Refit is still ongoing

The refit for Distant Horizon is still ongoing. There are several rather large tasks taking place at one time. Last fall, I decided to complete the work on Distant Horizon rather than doing a little each year. This was mainly due to my primary function as a health care proxy for both my mother and wife, which has consumed most of my time. As such, I have not launched Distant Horizon in two years. So, if she is going to sit on the hard, why not take the plunge?

Distant Horizon stored safe and secure

The tasks at hand are:

• Replace the old crazed Plexiglass windows with new stainless steel opening ports.
• Countersink and rebed all screw and bolt holes in the decks and cabin top.
• Replace a section of the starboard deck core.
• Replace a section of the cockpit sole core
• Fill holes where old propane hose came through the transom.
• Remove 3" ventilator and replace with a 4" ventilator
• Replace the  starboard Settee and Pilot Berth with two easy-chairs, a table and some cabinets
• Rebuild the entire galley area
• Clean-up existing DC circuits and add additional circuits; isolating the electronics from the DC power source
• Bring the A/C circuitry up to modern standards.
• Replace the bulkhead between the head and the salon
• paint the decks and cabin top
• paint new non-skid on the decks and cabin top

A good friend Jerry, helped me strip the decks. He spent a horrible summer sanding the decks under the shrink wrap. 

I removed the port-side cabin Plexiglass windows and built-up the cabin top sides to accommodate the new opening ports. Cut the new opening port openings.

Just before Thanksgiving, I fell from the top of the ladder, about 20 feet above the ground and landed on my back; breaking two transverse process bones from my spine, cracked both pelvis bones, broke my tail bone, and a rib. So, needless to say, I have not been as active at the boat as I had planned. The initial recovery was fast, but regaining strength has been taking much longer than expected.

My wife's health has been good. So, we decided it would be best to buy another boat that we can sail away this summer instead of waiting half the summer for me to complete the work on Distant Horizon.

In short, this story will continue, but once again at a slower pace than expected. I will continue to update this site as progress is made. For now, we are going to live our lives, cruising on our soon to be new boat. Once the purchase has been completed (mid-may), I will update this site with the new blog. One which will contain many more interesting adventures.

The transatlantic passage is a delivery of a Lagoon 620 to Gibraltar. The departure has been delayed for two weeks as we wait for parts being shipped from France. As such, my arrival to the boat is also delayed. Currently, I plan to arrive at the boat on April 24th for a No-Later-Than May 1st departure.

According to insurance companies in the US, any boat over 30 feet is classified as a yacht. This, however, is a yacht! Go to the Lagoon website and watch their video of this boat... errr yacht... I chuckle every time I watch. The young woman looks lost, going from one cabin or stateroom to the next until she finally finds her book!

Here's the link, click on the Images button and select video: http://www.cata-lagoon.com/lagoon_62012_video_uk.php

Transatlantic Route

In about 6 weeks, I will depart Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for Gibraltar. Our planned route is drawn in red on this old chart of the North Atlantic Ocean. There are several stops planned at very nice locations. If you follow the route, you will see our planned stops are in Bermuda, Horta, Azores, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Cascais, Portugal, and finally our destination of Gibraltar. So, I'm hoping to add a few more pictures to thise blog in May and June.

In addition to some great photo opportunities, I will have my first chance at practicing my Portuguese language skills.

Ready to Sail Again

It has been 16 months since I last sailed. Family comes first, which is all I will say.

Distant Horizon is ready to sail. However, her transatlantic voyage has been postponed until 2014 as the window of opportunity is quite small this year. My youngest daughter is graduating from High School in June and August will be spent getting her prepared and moved to her new college location. Which college? That remains to be seen. She has multiple acceptances. So, she has choices and the choice is hers to make.

Since the blog has been boring for the past year, I plan to use it to update my sailing adventures. This will start with a transatlantic passage. I will crew on a private yacht; moving the 62 foot multihull from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA to Gibraltar. The planned departure date is April 15th. The captain is a British Royal Yacht Master, good friend, and sailing companion.

I will update this blog as I get more information. In the mean time, if you have questions... post a comment and I will try to answer.

Bananas on a Boat are Bad Luck!

Bananas have been cultivated in the Indus Valley as far back as 2000 B.C. The banana's nickname is "Fruit of the Wise". Ironic... especially when you consider it is a favorite food of monkeys, who enjoy hurling bodily waste products towards visitors at the zoo.

Bananas are Bad Luck for those zoo visitors of course, but a maritime superstition says they are bad luck for boats as well! The origin of this superstition is uncertain, but many believe it was started around the 17th century when a transatlantic crossing was a very risky endeavor. Storms, shipwrecks, pirates, and disease all claimed the lives of those attempting this dangerous voyage.

Scurvy was a limiting factor for ocean travel. The ancient Greeks knew about scurvy.  From the 15th to 19th centuries, sailors knew to help fight against scurvy it was imperative to have fresh fruit aboard. The ultimate cause of scurvy was not known until 1932.

Often vessels would stop along the way in tropical islands to gather provisions such as food and water.  There, crew would purchase wooden crates of bananas from the locals and bring them aboard the ship.  These crates would have all manner of critters in them. Specifically, within the bunches of bananas, there were spiders. Spiders that are extremely poisonous.  It didn't take long for sailors to realize that bringing bananas on board caused others to become sick or even die.

Never Leave on a Friday!

For most of us, Friday is known as the 6th day of the week. However, believe it or not, there is an ISO standard (ISO8601) that declares Friday as the 5th day.  Friday has been maligned throughout history for its bad luck. Friday the 13th, Good Friday, and Black Friday are all examples.

Many Sailors believe it's bad luck to leave port on a Friday. There is a longstanding superstition in the British Royal Navy that it's unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday. That has led to the story of the HMS Friday.

The reluctance of seamen to sail on a Friday reached such epic proportions, that in the 19th century, the British Government decided to take strong measures to prove the fallacy of the superstition. They laid the keel of a new vessel on Friday, selected her crew on a Friday, launched her on a Friday and named her HMS Friday. Then, Captain James Friday was placed her in command and sent her to sea for the first time on a Friday. The scheme worked well, and had only one drawback ... neither ship nor crew was ever heard from again.

Although HMS Friday is believed to be false, This century old story tells of the superstitious nature of sailors.

Safety Equipment Has Arrived!

Since Distant Horizon is nearly ready and just waiting for me to return from Virginia, I started ordering safety equipment.

Typically the list of required safety equipment is fairly short for a boat on the Great Lakes.

• One PFD for each person on board
• One Type V, throwable type of PFD
• Two Marine Type USCG B-I Fire Extinguishers
• Three combination (day/night) red flares
• A sufficient way to make a sound signal, not a human voice

However, when considering an ocean voyage, the list grows rapidly. When I arrived home on Friday, this is what was waiting for me by the front door.
More is on the way. :-)

Shipping Traffic

I mentioned in a previous post, that on my departure, I would have help getting away from New York City to avoid the shipping traffic. Here is a quick look at the shipping traffic around New York City down to the Delaware.

This image was captured on the morning of March 15th, 2012. In this view, there are 137 ships. The ocean is a busy place!

That red ship in the lower right corner, is a Tanker. It is 261 nautical miles from Sandy Hook, NJ; my intended point of departure.

Maintaining a good watch, 24 hours a day is vital to the safety of Distant Horizon and her crew.