What is this crazy mission?

August 4, 2010 by

Maldives

When does an idea start? Some ideas develop like the process of erosion, they start slowly and the casual observers just sees some water passing over a rock. Then over the passage of time, the passing comment becomes a fundamental part of one’s being. Years ago I told Gail, “I would like to move aboard a sailboat”. She was excited because she enjoys travel and my vision lacked any concrete dates that might create pressure. Like a spring river racing down a well worn canyon, our choice to move aboard seems less daunting because we have discussed it for years. “Will we read the NY Times at sea? What type of milk will Gail use for her coffee? How will we cope with storms?” We have enjoyed imagining the cruising lifestyle for years.

I can not remember the particular day that we decided to make the sea our home rather than Manhattan. I can’t remember the month or even how I broached the topic with Gail. Was it a sunny day, did we discuss it over dinner or on a walk? Almost like a relative you have known since birth, this idea has been with Gail and I from the day we met. So this adventure might be more destiny than an active choice.

The most frequent questions I get about moving aboard the boat are:

Where will you go?

We have not decided. We will move out of our current home onto a 44 foot home. We could wait until we prepare elaborate plans but then we might never get out the door. So, instead, we are going to jump into the deep end and see what happens. The boat splashes in Argentina so we know where the trip starts. If we don’t like cruising, this website will become a boat listing after a few months. If we like it , who knows? Hurricane season will dictate some of our moves. The east coast of South America will certainly draw us in for a bit. Then to the Caribbean, and, if we are still enjoying the ride, then the US east coast. After that, who knows? That is part of the fun.

Why this rather than Banking?

Come on, you did not just ask that question. I will miss my coworkers while on sabbatical and the atmosphere on a trading floor is intoxicating. Some family members, namely Gail, are worried that I will go insane in such a relaxing environment and will need to return to the “real world” or will spend too much time advising her on sail trim. We will see. I have never seen a dying man shout out “I wish I had not wasted that year sailing through paradise. If only I had worked longer!”

How did you choose this boat?

That warrants an entire blog post onto its own but in short the top reasons were – a catamaran has more space so best knock-off of our current apartment (Jason’s concern), has an easier ride on the stomach (Gail’s concern) and is a safe boat that keeps crew from falling into the ocean (both sets of parents’ concern). The boat selection process was done via the web, magazines, boat shows and a fortune teller.

What part are you looking forward to?

Jason will enjoy the adventure of sailing a boat thousands of miles. Tracking the boat speed in different winds to create the perfect set of polars, downloading the weather data to create fast and comfortable routes and finally safely navigating by radar through the fog. Also Jason will enjoy not having a clue where the Euro currency is trading or what recent problem at work has blossomed into a crisis. Gail is looking forward to seeing new countries. She would like to eat, sing and read around the world. For Gail trying something new is her purpose for living, even if the new food is yucky durian.

What question did you never ask?

We have spent hours posing questions about this lifestyle. How will we cope with the sailing, learn the repair skills and actually live aboard a floating home. But we never asked “How will you guys spend so much time together”? We never thought of the question until someone else said “I could never live that close with my spouse”. Either we are made for cruising or lack foresight.

Read full story  · Comments { 0 }

2011 Miami Boat Show – Boat Choice Done

February 8, 2011 by

At the Miami Show

 

The idea of buying a boat and setting sail had been with me, and later on Gail, for many years. But we knew that if we wanted to exit the dreaming phase and enter the do phase, we needed to act. Web searching played a big part in the selection process. It really shocks me how poor some of the websites of the biggest manufacturers are. They sell boats for the price of a nice home and include only a dozen photos. There is no pricing info. Le website est seulement en Francais (see, isn’t that frustrating?). Not to be anti-francaphone. I love the french. It just might be good business practice to include more customers. The Antares website ranked high above the rest in ease of finding critical information.


So which boats were the finalists?

Gunboat

Gunboat

Gunboat

The first choice was the all carbon fiber, super-spartan speedster Gunboat. Made by the family that created the J24, it is a real rocket. With a crew of just three or four, it can fly by larger boats with crews of 15. Who wouldn’t want a ride? After the 2008 market crash, the price of the boat went up while the net worth of the crew of Two Fish went down. In the end, it was also a bit too sporty for a pair of rookies and super-spartan may not be that much fun after a few months.

Catana 42


Catana
Also a great boat in terms of speed, but the helm is very exposed and it is built more for the speed cruiser than the rookie Two Fish crew. Lets be honest, when I need speed, the kite surfer will provide ample opportunities. Not great for cold days or sunny days. I love the dagger boards. However, it was never a serious contender as it might be tough to work with the far away manufacturer.

Lagoon 45

Lagoon
Nice boat in terms of price and space. 10,000 pounds heavier than the Antares. That weight coupled with a more wetted surface area will make light air days motoring-only and I really don’t like the motor noise. It is also built for mass market vacation cruises and lacks many of the features that we care about. Additional systems can be added to the boat but then its hard to figure out who to turn to when they don’t work. When speaking to the Lagoon salesperson he summed it up “We are selling to a different market and a lower price point”. I thought that was a bit harsh since I like the Lagoons but we were lucky enough to be able to buy the Antares.

And the winner is … The Antares 44i.

Antares 44 (2005 Model)

In the Master Cabin

The boat has more features than a New York apartment. Buying a boat of this size is not like picking up a quart of milk from the market. It requires due diligence on the boat’s systems, the factory and the boat reputation. After that small effort is done, then its time to work with the Antares team on our exact specifications Roller furling main? Higher capacity water maker? Bigger anchor? At least the first step is done. And the folks at Antares are really good at helping new owners get comfortable with the process. I went out to the blogosphere to check my math.

Here is some of the back and forth commentary I received when I asked if I had purchased the correct boat:

  • My first post on Cruiser’s Forum Which Blue Water Cruiser Cat Should I Buy? So it’s Christmas time and I have just bought a boat for two of us to sail off into the sunset. We plan on distance cruising. We are youngish for cruisers. We have done limited cruising and offshore but plenty of racing. We live in a condo so not great at fixing stuff but work in technology so we are nifty with things that flash. Here is our list of “needs”: Safe boat for 2 folks that plan on sailing not just the Caribbean. Plenty of comforts (ie storage, watermaker, all the newest electronics, AC for rare marina time, decent shower). A fun to sail boat in more that just 15 knots on the beam. New boat – learning curve easier since stuff break slower. So here was our list: (Antares 44i Catana 42 Gunboat48 Leopard 44 Lagoon 44 Orana 44) Before I reveal our choice what do folks think? What would your call be?
  • First Reply “And based on your requirements the best choice would be Antares, Leopard or Orana. But as you raced you choose a Gunboat.”
  • Reply#2 “Antares 44″
  • Reply #4 (third reply was too big a boat) “Antares 44″
  • Reply #5 “If you think that new boats break less, you have a lot to learn–plan on spending your first year getting everything fixed under warranty, and therefore staying around wherever you buy the boat. If you want to go around the world in safety and style, buy none of the above. All cats will flip, and the higher performance ones require more seamanship. Good luck with whatever choice you made. Choosing a sailboat is like choosing a mate–its not just a rational decision.”
  • Reply #10 “As an owner of the Antares 44i for the past two years I would wholeheartedly recommend this catamaran. They are not inexpensive but they are good value .” In short many of the readers supported the Antares. Not sure how much comfort that offers as I assume many of the forum occupants spend too much time on the hard rather than sailing?

 

 

Read full story  · Comments { 0 }

Diesel 101 – Gail is back to school

April 30, 2011 by

It is time to get serious about the boat systems. We have already divided up some of the boat tasks and I raised my hand for Engines. We will have three diesel engines on the boat – Port, Starboard and Generator. I have always aspired to be a bit of a tinkerer but up to now it has been limited to disassembling and sometimes even re-assembling computers. Engines are a whole other subject and a bit intimidating to me. But, since I had the time, I decided to enroll in a Diesel Engine class. Fortunately, there was a nearby company – Mack Boring – that offers practical training.

Diesel 101

The class was at the right level for me and the instructor was excellent. My fellow students all actually owned boats, were mostly a few years older than me, and were male. They were staying for the two day follow-on practical portion but at this point just learning the lingo is enough for me.

My biggest takeaway from the class was ‘read the manual and follow their maintenance instructions’ since every broken part that was handed around the class was broken because of owner error and misuse. I also learned about a mysterious part called the impeller that seems to disintegrate within a matter of seconds and seems very hard to remove.

While the best experience for troubleshooting engines is practice, I finally feel that I am advancing a bit and am looking forward to returning for part two.  — Gail

Read full story  · Comments { 0 }

Boat Work Order

May 24, 2011 by

Work Order

Imagine you are sitting down at a classic pizzeria and you are very hungry.   This particular pizzeria has 55 choices of toppings spanning all of your favorites and many you have never tried.   That is how we felt when putting together our work order.   Everything sounded great but if we didn’t watch out the ‘toppings’ would cost more than the boat, probably wouldn’t work well together, and, even worse, we would never make up our minds. We needed to control our enthusiasm and make some choices.   We do not have experience as our guide so we surfed the internet for advice.   Most free advice is priced correctly.   After plenty of research our stomachs began to rumble and we scheduled a call with Rob the builder.   Rob was patient with us as we flip-flopped on our choices.   Unlike a pizza order, the boat order has required many 1 hour phone calls.   I am sure the calls would be shorter if I could stay on topic, but who wants to when it’s a chance to dream about being on the boat.

 

The standard Antares build includes many options so one might assume that we just sign the contract and then wait for splash date.   That assumption would be dead wrong. Because this will eventually be our full-time home, we have spent many hours researching and discussing all of the items. Okay, maybe we are also gadget-heads and detail freaks. Current and past owners were very helpful in giving their thoughts on what they loved about the boat and what they wish they had installed.

Standard Equipment list: (full pdf click)

Some of the standard comforts for landlubbers are: water maker, air conditioning, heating, VHF Radio,  TV, hot water heater, outdoor shower, solar panels, generator, washer/dryer, outdoor grill, microwave, traditional oven, and all LED lighting.

One of the big decisions was whether to have a traditional mainsail (raised up the mast for sailing), or a furling main (winds inside the mast when not sailing). We went with the traditional mainsail because we like the extra sail area for a bit more speed. We also chose to include an asymmetric spinnaker for Gail’s favorite point of sail.

Other building decisions were to have a bias for storage over bunks, more solar capacity, higher capacity water maker and an integrated scuba compressor. Watch out fish, Jason will be taking lots of photos.

On the electronics front, we will have two chart plotters, a KVH tracphone, SSB (Single SIde band) and AIS (Automatic Identification System). We were still far from our splash date and the contract wasn’t even signed but we tried to get as much specificity into the work order as possible.

Read full story  · Comments { 2 }

Colgate Sailing School – BVI

May 25, 2011 by

 

We have signed up for a grand adventure but have no clue about life on a boat.  Actually, neither of us have ever sailed on a large catamaran.  I have gone offshore for a few one week adventures, but this will be an entirely different experience.

The natural next step for us was to go to shool.   I was hoping spelling would not play a large factor in my grade. Gail was hoping she wouldn’t fall off the boat.   Colgate offered a great program, Fast Track to Catamaran Cruising, in the British Virgin Islands so off we went.  The first two days are motel living and steering a small keelboat. This was mostly so that Gail could get some practice steering and improve her confidence.   The next 4 days are life aboard a 44 foot Leopard catamaran with an instructor and the promise of a written exam.   As a graduation present, we would get to sail on our own for a couple of days.

My eyes must have shown a bit of fear when I first saw the boat.  “Wow, that looks tough to dock” was my first thought.  But after a bit of instruction it really is no more complex than your run of the mill shopping cart.    Gail’s fear of seasickness evaporated in the calm summer weather and smooth seas.

Our catamaran instructor was great. He is the son of a Royal Naval officer and  I felt like I had been pressed into the Queen’s Navy, but the intensity paid off.   His firm and clear way of teaching was great for two newbies.  We learned how to dock, anchor, heave-to, tack and jibe a large catamaran, a few seamanship skills and much much more.  We passed our exams with some comedy as I got a really easy question wrong.   That gave Gail a chance to chuckle and tease me.   Not so much fun to be on the other end for a change?

It wasn’t all work as we stayed in some beautiful anchorages, ate some great meals and puttered around on the dinghy looking for good snorkeling spots.

The class was well worth it and we are getting closer to our goal.   I really can not believe it!  This dream might actually happen.


Read full story  · Comments { 0 }

Manhattan Yacht Club – Sinking at Sea

July 4, 2011 by

I have become a cruiser as opposed to a racer.   As a result, I have become focused on building the skills of crossing oceans safely and comfortably instead of being the first around a collection of orange marks.   I was dragged, kicking and screaming against my will into racing again for the company sailing team.  Who can turn down an early evening sail in NY Harbor and the chance for some friendly competition? The team needed a skipper so I did what any good employee would do and said yes.  They already had a very slick corporate spinnaker and a great crew.

Now you might think the story would end there, but it does not.  Your next thought might be that we ended up winning the series.   Not that either,  but we did have an adventure.   One Wednesday evening, as we were nearing the leeward mark I noticed some very evil looking clouds.   I am not much of a meteorologist but can tell when bad stuff is coming my way.  I decided to ask the crew to douse all the sails and stow them below.   This was not a tough decision since we were doing poorly in the race and some of the crew had never been on a sailboat before.   Safety first.   Despite the precautions, when the 50 knot breeze hit our boat it was quite exciting on board.  (No fish tale,  the speed was recorded on a nearby weather station).   The real action was aboard two other boats.  One was dismasted and the other sunk.   Never to be seen again. The crews of both boats were safe and no one was hurt but it did make an impression on people. One of the club members took some great photos of the rescue.


Read full story  · Comments { 0 }

Barefeet Party – Meeting Antares Circum-navigators

July 8, 2011 by

In 2008 while we were still living in London I started surfing the web for sailboat articles.  This was when I started reading sailing blogs. I can not remember when I first ran across the blog for Barefeet, but once I saw the blog I was hooked.   I was excited because their background seemed similar to mine and Gail’s.   Chris also worked in finance and neither  Chris nor Erin were life-long sailboat mechanics.  The final clue was the Backroads T-shirt he was wearing. We loved everyone of our 5 Backroads trips.

Have I mentioned that one of my larger concerns is “can I fix this floating city?”   I do not know what a stuffing box is or how to adjust engine mounts.  So here were two people of similar backgrounds and lack of mechanical experience, who got on a boat and were sailing the world. Maybe we can do this. I finally got Gail hooked on the web site too – I think their early experience swimming with pigs in the Caribbean is what did it. We read every post and thought about what it would be like if we were in their place.

They happened to have sailed on a 44 foot Antares so once we decided on the same boat, we became even more engaged in the blog. When their sailing adventure was over and they had returned to New England, the Antares team organized a welcome home party on Barefeet and, since we were future owners, we were invited.

It was really great to hear their story.  They started off as novices and made it around the world with great adventures along the way. It was evident that their happy demeanors got them half way there.

Of course we had lots of questions. Some of the advice Chris gave me was: Get a longer rode with more anchor chain, add the ability to move fuel between tanks, get a bigger watermaker, and, if you are going to the Med, make sure you can lower the anchor from the helm.  The couple gave a great lecture on their years aboard and it’s on You Tube!











If you do not get excited by watching these videos you lack the cruising bug.   Every time I re-watch them, I get more antsy to start our own adventure.

Read full story  · Comments { 0 }

Two Fish contract is signed

September 3, 2011 by

  

In a sparsely attended ceremony (Jason and Gail) there was much celebration for the  signing of an Antares 44 contract.   As a good luck token, the hull number will be 4444.   The boat is designed in Canada and custom-built in Argentina.  The expected splash date is December 2012 but boat-building shares some similarities with house-building in predicting finish dates!

What steps did we take to get this far?

  1. Saved money to buy the boat.  This was a multi-decade process as I am not a professional card player and Gail is not in a top 40 rock and roll band.
  2. Chose the boat.  It is hard to take me seriously since I have not sailed a variety of catamarans around the world, but I spent a lot of time on this.   There are plenty of experts and quacks on the web.   Or ask the boat salesmen, they seem to have an opinion.
  3. Got to know the builder.  You have to trust these folks. If you feel a bit weird at the early stage BAIL out.  Know current and former owners.   They will tell the full story.
  4. Set up a contract. These are not fortune 500 companies, so the contract is somewhat superseded by the trust you have for the builder.
  5. Decided early on options. Don’t get too bogged down.   Sometimes fewer choices is better.  You can add stuff after you have owned the boat for a year.

We are still deciding on whether to hire a surveyor.  We are interviewing a guy at  the Miami boat show.  We need help in ensuring the quality control is high, but it is costly to hire someone from the states and send them to Argentina frequently.

Read full story  · Comments { 2 }

Annapolis Boat Show 2011

October 6, 2011 by

Antares 44 “Blue”

Notebook full of questions

When buying a house, the first visit to your eventual home is uneventful. It is not until the second or third trip, when you are pretty sure that this is the one, that the detailed examination starts.   This was also true for our choice of the Antares.   The first time we saw her was at the Miami boat show. The second time was at the Barefeet Party in Rhode Island, where we were focused on the speech that Erin and Chris  were giving. Now in Annapolis, the third  time was our chance to really get to know her. We had studied all the photos on the web 100 times but there is nothing like seeing a boat in person.  We had many pages of questions for the builders, the owners and the boat.  After 3 days, people had learned to avoid Jason and Gail because they will ask you a question of some odd boating sort.

In the 1960s chrome sold cars,  in the 1990s drink holders sold cars but what sells boats to the crew of Two Fish?  Let’s see some of the features that caught our eyes.


Storage for gas and halyards

#1 I hate piles of line lying around the deck. If you are like me, the storage spots will make you heart sing.   I am not sure if this passes seamanship exams as the lines will develop kinks, but, what the heck, this is cruising.

As an added bonus, the locker is a great place to store the cooking gas with proper ventilation, thus avoiding a BOOM.  Propane gas is heavier than air so you need to have vents underneath.  Not easy in a boat, right?

Rope Jammers for the Halyards

 

#2  I like to be organized and, more importantly, not send crew forward to the mast in a storm.  Because in the Antares every line leads to the cockpit, this should prevent anyone going swimming when reefing the mainsail or other maneuvers.    Right beside this collection of jammers is a powered winch, eliminating any excuses for reefing early.

 

 

 

 

 

Electrical Panel

#3  We have become accustomed to electricity, just like the caveman became hooked on fire.   After the popularity of fire every caveman had to find a cave with decent ventilation.   The electricity junkie Two Fish crew had to find a boat that had evolved beyond the 12 volt battery.   This system can create and manage both 110 and 12 volt.   There is a huge focus on safety with properly labeled and protected wiring.   It is daunting at first, but required if one wants that long list of things from that company in Cupertino, an ice maker, air conditioning, the navigation equipment of an aircraft carrier and underwater lights to watch the fish swim by at night.   No joke.

 

 

 

Twin Raycor Fuel Filters

 

#4 I have read one too many articles about the merits of clean fuel.   They even have created a fancy name for cleaning fuel, fuel polishing.  This term confused Gail for many months so don’t try to make sense out of it. Bad fuel can have water, sand or metal to name a few things.   It can also provide a home for fuel bugs.  These bugs live in the layer between fuel and water.  And for breakfast, lunch and dinner they eat diesel.  This yummy diet can sustain generations of the family and as the elders pass on they get sucked into the engine.   Bugs are not good for engines and one discovers this while in tight quarters with a stalled engine.  So to avoid this terrifying situation, we are going out of our way to have clean fuel.  The Antares comes standard with twin Racor fuel filters to keep the engine running.

 

Antares Family (Craig, Salwa, Laurie)

 

#5  The folks that build the boats and the people that own them are good folk.  They want to collaborate and create the best full-time live-aboard catamaran.   It is the opposite of a mega-corporation and owners and builders are all working towards the same goal.

 

 

 

The Annapolis boat show was a huge success for us.   We affirmed that this was the right boat for us and began to understand many of her strong features.  We scoured the show to learn more about our systems and choices, continuing the process of deciding some of the elements of our work order.   We came home with a few pamphlets and ideas and looked forward to many more lengthy discussions.

Future reading material

 

Read full story  · Comments { 0 }

Grenada (Antares University 2011)

December 10, 2011 by

Class time (Jason, Rob, Ian, Laurie and Gail)

It was almost a year after making the big decision on boat selection and almost 3 months after signing the contract and we still hadn’t actually sailed on an Antares. All we could rely on was Jason’s knowledge of boat characteristics and performance and some praise from current owners. When Rob called asking whether we wanted to attend Antares U in Grenada, we immediately signed on. We had met a few of the other owners at the boat shows but this was a chance to expand our network, learn more about the boat, talk about boats 24/7 and, of course, get out on the water.

We have already mentioned that Antares is a small friendly community, always willing to help out. This goes one step farther with Antares U. Every year one of the current owners volunteers their boat for a few days, during which they invite prospective owners to visit, learn and sail. Laurie and Craig of Alberta Crewed were the generous hosts of 2011 Antares U.


Grenadan School Girls


Grenada Fed


We landed a day early and explored the main town, St. George’s. We walked the couple of miles from our hotel while speedy vans buzzed by, honking as they passed. We later learned first hand that the bus system on Grenada is a series of privately owned vans following prescribed routes. There is the driver and an assistant. They honk to try to accumulate more passengers and even when the bus is filled to the gills, the assistant produces a cushion, which must mean there is another seat and everyone squeezes just a bit tighter. We ate some great Roti at a restaurant overlooking the harbor and took in the relaxed atmosphere.

We enjoyed watching the girls dawdle on their way home from school and listened to the tune of everyone’s voices.
However, we were so excited to be on the boat the next day that we were a bit distracted.

Antares Electrical Panel

The next morning we listened intently to Jeff (Antares) show us the various systems inside the boat. As Jason has noted, everything looks well organized and very accessible, if a bit daunting. When we were at the boat show in February, I had been intimidated by the notion of running our own city and needing to fix things on the water. Now, fresh out of one day of Diesel Engine intro, I was supposed to be more confident, almost boastful with my new knowledge of fuel injectors and cooling systems. After about 5 minutes of lecture and one question from Craig,

 

 

All pipes well labeled

I realized that I still knew nothing.

That afternoon, we tried to set sail but a fouled line in the propeller complicated issues so we hung out, took a gazillion photos, chatted and headed early to the bar. Seemed a lot like University the first time around.

The next day was a tour of the outside of Alberta Crewed, including the generator, anchor, and rigging items. One day I will be climbing that 61 foot mast – I think we forgot to mention another feature of the Antares. The fixed bridges of the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) are a minimum 62 feet above the water. So as long as we watch the tide tables and storm surge, we can enjoy the inner waters on the East Coast as well.

 

That afternoon, we headed out for a sail and for the first time I took the helm of the Antares. It was so easy to sail that I hardly realized that it was blowing 17 knots. In the Vanguard 15 I would have been hiking. Other than steering, my favorite spot on the boat is the back bench near the dinghy davit. I am looking forward to many lazy hours there.

Gail steers, Jason observes


Gail and Jason on stern

It’s official our boat has name

 

 

That night we met even more prospective owners as Antares hosted a dinner for our group and the group that were going to visit for the next two days. I wonder if our boat name will still be on the wall next time we visit. It is exciting to think that next time will be on our own boat.


Read full story  · Comments { 1 }