Day Nine

The only way to offset the discomfort of beating into 20 knots is to make Sous Vide steak diner.

The sweet downwind dream has passed for the moment.

We have a reach ahead so only a night of tacking.

Day Eight

Today, with winds going down to just 3 knots, crew got an opportunity to pause.

Fishing lines were out and sunbathing on bean bags was in full swing.

Rhys and I used sextants for the noon sight and plotted a nice-looking parabola of sun reaching its highest point in the sky and starting to go down. This allowed us to get our latitude and longitude from sun observations alone. What a thrill!

After the mid-day sun, it was hard to resist the blue waters. We used a floating sheet from spinnaker to float a small stepping fender behind the boat, as a safety measure to help catch up with it. With that in place, we took a splash jumping from the bow, floating by the moving boat, and catching up with it at the stern. So amazingly refreshing!  17088ft of water beneath us with surface temperature  of 74.4F!

As we approach the midpoint of our journey, things are settling down into a good rhythm. All the daily boat tasks are becoming easy and familiar and body and mind is fully adjusted to the motion and views of the open ocean.

On long passages like this, two things come to the forefront as great sources of joy: learning and food.  I’m grateful for so many little and big things I’ve learned and continue to learn from every member of the crew:

Rhys continues to work through celestial navigation practice problems and is using some new techniques from David Burch’s book, which helped me sort things out in my head by looking at a different way to do things.

Iain compressed his days-long learning curve into a 30min crash course of weather routing software qtVLM for me. Now I have it on my own computer and can play pretend-navigator in parallel with his focused effort to get us the best route.

Craig gave me awesome pointers on creating marinades and salad dressings. He manages to balance flavors so well and uses ingredients I’ve never touched before. Who knew I’d really enjoy a splash of Coconut Aminos or that half of a lime could brighten up salad dressing so much!

Speaking of food, the prep put into developing a balanced and varied meal plan is paying off. Our shake-down sail helped gauge who likes what type of food and flavors. We managed to pack some good surprises into the menu and generally not repeat any dish twice. A bit more cooking effort than usually (I did bring a sous vide!) but results are great and crew is happy. Many more fun meals ahead!

Based on predictions, we are bracing for some lively winds overnight and then likely a few more days of motoring with stops for a dip in the ocean along the way.

Onward!

Kirill

Day Seven 

VIVACE HAWAII - SITREP 2024-07-05 - EVENING WATCH REPORTING

CREW HIGHLIGHTS: The food! Kirill, Craig, and Rhys have been serving up gourmet meals at every turn. Never thought I would see a sous vide strapped to a pot perfectly cooking chicken breasts for a killer salad. Sardine melts on toast for breakfast? Oh My! Had a few close encounters with freighters out in the middle of nowhere. Hundreds of miles off shore and we come within 4 miles of these giant 800ft+ vessels. While sailing under spinnaker, which limits our maneuverability and is a lot of work to set up or take down, we did hail one that was particularly close and ask them to slightly change course to pass behind us which they graciously agreed. First time for the crew using the VHF radio's DSC call capability to hail that vessel specifically.

CONDITIONS: Wind has been 15-20kts all day on the starboard quarter with a settled 3-4 sea state. Not a single tack or gybe. While unsurprising given the vast open ocean it's a remarkable difference from coastal sailing where you're constantly having to tack and avoid land hazards. We've made great strides, looks like another 160+ nautical mile day will be in the books when Craig tallies it up at 03:00 while thinking about breakfast.

HOPES AND DREAMS: About 36 hours ago we made a routing decision based on the developing wind/weather forecast models and departed our rhumb line course to instead pick a way through the uncommonly shifty low-pressure conditions that now separate us from Hawaii. Rather than long tacks on a constant heading, we have a carefully calculated route to minimize our travel time while optimizing and balancing factors such as speed, sailing angles, wave heights, and if there's no wind, motoring range. Through practice and experience we're learning how this particular boat sails at given wind angles and strengths, now it's time to put that to the test and follow a specific maze-like course through the shifting conditions.

GOINGS ON: While frequently frustrated by the persistent overcast conditions, we've all been enjoying developing our celestial navigation skills with Kirill's knowledgable tutelage. It's rewarding to learn how to tune and use a sextant to measure, more accurately for some than others, elevation of sun and stars over the horizon, and then apply reasonably simple maths and paper plotting to derive our latitude and longitude. Impressive performance and accuracy from a basic plastic tool that was standard issue for all WWII lifeboats. Maybe tomorrow my plot will put us in the ocean somewhere...


Iain



(We are slowly approaching the first tricky part of the routing Navigation at sea is different than inland or on the coast because rather than negotiating rocks and the hazards of land you have to navigate the weather. Surprising as it seems the wind and waves are moving all different directions at different times. Pressure changes and move causing winds to change strength and direction. Fortunately, we have amazingly powerful technology that helps us predict these winds so that we can stay in wind of favorable strength and direction at the same time head towards more of the same. Every day we download weather charts for the coming days called GRIB files. These gribs combined with data about our Boat’s sailing angles and performance allow us to plot the fastest and most comfortable route to our destination. This is called Weather routing and Iain has been in charge of gathering this data and looking ahead to help us discuss what we hope is the best route involving the least motoring or uncomfortable sailing. We have some motoring coming us and some upwind sailing in 20 + knots so we are enjoying the tapering winds and calm for now. These are predictions and fallible but other than slight wind angle discrepancy’s and strength they have been right on. The “polars” or the boats performance data has been the most challenging part of this work because the polars we have for this boat seem to suggest we should be sailing faster most of the time which means it point us to places that we can’t reach in time and out here the right place at the wrong time is not the right place at all. This and the fact that we have new sails aboard that allow us to perform better than the “out of the box” Amel 55 is proving us with a great challenge. We are having to tune the polars to our crews ability’s and our particular quiver of sails. Soon we will get to try out the “Code Zero” a sail that is a mixture of a spinnaker and a Genoa and should help us get through the light stuff ahead.


Rhys

Day six

A very quiet Fourth of July this evening out under the stars. We can still hear the bar reports from the Oregon coast all the way out here 700 miles offshore. We managed to be somewhat patriotic on this US flagged vessel by barbecuing burgers on the rail while listening to the Boss. Everyone is quite stuffed and those that aren’t asleep wish they were. We are also pleased with ourselves after a big mile day under Spinnaker all day with a top speed of 11.5. Were are getting better at setting the big beautiful blue beast but I think it’s safe to say everyone is at least a little afraid of setting it and taking it down and sailing under it sleeping while it’s up and going to the head or whatever else because it can wrap around the headstay and has a few times requiring all hands on deck to untwist it and get it flying again. It is very powerful and also very delicate and also expensive but it is beautiful and it’s how we got 166 nautical miles today. Wish us luck we miss this light patch coming for us so we don’t have to listen to the engine in the next few days.

Sleep tight and don’t blow your fingers off or the country up while we are gone. .

Rhys

Day five

The highlight of the day is hard to pick but I don’t think I’ll forget tonight’s dinner. It was one of the best passage dinners I’ve had. At about 19:00 with the appetites getting sharp and the smells of cooking coming from below Craig is playing some beautiful classical guitar piece in the cockpit on and equally beautiful flamenco guitar he said he picked up on his travels to Portugal. The performance is interrupted by the call from the galley that dinner is served and we eat in the cockpit as the sun shines scattered beams low through the clouds and we gently surge along at 7 knots dead downwind with the Genoa poled out wind on wing.

The vegetarian stir-fry that Kirril made would have brought anyone back to this restaurant if the parking wasn’t so bad. Before that it was generator and water maker on so we could all have showers

Before this, there was the setting of the whisker pole in order to sail a more direct route and continue to skirt the wind that, while blowing gale force off the coast are quite pleasant out here 300 mile or so offshore.  Before that it was our first opportunity to get out the sextants and try some celestial navigation practice and work on our noon sun sights….or at least three of us employed our newfound sunny day that way. Craig’s idea of enjoying the sun was having a nap in one of his new bean bag chairs on the aft deck. 

Before that Iain, I enjoyed the first glimpse of offshore stars and a waxing moon through the clouds at 4 am.

The days are packed I tell you. Between the important work of naps and chores and lessons, it’s hard to get far into a chapter of some non celestial navigation text. Will I ever find out what happens to Frodo?

Sorry for the late post everyone. It really is a busy little ship. 

I hope you are all eating half as well as us.

Rhys 

Day Three

VIVACE HAWAII - SITREP 2024-07-01 - EVENING WATCH REPORTING

CREW HIGHLIGHTS: Sailing! Food! Birds! Whales! Reportedly some pancakes at breakfast. Delicious avocado toast and tomato salad at lunch. Italian-style tilapia for dinner w/ potatoes. Kirill's hands must be missed at home. An albatross cruised by to check things out while setting the spinnaker. Craig and Kirill had close encounter with two huge whales close alongside. Several what we believe to be storm petrels have been seen flitting about.

CONDITIONS: Wind filled in over night and by morning making 8+ kts boat speed in 12-14kts. Sailed on broad reach putting in good miles right along the rhumb line. Set the new spinnaker for several hours making 9+ kts. Stronger winds gusting up to 20kts required hand steering to keep from rounding up, forced to shift gears and pull the spinnaker down around 18:00. Geared down further to settle things out while Kirill crafted delicious dinner. Night watch forecast for rolly beam seas and 20kts+ that have materialized. Tolerable but somewhat rough down below. Kirill hasn't launched out of the vberth bunk but the night is still young.

HOPES AND DREAMS: Weather models calling for clear skies tomorrow morning that may yield opportunities for celestial navigation practice with noon sun sight, possibly carrying on into evening for star sights. So far has lots of low overcast and/or fog. Lots of wind to carry us for a few days yet, route and performance seems to be hitting the right marks thus far although wind angles not quite as predicted.

GOINGS ON: Excited to have flown the spinnaker successfully, some minor notes include not trapping the tack line under the razor-sharp roller furling drum (chafed cover) and to mind the plastic "toilet bowl" snuffer ring when in the vicinity of your face. Diesel shut-off still showing minor leak across the hall when heeled over 20 degrees. Had hoped that would settle down after using up some fuel but no such luck. Helm seat came unstuck at one point - pin/plates were held on with tiny #0 Robertson fasteners - perhaps snuck on board by a Canadian engineer. Reattached without incident. Digital/smart/assisted weather routing getting dialled in on laptops and Furuno system. Adjusted calibration of boat speed sensor and tackled some problems with network card in the ship tracking data box. Ships log is detailing energy consumption/battery status to better judge generator runtime requirements.

Iain

Day Two 2024-06-30 - EVENING WATCH REPORTING

VIVACE HAWAII - SITREP 2024-06-30 - EVENING WATCH REPORTING

CREW HIGHLIGHTS: Hot Showers! With the engine running all day we had plenty of hot water. Food delicious as always, high cuisine courtesy of Kirill and Craig. Egg salad sandwich or granola and yoghurt for breakfast. Lunch was fresh spicy shrimp on a bed of arugula and grilled turkey/pepper panini with chips. Dinner we powered down to create favourable BBQ conditions - grilled salmon with a spicy senegalese salsa, spinach salad w/perfectly ripe avocado. Everyone napping well and comfortable in the gentle conditions, although the vee-berth is a bit active in the swell, and could have been more exciting if Kirill hadn't discovered that the lift-up berth hadn't been fully latched down. Recently improvised lee cloths doing their job.

CONDITIONS: Winds continue to be unusually calm for these waters at this time of year. Finding mostly F2/F3, velocity mostly less than 7 kts. Unfortunately not enough to make our minimum desired boat speed of (6 kts). On track for 175nm day.

GOINGS ON: Tested the desalinating water-maker to top off the freshwater tank. Careful observation revealed a loose fitting on the saltwater side that threatened to drip water directly onto the control electronics. Judiciously tightened and passed testing with flying colours, water tank was successfully filled.

HOPES AND DREAMS: Wind models predict an increase to 15 kts overnight with an approaching high-pressure system. We are angling to ride down a sweet spot off a high-pressure ridge as it pushes up against the west coast of North America. The trick is to stick to the right isobars between the light conditions at the centre of the system and the heavy stuff closer to shore. And then of course to actually make a good course towards our direction on a point of sail that works for the vessel and crew. All a question of how to be at the right place at the right time. Too soon or too late and that becomes the wrong place.

Iain (Sparky) McBride

Day Two - Evening

Developing high pressure to the west

Day Four Prediction

Riding high along the sweet high isobars

Interview with Capt Erden Eruc about his entrance into the Golden Globe race.

I wonderful chat with my friend and shipmate Capt Erden Eruc about his entrance in to the non stop round the world sailboat race the Golden Globe in 2026. We talk about his subsequent adventures and accolades as well as his inspiration to take on this amazing new challenge. We plan to do more interviews about the boat prep and logistics as the start approaches.


Follow along and help support this amazing mariner here.

Learn more


Interview with Capt McCormack on the sinking of SV Bum Gal

Captain Ray McCormack's interview regarding the sinking of Bum Gal.

 

Postmortem 

I have read a little bit of what people have been posting about this incident and a lot of the comments refer to other instances or deliveries and digress into focusing on the character and history of Capt McCormack. While I can see it’s tempting to damn the man in question I think that the most productive way to talk about the incident is to look at the facts or at least what we have been told happened and focus on how it could have been avoided as a learning opportunity. This is hard because the accounts of the boat owner and McCormack don’t support each other so we will have to imagine what really happened is somewhere in between these and direct our thinking toward how the sinking could have been avoided.

 This event has many people in the sailing community up in arms and perhaps this makes sense. We humans have been looking to each other for guidance for a long time. We look to a person’s past to help us evaluate the worth of their opinion and capabilities. We do this as a shortcut to knowing them firsthand. With an aggregate of their documented successes, and failures we can find it easier to dismiss their competence or not. In an instance where we don’t know exactly what happened this helps us know if that person was likely at fault such as in a case like this. Unfortunately, the only public accounts of McCormack’s former jobs are edited by himself so this is not reliable either. To add to this the fuel of the indignation comes from a feeling that a captain should be infallible. This means leaders get a lot of criticism for the decisions they make for others to follow. This can be hard and maybe selects for people who have thick skins and are overly confident. 

The first thing we know is the boat owner wanted to head to Mexico. She chose to go with a cruising rally renowned for its great parties and we may suppose that she sought safety in numbers rather than going independently. McCormack admitted in his account in the Lat 38 article that he weighed the deficiencies against this idea of safety in numbers. We also know the boat owner does not have offshore experience herself. She described herself as a newbie in the Lat38 write-up. We know as well that one of her crew left the vessel or for whatever reason decided not to go at the last minute. I would like to know about why and more generally how she chose her crew. She said she found McCormack’s Facebook page and was impressed by his experience. Another interesting aspect that puzzles me is why McCormack volunteered to help them sail the boat south. McCormack is a professional captain living as he says “paycheck to paycheck” and doing pro bono work in the field is rare. Another very important thing to point out at this stage is that even though McCormack did not have a per diem and a corresponding contract the fact that he received compensation for transportation puts him in somewhat of a professional position. When delivering boats and applying for riders insurance companies want to know if crew are being compensated. If they are they want to see that they are experienced. Another point to note is that as a captain whether you are paid or not you have an obligation to ensure that whatever vessel you are on you must do everything in your power to ensure its safe operation. McCormack said that he did not go through his normal procedure, before departure because he was not under contract for hire. This was a big mistake as we will see. He did however tell the crew because of his experience he would be in command. He also said that he does have an uncanny ability to know the seaworthiness of a vessel just stepping aboard and the boat owner said that he looked the boat over and gave it a green light but after the sinking, McCormack questioned the seaworthiness. The normal process of application to deliver a boat is to start with a survey. I don’t think this boat would have gotten a good enough evaluation to satisfy most insurance companies and certainly wouldn’t have been a boat I would deliver. That said the fact that the windlass didn’t work would have been enough to make me walk away regardless of a good survey. The windlass is an essential piece of safety equipment on a cruising boat of this size. Even with the lightweight anchor McCormack encouraged the owner to buy (there should already have been one onboard.) it would not provide adequate ground tackle to cruise or conduct safe passage in the waters they were intending to sail. I believe this was bad counsel on McCormack’s part.

The next issue was the charging/electrical one. Corrosion on the alternator terminal and corroded wires resulted in the batteries not charging and made them decide to turn around. Then once in the harbor instead of advising the owner to get a professional to ascertain the extent of the electrical issues, he enlisted one of the crew to make another wire lead. They left again and it sounds like they did not fix the issue but instead of turning around or because they were past the halfway point, they continued on. At this point, McCormack hooked the gasoline-powered generator to the battery charger on the AC side of the system, and it continued to blow breakers (running a gasoline power generator on deck underway is very unusual). This was done to continue powering the navigation system he was using on his computer down below and as I understand to continue using the autopilot or not. I'm not clear on this. There are mixed accounts of this. All this was going on while he was skirting the shore in 30 feet of water.  When sailing close to any land whether your autopilot is working properly or not, you should have the ability to navigate from the helm, and if there is the possibility that you will lose power to the navigation electronics you should, if you’re not already, begin plotting your position on a paper chart. As I understand it there were no paper charts on the boat but apparently, the boat owner did have an iPad for navigation. It is not clear why it was not at the helm.

This is a list of the actions that in succession led to the sinking of the vessel as I understand it.

1-Leaving without a working windlass.

A windlass is a key part of the seaworthiness of the boat. If you can't sail out of trouble or motor out of trouble you stabilize the situation using the ground tackle. The lightweight “Fortress” folding anchor is a backup device and you don't count on using backup devices before you leave safe harbor. The fact that the windless didn’t work did not lead to the sinking but the fact that it didn’t work is indicative of the condition of the boat. The age of the wiring on this old boat did contribute to the sinking. I have learned that even though failing systems may not be related the fact that they are failing and require attention can lead to accidents. For example, it doesn’t take much imagination to see how a broken head could lead to a crew falling overboard. 

  

2- Not hiring a professional to repair and diagnose the electrical systems and fuel problem.

To be a delivery captain on a boat of this size you have to be able to fix everything. That said when you are underway any attention from the captain that is taken away to navigating the boat is dangerous. There were several issues with the vessel that they were all aware of before they were out of the area where support and facilities were available. It’s one thing to discover issues underway and to “Jury rig” a repair but the float plan should be reassessed given the knowledge that the vessel is now less seaworthy.

3- Sailing close to the shore and not reefing 

Sailing close to the shore in this case in 30 feet of water is very dangerous in unknown waters. This requires very close attention. It would require a plotter at the helm and hand steering with a depth alarm on with good visibility. That said there are mixed reports who was at the helm. McCormack gave a report the the Mexican officials that he was at the helm and then we heard that the third crew member was at the helm or at the shrouds. 

4- Continuing to use the autopilot given the issues involved.

Whether there was an issue with the autopilot or not this is too close to hazards to do safety.

  

5- Not having a plotter at the helm

Every smartphone on the market can be used as a chart plotter these days and I see no reason that the crew could not have a phone with Navionics up in from of them as they are on watch. I require my crew offshore now to all have the app on their phones. This reduces fear and the “need to know basis” as well as adds redundancy. I monitor the boats heading from my bunk and often come on deck to make coarse or speed corrections.

6- Given all the things happening approaching in the dark was a bad idea.

Regardless of the boat’s faults, this wouldn’t have happened if they had waited to approach in the dark. This could have been done by slowing down or heaving to outside the entrance. 

It is tempting to hang ALL the responsibility on the licensed captain here because of his experience and endorsement and I would say that most of it is. I’m sure most people will but it is not as simple as that. Before all the decisions I just listed should have been made by the person in command. Ray should have walked away from the passage or offered to oversee the vessel’s refit but I'm sure this would have been challenging to the relationship as the boat owner paid for his flight in exchange for his help sailing. This previous investment trap is a huge contributor to accents like this. If NASA can fall into it so can most. 

This boat was not in good condition and certainly not in good enough condition to make a coastal passage and even more so to sail into waters with limited resources. The owner may protest and say that the vessel was in good condition (the statement in Lat38 said she “had the boat checked out by many mechanics and riggers”) but she has also admitted she is a newbie. It is common to seek safety in numbers or offset the risk of doing dangerous things with limited experience by joining a group like this rally but coastal and blue water sailing is one of the more remote things a modern person can do. It is something that few moderns can even wrap their minds around. The self-reliance this sailing demands is one of its greatest rewards. Preparing for a cruise like this often takes years of refitting and practice to be properly prepared. Once the time comes to cast off it should be done with a crew that represents known entities. A truly seaworthy vessel and crew must be shaken down first. 

We can’t be too cautious in choosing who we sail with and what vessels we board. Going through someone’s Facebook profile does not constitute the due diligence necessary to choose the people we may find ourselves in a life raft with.

Hiring surveyors, certified techs, and instructors is essential alongside the time spent building our experience before advanced sailing. 

I hope that everyone involved is not too quick to move on and spends the time necessary to reflect on their respective errors. Shirking responsibility with blame or just quickly moving on does not give this serious incident the grave attention it demands. This loss could have been prevented.

Here are some links that illustrate the risks the previous investment trap or sunk cost fallacy represents. #challenger, #endurance, #crowhurst, 

https://facet.com/financial-wellness/escaping-the-trap-what-is-the-sunk-cost-fallacy-and-how-can-i-overcome-it/

https://youtu.be/4kpDg7MjHps?si=UHkemPWt91r4q-V5

https://youtu.be/yV7EBF8LAw8?si=bdrvIh1ZMm9hUPgj

https://youtu.be/4kpDg7MjHps?si=3h5COhu4x5WxxUyU

https://youtu.be/qvrEMhm3Z-g?si=ds6kUyFLYtJLpOFs

https://youtu.be/SiWv12EL4LE?si=VcI1PE_YjGzaQF2Z

And a good example of accountability in leaders and crew.

https://youtu.be/ljqra3BcqWM?si=hFrBfvg_8iepR7iM

Lat 38 article
Sailing anarchy thread
Boat Owner's GoFundme

Brewer 42 Vancouver BC to Vashon Island

I must be getting lackadaisical with delivery applications because it was day two on this delivery when I realized that my folks had owned this boat and sailed it extensively.

Back when my folks owned the boat.

A rig you can’t miss. More about it to come.

My folks have owned quite a few boats, and in my defense I’d only been aboard this one once and I think it was at night. Several things should’ve alerted me other than the name. The tall fractional rig for one because I remember reading something in Brion Toss’s Rigging book “The Rigger’s Apprentice” where he used it as an example of a performance-oriented cruising design. Also, the fact that it is an aluminum boat, which is fairly unusual in the Northwest or the United States should have tipped me off.

The thing that made me finally realize that it was my folks’ old boat was the Data Scope, and its custom-wood holder that had been made for the boat we cruised on as a family when I was a kid. That, and then later noticing the upside-down compass we got my dad for his birthday was mounted in the v-berth. 

The delivery started a little bit more awkwardly than most. Traveling to Vancouver BC shouldn’t be as hard as it is without a car but there we go; two hours late on the train from Bellingham to Vancouver. A brief orientation from the broker who acted like selling a boat worth less than a million was an act of charity, and I am off. Off to spend the night at Cabbage Island just Northeast of Saturna Island, or at least that was the plan.

Once underway in calm water, I checked the forecast for the following day and the current at the Eastern point of Saturna was going to be Max flood against me in the morning on top of an adverse southerly. So I changed my plans and continued into the night landing in Friday Harbor at 11. The following morning went through the customs process with the additional stress of dealing with the importation of the vessel without the proper documents the import brokers were supposed to have waiting for me. I could say many things, but I won’t other than that I wouldn’t recommend “Border Buddy” to anybody looking to import a boat. Once cleared, I provisioned the boat with my first mate and we left for Watmough Bay (an anchorage on the South end of Lopez). I made this decision because there were a number of logs floating in the area and I didn’t want to damage the propeller unnecessarily or risk more night running than I already had. I don’t mind running at night but it is an added risk and it needs to be weighed against the benefits.

Once in Watmough we grabbed a ball and had a nice dinner and I worked on getting the bulkhead heater working with no real success. The following morning we headed south without much wind but not much adverse current. That evening we found a spot in Eagle Harbor and grabbed some dinner ashore. Back at the boat later I struggled more to get the bulkhead heater going. It looked like the former owner had never cleaned it and unfortunately, the forced air Webasto Heater no longer was serviceable after a conversation with the nice gentleman at Sure Marine in Seattle. The next morning, just after clearing the breakwater, the engine stalled and wouldn’t restart so after rolling out the jib and passing the helm to my mate I started to look for a set of wrenches or a crescent wrench on board. Finding only a pair of channel locks I thought twice about whether I wanted to risk damaging the fuel hose nuts trying to bleed the fuel system on the old Westerbeke. Not too far from Quartermaster Harbor inside Vashon Island where we were heading and the Salty Boy’s Marine Repair headquarters are, I reached out and asked if they would be able to make it out and assist us if I couldn’t get it going, and they kindly obliged, but not wanting to be beat by something as simple as air in the fuel line, I jumped in the engine room while my first mate steered under sail. Not much cranking later and the old red beast came to life and we were off again adding a little delay and perhaps disappointing our Salty Boys that they couldn’t save the day.  

Autopilot from a galaxy far far away and a long long time ago that works only when under power. And the cutest shipmate a salty dog could hope for.

Click on image for Brion Toss’s words on the design from his book The Rigger’s Apprentice.

Rental upgrade!

A fine boat for ocean sailing but the mainsail as it is, is more headache than I would want to deal with sailing in the close waters of the Puget Sound. Speaking to the owners, they said that they were planning on cruising the world and skipping the intermediate boat that would have taken them from their previous starter boat of a Tanzar 27 to this ocean beast.

I connected them with my folks who it sounds like got much more use out of the boat than the guy these people bought it from. 

Lessons

Be very careful when using companies like Border Buddy that have amorphous areas of operation. It’s better to use a company local to the area and well-established in that field. This instance showed that talking to the customs officials ahead of time to ensure that things would move smoothly was not helpful.

Bring a crescent wrench in your kit and if it’s your boat be sure and have good tools aboard. I also recommend a start switch like this so you can jump the starter while you bleed the fuel line.

One of the great things about yacht delivery is getting to try out different designs and sometimes designs you think that you would really enjoy turn out to be a pain. If I compare this rig to the Cal 40 I have a lot of miles on I would say that I prefer the lower aspect masthead rig. I could hoist that main without a winch by myself and even though I didn’t have furling and carrying a variety of headsails was a bit of a pain - the ease of hoisting means sailing more and that’s what it’s all about. Now that said I am sure that the Brewer goes to weather better and more comfortably than the Cal with its flat bottom and outboard chainplates but it’s the rigs I’m comparing not the hulls.

Long may you run as Mr Young says.