You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘sailing’ tag.
Waking up on Lake McDonald, inside Glacier National Park, inside a Grumman Sailing Canoe.
Good test of the canoes sailing rig during some strong winds on Lake McDonald, plus I get denied a mooring ball during the afternoon blow.
Video documents my last day of canoe camping on Lake Tahoe, California. Beautiful calm morning for rowing out of Emerald Cove. Make some coffee on the middle of the lake. Then the wind picks up as I sail into the Marina to complete this journey. http://www.youtube.com/user/jordansname
lake tahoe canoe sailing, rowing and camping, youtube adventure video documentary, jordansname
she made it
Whelp, i did it… don’t really like the “I” part of that statement. There’s been way to many people involved. Thanks to the support from everyone, Selene is in her slip!
I’m exhausted. Didn’t sleep at all last night as I tossed and turned wondering wether or not my 1963 Pearson Triton was going to make it across the bay. The boat I just purchased and have never sailed on… which has loose rigging, old sails, and a cut off prop shaft. A boat which I now know and respect. Having just spent the past 6 hours motor sailing to Moss Landing from Monterey Marina.
I woke up at sunrise. Packed everything my mind thought would be useful. Got a car ride from Sally down to the boat ramp. Stood at the end of the ramp with Nora and asked a few fisherman for a ride to my sailboat, on the ball. Hitched a ride out to my sailboat from the second(!) fisherman I asked. Climbed on Selene. Climbed into the bowels of Selene. Drilled through the prop and shaft. Broke off the drill bit in the hole going through the prop/shaft. Wrapped the shaft with duck-tape, making sure the broken bit would stay in place, holding the prop and shaft. Hung the biggest jib aboard on the forestay. Rigged up some jib sheets. Miraculously got the outboard from the cabin sole, up into the cockpit, and hung on the stern bracket. Yelled at guy on the boat next to me for help untying from the ball. Started up the old 2 stroke. Chatted with the guy while the old 2 stroke yawned and stretched. Put her in gear and headed out into the bay.
Leaving Monterey Marina a small seal performed some acrobatics off the back of the boat. I figured he was sending me off… probably really just upset about missing out on the food that was growing under Selene.
It was the perfect day to be on the water. Clear skies, nice slow rolling waves, and light wind from the east. We motor sailed in a straight line all the way there. I write “We” meaning Nora, Myself, and Selene. It was an incredibly beautiful day. I’m still riding the high and rocking back and forth a bit as I lay in my van. So happy and thankful to have reached this point in my travels. Thank you all for the incredible support.
Get ready for lots of pictures as I begin tearing Selene apart and prepping her for the high seas!
Also, I should be getting on a consistent TUES, THURS, SAT, SUN schedule with the youtube video post.
See Ya!
labrador and her pearson triton
golden gate sea gull
My engine!
Even typing hurts my arm and I’m way to tired to think. Both great reasons to pump out a blog entry. I found the outboard engine I need under the Golden Gate bridge. Two hundred bucks and the man threw in a tank full of gas. He was an old sailor with the vocabulary to match. The engine ran like a champ today as Dale and I putted out to Selene. She needed a little love before her big day. Tomorrow she sails to Moss Landing, with the help of her new(actually very old) 4hp Evinrude.
For todays lovin, Selene has Dale to thank. The man crawled and weaved his way around her like a yoga master. He drilled through the cup-link and shaft, pinning the cup-link to the shaft, then pinched his way into the transom and secured the outboard bracket. Her old engine was cut out, leaving a severed shaft that needed to be pinned before tomorrow’s journey. I sat and watched, offering light hearted jokes as Dale slaved away on my boat. Remember he’s the guy who sold me the boat, explaining(prior to sale) that all this needed to be done before she could move. Now he’s the one doing it. I am so grateful for the people I have met here and realize every moment that my boat would not be possible without them.
Tomorrow Dale and I will be sailing Selene from Monterey Marina to Moss Landing, a little less than 15 nautical miles. If everything goes smoothly, Selene will be berthed in her new slip before the day is over. If everything fails, at least i’ll be out there for just a bit. Being on the boat today I was reminded why I began this journey. Nothing connects with my soul more than sitting in the open ocean, or even a bay like today.
So much has happened the past few days I should have more to share. I had the pleasure of driving up to San Francisco, in the van Sally is letting me borrow. I have an outboard engine for the boat! Moss Landing harbor cashed my check, I’m in! Nora, poor nora, added a giant new skin ulcer to her inventory of troubles. The cast for her first cut wore the skin raw on her leg, down to the last layers. She’ll be back at the vet tomorrow(thanks to Sally) for re-bandanging and I’m so anxious for a good report. It’s amazing how much one can worry for an animal and right now the dog is breaking my heart. Please pray for the pup, she needs some healing.
Tomorrow is a huge day, thanks everyone for the support!
Oh Yeah! My arm. Selene gave me my first little nudge today. Climbing from the cabin up to the deck the companionway step slipped. Barely caught myself before landing in the bilge and my shoulder paid the price. Got to love a tough old boat that likes to push back a little.
Saw Selene move for the first time today. She went for a jog through the harbor and sat in her possibly future slip. All thanks to her old owner Dale. Today was a trial to check her fitting in the slip, and she fits, goodness. Her job’s done, now I get to work on sizing up my finances to fit the marina’s fees. The most exciting part about today was being with Selene. She’s much heavier than my old Coronado 25′ which is exactly what I want for crossing oceans. Selene is a beauty and each time I get to be around her I grow to realize why she’s my boat.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m not just a glutton for things that wear me down. Living out of a car for a year was not physically energizing. Picking up smoking again is not healthy. Buying a boat in need of tons of money and work is beyond overwhelming to the mind. But, I did start out last year in a car and camp around the entire country. My state count is now somewhere in the low 40’s. Leaving Oregon, well I didn’t even now if I was going to make it out of Oregon.
Now I seem to find myself again at point 0 to some extent. At times I think why did I ever give up the road to buy the boat. I had finally found myself comfortable on the road. Now, I’ve given up this comfort to transfer to the boat. Being a car camper is going to be a huge help in buying time to work on the boat. However, I have to figure out how to live out of a car, work on a boat, and start selling some photography, all together. That’s what’s on my mind the most lately. So much so that it’s hard to get excited about someday getting to sail on the boat. Just like leaving Oregon last year, these first few steps are going to carry the biggest burden. After a while the groove will set. Soon it will all be smooth sailing.
After all I did set out on the road trip to find my boat. Now I set off on the boat work to begin sailing the globe. I always figured the boat work phase would be the hardest part of this adventure. And, being that the road trip was so much more (both fulfilling and trying) than I could of ever imagined. It numbs my mind to think what this next adventure phase will involve.
Jordansname.com 