how we chose our boat

In response to a recent comment about boat specs...

Our boat is a Canadian built, 1981 J.J Taylor Contessa 26. We bought the boat in the Spring 2008 with this trip in mind. Our criteria for a sailboat revolved around three things: seaworthiness, accessibility and affordability.

Finding a seaworthy boat is easy, as there are lots a great boats available. Accessible was a bit more tricky. I've been paralyzed from the chest down since I was 20 as a result of a motorcycle accident, and have used a wheelchair ever since then. The thought of customizing a boat for my chair seemed financially out of reach, but more importantly, not having done this, I wasn't sure what I'd want and it seemed crazy to build a boat without first hand experience. So, we chose something simple and are essentially customizing as we go. It isn't perfect, but it works for us, and if we ever do have another boat, we'll have a lot more knowledge about what we want.

What we've done to make the Contessa work for me is make the space down below all one level. This allows me to simply crawl around and it gives us a bit more storage. In this regard, a small boat is nice because it is a shorter distance to crawl from A to B. A big concern was how Alex would do with this set-up, but it seems to be fine for him ever since he started doing yoga. The transition between below and above deck is less than half a foot, so it is just a matter of lifting myself in and out.

At this point, the boat is not set up for me to singlehand, but there is a lot I can do to share the work load. In the cockpit, I have a trapezoid shaped seat that spans the benches, providing a platform to sit on the high side while driving when the boat heels over. Additionally, just about all of the lines, including the roller furling run back to the cockpit. We've not made the modifications for me to raise the main or set or raise the anchor. But for now, we have a boat that is very manageable between the two of us.

While affordability is relative and taking a year or so to travel about for the simple pleasure of it is nothing short of extravagant, we kept the budget under control by living well within our means the past couple of years, finding a boat we could afford and doing 98% of the work to get her ready ourselves. It was also to our fortune that Alex's father recently ended his own 10+ years of cruising and generously donated a tremendous amount of gear. I scoured Craigslist and sale bins for used and discounted gear. Alex, with much appreciated help from our fathers, re-did the wiring, installed our SSB, VHF, watermaker and solar panels. We also re-did the plumbing so that when we are at sea we can flush into the ocean instead of the holding tank. The amazing thing, when I look back at it, is that the work, including a haul-out, bottom job, installing new thru-hulls and moving out of our apartment, happened within three months.


Also thought I'd share the artwork on the back of our SSB radio. These pieces were commissioned for $1 each by Tristan, a renowned SF artist. The bottom piece is our boat. The moose was a gift from my dad and is a tribute to the boat name's Fjordmus, which is Norwegian for Fjord mouse. But since it's pronounced fjord"moose", we thought the grog drinking elk was appropriate. How we got the name is the subject of a later post.

a cool map and a mystery

Wellness Week is about to come to an end. We've been doing laps in the pool everyday, and the watermaker and the SSB works, so we're ready to leave for MEXICO!! Today, we're scrambling about doing laundry, taking care of taxes, grocery shopping and sending the nice frying pan that I accidentally brought along back to my Mom.

Yesterday we also set up a new little mom-gizmo that will allow us to send an email to our families, letting them know that we are okay. It also locates us on a map, which is available for anyone to see. Every time we hit a little button, a new waypoint will be recorded along our route.

We'll leave tomorrow morning-ish, after one last swim, and possibly stop in Ensenada, which is about 65 miles from here. Most likely, we'll not stop and push on to Turtle Bay which is almost 300 miles away. This will be the longest non-stop passage I've made yet, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being a bit nervous. But, I'm more happy-excited than nervous. Up until now, it's been short hops from comfortable harbor to harbor. For the next 3-4 weeks we'll make longer passages and the few stops before reaching Cabo have very limited resources. But, we're expecting it to be beautiful and maybe even warmer. Our itinerary remains loose and we're shopping for a month, so that if we find an anchorage we like, we can stay and explore for a few days.

Finally, the mystery. We went to look at kayaks a few days ago and while poking around in one of the hatches, we found chocolate! They were yummy Lindt truffles. We decided it was a good omen and ended up buying the boat, but how the chocolate got there is still a mystery. Alex swears he didn't place them there, and since we ate the chocolate I didn't want to ask any of the sales people in case they were theirs.

we reach the hut

The past two months have been like a hut trip with no cabin at the end of the trail. We've been wet, cold and exhausted, with moments of sun peeking through the trees along the trail. But a few days ago, we arrived in San Diego and were welcomed into the SD Yacht Club. The lap pool, sauna & spa is a much welcomed treat after the cramped, I mean, cozy, living space on a 26' boat. Last night, we brought our dinner inside and sat by the fire, playing scrabble while it rained outside.

The series of storms that slammed the Calif coastline last week was pretty exciting. Instead of just a few days in Dana Pt, we found ourselves again waiting for a safe weather window. We spent the first day of the storm on anchor, drinking hot chocolate and watching huge waves crashing over the breakwater. Yeah, over the breakwater. After it calmed down, we moved to a slip in the harbor. At the first sign of a break we scrambled down to San Diego. Probably could have waited another day, because the swells were huge and it took us 18 hrs, rather than the 12 we'd predicted.

Today, Alex is starting up the watermaker (desalinator). Keep your fingers crossed that it works, as this is the last thing keeping us from making the next jump to Cabo. While not absolutely necessary, the watermaker will undoubtably make our lives more comfortable.

We're still not exactly sure what our Mexico itinary will be, but we insured the boat so we can go as far as Costa Rica. One of our tasks this week is to read up on weather patterns to decide when and where to head after reaching Cabo.

We spent the last week on a mooring in Avalon (Catalina Island), enjoying blue skies and 70 degree weather. The windless days were perfect for paddling about the island and poking around the little town. Since we stayed on a mooring, going ashore involved a five minute paddle to the dingy dock and another five minute walk to town. Town had everything we needed: groceries, showers, laundry, post office, library.

During the summer months, Avalon bursts at its seams with a population of 10,000 tourists who come on private yachts and ferries. It is doubtful that we would have even been able to find a mooring here a few months ago. The winter, however, is a quieter population of 3500 with a handful of transient boaters like ourselves and an occasional tourist from the mainland. Many of the restaurants and shops on the water front are closed for the winter, but tucked away, here and there are the shops and places where the locals eat and frequent enough to remain open. There are a few cars, but mostly people get around with golf carts, which gives the place a Disneylandish atmosphere. The most prominent building on the waterfront is a casino/theater that was built by the same Wrigley who owned the Chicago Cubs and once owned much of Avalon. Apparently the Cubs held practices on the island in years past. They now play regular movies at the theater; this week the Princess and the Frog was playing, so we went to see it as a way to check out theater. It really was the pretty and I could picture one time residents, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio watching a show there.

A cruise ship arrived and anchored at the end of the harbor today, bringing a swell of tourists, who are shuttled to shore to buy ice cream cones and trinkets, dip their feet in the salt water and rent golf carts for the 45 minute scenic tour. It looks like a good rescue ship; I should find out it's route. I've decided that in the event of needing to be rescued, I want to be picked up by a cruise ship, preferably a luxurious one. I paddled out to the ship, but they didn't offer either a soak in their hot tub or any Grey Poupon. Next time I'll have to show more leg.

We've finally figured out the boat insurance. Finding company that would fully insure a small, 30 year old boat for offshore cruising wasn't easy. And then we found out that Mexico requires you you to buy insurance from a Mexican company as well. Sheesh. I guess not everybody gets this insurance, but if you are boarded and don't have it, they can impound your boat.

The sailing since we've left, by the way, has been pretty uneventful. The winds have been light, and occasionally there have been big swells that would have me throwing up, were it not for drugs. The log records some wind, but still, we've motor-sailed much of the way. The trip over from Catalina Island was nice however, as the winds picked up at the end of the day and we were able to turn off the motor. Alex found a used spinnaker in Newport, and with the spinnaker alone and the waves pushing us, the GPS was showing 4 to 5 plus knots (this is great for our boat). It's the first time we've flown a spinnaker on this boat, and the big red kite itself was a nice site.

We're currently in Dana Point, and will probably spend a couple of days here, before our final U.S. port in San Diego.

Monterey to Newport Beach

We knew this trip would be challenging. What we didn't expect was the ways it has been especially challenging. Engine problems, storage in small places, cold nights, seasickness, these we expected. But, we hadn't given much thought to how rough fatigue can be on a relationship. I recently told this to a couple with two young kids and they both smiled, graciously reminding me that we're not the first couple to face this. So, we're both adjusting, learning to be more patient and figuring out how to take care of each other and ourselves.

Our stay in Monterey coincided with the cold spell that dusted places like Santa Rosa with snow. On a couple of mornings the boat and docks were covered with frost, and we considered getting a space heater. But, we figured this was silly since we're heading south and really don't have the extra space. Regardless, Monterey during the holidays is a cozy place to wander around when the sky is gray. The historical district is charming and lit up like a Christmas Tree. There is also a well connected pathway of trails along the waterfront and into downtown, which makes it an especially nice place to be without a car. Within a 15- 20 minute walk we could be at the library, Trader Joes, the marine store, the movie theater, or the museum. One of the things I'm most enjoying about our trip so far, is the walking. My life before had been a lot of driving, so this is a welcome change of pace.

After changing one of the hoses along the fuel line, the engine is now running as it should be. We waited a few more days for the weather to clear, filled the water tank, stocked up on soups and headed along down the coast. We spend a night anchored at San Simeon looking up at Hearst Castle. It was pretty, and we spotted our first whale, but the boat tossed back and forth pretty awful, so we pulled up the anchor and went to Port San Luis. The highlight of Port San Luis was a well deserved soak in the mineral springs. Up until this point, we'd had the luxury of a dock to bring the boat up along side when we went ashore. Port San Luis, however, only had tall fishing piers. Boaters anchor out or tie up to a mooring ball and use their dinghy to go ashore. Our dinghy options are a 2 person kayak and a windsurfing board with a paddle. That day, we picked the kayak. We loaded ourselves, my chair, and a daypack into the kayak and paddled towards the beach. We thought we'd timed it pretty well, but our first surf landing wasn't pretty. The waves pushed us sideways and over we went. Fortunately, it was warm and there was still a hot spring in the future. The trip back to the boat was less eventful, but we still had a good laugh, as we forgot to bring headlamps and hadn't left a light on to help us find the boat. That night seemed especially dark and even the sea otters which are terribly cute during the day, were a bit creepy as they stared at us paddling by.

The next stop was Santa Barbara, where we stayed for a couple of days, waiting for the end of a gale warning, hoping to make it to Newport Beach by Christmas day. We arrived late Christmas eve and enjoyed the next few days with family. Kari and Tyler joined us for a day sail and a night tour of the lighted boats and houses in the harbor.

We've been in Newport Beach for about a week, getting our boat documents in order to cross the boarder. My guess is that we'll be leaving for San Diego in a few days and Mexico soon after that.

The most used boat in Newport harbor is a 20 ft electric boat called a Duffy. They are basically a golf cart for the water. It looks like the boats from Disneyland's Jungle Cruise ride. We've seen college kids, families, older couples, even single people touring the harbor at all times of the day. They simply crack us up. I wonder if they have Duffy races.

Kristi

Engine Problems

We arrived in Monterey last night and the rain began just as Alex was dropping the anchor. As he tidied up above, I crawled below and made a warm dinner: beef stew with veggies and couscous, followed by leftover chocolate cake.

As expected, the engine didn't start again this morning, so we sailed into the marina and got ourselves a slip for a few days. There continues to be air in the fuel line, and even though we can bleed it out and get the engine running, we'd like to solve the problem before continuing on.

Otherwise, we're having a good time. Looking forward to warm waters, but in the meantime, we're learning lots about the engine and enjoying a great show in the sky as the storm clouds roll in and out.

Lesson #1. Check the hoses before using head.

It's been an eventful week. At 5:30 am, Thanksgiving day, Greg untied our docklines and along with Jennifer, waved good-bye. We'll miss the great community of friends on Berkeley's G & F dock. We arrived in Half Moon Bay in the early afternoon and before dropping anchor, we were invited to a warm turkey dinner on Kayak, a cruising boat from Alaska.

The next day, the engine didn't start and if that weren't enough, we found out the hard way that the newly installed hoses in the head leaked. While Alex gallantly re-caulked the hoses, I did the only reasonable thing, got out the banjo and wrote a little song about stinky poo.

The engine wouldn't start the morning we left for Monterey Bay, but 10-15 knot winds were predicted, so we figured we'd just sail to Santa Cruz where we could find parts and tools. The winds however, didn't cooperate and we essentially bobbed along for two days, thankful that the current and the little wind we did have was in our favor. I looked up from my pillow in the wee hours of the last morning and found Alex keeping himself warm by paddling the boat, which he claims increased our speed by a full knot. We spent two nights anchored off of Santa Cruz's boardwalk, and then and then a couple of nights with friends, Wendy & Larry, who provided us with good company, warm showers, and a decadent chocolate birthday cake for my 35th. We also had a nice visit from Muriel, who shared stories from her own seagoing days, and gave us a guest book for the boat.

The engine is working again, so we're going to Monterey this afternoon, to wait out a series of storms heading this way.