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I was thrilled yesterday when I received this week’s installment of Blue Water Sailing’s “Cruising Compass”, an e-newsletter that they send out weekly.  I have been a subscriber to BWS magazine and newsletter for a number of years and am just tickled that they chose a photo of Pandora to feature.  Each week they publish a photo taken by a reader or of a reader’s boat.

This is the shot that they used.  It was taken by Jay on Take Two.  You may recall that Jay and Tanya live aboard the 48′ custom catamaran Take Two with their five, yes five, children.  They are a wonderful gang and it was fun to meet up with them in the Abacos.  Jay took a number of photos of Pandora as they passed by us (yes, they passed us smartly and it made me nuts) as we sailed from Royal Island at the top of Eleuthera, to Little Harbor in the Abacos.  I do take some solace in knowing that Pandora’s bottom looked like the fur on an ape when I cleaned her a few days later.  As Pandora’s ablative paint had almost totally ablated, she was pretty foul.  Having said that, I expect that Take Two would have passed us anyway, if a bit less decisively, had her bottom been clean.

Jay and Tanya keep a very nice blog of their travels.  Yes, Take Two is a big boat but seven is a big crew.  Quite remarkable and impressive.    Their blog is a combination of info about cruising with a “herd” and some interesting recommendations on what works, or doesn’t, on board.  A recent post, May 4th, has some amazing shots of water spouts.  We had been in the area that they describe when the spout came through but didn’t see it.  Not something that I would like to have in my neighborhood.

Yesterday, I was able to finish up the interior cleaning of Pandora and she’s back under control.    My nature is to have things all neat and tidy.  Tidy’s good and Pandora is, mostly, tidy again.   Bummer that I still have not found the fresh water leak.   Looking under control down below once more. And, if perhaps a somewhat awkward segue, speaking of form and function, I was struck by this lovely motor-sailor in the marina where Pandora is right now for some maintenance.   Vagrant is just lovely.  She even has a nice round cocktail table on the aft deck.  I can just imagine how great it would be to be motoring down the CT River enjoying a G&T while someone else steers from the cabin helm.    Classy boat indeed.    I’ll have to learn more about her.  While she probably won’t win any races.  However, she will certainly win some hearts.  Function does dictate function and Pandora looks a bit different.   Perhaps it’s just me but she does look like she is on the move.  Perhaps it’s the river current.   In case you are wondering, a G&T tastes pretty good aboard Pandora too.

So, just how super is Pandora?  I think she is pretty good and after a day of rooting around in the bilge looking for that &%$#@ fresh water leak, and not finding it, I was struck by the difference in my life verses those with the other folks with yachts that are are mega super.    Yes, Pandora is a great boat, er yacht, but I guess that the real super yachts are those over 80′.  At least, I think that’s the cutoff.  Alas, Pandora is a bit diminutive for that distinction and I am certainly a bit under the pay grade to be an owner of such a machine.

However, all is not lost as I pretty confident that I have much more hair than the typical super yacht owner.  Good news!!!

‘Coincidentally, yesterday was the first race of the 2013 Loro Piana super yacht regatta in the Med.  I don’t recall exactly where in the Med it was and probably wouldn’t be able to spell it if I knew.  So, for now let’s just say “the Med”.  Anyway, this regatta attracts some of the biggest sailing yachts from around the world.  Here’s a link to highlights of the first day of racing.  Amazing machines.   Nice to have a helicopter to follow you around the course.  I’ll bet that the entry fees are pretty steep.

But wait, there’s more!   They even have winter regatta in the BVI.  I can even spell that THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS.  And, I didn’t even have to use spell check.  So, some of these yachts, and a bunch of others, competed there too, earlier in the winter.  Sorry, couldn’t make it.  Pandora was in the Bahamas.   Not too many super yacht sailing vessels in the Bahamas as there’s barely enough water to float Pandora with her nearly 6′ of draft.

This highlight video has some spectacular footage of the race.  Pay particular attention to the amount of hair on the typical owner’s head.  No comb overs for the master of Pandora.   Yes, I have more hair than most with the possible exception of a few owners, mostly those of Italian descent.  Is it the pasta or red wine?  Hmm…  Note to self, drink more wine!

Amazing yachts.  Super?  You bet.
Yes, to me Pandora is indeed super and besides, who wants an annoying crew hanging around all day with constant pestering.   “Sir, can I bring you another Gin and Tonic?”  Hmm… Perhaps there is something to that.

On second thought, super, yes. I’ll have another, James.

“Snap out of it Bob, go back and find that leak.”

Pandora is now clearly “non-commissioned” now as she is sitting in a slip nearby in Deep River waiting to be hauled out for some work.  Prior to being hauled I am cleaning her from top to bottom with the hope of getting rid of the stale smell that has accumulated from that nasty sewerage leak I spoke about.  I am also hopeful that I can, once and for all, find the water leak in the domestic system.   I have torn up things to no avail but now I will tear up the entire floor with the hope of finding the leak.  I should probably also replace the pressure pump with one with less pressure so that it will not put so much stress on the system.   It was the addition of a 50lb pressure pump that caused the problem in the first place.    That sort of reminds me of when I had a fish tank when I was a kid.  All would be well in the world, the fish tank world that is, and I would go to the pet shop and get a new fish.  Inevitably, that new little fish would disturb the equilibrium of the tank or bring in some dreaded disease and all hell would break loose.  “What in the world has fish got to do with any of this, Bob?”  Oh, got it.  The leak start when I installed a higher pressure pump.  I wish I had never done that…  And, I can’t find the leak.

What I mean is that with boat systems, it’s the same.  You replace one thing and other problems break out.  And, the more complex the systems, the bigger the problems.

I am determined to find that leak.  And, it’s a trash heap down below.  

This is how it’s actually supposed to look.  Different?And the cockpit, not looking too good today.

A bit different than when Pandora was in full live-a-board trim.  I like this view better.  A women’s touch…  What women you ask?  Just guess.  Yes, you got it. 

Anyway, there’s loads to do to get Pandora ready for our next voyage.  However, in the mean time, how about a party!

The Seven Seas Cruising Association (www.ssca.org) has been such an influential group for us over the last few years, I decided to give back to the group buy putting on a GAM here in Essex.  On Saturday June 22nd, we will meet for cocktails at the Essex Yacht Club, where Brenda and I are members.  On Sunday afternoon we connect again at the Essex Corinthians Yacht Club, right next door, for a pot luck supper.   We will also have a speaker who will talk about a voyage up the Hudson River, through Lake Champlain, out the St Lawrence River, around the Canadian Maritimes, back around to Maine and down to the CT River.  As the trip began and ended on the Connecticut River so how fitting that they should speak to us in Essex.  

The visit will cap off on Monday with a trip to the Griswold Inn in downtown Essex.  This quintessential New England Inn hosts a terrific trio every Monday evening, the Jovial Crew who will regal the group with sometimes baudy and always fun, sea shanties.  Of course, in the SSCA Cruising Station tradition, I will be ferrying folks around town for shopping, laundry and trips to West Marine.    

As of now we have nearly 30 signed up, some members and some prospective members.  I would expect that number to grow a bit in the next week or so till the event.  I regard that as a great start to what I hope will become a tradition here in Essex with the SSCA.   Fingers crossed that we will have a good turnout and great weather.  Pass the word…

It’s been only a week since I returned home and yet, in some ways, it seems like much longer.  On the one hand, being ashore is so much easier to know that when I turn on the shower it will get hot like magic.  It’s also nice to open the fridge and not have to dig down two levels to find cheese that may or may not even be there.

After eight months aboard it’s been nice to take some time off in “easier mode”.  Someone told us early in our trip that cruising was hard and that we had to do whatever we could to make it as easy as possible.  Actually, that comment was directed at me with the goal of making things easy for Brenda.  “Remember Bob, make it EASY for Brenda”.  Happily, most of the time it wasn’t too hard (Brenda might have something to say about that) but there is no question that being aboard is much harder than being home.  However, there is so much about cruising that makes the hard stuff seem, well, not so hard.  Don’t get me wrong, being home is hard too, and a lot more expensive.   Our VISA bill jumped immediately as we returned home.  So much more to keep up with and so much more space for “stuff”.  It’s also breathtaking to see the list of things that need to be accomplished each day around the house.  How did I ever have time to work?  Hmm…

Speaking of hard, some of life’s most worthwhile experiences are hard.   I’d put cruising in the category of “harder” along with keeping a home beautiful, or at least as beautiful as possible, but both are certainly rewarding.  I like splitting time between time on the water and time on the hard.   However, that’s definitely a lot harder than choosing one or the other.

Well, for a few months, the water part is in hiatus and Pandora is safe in a slip waiting to be hauled out for some upgrades and maintenance,  I am spending some time aboard most every day working to get her back in shape for our next trip.    The first order of business is to empty all of the lockers to do a through cleaning.  On the trip we also had some issues with leaking which allowed water to work it’s way into one of the hanging lockers, and other spots.  As you can imagine, in a warm climate that meant that mildew was the result and clothing that smelled musty.  Not good.  It’s going to take time to re-bed fittings and find out where the water is coming in.  I have some ideas but the only way to find out for sure will be to pull down the interior headliner and see where the water is coming in.  That’s going to be a long game of hide and seek.  “Here drippy drippy.  Come out, come out…” 

I also had a problem with the maserator pump that empties the aft holding tank.  It sprung a leak and sprayed sewerage all over the cabin and into the bilge.  That was one of the “hard” things about cruising that I was referring to.  As  you can imagine, it’s hard to get THAT smell out of the boat so a lot of cleaning and liberal amounts of bleach will be necessary to fix that problem.  Fingers crossed that it’s enough.

It’s amazing how dusty and dirty a boat gets when it is used month after month.  Pandora will certainly be happier with a complete cleaning.  Brenda too…  Just to be clear, I didn’t mean that Brenda needed a cleaning herself.    Never mind.

Someone told me that to cruise for a year aboard puts as much wear and tear on a boat as ten years of weekend sailing.  I believe it.

Prior to hauling Pandora we went for a last “sail” a short motorboat ride over to Hamburg Cove, on the CT River for Memorial Day just after my arrival.  A number of boats from the Essex Yacht Club rafted up for cocktails.    We joined them and had a great time.  Our son Christopher took a ride up to the top Pandora’s mast and took some great photos.  Mast climbing has been a favorite pastime for Chris for a long time.  Now that he’s in his 20s he hasn’t lost interest.  It’s a good thing that we have an electric winch now that he’s a lot heavier than when he was eight.

Chris took a lot of photos and stitched this great panorama together.  Pretty talented photographer.  Trust me on this, even if I am his dad.  Dad’s know such things.The folks from EYC began to arrive.  Pandora wasn’t in the raft up as we  needed to leave early and didn’t want to disrupt things.  However, a bit away from them, Chris was able to take a photo of some of the boats from the club.  Years ago we used to raft up regularly but not any more, or at least not in the areas we have been cruising.  It’s easier to just anchor and dink over to another boat.  Besides, if we get hit by someone’s wake it can cause boats to crash into each other if they are rafted up.   Not a good thing.I am told that the blue boat on the end in the upper photo used to be Billy Joel’s.  He has great taste in boats.   She’s a beauty. Billy Joel owns a lot of boats and all are really nice.  Interestingly, there was a news segment on the Today Show about him and his boats.  Alas, the blue one wasn’t featured.  It’s worth looking at.  Great boats and a decent guy, it seems.

So back to our Chris, 65′ up in the air at the top of Pandora’s mast with a completely different vantage point up there with the gulls.   It’s not often that you take photos of the tops of flying birds.  Pretty interesting angle.  Bummer though that no bald eagles stopped by while Christopher was at the mast head.  Perhaps next time. 

Friends from EYC enjoying the wonderful afternoon.  Say “cheese”.   Looks like fun and it was.We plan to go to a rendezvous in Watch Hill next weekend but will do so by car.  Our aquatic visits will have to wait till August when Pandora goes back in the water.

Blog posts Bob?  Not to worry, I have loads of material that I can drone on about so I’ll continue to post regularly.  Any suggestions?  Let me know.

Oh well, house chores beckon so I’d better sign off for now.

It’s Sunday morning here in Essex and I feel a real sense of accomplishment for having completed what for me was a major ocean voyage of nearly 1,000 miles back from the Bahamas.

When Brenda and I headed out for our trip south back in early September of last year (boy, does that feel like another lifetime ago) it seemed to me that we were headed to a far away and exotic land, the Bahamas.   Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect but was very excited about what was on the horizon.  Brenda would have described the feeling as anxious but together we headed out into the (sort of) unknown.

So, here we are, back in Essex and it all worked out splendidly.

Our plan all along, was for Brenda to accompany me for the entire trip south and then for me to return, with crew, on Pandora in the spring with her flying back from where ever I was planning to depart.  We have, since getting our first boat, a 20′ Cape Cod catboat, back in 1979 usually had her avoid the really long passages and to join me there after I arrived with crew.  I am told that there are a lot of girls that aren’t as crazy about the long bumpy ocean stuff as most guys are.   Why is that?  The “I’ll meet you there” approach has worked for us for some 40 years of sailing together and on our nearly 15 trips to Maine.

The run back from Marsh Harbor was my longest yet so when I returned to the Essex Yacht Club on Friday evening I was very excited about having successfully completed such a big deal trip.  I have to say that I was just blown away by the reception that I received from Brenda and others at the Club.  My understanding of what was going to happen upon my return is that I would enter the anchorage, take a mooring and join Brenda in the bar for a drink to celebrate my return.   Simple.  Yes?

As it turned out, that wasn’t the half of it.  As I motored up the last mile to the club I called to alert the launch driver that I was coming in and to request a mooring assignment.  I was surprised to hear that they had reserved a spot for me on the dock.   Hmm…

As predicted, the cold front had come through earlier that afternoon and it was blowing like stink and was frankly colder than I was used to after a winter in paradise.  As I was now aboard alone, I wasn’t that keen on going to the dock in 20+ knots of wind.

As I approached the dock I was startled by the crashing boom of a signal cannon going off and there on the club dock was Brenda, her hand on the cannon pull cord and white smoke swirling around her beaming smile.  Okay, now I understood why the dock was a better choice.  But wait, there’s more.   There, on the dock, were lots of friends and family who had all shown up to give me a proper welcome, including the club Commodore.  I was blown away.

Happily, I was able to retain enough composure to bring Pandora smartly to a stop  at the dock.  They say that a docking is actually a spectator sport and I was not going to give them a thrill.  No bad docking allowed.

My plan was to approach the club and to announce my arrival, I was going to blow the conch horn.  This is a tradition in the Bahamas is to blow the horn at sunset.  All along, it was my plan to announce  my arrival at the club by blowing my conch.  However, I was so overcome with all the excitement I could only manage to blow a pathetic squeak, not the full blast I was hoping for.  Not at all…  So much for grand entrances.

Do I look like a guy who’s happy to be greeted so warmly?After the staff tied up Pandora I jumped off of the dock and greeted everyone.  What a great reception.  It was very nice to be greeted by our commodore Frank too.  

Friday evening is a very busy time at the club with many members coming down for a cocktails and conversation.  As word of my arrival and voyage made it’s way around the room I was greeted by many more folks who wanted to hear about the trip.  It was just so great.  

I couldn’t have been more pleased with how things ended up for our “excellent adventure”, from our trip down the ICW, our four months exploring the Bahamas and a great return voyage.   So, how great is that?

Pretty great!!!

Now it’s time to cut the lawn, clean the boat, fix the shower sump, leaking shaft seal, send the prop for repair, strip and paint the bottom, do some touch up painting on the house…

Did I hear someone say “honey-do-list”?