Spirit of Adventure sailing fast

Last week Fred (Later Gator) and I went out for a sail each in our own boats.   Soon we were flying along and in a bit of a race.   Usually Fred out sails me and I have a hard time keeping up with him.   Now this shouldn't happen because I have a boat four feet longer than he does.   I usually just pass it off that Fred is a better sailor than I am which I really believe is true.   Well this day, I paid attention to the sails and hand steered my boat and wow did it make a difference.   It was such a fun day for both of us.   Here is some video at this Youtube link.

http://youtu.be/rL3tSGbAGjg

Radar

Yesterday I finally finished installing the radar on Spirit of Adventure.   I had bought the radar months ago and was just waiting until I had finished most of the other things on my list.   I have to admit that it was quite a challenge doing it by myself.    You have to picture me standing on a step ladder nine feet above the deck on the aft end of my boat and lifting a 25 lb object with no handles on it up above my head.   It was almost comical at times.   You see the directions included pictures with numbers by each of the pictures, but nothing written.   This was an exercise in doing it once, realizing that I had not done a crucial (How do I get wires hidden inside that tube now that I have the stand all put together and mounted?) part of the installation beforehand and then taking it apart and doing it again.   Now I have never been great with patience, HOWEVER, I am learning this quality very well now.     I am also finding that if I step back and sit down and think, I am much more creative than I ever gave myself credit for.   The solution (so far) is always there if I but give myself time to discover it.   Isn't that true in life also?
Now, some might ask (as my wife did), "Why do you really need radar?  You are not a plane."   Well, as I have mentioned at least once in this blog, much of what I am doing on Spirit is for me to be safer while single-handing Spirit while sailing distances.   Radar will help become an extra set of eyes while I am below (making a meal or sleeping come to mind first).   With radar, I can set a "guard zone" that is 15 miles or more out from my boat, in all directions, and it will sound an alarm if any other boat comes within that range of my boat.   It will not only tell me where that boat is, but it will tell me the direction and speed of the boat (ship) and most importantly, if it is heading on a course where our two craft may become too acquainted.    We used radar on our Pacific crossing and although we went for almost two weeks without seeing another vessel, it was a pleasant welcome when that alarm went off for the first time.   At 20 miles or more, one cannot even see the vessel except for the radar.   Other purposes for using the radar would include fog, rain and other weather.   The radar can look through this and can tell me where boats and the land (equally dangerous to run into) are.    Anyway, I am very happy with this device.

Spirit of Adventure with radar.

Memories 5 of 2010

In June of 2010, I flew to Hawaii and fulfilled part of a dream I had for many years.   As a young college student in Long Beach I was able to learn to sail and I can still remember as I sailed out into the ocean for the first time, thinking..."If I have a proper boat and enough water and food, I could sail across this ocean."   After owning some sailboats and finishing my teaching career, I was able to cross the ocean for the first time in a sailboat.   You can view my whole trip on a 41 minute Youtube video at this address.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tZtdF5Ol6I

Enjoy.

Contemplation

This morning as I sat down at my computer I spotted this picture and really fell in love with sailing once again.   Now this happens fairly regularly.   This picture of Spirit of Adventure and myself sailing with Catalina Island in the background says it all for me.  My boat is almost swallowed in a swell and appears as being quite small.  My boat is 34" long and is actually the largest boat I have ever owned.  Some ask me if it is not too much for me to handle by myself.  With the aid of steering devices that I have aboard, I say, "Not at all!" and really mean it.  I do love having friends aboard to sail with and my sis is the best, but everything I have done to my boat has been to assist me in single handing my boat.    My friend Webb has modified a Moore 24 and is planning on leaving for a single handed around the world trip in it.   He has sailed around the world five times by himself, so I do have faith that he can do that again.   As I contemplate where I will go with Spirit, it is hard to say right now, but I know that wherever I go, with friends or not, it will be a fun adventure.   Fair winds to you today.