Five Years Already?
Sometimes it is hard to believe that its been five years since we first saw Second Star on the hard in Buffalo. Susan and I had been talking about a larger boat for a few years with plans to sail out the St. Lawrence and down the east coast to winter in the Bahamas. Shortly after buying her I started a version of this website to chronicle our adventure and share what we learn about boats, traveling, and ourselves. We had a good start out of the box, but then the website began to languish. As it will do, life got in the way of life.
To answer the big question, yes we still plan to take our trip, we are just uncertain about when. About the time we purchased Second Star, our aging parents required more support. Both of us are from small families thus we needed and still need to care for them. This is one limit to our departure window. The other is our own health and age, we aren't getting younger.
There Ought to be a Law
This project, like so many others, just didn’t go as planned.
A surveyor had pointed out the need to replace a failing exhaust hose on Second Star, the 1993 Sabre 362 I’d just bought. Complying with that recommendation had consumed my day. At first the work progressed as I’d hoped, both ends of the hose were easily accessible and within a few minutes I’d disconnected the hose and clipped the wire ties securing it. But then the battle began, with me losing at several attempts to remove the hose.
Deal On!
“Hey, Dave, I finished Whisper’s survey yesterday. Did you notice the rudder?” Well, of course I noticed the rudder. I won’t claim to have a surveyor’s eye, but I know enough to make sure the rudder turns smoothly and the bearings are tight.
“Yes, Shawn, I checked the bearings, looked fine to me.”
“Did you notice the crack on the trailing edge?”
“Say what????”
“The broker didn’t notice it either.”
Whisper
September. A month possessed of an uncertain identity. Today a reminder of summer, tomorrow hints of winter chill and damp are ushered on its shoulders. The whims of September make planning a challenge. With a warm southerly wind on a September Saturday, sailing is the order of the day. With a winter chill thoughts turn to staying warm and sailing southern waters. It was fitting that I headed to Buffalo, on a gray drizzly day.
A Place Where Dreams are Born
There is a time and place where a dream is born. Sometimes it is a small and fleeting place, one that escapes into memory and curiosity. Such was the case with this dream. The dream in its generic form is one that is shared by many; sail away to distant lands, azure waters, white sands, and sun filled skies. Magazine photos of sailboats at anchor, beating across tropic seas have an allure unto themselves.