And then there was Jane, an intrepid “seat of the pants” sailor that viewed every other sail boat on the horizon as a challenge. Add to the mix the technical sailor, Brian, who studied the theory of sail long before ever venturing forth. Jane knew instinctively when the sail trim was right, Brian could derive the vectors and formulate an approximate sheet offset.
We both held a dream of an extended voyage in salt water but only had short cruising experience in the Great Lakes. Lack of experience, lack of time and lack of a suitable boat became the obstacles that needed to be overcome. A ten year plan was developed over the course of the first year that highlighted all of the education, training, first hand experience and physical requirements that we would need to consider. The house was soon filled with volumes upon volumes of books describing circumnavigating, sinking, how to survive storms, extended voyage planning, personal accounts of circumnavigators. We attended lectures, took courses, went to boat shows, participated in rendezvous’, managed OSA/CYA events, became Port Captains, taught sailing courses, spent a year as Commanders of the Toronto Power Squadron, bought some boats and even went sailing.
Club racing and race management gave us experience with fast decision making in adverse weather conditions, boat performance on all points of sail and close quarters boat handling. The racing experience provided insight into our own personalities, what we were best at and how duties would be best divided and shared to maximize our own specific abilities and talents. Sailing is a natural activity to Jane. Sailing is becoming an intuitive activity for Brian. We both react properly to a given situation but have come to appreciate how different our thought/reaction process is. It takes a while during a debrief to understand each others point of view of what happened since we get to the same solution in such different ways.
Teaching sailing courses is the best way to cement all of the theoretical principles involved, rules of the road, sailing terms, navigation, electronics, weather and develop the long term relationships that will provide comfort during the long passages and friends in distant ports.
We started in 1986 with a fixed-keel racing dinghy designed by Uffa Fox. “PUFF” our Flying Fifteen 2807 gave us the pleasure of weekday club racing at minimal cost. PUFF had all of the sail shape controls available and required skilled use of them in order to plane at 17 knotes. Second in 1986 was a quarter ton racer designed by S/S, a North Star 500. She carried a family of four and two cats in her 25 feet to many adventures on Lake Ontario. We tried racing her but even with a folding prop and new sails she could not compete with the rest of the fleet. “Swan Queen” a CS33 acquired in 1993 came with a shoal draft keel gave us the ability to race in Lake Ontario and cruise in Georgian Bay. Once we discovered the benefits of interior space, pressurized hot water, propane appliances and a hull we could trust it became easier to establish a set of parameters for our final boat. Sailing was no longer a struggle but became a part of life. Cruising with cats and kids became a vacation. Based on our years of cruising with the CS33 we developed a set of requirements for our next boat that could handle years of blue water sailing..
I saw my first Whitby 42 at the 1983 Toronto Boat Show. At the
time I didn’t even have a row boat but I was determined that a Whitby 42 would
be my retirement home. The dream of owning a Whitby 42 started to become a
reality in 2002 when we docked the CS33 at Bayport in Midland prior to be
hauled out for transport back to
Toronto. Two docks away was a ketch with strangely familiar lines. A check at
the office resulted in a tour of the boat in the company of Douglas Stephenson
(douglas.stephenson@sympatico.ca)
the world renowned
expert in Whitby 42s. Douglas owns Trawlers and Sailing Yachts http://yachtsls.com/
. During the fall we reviewed a number of potential listings but settled on
hull #304 stored in Sodus Bay New York. She was in original shape with no
equipment upgrades but had been sailed in fresh water for all but two years. A
survey uncovered some standard problems with hoses, belts and wire connections
but was satisfactory overall. A very cold delivery in the spring of 2002 back
to Toronto stared an upgrade process which has not yet been completed. We took
a couple of weeks to cruise the 1,000 Islands in 2002 and Lake Ontario in
2003. In late 2003 we delivered Pilgrim
to Bayport in Midland via Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.
2004 was the year of our 5 week cruise of the North Channel and the completion
of some major refits. All major systems have now been replaced and we are
currently adding equipment required for offshore cruising and safety.
A partial list of
systems added/replaced
2002 – Canadian safety equipment, SOLAS flairs, MOB ring,
Lifesling, PFDs, VHF radio (ICOM 4200), House batteries (4xTrojan T20) and
enclosures (Blue Wave), some wiring, CO and fire detectors, fire extinguishers,
bilge pump and switch, heads, sink and head hoses, engine mounts, engine hoses,
engine anodes, wind speed/direction (AutoHelm ST-40), ST-600 remote control,
depth (Hummingbird), GPS (Garmin), computer (Shuttle),
2003 - Fuel system reworked, fuel tanks cleaned, centre tank
inspection plate modification, fuel polisher, propeller replaced (Veriprop),
bottom sanded to gel coat, epoxy
moisture barrier on bottom, teak refinished, radar (JRC1200), full
enclosure (Island Canvas), new staysail (Quantum) , smart charger, inverter,
2004 – ground tackle upgraded with chain rode, second anchor
hawser added, stern anchor mount, wind
generator (Kiss), SSB radio (Icom 706MkIIG), TNC (Pactor), Antenna tuner
(ICOM), SSB 23 foot whip antenna, second VHF radio and backup antenna, boarding ladder moved, wind steering
(auto-helm), smart controller and high power alternator, 240-120 transformer,
refrigeration, new main sail (Quantum), new 130% Genny (Quantum), modified mizzen (Quantum), boom modified to “Park
Avenue” style, inflatable dinghy (Achillies), outboard motor (Mercury), 865
watt solar panels (BP),
A partial list of
upgrades planned
2005 - Boatex hard
dinghy, 406 EPIRB/GPS, survival suits,
rebedding all hardware, replacing chainplates, upgrading standing rigging, ….
2006 – water maker (PUR 40E), life raft, …