A little while back, I asked this group for some help in planning a
trip from Boston to Nova Scotia and as usual, got great advise. Thanks.
we are back and I thought that I would share part of an email that I
sent my family in case anyone was interested. here it is.

Alice and I just got back from a little boating trip that I thought
that I would share with you. For as many years as I can recall there
has been a 52 foot steel sailboat at the Barking Crab. It has only
moved twice since that time. Well, last February, it was sold to some
guy from Nova Scotia Canada. Apparently he has been working on getting
it sea worthy since then, coming down for a week or so at a time. He
has been trying to get a crew together and sail it back. The closest he
got was when his son visited him for several weeks and they started on
their journey. I was going to go with them but they could not wait for
my free time which was a few days later. Well they took off and I
called them about 8 hours later and they said that they were just
outside of Salem Mass. The weather was not so good and I would not have
chosen that harbor to go to but what the heck. anyway... I see them
several days later to find that they did not make it to Salem, that
they got very seasick and took on too much water. they did not know how
to use their GPS, radio, etc.,etc., etc (by the way, I looked at their
GPS the next day, and they had not even left Boston Harbor, never mind
getting to Salem)

So, a week ago last Saturday, armed with some info from this boater's
group, the owner- Dave, (whom we don't know) Alice and I head out on
this boat. no running water, etc. no nav lights etc. He was hoping to
do 30 miles a day but I decided if possible, we should try for at least
50. No sailing as his sails were a mess. Saturday morning, we get out
of Boston Harbor and we get pass Salem, past Gloucester, Rockport
(which would not have us as we draw 8 feet) past Newburyport which
would not have us due to all of the flooding. We spent the night at
Isle of Shoals.

Sunday, we made it to Portland and drop Alice off to bus home and go to
work. Met a friend for a very late dinner.

Monday, leave at 5 AM we go to Tenants Harbor.

Tuesday we go to Southwest Harbor. Now, the guy who could not find his
way out of Boston Harbor by himself and only wanted to travel 30 miles
a day and not at night, is starting to feel more confident and wants to
cross from Southwest Harbor to Nova Scotia.

Wednesday, I take a taxi, a bus, another bus and another bus to come
home form Southwest Harbor to Ellsworth to Bangor to Portland to
Boston.

Thursday, I pick up Dave's car and Alice and the two of us go back to
southwest Harbor after she gets out of work. Thursday night/Friday
morning at 1am, we head off to nova scotia. Luckily, I had programmed
some GPS waypoint to allow us to navigate out of the harbor at night.
oh, did I mention that the engine takes about 20 minutes to start.
There are four pages of instructions that have to be followed. Well at
1 in the morning, Dave forgot one. He did not open the exhaust valve
and when we started the engine, a loud explosion happened within 5
minutes. after we cleared out all the smoke, we discovered that we had
blown up the wet muffler.

Friday-we go to the local machine engine shop and have them repair the
wet muffler with aluminum and 5200. early afternoon, we head again to
Nova Scotia. 10 miles out, the fix does not hold and we are taking on
more water. (not so much that the pumps can't handle it) We are afraid
that the engine might over heat so we shut off the engine and try to
sail. Did I mention that the sails were in bad shape? well he did have
a few worked on while I was in Boston getting his car. he also ran some
nav lights as well then. anyway it takes a lot of wind to move a 52
foot metal sailboat with an 8 ft draft, which we did not have. so we
roll and roll and Alice gets sick and I decide that it will take about
5 days to get to nova scotia at this rate. we decide to go back to
Southwest harbor. but the fog has now come in and it becomes very hard
indeed. not only can't we see but the harbor is filled with new
Hinckley's that we don't want to crash into. finally we find a mooring
late at night. Alice and I have figured that our trip is now over, but
we will hang out for the next day incase he needs some help

Saturday-knowing that he has no crew besides Alice and I-and knowing
the Alice and I have to be at work Tuesday morning and that almost
everything is closed due to the long weekend, Dave is determined to
find a way to fix the wet muffler. He goes to shore and comes back with
stuff to fiberglass the broken part. well we spend the rest of the day
doing just that and at 5 PM with my waypoints in hand we try once again
for Yarmouth, Canada.

Sunday-120 miles later thru night and fog we end up in Canada. By the
time we clear customs and immigration, we have 2 hours to catch the
"CAT" ferry back to Bar Harbor which all three of us do. We take a taxi
from Bar Harbor at midnight to Southwest Harbor and get Dave's car. We
drive to Bangor. get there around 2 am Monday morning.

Monday-Completely exhausted, Dave says a very quick good bye and
thanks, crashes for 3 hours and drives his car back to Bar Harbor to
make the 7am ferry back to Nova Scotia. Alice and I get up early
morning and taxi to the bus station and arrive in Boston in the
afternoon.
All in all, quite an experience.

Hi, Richard!

I am glad to see you survived another sailboat adventure. From the luck
you are having, which might be seen either as good or bad, you and
Alice seem fated to survive the sailing experience, dodgey engine or
no.

Those waters you have survived border the graveyard of the Atlantic,
and thanks God, the sea let you live. Your accomplishment is another
in a long line of accomplishment that illustrates the adventurous
spirit that has made man the most successful lifeform on the planet, if
a little excess can be overlooked for a while, and if providence and
chance can be trusted a little longer.

I'm certain you will come to see the experience as a happy one.

Can we hope to see you again, perhaps this year? Or do you now hunger
for the deeper blue, and farther shores? Would you like to sail down
and then up a waterfall?

Hope to see you at our Wednesday night jam. We have been getting some
real talent, and I would like another dose of your ivory tickling. Do
chellists jam?

Terry K

richard wrote:
.... (snip for brevity) ...
Monday-Completely exhausted, Dave says a very quick good bye and
thanks, crashes for 3 hours and drives his car back to Bar Harbor to
make the 7am ferry back to Nova Scotia. Alice and I get up early
morning and taxi to the bus station and arrive in Boston in the
afternoon.
All in all, quite an experience.


Boy was it ever. You took on a huge challenge, co-skippering
this boat to Nova Scotia while teaching this guy how to
sail... and not inconsequentially, how to navigate.

Sounds like a heck of a voyage, welcome back!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Richard,

I'm not trying to be confrontational, but the question does arise about why
you ever left port with this owner and on this boat? So many safety concerns
leap out of your report.

====

Charles T. Low
www.boatdocking.com

====

"richard" wrote in message
oups.com...
...The weather was not so good ...
...no running water, etc. no nav lights etc. ...
...No sailing as his sails were a mess....
...the engine takes about 20 minutes to start.
There are four pages of instructions that have to be followed. Well at
1 in the morning, Dave forgot one. He did not open the exhaust valve
and when we started the engine, a loud explosion happened within 5
minutes. after we cleared out all the smoke, we discovered that we had
blown up the wet muffler...
...10 miles out, the fix does not hold and we are taking on
more water. (not so much that the pumps can't handle it) We are afraid
that the engine might over heat so we shut off the engine and try to
sail. Did I mention that the sails were in bad shape? ...
...it takes a lot of wind to move a 52
foot metal sailboat with an 8 ft draft, which we did not have. so we
roll and roll and Alice gets sick ...
..but the fog has now come in and it becomes very hard
indeed.
All in all, quite an experience.

Charles T. Low wrote:

I'm not trying to be confrontational, but the question does arise
about why you ever left port with this owner and on this boat? So
many safety concerns leap out of your report.

I'll just jump in where I don't necessarily belong to agree with Charles. I
have made the run from the US coast to Nova Scotia many times using many
different routes. This is not "kiddie" boating and making the run with a
vessel that is anything less than 100% ready is not at all a prudent action.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/kerrydeare