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.

New Sails!

180% Drifter 

Two new sails are being added to Distant Horizon's inventory. First, a storm jib. This is a very small sail flown ahead of the mast in gale or storm conditions. The leading edge of the sail, the luff, will be a flourescent orange color to help with visibility.

The other sail being added is for exactly the opposite end of the spectrum... very, very, very calm weather. All the other sails are made of Dacron. This sail, the Drifter, is made of nylon. Actually, very light nylon and has many other technical qualities built into the sail for light wind sailing.

Since these sails can be made with colored material, a fair amount of thought went into the color scheme. I finally went with the red and blue on a white sail for visibility. A flourescent yellow is the most visible color, but I couldn't find a complementary color that I liked. I think the red and blue will stand out during the day. At times of poor visibility, like twilight and fog, the darker blue will help but turning on the decklights to backlight the sail will help the most. For this reason, I tried to maximize the white color.

Self Steering!

Hydrovane... 

For Distant Horizon to be completely ready for her trip to Bermuda, there are still some items needed. The first item, is the self steering system.  This is effectively an autopilot that does not need batteries. I chose Hydrovane for several reasons:

• it can be used as an emergency rudder
• it is does not connect to the main rudder; reducing overall wear to the steering system. 
• I can still turn the wheel in an emergency
• it can be used in conjunction with the existing autopilot system

The Hydrovane was ordered with the optional 3nm LED stern light. Having an AIS to know what ships are in the area is one thing, but having those ships see us better... priceless!

Once Distant Horizon is balanced, she will sail straight for a considerable distance without me making corrections with the wheel. This is due to the modified fin keel. Eventually, she slowly turns toward the wind and I have to make a course correction with the wheel. With the self steering system, the windvane will fly straight while the boat is on course. Then, when Distant Horizon turns slightly, the windvane will be deflected by the wind change. That deflection will, in turn, cause its own rudder to move; turning Distant Horizon back on course with the windvane flying straight again.

The order has been placed for the Hydrovane. It is scheduled to arrive in mid-March; leaving me plenty of time for the installation.

I mentioned the Automatic Identification System (AIS) in the previous post. The system was originally devised for collision avoidance by continuously transmitting vessel information on VHF Radio frequencies. This information includes the vessel's identification, position, speed, and course, along with other relevant information. Other vessel's and land-based stations can monitor this information. AIS worked so well, its use was made mandatory world-wide in 2002 for all passenger ferries and by all ships exceeding 300 gross tons.

Standing in the cockpit of Distant Horizon, the visible horizon is about 3.5 miles away. When a ship is spotted, it will take about 20 minutes for that ship to overtake Distant Horizon. That leaves a few precious moments to ensure we are not on a collision course and, if we are... then, to take evasive actions.

VHF radio waves travel in a straight line from antenna to antenna. My VHF antenna is at the top of the mast; just over 50 feet above the water. Typically with VHF the range would be 25-30 miles or so. Using AIS, gives a ships direction and speed at nearly eight times the distance as compared to visual means. This extends the safety zone around Distant Horizon. Additionally, in heavy rain, fog, or haze, the AIS can still "see" ships at a safe distance.

Standard Horizon GX2150 AIS Matrix+

Rather than installing a seperate AIS receiver, I chose to purchase an integrated system using the Standard Horizon Matrix AIS+ VHF radio. With the remote mic in the cockpit, all the AIS information is right there. AIS doesn't replace keeping a good watch. It provides additional information to those on watch; making each voyage safer.

Another use of AIS, which I have found extremely useful is obtaining a current weather forecast.  Since I know the ship's name, I can hale them on the radio. When requesting the latest weather forecast from a ship, they will respond with their current three day forecast; allowing us to have a current weather forecast available at most times.

I have heard people say that ships won't answer such a radio call. In my experience, that has happened exactly once... and that ship had no markings. So, I assumed it was a military ship.Even before AIS, I have never failed to communicate with a commercial shipping vessel at sea. It's not luck. The international language for commercial communications is English. This is true for maritime shipping as well as aviation. Most ships have crews from countries where English is a second, possibly third, language. They are required to log their radio communications. So, given the opportunity to speak English, the person on watch always does respond.

This is one of my sextants. It is a 1917 Kelvin & Hughes.   

The marine sextant measures the angle between two points. It is best known as an instrument for measuring the altitude of  the sun, moon, planets, or stars above the horizon. For centuries, it has been used as the primary tool to reliably navigate across open expanses of the world's oceans.

 The marine sextant is an equally useful tool for coastal navigation in the hands of a navigator adept in its use. With the sextant, the navigator can determine the range (distance) from an object of a known height, like a lighthouse or radio tower. The sextant can be used to establish a fix (location) by turning the sextant horizontal and measure the angle between two fixed objects. The sextant can be used to obtain an accurate time of day to set the ship's clock.

The voyage from New York City to Bermuda is planned to take five-and-a-half days. Although Distant Horizon has a primary GPS and 5 other devices that contain GPS receivers, two consecutive days will be dedicated to celestial navigation. The first two days of the voyage will use GPS. This is because the Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver requires a GPS input. AIS provides important information from ships. It will take roughly two days to get far away from the shipping channels leading to NY. So, Safety first!

Happy Birthday

Distant Horizon turns 35 today!

After 35 years of sailing service, Distant Horizon is still taking her crew to the destinations of their dreams. She is as fit and seaworthy as ever and will continue this faithful service in 2012 by taking us through the New York State Canal System; down the Hudson River to New York City; and from there to Bermuda.

Nearing Completion

Anchored in South Bay, Carleton Island, NY

It's been over two years since I entered a Post. Now, as the final stages are being planned, Distant Horizon is nearly ready for her sea trial. So, I decided to re-start the blog.

Seven years of work, sailing, and preparation, have gotten us to this point. There is still work to be done, but Distant Horizon is ready for her sea trial, which has been planned as a cruise from the New York City area to St. Georges, Bermuda.

This past year's enhancements started below the waterline; fairing the keel; rudder rebuild with a new skin, seals and bushings. There was also a barrier coat and new bottom paint. All this work was contracted out to Watercraft Clinic. Their work was masterful. The boat speed was increased by almost half a knot and steerage can be maintained three tenths of a knot slower. Then there was the addition of two new head sails: a 135% genoa and an 85% heavy weather working jib. Next, a rigging change was made: the addition of a jack stay. The new jack stay and heavy weather sail combination moved the center of effort farther aft. This combination worked fabulously! The boat was well balanced even in a moderate gale with sustained winds of 38mph gusting over 50mph!

I'm currently working in Virginia. Being 9 hours from home is not the most enjoyable situation, but this will best provide the funds for Distant Horizon's  next round of enhancements. 

The first enhancement for this year will be the purchase of a wind vane steering system. Hopefully, the purchase will be made around the first of the year. Although, I can not install it until the boat is in the water; probably early April. That will be followed by two more head sails: a drifter for light air sailing and a storm sail for conditions at the other end of the spectrum.

After 7 years, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Distant Horizon  will be going to Bermuda in June 2012! 

Safety At Sea Seminar

I attended the Safety At Sea seminar in Charleston, SC on March 8th. For anyone who has never attended one of these, I would highly recommend attending at least once. You would think this would be more of the same old stuff. However, for this particular seminar the speakers and presentations brought a different perspective to those common topics.
A few of the speakers were:
Capt J.K. Louttit, Norfolk USCG Deputy Commander
Brad Van Liew, Around Alone Champion
Ralph Narajo, Technical editor of Cruising World Magazine
It was a beautiful day and we went outside to fire-off all types of pyrotechnics; inflate a 6-man life raft and climb in with 5 others to experience how much living space there really is.

Surreal Weekend Experience

I flew home to Baldwinsville this weekend. It was a beautiful weekend; sunny all the time, which is uncharacteristic of Syracuse in February. On Sunday morning, I put the blinds up in the sun room to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine while I read.
The phone rang. At first I thought it would be for Matt, but decided to take a message. It was Jet Blue. They were calling to inform me my evening flight was canceled due to the snow storm. I'm north of Syracuse, looking out the window at a beautiful sunny day. Isn't this where I should have a problem with snow?
I ended up getting the early flight out the next day. Again, a beautiful sunny morning in Syracuse. We landed in fog and snow covered runways at JFK. Then the first normal event happened. My connecting flight was delayed one hour. Finally arriving in Charlotte, was awesome; the snow covered landscape with snow just hanging from the trees was amazing, but out of character for Charlotte.
So, after a beautiful sunny weekend in Syracuse, I arrive to Charlotte, North Carolina and have to brush the snow off my car!

Charleston Balconies

Charleston... for those who have been to Charleston will recognize these balconies across from Battery Park; the first house in "Rainbow Row".

In the early 1900s, Dorothy Pocher Legge purchased a section of houses on East Bay Street and painted them pastel pink based on a colonial Caribbean color scheme. Current and future owners followed her lead when painting their houses, and soon a 'rainbow' of pastels emerged that are still there today.

It has also been suggested by locals that the houses were painted in the various pastel colors so that intoxicated sailors coming in from the port could remember which houses were their own!

A day at the beach

Linda, Grace and I took a walk along the beach on Oak Island, NC

Charleston Sailing

I took off for Charleston, SC to go sailing. I hitched a ride with a friend, Captain Will. It was a perfect day; lots of sun, fair winds and good folks.