First overnight boat guest and other news - dan

Susan has been making good progress on the tedious job of refinishing Gypsy’s bright work. In this photo she’s sitting in the bosun’s chair in order to best address the stern toe rail teak. We’re trying Sikkens Cetol system in hopes that its enhanced UV blocking ability will increase longevity in the tropics. We’ve just installed a second electric bilge pump to add capacity in the event of an emergency and to serve as a back up to the original electric pump. We also have a manual Whale Gusher pump.

We spent all of last Friday tracking down a leak in our fresh water system that would cause our bilge pump to come on every time we turned on the fresh water pump. We found the leak and ripped out a lot of unnecessary plumbing. We removed the water lines to the forward head which we have converted into a storage locker and also all the hot water lines as we’ve previously removed the hot water heater. We don’t think we’ll need much hot water in the tropics and what hot water we do need can come from a sun shower or the tea kettle.

I had a heart stopping emergency the other day when I stepped off the boat and saw Susan’s dog Casey’s leash leading off the dock and under water between the dock and Gypsy’s hull. I couldn’t see the dog! Casey is 15 years old and although unsteady on her feet she has been a constant and tolerant companion down at the marina. I knew she couldn’t have been in the water long as I had just walked by her as she lay on the deck - no longer than a minute and a half earlier but, was that too long? I reeled in the leash with urgency and trepidation and was much relived when a confused but alive dog popped up from under the dock. Casey seems no worse for the experience. We now tie her port and starboard (just out of reach of the edge) whenever she sunning on the dock. In the heat of the day she reposes in the cockpit, under the bimini.

My longtime friend Al was in Connecticut for a high school reunion and stopped by for a visit becoming our first overnight guest on Gypsy. We enjoyed the Mystic classic boat parade on Sunday and then later that evening sat in the cockpit talking and getting silly on Mojitos.
I gave Al my samurai swords for safe keeping. I’m getting rid of everything I can that isn’t useful to our journey. It’s interesting to me what I’m not quite ready to part with. My samurai swords are authentic, antique Japanese swords that I trained in kenjutsu with years ago. Although I no longer practice with them they’ve come to represent the sharp focus and steel that is within me, something I’m not ready to let go of just yet.
98 days...

Oceans of worry, concern for our planet – dan
I love nature; the wilderness, untamed creatures, wild places and things that could eat me. There’s a powerful spiritual aspect to nature that I feel is vital, self-evident and necessary for our wellbeing. Sadly, our planet’s wild places are diminishing at an alarming rate. It’s one of the drivers of this trip for me, a kind of perverse, see-it-before-it’s-gone mentality. There’s a headline on CNN’s news site today; “oceans filling up fast”. It’s an article about “ocean sprawl”. CNN says the oceans “have gotten crowed” and how, until very recently, we thought our oceans were “limitless resources”. Fisheries are collapsing all around the world and wild fish could disappear by mid-century. Over development of the land is killing our oceans as 20,000 acres of estuaries and coastal fish habitat are destroyed each year. There is eleven million gallons of oil runoff from our driveways and streets into the waters of our planet every year to make matters worse. The list of stress and abuse goes on and on…
President Obama has launched a task force devoted to ocean planning with a mandate to recommend a national policy that will protect our oceans, address climate change and promote sustainable ocean economies. But will that be enough? Global warming, excess hydrocarbons, pollution, energy shortage, war, famine and overcrowding are all direct symptoms of the overpopulation of our planet. I believe that until we address and correct the “root cause” (overpopulation) we’re just shoveling sand against the tide or taking aspirin for a brain tumor. But what to do? The solution is so obvious and easy that it’s a crime that we’re not affecting it; stop reproducing at such an alarming, unstainable rate. Our world population growth curve is a runaway train speeding off a cliff. We are out of control. The definition of cancer is “an abnormal proliferation of cells in an uncontrolled way”. That’s us, the human race; we are a cancer upon our own planet. And just like cancer, we will kill our host (and ourselves) if allowed to grow unchecked.
What can we do about it? Two important things – First; we must stop ignoring it and start talking about the issue openly. Historically human reproduction has been a sensitive and taboo subject. We must change that attitude, openly discuss it amongst ourselves and urge our leaders to do the same. We have to stop pretending that this is something that might go away or somehow be ok if we buy cars with better fuel-efficiency or purchase more carbon offsets. Those actions in an of themselves, although good, just forestall inevitable collapse to our earth’s eco systems. The root cause must be addressed and corrected. Second, we’ve got to stop acting like greedy bandits trying to outdo one another as we squeeze the last drops of life out of our planet and start acting like united caretakers who consider the long term implications of our actions. We must come together as a planet and a people united in pursuit of our common threat; unchecked population growth.
This isn’t a problem we’re going to be able to buy or bargain our way out of and it’s not going away by itself. Once we can openly address this issue we will surely be able to resolve it, it’s not rocket science, or the cure for cancer; we don’t have to split the atom, or fly to the moon. We just have to get control of our own birth rate. Ah, but sometimes it’s the simplest of things that can prove so had to do. I just hope that we can come to our senses before the earth’s life support systems collapse from the demand of billions of people.
I will be monitoring the world’s waters closely (and talking about the root cause) as we traverse the world’s oceans on our circumnavigation of this precious planet. Sometimes I feel like the dance band on the Titanic. Then my eternal optimist kicks in and I know we can truly lick this problem once we, the residents & caretakers of our planet, work together to solve this, our most pressing issue.

Weekend update - dan

My weekend started with a trip to Spicer’s Marina Friday afternoon to pick up a lift pump (the first of two fuel pumps) for our diesel. Next I met Susan at Defenders Marine to pick out a new outboard motor for our dinghy. Despite everything I could do for it, our 14 year old Mercury 7.5, two-stroke was proving just too unreliable. It was time for a new outboard and we wanted to boost our power up a bit at the same time. We were considering 10 and 15hp motors. A perusal of the internet seemed to indicate that most cruisers in the Caribbean were using 15s. I was drawn to the power of the lager motor; Susan was attracted to the lighter weight and better fuel economy of the 10s. After discussing our needs and concerns with Don of Defender (who was great to work with) we settled on the Tohatsu 9.8 which at 82lbs was by far the lightest of the bunch, also the least expensive. When we tried it out the next day we both were amazed at how quiet is was and how much power it had even though we never took it above half throttle.

Early Saturday morning I had an astonishing encounter with an Egret. I was walking along the dock at about 5:00 when I came within 15’ of the gorgeous bird. At this range I could clearly see the nuances of articulation in the bird’s neck as it hunted. The birds dark eyes, set wide upon its head, seemed to take in the entire world. In a flash of motion the white bird struck a small fish and in that instant I could clearly see the relationship between birds and reptiles, particularly snakes. I stood on the dock for several long moments, mesmerized by the complex and intricate movement of this magnificent creature. What a wonderful way to start the day.

Susan ventured out to secure us a post office box while I replaced the lift pump on our diesel. Unfortunately I managed to damage a fluid fitting in the process of replacing the pump. A trip to the hardware store didn’t provide a replacement so I ordered a new Westerbeke elbow from Spicer’s. Hopefully I can finish that project next weekend. Susan did an excellent job of organizing and packing the boat, opening up lots of extra space in our storage locker which immediately made us hopeful that we’ll be able to accommodate folding bikes as well as possibly including inflatable kayaks too.

We tried out our spinnaker for the first time. It’s a large sail when bagged and I originally didn’t think we’d have room for it. That all changed when we converted our forward head into a storage locker. If I was starting from scratch I would prefer a code zero with a Facnor furler but the symmetrical that came with the boat is flat enough to reach with so we’ll stick with that for the time being. The sail had a few small rips. Susan will take it to Ace Sailmakers this week for repairs.
The weekend came to a close all too soon as we wrapped up the last projects of the day; caulking teak, preparing the deck for the pad eyes anchors for the running backstays and measuring a section of the bilge for a secondary bilge pump (a high-flow, emergency back up pump) that will fit the space. It was hard to leave as the air started to cool and the place took on the warm golden glow of the late afternoon sunlight. As we hugged, kissed and said our good byes I though how nice it would be when we won’t have to leave each other, Gypsy and this beautiful place at the end of each weekend.

113 days

The move aboard… 7/3/2009 susan

It wasn’t really official but this past weekend felt, for me, like I moved aboard Gypsy. I have been buying staples for the galley and have been pulling out the things I had stowed away in the trunk; the flourmill now has a safe spot in a cupboard. For some time now I have been sizing up the available space we have for storage. This is a challenging puzzle. When we familiarized ourselves with our new purchase last fall, we inventoried each compartment and made a handwritten list of where we put each item. This process was meant, and still is, to be carried to the spreadsheet format. We have made changes. As we look carefully at each “necessity” we answer the question: does this item have at least 3 uses? I like the creativity involved with doing without the endless assortment of gadgets we have in our everyday lives!

Our plan was to reward ourselves for our concentrated hard work on Gypsy. Many a day we had been tempted to just be our playful selves and head out to the Sound to let the wind caress our faces and feel the power of the lift of the breeze through the sails… This weekend we planned to leave the dock and experience the results of our labors. Will the solar panels meet our usage needs? Is the rigging secure and balanced? Can we easily deploy the 73# Rocna anchor? I was excited. Each opportunity to improve my sailing skills is one I do not wish to miss. I have a patient, knowledgeable teacher in Dan…

Our first morning on the anchor I woke and started my day as I might if we were on land. I drew water from the sea and washed up, brushed my teeth and set to making a breakfast. Dan and I talked about our day; one that would be spent entirely on our boat. The wind was blowing up to 20 knots; there was a boat aground near the breakwater; luckily there was a boat standing by and throughout the morning Dan and I watched the activity surrounding that rescue. There was a parasailer weaving about the harbor and other fishers and sailors setting their courses throughout the day. – Our neighbors... Dan got the Sail mail set up and functional and he replaced the bilge pump in the head. I washed some clothes and hung them out to dry and assisted as needed! Throughout the day we read our shared book out loud to each other and napped when we felt tired; we make food together and in the evening we sat on our deck and watched the sun set and the moon rise… that’s when the fireworks began its display…

Packing our Gypsy to use the space in an efficient way as well as to promote maximum function is a priority right now. If we can’t fit it, we may need to leave it behind! Learning to slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures when there is still a long list of “to dos” before we depart is a valuable lesson. One day soon Gypsy will be our home. I’m ready!

Four days that seemed like a week - dan

I’ve always felt somewhat temporarily disconnected and not well correlated with clock and calendar but this weekend seemed extremely out of faze to me. Usually weekends go by in the blink of an eye landing me in the office on Monday morning wondering what happened to the weekend. This past weekend felt very different and left me wondering; “did all that really happen in just four days?” Seemed so much longer.

It started Thursday evening; Susan and I were planning to go sailing for the first time this year. We hoped to go to Block Island and incorporate a shake down cruise with some fun on the island. That was our plan anyways. We were on the highway, on our way to Mystic when we got a call from our canvas maker, Jim, informing us that the new bimini didn’t quite fit. Our solar panel frame had to be shortened in the fore-and-aft direction one inch in order for the bimini to fit properly. Jim agreed to leave his pipe cutter on board so that we could shorten the frame that evening and he would then show up early the next morning to install the bimini. So Susan and I spent Thursday night modifying our solar panel racks. Jim showed up as planned first thing next morning and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it all turned out. Plus, he had made us a very beautiful and functional set of winch covers that are the envy of our dockside neighbors. Once the bimini was squared away we cast off for Block Island and had a delightful sail there in light winds. It was an indescribably wonderful feeling to raise the sails and experience Gypsy’s dance through the waves, driven by the power of the wind. I enjoyed some time up at the bow, taking it all in; the sky, the sea and the motion of the boat. We were finally sailing again, whoo-hoo! As we approached New Harbor on Block I. I noticed more dinghies on Coast Guard beach than I’ve ever seen before; not a good sign and sure enough, as soon as we entered the harbor we could see that it was chock-a-block with boats and more arriving every minute. After a quick spin through the anchorage we decided to head to the Harbor of Refuge at Point Judith, Rode Island expecting that to be less crowded. After two hours of running we were delighted to arrive there and find only a handful of boats occupying that huge harbor, ahhhhhhh. We wanted to try reversing our anchoring roles. Up to this point Susan had manned (womanned?) the foredeck and handled the ground tackle while I drove the boat during anchoring. That was with our old Delta anchor that weighed a respectable 44lbs. hooked up to 300lbs of chain. Our new Rocna is a tighter fit and weighs 73lbs. making it significantly harder to handle. Susan’s a strong woman who loves a challenge but I see no need to tax her limits. With the change in our routine we were grateful for loads of sea room available at the Point Judith anchorage to refine our drill. Things worked well and we secured the boat at 7:30, had dinner and then took turns reading to each other from the book “And the Sea Will Tell”. It’s a fantastic, true murder story by Vincent Bugliosi about a double homicide that occurred on Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific in the 1970s. Palmyra lies along our own path through the Pacific and is a possible destination so we’re doubly intrigued by the story. It’s one of those cases where truth is stranger than fiction. If you are looking for a riveting read in the way of a murder mystery, I highly recommend the book.

We spent the entire next day doing boat chores intermixed with reading “And the Sea Will Tell” to each other. Besides enjoying a laid back day we managed to get SailMail up and running. We now can send and receive email through our SSB radio while we are at sea which delights and amazes me. When I started sailing over forty years ago we’d be ecstatic whenever we could talk to another boat that was within eyeshot of us. The old tube radio we had was so wonky that it was out-of-order more that it was in. SailMail is a non-profit association of yacht owners that operates and maintains this email communication system for its members. The association maintains a world wide network of SSB stations in the Maritime Mobile Radio Service.

We hoped to go back to Block Island the next day but our diesel engine wouldn’t start. So we sailed off the hook with the plan to sail back to Connecticut, anchor behind Ram Island for the night and then call for a tow into our marina if needed. We sailed off the hook and enjoyed a boisterous sail home in 18-22kts of breeze. When we got to Ram I. we tried the engine one more time and got lucky. So we dropped sails and motored in under our own power, anchor ready just in case. In the process I got a fright and Susan got a lesson that we won’t soon forget. When it was time to drop the main sail she reached forward unthinkingly and nonchalantly popped the main sheet out of its jam cleat. Unfortunately it wasn’t wrapped around the winch and in 22kts of breeze it pulled her violently forward; ripping an inch long flap of skin off her hand at it pulled her to the deck. Now I know Susan to be a tough, gutsy woman, even so, I was taken back when without hesitation she bit the loose flap of skin off, spat it out and went immediately back to lowering the sail. What a woman! We got back to our dock in the early afternoon after a bit of a crash landing (nothing broken or scratched) in a strong cross wind; with the help of several of our good dock mates we got the boat wrestled into position. At dusk we took a walk around the center of town and lingered near the lift bridge to enjoy the moon rise over Mystic.

The next day we were up early for some yoga on the dock followed by a walk up and down the river. I never tire of looking at the various boats that inhabit this place.
They range from yesterday’s and today’s luxury yachts to a quaint house boat (it’s for sale if you’re interested) to the numerous and unique little wooden boats that ply these waters.

Susan finished scrubbing out the water tanks and around noon her daughter and her friend showed up for visit. We took our dinghy out for a harbor tour and then enjoyed lunch in the cockpit. Around five just as we were packing to bring our four day weekend to a close our friends Jack and Marcia of Rights of Man pulled into the marina unexpectedly. The last we knew they were headed for Europe. We immediately invited them over to hear their fresh sea stories. Susan unpacked the food & drinks and laid out a beautiful spread; we all sat around our cockpit listening to their tales from the high seas. They had hit some bad weather (storms & doldrums), experienced some equipment failures (engine & AIS) and turned back after five days at sea. Their departure had seemed a bit rushed as they left without a shake down cruise or any substantive sea trials. They have postponed their departure until this fall, same as us. Now they’ll have plenty of time to sort out their boat issues and we’ll have some wonderful neighbors this summer.

117 days

only time will tell... susan

As we drove into the parking lot at Mystic Marina on Friday afternoon, I quickly challenged Dan: are they here or did they leave? Dan guessed they had left; I said they would be at the dock! I was wrong! As we scanned the dock there was an empty slip where Rights of Man used to float. And all weekend long (not because I lost the bet) I kept processing: Jack and Marcia are underway… where are they now?
is it as they imagined? do they have everything they need? is the weather favorable?
on and on….

My face to face relationship with “real” cruisers is very limited! Dan and I met Bob and Loralei in our marina last fall. They have a boat in New York and one in the islands. They spend the hurricane season locally but have, as they pointed out, been sailing around the world one port at a time. They have made a series of passages by chartering a vessel in a specific location and going to their destination. They were very knowledgeable and were willing to guide us with tips they had learned along the way. Then we met Jack and Marcia. They, like us, had the dream but had not left port. Over the winter we exchanged “finds” that each of us had made to ease the unknowns we were about to explore. Right before they left we witnessed the mounting frenzy that I could only imagine. Their departure struck a place deep inside of me; I have never doubted that we are going. It is coming soon.

Our blog readings from other adventurers give us useful information; at least a set of questions to research. When categorizing our style of travel we agreed that we wish to be self-sufficient in relationship to our energy needs. If the definition of a yacht is a vessel that can make ice, we have not been driven by that motivation. Now that our solar panels are placed and we are charging our batteries we can better assess our energy usage. If our essential needs are met (auto helm, lights, music, navigation equipment…), there may yet be room for a rum and Coke, on ice! From our review of Gypsy’s systems I have learned far more than I ever have known about a boat! Dan amazes me every day. He has an innate feel for the wind and sea and how a vessel moves through that environment. What he claims is new to him is installing solar panels, refining Mr Beke (our engine), setting up our Modem and securing the licenses that are necessary to operation our HAM radio and single side ban. As is true to his nature, he assesses the problem, researches the information he needs to make decisions, and then calmly and with the confidence of being as well prepared as one can be, moves forward.

Yes, the time for us to leave on this adventure is fast approaching; it really does happen as witnessed by the departure of our fellow sailors. The questions I asked about Jack and Marcia: is it as they imagined? do they have everything they need? is the weather favorable? - questions that I ponder - that can only be answered for susan once we have set sail. I feel ready for those questions to be answered; ready to modify and adjust as one does on the path of life. Simplifying our way of being on the earth is core to Dan and me. Each mastery of an unfamiliar task fuels our confidence. Dan and susan are going on a trip and on their trip they are going to take…