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.
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.
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