Canadian sailing vessel Pilgrim, Whitby 42, Toronto, Canada … National Yacht Club member since 1983

 

2011 More Thoughts

 

If we can survive the northern latitudes in 2010 then an attractive option is to head north from Scotland to Iceland, Greenland and back to Canada via Newfoundland … back down the east coast to the warmer climates. The Med has lost its appeal … sad to say but I think we have had our fill of EU bureaucracy.

 

2010 Thoughts

We have given up trying to plan. 2008 winter saw Pilgrim in Sweden. In the spring/summer of 2009 we made it to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Gotland, Oland, Bornholm and are wintering over in Germany. In the spring of 2010 we hope to head back to Denmark, Norway to the Arctic Circle and south to Scotland for the winter. What happens after that is open … perhaps the Med or back to the Caribbean … The Baltic has been a great sea to explore in depth. It will be sad to leave but the rest of the world awaits.

 

2008 Reality

We made it to Holland, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden. We missed Russia due to a broken transmission and spent a month in Finland to have it replaced. We fell in love with the archipelago between Sweden and Finland and the beer/smoked chicken in Latvia. After traversing the Kiel and Gota canals we have decided that we are not river/lock people and will avoid them at all costs in the future. We have also learned not to ask any government official any questions. Keep your head down and avoid attention is the only way to survive in EU.

 

2008 Plan V4

Things keep changing, 2007 was the year of waves, wind and weather problems but we made it to England. 2008 promises to be the year of government inspired headaches. Our plan to winter over in Norway have hit a snag due to the VAT payable after 6 months in Norway further complicated by the Schengen agreement countries visiting restrictions. It looks as if we can only spend 90 days in the Schengen countries plus 30 days in Russia. A short summer and we still are not sure where we can leave Pilgrim for the winter.

 

2007 Plan V3

Well, things have a way of changing. We have always maintained we are on God’s schedule so nothing is concrete. Our 2006 travel plans were altered due to the wedding that was held in San Francisco in August. We turned right at Nova Scotia and toured the East coast of Canada and the US before heading to the Bahamas for the winter. We have left the Bahamas and are currently in Charleston re-provisioning Pilgrim for the trip to the Azores. After the Azores we head north to Ireland and pick up the original plan to cruise the west coast of Ireland and the south coast of England during the fall.  We plan to winter the boat in England and spend the cold months returning to Canada and the US and land-traveling in Europe. All in all we are a year behind schedule but have seen the East coast of the Canada and the US which were never in our original travel plans . The Bahamas were a waste of time, effort and money … not to be repeated.

 

 

2006 Plan V2

2006 will be the year for our departure from North America. We plan to leave Whitby in late April, heading out the St Lawrence River.  The best time of the year to cross the North Atlantic is late June and July, after most of the icebergs have melted and before the hurricane season begins.  Our destination will be the west coast of Ireland.  In early August, assuming we have landed successfully in Ireland, we plan to fly back to Toronto and then on to San Francisco for the wedding of Jane’s daughter, Erica Peltz, to Kris Spraker.  We will then return to Ireland and cruise the west coast of Ireland and the south coast of England during the Fall.  We plan to winter the boat in England and spend the cold months returning to Canada and the US and land-traveling in Europe. 

 

 

Pilgrim’s Beginnings

 

Jane is an intrepid “seat of the pants” sailor that views every other sailboat on the horizon as a challenge. Brian is the technical sailor, 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. 

 

Jane began sailing as crew in dinghy races in Charlevoix, Michigan, graduating to cruising when her parents bought a 44-foot wooden cutter-rigged sailboat (Bangalore).  Her first extensive cruise was in 1960 with Larry and Midge Perkins aboard their 44-foot wooden schooner, Allegro in the North Channel (Ontario).  The Perkins told of their adventures with Irving and Alexy Johnson (on their boat Yankee), sailing up the Nile River and across the Atlantic.  The seed was planted.

 

Brian began sailing on an 8-foot punt on which he fashioned a sail with a broomstick and a beach towel.  The following wind took him several miles out into Lake Superior before the coast guard rescued him.  Perhaps it was this tenuous beginning that has made Brian the more cautious, studious sailor.

 

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. We developed a ten-year plan that first focused on training and gaining experience maintaining and sailing a boat together.  The house was soon filled with 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.

Brian’s first boat, acquired in 1986, was 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 knots.  Second in 1988 was a quarter ton racer designed by Sparkman/Stevens, 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.. 

Brian saw his first Whitby 42 at the 1983 Toronto Boat Show. At the time I didn’t even have a rowboat but he was determined that a Whitby 42 would be his retirement home. The dream of owning a Whitby 42 started to become a reality in 2002 when we docked our CS33 at Bayport Marina in Midland.  We had been cruising in the North Channel for 3 weeks, and were preparing to be hauled out for truck 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 that will be complete in April 2006. 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 Marina in Midland via Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. 2004 was the year of our 5-week cruise in the North Channel. 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,

2004/2005 – ground tackle upgraded with chain rode, added a 60 lb. CQR to the existing 45 lb. CQR, 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% Genoa (Quantum), modified mizzen (Quantum), boom modified to “Park Avenue” style, inflatable dinghy (Achillies) which we did not like and therefore added a Boatex hard dinghy, which we love, outboard motor (Mercury) 5 HP, Two 865 watt solar panels (BP), survival suits, new cushions in main cabin and 2 solar panels.

2006

Added 406 EPIRB/GPS, ICOM M800 marine SSB, ICOM  422 VHF, life raft, replaced stern life line with s/s tube, inspected chainplates and standing rigging (4 shrouds replaced), added bookshelves, replaced portholes with stainless steel, added handholds in main cabin, reinforcing fiberglass on the keel, removed the forward water tank and reworked the area for the main anchor chain, a spare anchor and a water maker / desalinator, grounding the mizzen and main shrouds, replace windlass and rebuilt the rudder, added structural reinforcement to mizzen support, added “zincs-in-a-bag” for use in hot marinas, replaced Kingston davits with ones made by Kato.

And a bunch of other stuff to make life easier  enjoy life … we plan to …  

2007

Added a transparent vent tube to the centre fuel tank to allow visual inspection of fill level while refueling, added additional stanchion supported 3 inch tubes to provide storage for boat hooks/rods etc., made a fish cleaning platform that overhangs the transom, made sun screens for the full enclosure, AIS receiver, Standard Horizon chart plotter,

2008

Added 2 new 12 volt deep cycle batteries for refrigeration, new printer, two new starter batteries, Finnish propane tank and fittings, propane tank switch over unit, hook for use with stern moorings, installed hooks on bow and stern mooring lines, cut mizzen boom, new mizzen sail, replaced sliders on main, new transmission

2009

Added electric fuel pump to centre tank to speed up fuel transfer rate, new printer, new T43 since both 600s are broken, Yagi antenna for Internet, Nikon D170S, two new 6 volt batteries to replace damaged Trojans, new standoffs for main sheet blocks, redesigned aft mooring line arrangement to ease deployment , new refurbished GPS, new enclosure, new cushions