, on average, about 13 hours each day averaging about 7.2 knots. Our time was spent reading, tweaking things, talking, cooking (I got *very* creative in our little kitchen - we have no refrigerator and plan on leaving it that way). We cleaned the deck, organized lockers, tidied up, read all our manuals, played with the radar…Scott even designed an aft push-pit chair out of two deck cushions and a spare line!

But not all was “smooth sailing” so to speak. We did loose our engine twice (we still are not sure why), while tied up in Muskegon the post-fireworks boat wakes tossed us around so viciously I honestly thought our boat would end up on the dock (there is no seawall)…while turning into our slip in St. Joe (down the river) we got so swept up in a 3 knot current we hit the dock and the next morning, leaving that same ill-fated dock we ran aground (we only draw 4.5 feet). Our hydraulic steering got worse and worse as each day wore on – 15 turns of a wheel just to veer starboard? I think not. Oh – and our automatic bilge pump doesn’t work. We figured that out when I, as if tapped on the shoulder by a guardian angel, suddenly decided to check our bilge and it was COMPLETELY full of water. Which leads to another issue we have; our boat is leaking somewhere but we cannot figure out from where. Sigh. The list, my friends, goes on. There are currently 20 items to do/check with the systems on our boat. And it grows. Every. Single. Day.

But you know what? We have a boat. And it is going to take us around the world. And we couldn’t be happier. It’s kind of like changing a baby’s diaper; it just goes with the territory.

AND WE OWN A BOAT!

Serendipity, with a side of "Oh My God!!"

So, I am so excited I am about to burst. About to BURST I tell you. In less than 24 hours Scott and I will (god willing) be the owners of a beautiful Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus 35. Do you want to know the coolest feeling in the world?! Buy a boat. It is, so far, unrivaled in it's "cool" factor. Just knowing that we are *this* close to being boat owners and *this* much closer to shoving off for our around the world adventure is...well...it's insane. Speaking of insane...

The boat buying process has been...interesting. There have been a lot of "glitches" along the way, too many too really go into in this post - but suffice it to say, I have had to bring my claws out and bare my teeth on a couple of occasions. And this little blondie doesn't like to get nasty, but when it comes to business - I can be tough, some might say a word that ryhmes with "itchy".  Part of the problem has been that Scott and I have never, ever known who the "seller" is. This is strange and unusual when buying a boat. Some people talk about him in the past tense, some talk about him in present tense, there is a "seller's rep" and a "friend" doing business on his behalf and this constant cloud of secrecy surrounding "Wayne". After about a month, Scott and I concluded that "Wayne" is dead and his wife is selling the boat - and they just didn't want to disclose that to us for obvious reasons (we could play hard ball). Well, he is not dead. And guess what? Assuming makes an ASS out of U and ME (get it?).

The president of the brokerage called me yesterday to "put out a fire" as I was very angry upon receiving some news earlier that morning. After explanations and going back and forth and yadda yadda I finally had to ask; "Carl, one more thing - this "seller", this "Wayne"...can you shed any light on this for us? I mean, it's just so odd that we have no idea who he is and why there is this constant ambiguity about him. Could you please tell me, just for my own personal sake what the deal is there?"

PAUSE.

President of brokerage: "Wayne is incapacitated. He is severely, severely ill. (At this point, I feel like a TOTAL jerk because this poor man is dying). He...(pause - and here's the kicker)...has SEVERE mental problems (what!?!) and....well....he will not be needing his boat anymore. Carolyn (the seller's rep) is just a friend of his tying up all his loose ends and his estates".

WHAT!?!?! Mentally ill?? So...super sleuth that I am - I hopped on the Internet and did a little research. Turns out Wayne is in jail. Wayne is a convicted felon and will not be needing his boat anymore. Wayne is less "incapacitated" and a little more "incarcerated". Talk about nuts. So, there you have it. Never a dull moment.

So today I trot over to the bank to make a wire transfer to purchase Rasmus and the really nice woman, Jazmina - who helped me organize my deposit a few days prior was there. We had gotten to chatting last time I and discovered we both had a mutual passion for sailing and she too had a boat she kept at Monroe harbor. Sweet! Sailing sisters! Well, today - she assisted me again and had another banker help me organize the wire to the brokerage (gulp - bye bye money!) and he and I were making small talk. He asked what I was buying, I said a boat and immediately he replied: "You should talk to Jazmina - she loves sailing" and I said that I had a little and he continued, "Yeah, she's sailed around the world and been in the junior olympics and everything".

What!?! I immediately had to talk to this modest sailing superstar again...we chatted for a while about her experience and our plans and have agreed to keep in touch. Super cool. How crazy is it that the very banker who helped me transfer the funds to buy our boat - not only actually sails - but sailed around the world herself!?!? Signs, signs, signs. I just love the way the Universe works. Absolutely *love* it.

Hooray for serendipity!

Next time you hear from us - we should be boat owners!! We're flying to Traverse City tonight and will be taking the helm tomorrow around noon to bring our baby home to Chicago... (excuse me while I scream)!!

Your soon-to-be boat owner pals,

Brittany and Scott

Getting Closer!

So, it has come to my attention that the entire reason we wanted to start this blog is so that we can chronicle the process of getting ready to cast our lines and sail off into the sunset. There are a multitude of sites and blogs devoted to what happens once you start cruising, but not very much in the way of how to go about doing it. So that's what we want to do...if not for you - the potential cruiser, but for us - to remember all that we did to turn our dream into a reality.

THE BOAT

Arguably, the most important - or rather - the most crucial element of this dream (besides the dream itself, of course) is a boat, and a sailboat to be specific. Scott and I don't have one. Yet. The past 5 months or so have been dedicated to finding this elusive sailboat. Seems pretty simple, right? Find a boat you like - buy it, provision it...and shove off!! Yeah. Not so much. Looking for a boat is overwhelming, daunting and, at times, discouraging. But it has been a wonderful learning process.

I am very fortunate to come from a long line of sailors who have some great connections in the boating world. One such person is a broker on the East Coast who goes by Allen Schiller. This man, with his Bostonian accent and no-frills delivery (yet fantastic sense of humor), has been a tremendous help during this journey. He has agreed to help us with this process for "a drink in the islands somewhere" and his expertise and knowlege has been wonderful to have at our disposal.

You see, no two sailboats are alike - and there are thousands of different boats for thousands of different purposes. There are racers, cruisers, racer-cruisers, sloops, ketches, cutters and more. They are made of all different types of fiberglass, wood, steel, aluminum, and even ferro-cement. They have full keels, canting keels, fixed keels, fin and bulb keels and this is only the beginning! Quickly, I realized I needed to put together a list of "ideal criteria" for our boat to help narrow down the search.

Because Scott and I plan to cross oceans we knew we wanted a "blue water boat". The definition of such varies depending on who you are talking to and where you are looking - but the simplest definition is "a boat that is specifically designed to go far offshore". Just google a "blue water boat" and you will find a litany of arguments, discussions, and posts on what everyone thinks this entails - but based on my research - I found it to be the following (this is an excerpt from an email I sent to Allen when we were narrowing down our search):

1) Seaworthy boat (meaning stronger built and/or purpose built blue water cruiser)
2) Full keel preferably with skeg hung rudder
3) 5' (or less) draft
4) Fiberglass construction
5) 36-40 feet
6) Lots of tankage/stowage (for fuel and water) (I have read that adding this - from say a 40 gallon to a 130 gallon - compromises safety of a boat if it was not designed for "x" amount)
7) Windlass (manual or electric)
8) Center cockpit - for safety and space (again, this is ideal, we will absolutely consider aft-cockpit boats) - with LOTS of drains/drainage
9) Heavy displacement
10) Cutter rig

Keep in mind - there are a thousand other elements that go into a "blue water boat" but these were our (initial) "top 10". And these helped narrow our search. Again - this is what we did. Keep in mind we have little to no idea what we are doing - so please, do not take this (or anything I write) as gospel - I am simply letting you know what we did, and what (presumably - touch wood!) worked for us. For example, the attributes above sacrifice speed which may or may not be important to you. The boat described above will not point and won't beat to windward very fast but it will be very safe at sea. At this stage in the game, we'd rather sacrifice speed for peace of mind when we do (inevitably) hit that weather that makes us wonder what the hell we think we are doing out there on the big ocean.

Okay - so back to the search. I spent countless hours on Yachtworld searching for Cruising sailboats between 35-40 feet, between 30K-60K and in the Great Lakes region. I would look at a boat, read the "full specs" and then do two things: 1) forward the boat to Allen and 2) research the boat a bit (Sailnet Forum is a great place for info by the way, as is Mahia Expedition's List of Blue Water Boats). I learned a lot about boats doing this - I also learned that there is ALWAYS going to be more to learn. Fun!

Typically, Allen would email me back immediately with his opinion, something like "this boat represents everything that is wrong with Chinese built boats" or "piece of junk". This short and to-the-point information was all I needed to cross boats off the list. After week after week of this, I started learning more and more about "blue water boats" and the different makes of boats that seemed to pop up every time you searched for them. One such builder, Hallberg-Rassy was on every list and so, naturally, I hit Yachtworld and looked for them (and some others who also made frequent appearances).

It was discouraging at first, because all the most reputable builders and designers are also the most expensive (duh) - and pretty much all the HR's I saw were well into the 6 figures - even for a 36 foot boat!! Talk about holding value!! So I kept looking at other boats more in our price range until one day, while sitting in the confines of my office cube, the stars aligned...

I found a 1975 Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus 35 listed on Yachtworld in our price range. I jumped on it and immediately sent it to Scott and Allen. Allen replied simply "Hallberg-Rassy's are world class boats if there's enough space in it for you" and that was enough for me! We were given a green light! I'm pretty sure I found everything on the Internet there is to find about that particular boat - and I knew we had a gem on our hands!

The Universe was working for us - because I found that boat just before Mother's day 2009 and Scott and I were heading up to Northern Michigan to see his mom for her 60th birthday which was the same weekend. As serendipity would have it - the boat was located in Elk Rapids which was a mere 30 minutes from Scott's mom's place! So we made an appointment to see it the day before Mother's day. Fate? Perhaps.

Now, the first rule of thumb when buying a boat is to NEVER, EVER fall in love with a boat. This is because "falling in love" can lead you to make stupid, rash decisions with your heart rather than your head (and we all know that, don't we?). So I don't think we fell in love per-say, but we were REALLY attracted to her! Her lines were beautiful, she was impeccably maintained, and just a beautiful boat overall. We knew. While she might not be the one - she certainly could be.

Which leaves us where we are now. We have come to an agreement on price (whoo hoo!!) and are now onto phase II of this boat-buying journey which is a three part saga: 1) booking a marine survey (sort of like an inspection before you buy a home) 2) booking an engine survey (this is a-typical, but because the engine and boat are 35 years old we want to make sure everything is in ship shape!) and finally 3) a sea trial where we will get to sail her.

Sigh. It's a good, albeit surreal, feeling knowing we are *this* much closer to making this happen. There is so much more I want to tell you about the boat, what we plan to do and more specifics, but since this is not a "done deal" I don't want to get too ahead of myself! So, that's all for now and we'll keep you posted along the way!

Your friends,


Brittany (and Scott)