Unfortunately, this delivery was one of the most eventful deliveries I’ve ever done…now that I say that, so many memories come to mind of more traumatizing deliveries. I should clarify that this was “eventful” in that there were several debilitating mechanical failures. There were so many mechanical failures that the passage took three times as long as expected. The positive aspects were that we didn’t get bad weather and that the boat was delivered to the owner with a bunch of work done that they would have had to do or discover on their own.
One of the unfortunate things about this delivery was that because my crew and I were so busy “putting out fires,” we had little energy to write about it underway, which had been my plan originally—something that motivated me to spring for a Starlink before leaving, which nonetheless proved very handy. As always, I want to share sea stories and logbook quotes that are educational for those who are interested in pursuing sailing or passagemaking of this kind. I want to be entertaining enough to maintain readers' attention but concise enough not to waste time. As hard as this was for the owner, who had to pay quite a lot of money expediting repairs, there were many valuable lessons to be shared in this passage. I hope that we can transmute some of that frustration into an educational yarn.
I was contacted well before the delivery, which is nice because I can gather the best crew possible. The boat was located in Anacortes and near me, which allowed me to see it beforehand, another big plus. Another big plus was that the owner wanted to do things right and was willing to pay for it, sadly, something that people don’t do enough.
Whenever I'm asked to move a newly bought boat out of the San Juans, I encourage people to use the vessel while it’s in this amazing cruising ground first. The new owner was amenable to that, and we discussed covering some of the ASA material and getting him certified to the Bareboat Cruising level while it was in the NW. Now I know what some are thinking: why isn't he already a certified or an otherwise capable skipper? While I strongly recommend people learn first and then look for a boat, many don’t do this, and there are lots of reasons for this. This boat buyer was purchasing a boat that he was planning to live on first and foremost, and then, by the time he retired, be at the level necessary to sail away.
Unfortunately, work got in the way of our shakedown cruise, and we had to focus on the delivery. This is expensive because owners pay for two slips until the crew can depart. Originally, we had spoken about leaving in March, but statistically speaking, the difference between March and April for finding favorable winds is distinct. So I told the owner we could cast off in March, but we may have to wait on the weather once the crew gets together. This could result in several “lay days” waiting for weather, and worst case: having to recrew the boat in a semi-remote place. This makes transportation expensive and hard to find a good crew on short notice, once there is a weather window and the boat is ready.
All that said and we decided on the beginning of April to depart. I'm so glad that we did because there were southerly gales all through March, and even the week before we left, I was watching what was a substantial Southerly was forecast to come in right as we were planning to head South around Cape Flattery.
As I mentioned, I had a lot of lead time to put together a great crew. It was a group of gentlemen that I knew would get along and complement each other’s skills well, and would be good company for each other. Unfortunately, one dropped out a week before departure, and that is never good, but part of the reason I try to bring a larger crew if we can accommodate it. Telling the crew that while these numbers seem excessive, I do it to make up for the fact that we can not rely on their participation. This means that “life happens” and people have to cancel, but it is also important because people get sick and often can't hold their watches, and the others have to cover. The flipside of this is that there is more food to cook, water to bring, and a bigger load on the head....oh, and work for me to coordinate.
Tom, Madison (Mad Dog) Har Rai, Max and Me. (If Mad Dog looks like he just woke up you would be right.) Charleston Fuel Dock
The crew
Tom Muir: retired captain, engineer, rigger, and instructor. Someone I met working at Seattle Sailing Club so many years ago, when he was head of maintenance for their 40-boat fleet. Tom was going to be the first mate and was glad to come along and not be the captain. Also, he is from southern Cali and looking forward to getting some family visits and surfing in once down south.
Madison Rowley: former crew aboard the tall ship Lady Washington and one of my first junior sail students when I was teaching at Island Sailing Club in Portland. I think I was 19 or 20, and he was 14. Madison and I reconnected years after the JR Camp, and he crewed on my Merit 25 and Moore 24 in their respective campaigns.
HarRai Khalsa: a friend of Madison's and former delivery crew and friend who had recently hired me to help him find a boat for his slip in Hood River.
Max Heckscher: An alumnus of the Griffin Bay Adventure advance programs, Max proved to be such a great hand in the class that he took from Me and Tom Muir on Tom’s 53-foot Andrews, that I asked if he wanted to join my crew on an Oregon Offshore race we did in 2022? A boat owner and conveniently between jobs, Max is the paradigm of an invaluable shipmate offshore. Always engaged where we are. His dedication to doing what needs to be done without instruction is such a help when my brain is swimming in the decision-making process, weighing risks.