Figuring it out

Today we closed on the Morris Justine.

I cannot say enough about how important an offshore experience was in making this final decision.  Get out there and imagine shit going bad and how you are going to fix it.  Consider that things are going to break in the middle of the night when conditions are tossing you around and waves are breaking into the cockpit.  The think of the forces involved, the tension of the sheets, the weight of the rig.  Imagine trying to fix things that break because they will.  We only had to repair a batten pocket and retrieve the spinnaker after the clew chafed through.  A lot worse could have happened on a lesser maintained boat.  And then consider how far you are away from anyone.  Even the boats in our rally were a half-day away.  And then appreciate the motion of a boat designed for ocean sailing.  We talked to crew of a Bavaria 40 after the trip and the motion of their boat, which they demonstrated with their hand, sounded miserable.

And then realize how much easier everything will be on a smaller boat.

The money saved is also going to make things much easier.  Less need to work means more time to sail

Shopping

Three boats considered this year.  Scrimshaw, a Seguin 46 by Lyman Morse was beautiful but required a bunch of work before she was going to be seaworthy and needed to be shipped across country ($15K).  We made an offer, but they countered too high, noted that they were "firm" and we walked away.  Kept thinking about that boat for a long time.  Then found a freshwater Tartan 42 in Bayfield, WI, only a 4hr drive away.  Smelled beautiful and presented as if new.  Would have required lots of equipment as it was set up for lake motoring, but then would have had a virtually new boat. Kate had suggested a sceniario in which we would keep it in Bayfield for a summer.  We would try to spend several blocks of time at the boat rather than go up for weekends.  We would not put Captive Heart in the water.  Was concerned about the shoal draft.  Not just because less upwind performance.  Deeper water is less turbulent in storms and a deeper draft reaches down to that (I am reading Marchaj).   Just did not fall in love with the boat.  In the meantime I had a trip planned on a 1972 S&S Swan 48 from Virginia to Tortolla and it was suggested that I not buy a boat until after the trip (by both Andy and Kate).  Indeed, the trip led me to decide that I want a smaller boat.  The captain of the trip said, "If I was a rich man the boat I would get is a Morris Justine."  A few years ago I had seen a Justine at Morris and loved the cockpit and the high bullwarks. There is one on the market with the 3-cabin version with deep draft.  Both of these options are the options less often found on the market.  Of the five on the market now, one is deep draft and two are 3-cabin one.  This is set up with Harken bat cars, a rigid dinghy which might be convertible to sail and a fair amount of offshore stuff.  The timing is good for personal reasons to spend a lot of time next summer on a boat in Maine before Kate goes back to work.  So I put an offer in and my broker, Forbes Horton, haggled for an incredible price that includes winter storage and we have had a favorable inspection.  I am going up to see the boat tomorrow.  We did it this way because if I go to see the boat before we put an offer in, I would have still had to go again once we had discussed and inspected the boat.  I figured that I have already seen a Justine once and I liked it and all this traveling to see boats gets expensive. All that said, I am going into this weekend thinking that I am going to buy the boat.  I cannot get a better endorsement than Paul Exner's.  I worry because both other times when I have put in offers on a boat and they have been rejected, I have been happy afterwards.  After the Cambria offer was bested, I was pleased because I really was not ready for a boat.  Following my Carib 1500 adventure I was pleased I did not have a boat as big as the Seguin (though right up to that trip it was my dream boat).  I am thinking I might try to replicate the scenario Kate suggested for Bayfield, but do it in Maine.  Then, after a summer of learning her and getting her ready, sail her down to Portsmouth and then with the Caribbean 1500.

Preparing for a far-off cruise

This post touches on several issues that we are trying to address well in advance of our big trip.  We're doing our first charter since Kate was pregnant with Leif, back to the same spot. I am also doing a passage with Andy Schell on the Caribbean 1500 this coming November.  With two events planned my mind is on sailing and with the charter in two weeks, Kate and I are having discussions about being on the boat with the kids. Kate can't have these discussions too close to bedtime or she will lose sleep. She sometimes has nightmares about one of the kids falling overboard without a lifejacket.

In preparation for the upcoming charter I have decided to use climbing harnesses for both kids. I researched sailing harnesses, reading forums and manufacturer descriptions. The only sailing child harnesses I really compared were Crewmember and West Marine. Given that I don't really expect to drag my children through the water and just want to catch them before they get far away from the boat I think climbing harnesses will work well, possibly better. I am using spectra slings for tethers for which I was criticized but I think the jack line will offer elasticity to the system. The climbing harnesses have also been adopted to the tree fort and the rafters in the basement. I am being careful not to let them stop a fall with the tethers. 

We took both of the kids yesterday to the YMCA pool and had them jump in with their lifejackets on, Leif using a new Stohlquist Escape and Ruby still in the Nemo.  We are going to bring two life jackets for each kid so they have one to wear if one is wet. Leif also has mask, snorkel and fins which we tried out in the pool. We plan to introduce ocean swimming very gradually. We'll probably stay at Grand Case the first couple nights and hopefully gradually get acclimated with trips to th beach and some swims off the boat.  We also want to get comfortable with the boat and intend to practice some man over drilled for drills in the first couple days. I'm not confident in the method we use at Lake Minnetonka to be appropriate for the Caribbean. At the lake we have the agreement that if a kid goes over Kate goes over with them immediately. I'm not thinking that such a good idea in the ocean.  We'll make sure we clarify some new rules for the kids that will apply to the bigger boat. 

Since eating out with kids is sometimes harder and then just cooking onboard, we're also trying to think about meal planning. We would even like to start thinking about minimizing energy use so we don't have to run the engine too often. Admittedly, the person on the forum was probably right when they said we will be opening the fridge most often for beer. 

With all the two trips coming up, Kate and I have been talking more about boats to potentially purchase. I was interested in a Lyman Morse Monhegan 48 with an SA/D of 21 and just beautiful lines. Then that's old and I was despondent but I kept looking for Lyman Morse boats and now a Seguin 44 came on the market and that one's got me all wrapped up. Kate even watched the salesman's Youtube video on the Seguin 44.  It's amazing that I find myself in the position that I actually could buy that boat. Then there is a Beniteau 456 in St. Maarten which I could buy and still have enough money left over to do the entire cruise. Admittedly that boat might be a money pit. Wouldn't it be great to inherit someone else's problem. I'm rationalizing I really shouldn't buy a boat this year because we have our family charter and then the Caribbean 1500 passage so I'll get all the boating I need this year. Maybe in a couple years though Lyman Morse will have dropped in price like all the Alden 44's have.  

We continue to save but last year we built a tree fort. Then some family generosity kept us on track. Incidentally, spending money on a tree fort is not that much different than spending money on a boat as I was informed by my good friend Jim Schwarz. Both are stupid money.