The Shipkiller: A Contest!

You can win this book!

Nothing can transport a person to another time and place quite like a good book.  Most of you know that I am a voracious reader and, while my time to read has been compromised slightly I am now getting my bearings back and have started reading again (hooray for a baby on a wonderful eat, play, nap schedule who sleeps 9 hours a night!).   Lucky for me, I have been contacted by a few publishers and have been gifted a few great sailing books to sink my teeth into as of late.  This one, folks, is a good one!

If the title of this one isn't enticing enough, the cover photo should be! The Shipkiller is not actually a new book, but a revised edition of the thirty-five year old maritime thriller being re-introduced to a new generation of readers.  Not too long ago I wrote about how a collision with a tanker is among the cruising sailor's worst nightmares and this novel brings that fear to nail-biting life...  

After being run down by the largest supertanker on the planet and losing his boat and beloved wife, Carolyn, to the sea - Peter Hardin embarks on a journey fueled by revenge that embraces the oceans of the world in an effort to avenge her death.   Through raging storms in the South Atlantic to the sickening heat of Persian Gulf, Hardin turns into a man possessed - a hardened sailor with but one goal:  sink the behemoth that stole his life.  Full of white knuckle action and plenty of unexpected twists and turns, The Shipkiller is sure to capture the imaginations of sailors and thrill seekers alike - it certainly got a firm grip on mine!!

"A stunner.  Absolutely riveting.  A marvelously taut, brilliantly told story of revenge, and the sea, and the dark forces that can shape the human condition." - Robert Ludlum

Now that I finished this fantastic book, I am going to gift my very own 'advanced reading copy' to one of you fine readers!  But there's a catch - you need to do a little PR for us.  In order to enter the contest, you must share our blog or Facebook Page.  To share our blog via email, just send a message to anyone and everyone you think would enjoy it with a link to our site and make sure you copy us on it (otherwise we won't know you shared it!).  To share our Facebook Page, just hit "share" on the link to this post (I can see who "shares" right there on the site).  Your name will be entered in the contest and I'll draw the winner at random tomorrow afternoon.  Once the winner is announced, I'll get your address and send the book to you.  Simple as that! 

[Note: This contest is over, sorry!]

Love,

Brittany, Scott & Isla

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Image of the Lady Liberty herself taken from the deck of Rasmus

Happy Fourth of July to our fellow Americans...today, we're going to celebrate our Independence with a day out on the water with family.  We're packing the sailboat full of beer, wine, grillables and lots of loved ones...Sure, we might get a little too much sun and stay out a little too late, but isn't that what July 4th is for?  We're going to nap in the noonday heat, dangle our feet over the rail, swim off the transom, picnic on the boat and watch the Chicago fireworks from the water.  If those things don't spell out Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness...I don't know what does!  Let freedom ring!  I, for one, feel very blessed and lucky to be able to say that.

Enjoy your day - wherever you are.  We'll post a few pics to our Facebook Page if you're interested in taking a peek.

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

Kiteboarding

Scott's first day out.  He was hooked!

The power of the wind is something that we as sailors are very in-tune with...There is nothing quite like harnessing the force of the wind in a sail and making yourself move towards a destination or nowhere at all.  For those of you who have done this - you get what I am talking about.  For those of you who haven't, go out to the nearest lake, rent a little sailing dinghy or windsurfer and make yourself move - you will not be sorry!

Scott has always been an athlete and has been on the lookout for a sport to enjoy while we are cruisers that is both exhilarating and space conscious and he has found it in kiteboarding.  He's invested heavily in this new activity both financially and emotionally and so far, he loves it.  It is, however, considered an "extreme sport" so if you are interested in doing this you should not do so without proper direction from a certified kiteboarding instructor. 

We're looking forward to getting back to the tradewinds and seeing what Scott can do with another sort of sail.  There is a great school down in Union Island in the Grenadines and we're looking forward to hooking up with our friends there when we get back!

Have You Checked Your Rig Today?

Put this into the "Things that make you go BOOM!" category. Photo courtesy from this site.

No sooner had I hit "publish" on my last post when I got a call from Scott;  "Cancel everything,"  he said sternly, "The sea trial is off".  We were supposed to be on a southbound plane tonight at 7:51pm and sailing tomorrow by 10am.  Point for travel insurance!

This morning, our rig surveyor (separate from our marine survey, which was scheduled for Friday after the sea trial) found cracks in a swage terminal at the top of the mast.  This is not good and must be fixed before we sea trail.  For those of you who do not know what a swage terminal is, I have included a picture above (the arrows point to a hair line crack).  To put it very simply: swage terminals house the shrouds which, in turn, hold up the mast (aka the 'rig').  When swage terminals go bad, rigs fall down.  When rigs fall down, it's a very, very bad very, very expensive day.

Upon first hearing this news I was pretty bummed.  Not only was I excited to go down and sail our potential new boat, I was anxious to move forward and either solidify this deal or move on.  Now it seems we'll have to postpone another two weeks.  Sigh.  After a little more thought, however, I realized this is really good news.  Better to find this problem now (when the owner must pay to fix it) as opposed to later when we are underway.  I shudder to think.  Typically, when cracked swage terminals are discovered, the entire standing rig must be replaced.  This is very good information to know before we buy this boat!

Which leads me to my next point:  The importance of a rig survey.  Most of the time a regular marine survey will only inspect the rig from the deck of a boat, they will not go aloft.  Because we are buying an older boat our wonderful broker buddy, Allen, highly recommend we get the rig fully inspected separately.  We (thankfully!) took his advice and the few hundred dollars the rig survey cost has now paid for itself two fold.

This information isn't only relevant to folks buying boats either!  If you have a boat and cannot remember the last time your rig was properly inspected, it might be time to think about it lest you end up with a boat without a stick.  Typically, they say standing rigging should be replaced in full every 10-15 years if a boat is used in the tropics and cruised extensively.  If you feel confident doing it yourself, you can check out this article which highlights what to look for.  If you would feel better having an expert, there are plenty of rigging companies that will do it for you.

So, while this does put a little wrench into the schedule of things, this also puts a little wrench onto our potential new boat's rig, and THAT is a good thing!

Love,
Brittany, Scott and Isla

Update

You have all been very patient with us as we go about this whole boat-buying thing in secrecy.  I know we have been incredibly transparent in this blog, but when it comes to this new boat - we feel we'd rather just keep the information to ourselves until everything is said and done.  There's a long road ahead yet, and at this point - anything can happen.  There is so much I want to tell you because, quite frankly, writing it all out can help me figure things out, but we'll just have to wait.

Anyway - as most of you who follow our Facebook Page know, we are under contract with our "potential" new boat.  I say "potential" because until we accept the boat after the sea trial and marine survey, the boat is in limbo.  There are so many things to consider and, if nothing else, we have learned that boat buying is HARD the second time around!!  This particular boat we are considering has several aspects that are not ideal (or should I say unfamiliar?) to us and we won't know where we really stand on these things until we sail her.  It's actually been pretty eye-opening and we are learning with absolute certainty that there truly is no such thing as the "perfect" boat.  No matter what, there will always be a trade-off.

Scott and I head down south again tonight.  Our sea trial is tomorrow and the marine survey will be conducted on Friday.  Because we have our reservations, we have been very adamant on doing the sea trial before the survey.  As I have mentioned before, a marine survey is not cheap - in fact, when it's all said and done we'll spend about $3,000 on the survey alone (the potential buyer pays for the haul out fee, the survey, and any yard fees amassed).  If we don't like the way the boat sails, however, the deal will be off.  Sailing before the survey will help make sure we spend the survey money wisely.  We are also spending extra money to conduct a thorough engine survey as well as an independent rigging survey (both separate from the marine survey) because we want to make sure we cover ALL our bases.  Again, this is costing us a lot of money - but the idea is that, in the end, it will be well worth it.  

We'll let you know how we fare!

Love,
Brittany, Scott & Isla

Top Ten Tuesdays: 10 Questions to Ask About a Prospective Boat

Inspecting boats is fun, but a lot of work can be done before you jump in a lazarette!

Buying a boat can be a long, arduous process.  This time around we are a lot more thorough than we were last time.  While nothing can take the place of going to see a boat, you can cover a lot of ground over the phone and via email as well.  Asking probing questions beforehand can help you to make an informed decision and better prepare you for your first visit.  Scott and I have come up with a list of questions to assist you, here are:

10 Questions to Ask About a Prospective Boat 

1. How was the boat used? How a boat was used can tell you a lot about her.  Was the boat heavily used?  Lightly used?  In fresh water or salt? Was she predominately a day sailor or was she cruised full-time? Learning about a boat's history can tell you a lot about what sort of boat you'll be getting, what type of systems she'll have and what you might need to add.
2. Why are you selling?  Is the owner selling because of health issues or are they looking for a new boat?  If they are looking for a new boat - ask what is wrong with the one they have.
3. How long have you owned the boat?  Learn as much about the boat's history as you can.  How many people have owned and for how long?  The fewer the owners, the more simple it is to trace the mechanical history of the boat.
4. What upgrades, if any, have you done?  We saw one poor boat who's owner hadn't done a thing to her in over twelve years. While her bones were still good, we didn't want a project but for someone else, this boat might be just the project they're looking for and a chance to start from a clean slate.
5. What are upgrades you would do if you weren't selling?  I always like to ask this question and I have found most people are pretty honest about it.   It's good information to have moving forward and almost always the answer will make you think.  
6. How long has the boat been for sale?  Times are certainly tough these days but if a boat has been on the market for a very long time it *could* indicate that either the boat is priced too high or isn't up to snuff.  Finding out how long a boat has been on the market can also be a tool to assist you when the time comes to negotiate.  Usually, after two years on the market - people tend to be a little more flexible. 
7. Has there ever been any osmosis issues?  Blisters on boats, though relatively common, are not good.  While this issue can be fixed, it can indicate a future of hull problems if it hasn't been taken care of properly.   Some models and makes are more prone to osmosis issues than others and they are a real pain in the butt to deal with (so we hear, Rasmus never had an issue with this).
8. What do you like best about the boat?  Least?  Again, use the current owner to your advantage.  Learn from him/her.  I have also been known to take to the forums and find other owners of the particular make of boat and get their opinions as well.  
9. Age of the following: engine, rigging, electronics, plumbing...etc.  Some owners will know all of these down to the date, others will not have a clue.  A proper marine survey will tell you what you REALLY need to know, but if you know beforehand that the standing rigging is 15 years old you can go into the deal knowing with relative certainty that you are going to have to replace it.
10. Do you have a mechanical log? Receipts?  Many boats that have been well cared for will come with a logbook that will show the mechanical history of the boat.  Some of these boats will even have receipts.  The more you know about the age and history of the boat's systems, the better off you will be in the long run.  Knowledge is power people!

These questions are just a few to get you started.  A proper marine survey will tell you what you really need to know, but a good survey is not cheap so learning as much as you can beforehand will certainly be worth your while.  What questions do you ask about a prospective boat?  Share in the comments!

Love,

Brittany, Scott & Isla

Baby's First Sail

Isla's first sail,  June 16, 2012

This day was a great one on many fronts.  But getting our little girl out on the rail with the wind in her face was definitely the highlight.  She loved sailing, and was a happy little camper both on deck and below.  When she wasn't looking around curiously at the sky, waves and all the stimuli a boat underway has to offer, she was lulled to a sweet slumber by the gentle motion of the boat.  She's a natural and we could not be more excited to do this every day with her!!  There is so much to show her, so much for her to learn and so much she'll teach us!... Scott and I agree wholeheartedly:  cruising is going to be a lot more fun having this little monkey around.  Not only are kids the world's greatest ambassadors, we'll get to see the world through a child's eyes and seriously, is there anything better than that?