The connection between man and dog is something very special. Why else would they be called “Man’s Best Friend”? Dogs are loyal, affectionate creatures, who show unconditional love to their human friends. According to the famous dog whisperer Cesar Millan, “Dogs are pack animals. They want to belong to a pack, whether it’s made up of dogs or humans.”

There’s also a very intimate connection between man and water. I’m not talking about the water we drink, but the ocean, the lake, the river, whatever source of water a man feels close to. In order to fulfill a man’s desire to be on or near the water, we sometimes use boats. My boat of choice is a sailboat. When I’m out sailing, a feeling of peacefulness overtakes me. It’s unlike any other method of relaxation. Just using the power of the wind to take me where I want to be.

When I can combine the closeness of being with my dog and being on the water in my sailboat, it’s such a great combination. It’s been a while since Karma, my faithful sidekick, has been sailing with me. So tonight when I decided to go on a sunset sail she was so excited to get on the water again. She used to go with me all the time, but she’s getting up in years and lately she’s just been holding down the couch while I go sailing.

I know she really enjoyed sailing tonight and so did I! Here’s a few photos.

Karma is super happy on the water!

Wing-on-wing sailing.

Some of you sailors might recognize the line going across the cockpit. I’ve taken to cross-sheeting the jib when I’m single-handed. It seems to be really a lot easier to handle the jibsheet work since I can do it from the high side (where I’m sitting) when I’m heeled, rather than having to go to the low side. The only issue is stepping over the sheet if I must go forward.

She heard a dog barking from another boat. Really got her attention!

Today, we enjoyed a very good Saturday sail after lunch with Bill, Vicky, Howard, Steve-o, Stevie, Ric, and myself.

Myself, Keith, Ric, and Howard went on Keith’s boat, a Lippincott 30. Everyone else on Steve Raye’s boat, an O’Day 28. Keith on helm, Ric worked foredeck and hoisted/doused the main, Howard took the jib. I worked mainsheet for the majority of the time until turning back toward the marina, then Keith abandoned the helm so I took over.

Prior to leaving the dock, Bill had placed a large container of stale cheese balls on the bow of Keith’s boat. A couple hours into the sail, Ric devised the idea of giving the cheese balls back… by throwing them at the other boat. We were downwind on the leeward side, so we passed them and began pushing them up, forcing them to turn down to get better air and positioning. We took advantage of being upwind as we slowed and allowed them to come alongside. At that point we unleashed an assault, Master And Commander style, tossing cheese balls at them. Our endeavor was successful, with many direct hits to the opposing boat and her crew! Everyone had a great laugh, even the victims, as we sailed back to the marina.

I am happy; I am content; I am at peace. Three simple statements, but oh, how much meaning is contained within those ten words!

The fullness of my life is finally in line with the fullness of my sails. I don’t live on a boat full-time….not yet. But that’s about the only thing that would make my life any better right now. The closeness of family, the love of my wife, and the availability of sailing time is keeping me content.

Last month, December 2017, I finally retired from my position as a police patrol officer after more than 22 years of doing that job. I know what you’re thinking…retirement…they’re living on a sailboat and gonna travel the world!! Well, not yet. I was able to enjoy an entire four days of retirement, however! We’re still working toward the living on a boat dream, but in the meantime, I was hired as a Criminal Investigator for the District Attorney’s Office. It’s really a good career change for me. I’m working with some great people who thoroughly enjoy their jobs and are happy. The enviornment is completely different than the PD. I didn’t realize just how much the day-to-day grind of that job affected me until I noticed a couple of weeks into the new job that I didn’t need to take my daily dose of over-the-counter antacid prevention medicine.

I get to sail at least once a week on my Wednesday night men’s sailing group and that helps to maintain my peace. Henry David Thoreau said,

“The sail, the play of its pulse so like our own lives: so thin and yet so full of life, so noiseless when it labors hardest, so noisy and impatient when least effective.”

This quote really struck a chord with me and reminds me of life. When sails are working their hardest and accomplishing the most, they are full and quiet. When the sails are struggling and not efficient, they’re very noisy. It parallels some aspects of our lives. When we’re content and working hard to accomplish a goal, we are usually quiet and oriented, not expending energy on distractions or making noise. Likewise, when we’re struggling with something or unable to maintain a proper course, we need adjustment just as one would adjust a sail.

So, for now, I’m sailing on Wednesday’s and every other Saturday. Still seeking the wind that helps to maintain the shape of my soul, I mean sail.

As you might recall from my Hatch Board Hell post, my hatch boards were seriously a wreck; just look at this photo to refresh your memory.

Well, I’m happy to report that after some serious work, my friend from work has helped me transition out of the depths of hatch board hell. Take a look at these beauties!

Refinished hatch boards

Refinished hatch boards perfect match to interior teak

Now the hatch boards look too good compared to the other exterior teak. It’s time to get that other teak back to it’s brilliance! For now, I’m going to continue using the one-piece board to close the companionway, until I can make a Sunbrella covering for the boards. That’s actually a project that’s coming up soon. I have the fabric, a LOT of it, that I rescued from beside the trash bin at the marina, that is in good condition. I plan to make a deck covering that’ll cover the windows and the companionway.

Stay tuned.

It’s been several weeks since I installed it, but figured I’d post a couple pics of my new tiller.

As you might remember, back in September, when Scott and I went out for a sail, the tiller broke [again]. The repair job that I had completed last year held just fine….it broke in a different place. To me, that’s a sign that it’s time to simply replace it. Pretty easy job, really. Just buy it, then install it!

Brand new tiller

Old and new tiller, side by side

Drilled holes and installed the brackets

New tiller installed

Ain’t she pretty!?

I’ve had the boat out a couple times since installing the new tiller. You know how when you were a kid and got brand new shoes and thought you could run faster? Well, I think my boat may be faster now! Haha.

I know this post is a month late, but hey, better late than never right?

Here’s a video I put together. At 10 minutes, it’s a tad long, but I hope you enjoy it!

We took 2nd place in our fleet. Not bad, I think, for a group of sailors who’ve never participated in this race, on a boat none of us had sailed before.

We only had one issue that really concerned us during the overnight race. Our port jibsheet snapped! It sounded like a gun being fired. But we were able to use our way-too-long main reefing line as a makeshift jibsheet. It served a double-ended purpose for the remainder of the race.

If anyone is interested, here’s the logbook I used to document the week. Harvest Moon Regatta Logbook PDF.

Already looking forward to next year’s race!

“Who wants to do the Harvest Moon Regatta this year?” Howard asked. This was in May 2017. We were sailing on a regular Wednesday night outing on Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie, Texas. Myself, Steve [Steve-o] and Steve [Stevie] jumped on the idea. None of us had ever participated in the regatta, although the desire to do so was high. Howard, who also participates in another sailing group, wanted to get a crew together and compete in this offshore race. Howard knew a few guys from his other group, also none of which had been in the regatta, who wanted to race. 141 days until the regatta

21 June 2017; 106 days until the regatta.

1994 center cockpit Hunter 42, Paradise

We scheduled the boat we would charter for the regatta. A 1994 center cockpit Hunter 42 named Paradise based at Kemah, Texas. The biggest boat I’ve ever sailed so far is 34 feet, so I’m looking forward to this Hunter.

13 July 2017; 84 days until the regatta.

Howard was the intermediary between the two groups of guys who had been identified as the crew for this race. Howard had sailed with me and the Steves. Howard had also sailed with Forest, Mike [Pilgrim] and Pat. But the seven of us had never sailed together; we had never even met one another!  It was definitely time we brought the two groups together. What better way than dinner? Howard, coordinated the initial meeting at our marina restaurant. Immediately, we all developed a general rapport over our shared love of sailing. Over burgers, we began exploring how our new crew would mesh. We sorted out what our watch schedule would look like as well as determining who would Captain the vessel for the race.  Forest was nominated and accepted that role. We also agreed to sail together every Thursday until the regatta to train and familiarize ourselves with each other.

4 August 2017; 62 days until the regatta.

Some of the safety gear for the regatta.

After a frenzy of online purchases, I finally gathered the necessary safety equipment. Offshore Automatic Inflatable Life Jacket [and a spare re-arming kit, just in case], crotch strap for life jacket [this thing feels like it’ll hurt if I actually end up using it!], tether [gotta stay on the boat], water-sensing automatic flashing light beacon [so they can see me if all else fails and I end up in the ocean], and a whistle [required by race rules].
24 August 2017; 42 days until the regatta!

The crew intently discussing man overboard recovery methods.

We finally have our first sail together as the HMR 2017 crew. This initial sail we worked on heaving-to, man overboard drills, and just general anticipation of potential sailing problems.

25 August 2017; 41 days until the regatta!

Hurricane Harvey 2017

Disaster strikes in the form of a hurricane named Harvey! The strong category 4 hurricane caused massive destruction to both life and property when it slammed into the Texas coast. Among many other devastated towns, Port Aransas suffered great losses. This future of this year’s regatta was in serious doubt.

2 September 2017; 33 days until the regatta!

News was received from the HMR organizers and it was decided the race would still happen. The usual ending point was changed and it was determined that the race would start and end at Galveston, with the offshore race being a more traditional sailboat race.

21 September 2017; 14 days until the regatta!

After sailing every Thursday for the past several weeks, we’ve done our last practice session. The practice sessions were all (but one) aboard Howard’s Catalina 25  Our next sailing will be aboard the much more spacious 42 foot Paradise the day before the race!

24 September 2017; 11 days until the regatta!

The HMR organizers released the race course Sailing Instructions.

28 September 2017; 7 days until the Harvest Moon Regatta!

2017 HMR Crew Meeting

We got together and reviewed the sailing instructions, worked out the onboard meal plans, determined possible starting line strategies, and also attempted to figure out how to spend our extra time after the race with the boat. We’re going to have almost 3 extra days on our boat charter after we return from the race.

Stay tuned until after the regatta…I’ll make a Harvest Moon Regatta post (and video) and another post detailing what we do after the race.

Scott and I had some extra time this afternoon, so we went to the boat. Initially, we were only going to test fit the hatch boards to see what, if anything, needed more adjustment. Once we did that, we realized what a beautiful day it was and that it would be a waste not to get some sailing time in.

Scott’s still learning how to sail and how to rig the boat in preparation for sailing, so I assisted him with the bowline knots on the headsail clew. He removed the mainsail cover and hanked on the jib by himself.

Once out of the slip and in open water, Scott hoisted the main then the jib.

We tacked around a couple times and then “Crack….!!!” I heard the tiller break! I could tell it broke at the very back, under the metal brackets. There was enough strength in it to steer, as long as I didn’t put too much stress on it. We immediately turned back toward the marina, dropped the sails and motored back into the slip.

Taken right before the tiller cracked!

After unrigging everything, we removed the tiller to inspect the damages. Thankfully (?), the repair I had completed a year ago was holding… it had broken in a different place. I think I’ll go ahead and purchase a new tiller now. I’m not going to keep repairing this 38 year old tiller.

The hatch boards on my Catalina 25 are my latest project to tackle. When I bought the boat, the companionway was (and currently is) covered by one piece of painted plywood. It looks terrible, it’s heavy, and it’s difficult to store while underway. It’s hatch board hell.

Hatch board hell

The teak boards were in the dock box, but they were in terrible shape. There were old rusty staples holding one together. Not only did they not look appealing, they were very ill-fitting. There’s no way they would keep water out of the boat.

My hatch board looks like Frankenstein!

You think that’s watertight?

While scrolling through Facebook one day I saw a friend of mine post photos of a wood chair he built. Long story short, I contacted him and he agreed to help me with my hatch boards.

Trying to decide whether to get new wood and start fresh or refinish the old, he gave them a quick sanding The beautiful color from days long past began showing again. He put a little varnish on one edge and the brilliant coloring just popped out! That made the decision pretty easy.

No more Frankenstein

Varnish brings out the beautiful colors!

Before doing any further work, we needed to get the boards fitting properly. A trip to the boat to measure everything was in order.

Now the tedious part…sanding, measuring, fitting, sanding, measuring, fitting, ad nauseum.

Soon, I’ll have great looking (and fitting) hatch boards. I’ll be in hatch board Heaven. Then I’ll be forced to sand and varnish my other exterior teak. Lol.

The whole crew minus one (Mike Pilgrim) met up to begin training. It was decided that we’d spend every Thursday evening until the regatta doing training and crew familiarization sessions. This was the first time we all sailed together. 

We piled onto Howard’s boat and headed out. With an East wind at approximately 10-12 mph, we made our way out into the lake. 

Forest asked some what-if questions while we were motoring out of the marina, getting us to do some critical thinking. 

The main was hoisted and full Genoa unfurled. It wasn’t long before we realized we were overpowered, so we furled some of the headsail in.  

Each crew member took the helm for a while and we practiced our man overboard drills. We practiced the figure 8 method a few times and the heave-to method several times. To practice the drills, Forest would throw overboard two half-gallon milk jugs tied together with a cord. We’d then practice our maneuvers to retrieve the jugs.  

For the first sail together, things went pretty well. All the crew appears to get along and I don’t anticipate any major issues with crew compatibility. 

Howard and Forest rigging the boat for departure.

The crew intently listening to man overboard recovery techniques.

Forest points out the “man” overboard.

Pat points out the “man” overboard.