New (to us) j-boat

We finally decided to buy a very used boat.  There is a fleet of about 11 J24's at the Charleston Yacht Club, and while we contemplated getting one earlier, we just didn't think we'd have much need for two boats figuring that the Buccaneer would keep us plenty busy.  Following a few sails in the harbor this spring quickly changed all of that.  The winds generally blow from the south/southwest and once the seabreeze kicks in, you're looking at > 15 mph on many days.  Buccs handle that kind of wind very well on lakes, but in a choppy harbor combined with current, you frequently have your hands full keeping the boat under the sails.  Heavier keelboats are quite a bit more stable, and since they seem to be the local favorite, just decided to grab one when several came available for sale.  Uno is quite old, and has been beaten up quite a bit, but is mostly just dirty and has mostly a lot of cosmetic issues.  The main selling point was that she's been recently raced (not crashed), has a sound hull (I think!) and usually placed well (depending on the skipper at the time).  She's got cracks in the keel about 10 inches or so below the hull, but I was assured this wasn't much to worry about, because the keel is lead.  There is a good chance that water is getting in from somewhere, because most (if not all?) of these boats have some water that just lives down in the sump where the keels bolts penetrate the hull.  Some of these hull/keel interfaces were built at the factory with a material called "vermiculite" that was once thought to be a good bedding material for keel bolts, but it was quickly discovered that it soaked up water and just became a mushy mess necessitating it's removal and replacement with plain old fiberglass resin.  None of the prior owners have been able to tell me that much was done in regard to this boat, but I'm pretty sure someone has done something down there, because the sump and keel bolt area just looks quite a bit more opened up in this boat than others that I've looked at, and there is always water egressing in those cavities from somewhere... so, my guess is that there is water-soaked vermiculite still in the bottom of this boat that I may have to deal with at some time down the road.  Today, we're going to drop her in the water via the club's hoist and see if the keel is loose enough to really make any difference.  At the very least, I plan on repairing those cracks in the keel with resin and fairing compound... It just looks bad, but for the price we got the boat for, we can't really complain.  Fixing her up will definitely be an adventure in learning more about fiberglass work and we've got plenty of people here to learn from.  I'm not planning on refurbishing her into "like new" condition, but just enough to not offend the "bubba" contingent here in Charleston... maybe a touch-up coat of "Krylon" after I've repaired the nicks along her rail...

Spring

Finally- the weather has cleared some (although we're due some stormage this coming Sunday, if you believe in weather reports), and some of the outdoor house projects are beginning.  In the meantime, I've decided to start riding again.  I guess that sounds like I've fallen off the wagon as a cycleholic, but I haven't-- I can quit anytime I want... really!  Lucky for me, a small-ish mid-level domestic pro team came into town and I was able to tag along for some group rides.  We've had perfect weather all week, and I managed 2 x 4 hr days and one 3 hr.  I think I'll spin for an hour today-- I need some recovery if I'm going to ride "long" again this weekend.  One of these guys (a 60+ retired ex-cat I) and one of the riders' father, Bob Fernandez looks just like one of the escorts I met in Italy a couple of years ago when we flew over to ride around and watch the Giro-- unbelieveable likeness, and strong as an ox!  The coolest thing I discovered yesterday was how small the cycling world really is.  He remembers racing several people I know of back home, most notably, Ralph Phillips.  Ralph was perhaps one of the more prominent influences in my cycling habit, which preoccupied much of the past 20+ years of my life.  Something I'll never forget, and connected me with many of the closest friends I've ever made.  I miss them and hope to see them sometime soon.

Well, time to make a little coffee and head out the door.  Some things I'll never change... my picky, expensive coffee habit is one.

A new adventure

Dana and I have packed up our lives after living in the desert southwest for the past 25 years. I can't state enough how much thought and planning went into this move, as it was nearly 10 years from when the first thought popped into our heads of moving to New Zealand, quickly to be brought smack back into the reality that we needed to stay put, if for no other reason-- to get our careers going. I had just accepted a position as a clinical pharmacist working in an endocrine (but also primary care) clinic at the VA hospital in Tucson, while Dana had just finished nursing school at the University of Arizona and started work as a clinical educator for peri-operative services at Northwest Medical Center. My bike racing had taken a back seat to the incredible world of triathlon as I'd just qualified for my first Ironman World Championship at Ironman Florida with a 3rd spot in my age group- a personal milestone that had haunted me since entering pharmacy school in 1989, and after reading a book by Mike Plant, Iron Will. I was hooked. There was just no way on this earth that I was going to accept defeat getting to do that race at least ONCE, and as most of those athletes will affirm, the primary goal was to finish (among all the sub-goals: finish before the sun goes down, finish under 10 hrs, etc...). My wife had the unenviable job of placing IV catheters in some very fast racers who'd pushed the limits just a bit too far, by not taking certain key precautions (ie. water/nutrition) and ended up abandoning the race for a berth in the medical tent. I crossed the finish line of my last ironman race in 2002 in Kona and closed that chapter in my life for good-- then went off in search of some water, pizza, cookies... My loving wife waiting patiently the entire time, found me and after the trip back home, rehabbing me back into some sense of normalcy (post-event depression can be fairly traumatic) a number of years (and several repetitive-motion injuries that put somewhat of an end to my triathloning for a while) later, I picked up a book about sailing. I was just cruising around the local Barnes & Noble store when a book by Tania Aebi, Maiden Voyage caught my eye, so I picked it up, read it over a week or so, and felt encouraged to sign up for some sailing lessons at the Arizona Yacht Club (I know- Arizona has a YACHT CLUB?!? It's one of the oldest in the country, and just celebrated their 50th birthday!). We almost haven't looked back since. In fact, the experience was sufficient to convince us that sailing is something we maybe might like to do for the rest of our lives... gotta always leave some way to bail out if it doesn't work out.

Sailing is one of those activities that is arguably, one of the safest sports out there, if you believe in statistics. I can tell you that it can also be one of the bloodiest. My first introduction to Dorado (new to me, but used 1980 Chrysler Buccaneer 18 sailboat) produced a gash in my knee cap from walking around the trailer and whacking into the turn signal lamp, and they don't call the spar that attaches along the foot of the mainsail a "boom" for nothing... I guess it's safer than bike racing (especially if you train in the Charleston area), and they still call it a sport. If you are into "dinghy sailing", I think that is an accurate assessment, as these boats typically ride up on a plane in relatively light wind (10 mph or more) and require some skill in moving about the boat quickly (careful to duck the boom) to counteract the wind on the sails so you can keep it in it's most efficient position on the water-- the flatter, the better for most hull shapes. Almost right after the lessons, we bought the boat from one of the local sailors, and began sailing on the small lakes around the Phoenix area (Tempe Town Lake, almost more of a reflection pond, and Lake Pleasant, a big, deep canyon turned into a lake by placing a dam at one end) then there was the occasional forray out to San Diego Bay and Mission Bay- awesome places to sail, but a 6 hour drive. The Buccaneer 18 has three sails, main, jib and spinnaker, and all the control lines found on bigger keelboats like we're hoping to buy one day.

The decision to move to Charleston was a tough one. Imagine living in one place for 25 years of your life (almost half of my life, but 2/3 of Dana's), then just deciding one day to go ahead and do it. Sell the house, pack everything (it's amazing what you can accumulate in that much time), pack up the dogs and drive across almost the entire country to the east coast- remember, if you live in Tucson, AZ, you might as well live in San Diego, CA as far as these locals are concerned- One local bike racer reminded me of that fact when the group I was riding with after I had flatted, stopped and said "I wonder how fast this west-coast boy can change a tube?" I'm thinking, "west coast?" I think that flat change took something like 15 minutes as everything around here takes longer. Not wanting to break with local tradition I "jes' took mah time", and that's a great summation of how things happen around here. Charleston, is all we've expected it to be, and maybe even a bit more to that extreme. We're definitely going through a bit of culture shock, but we're adapting, however slowly. One of the sailing instructors back in Arizona (who had actually been to Charleston several times in recent years) warned me that I am going to have to slow down-- I'm just way to high-strung to survive out here... He was right, but I'm giving myself time to adapt. One thing is for certain- we bought an expensive house, and we really need to stay to avoid making a financially silly decision and take a loss just to sell it. No biggee- who's in a hurry??

We just took a trip up to Washington, NC (no, not Washington, DC!) to tour a sailboat factory www.pacificseacraft.com/. I haven't driven through that much snow, sleet, slush and rain since leaving Colorado Springs to move to Tucson back in 1985-- we survived the trip, but according to new reports, 800 other cars across the state didn't fare so well. Cool factory, and the owner is a marine archaeologist-turned-boat factory owner, and perhaps one of the nicest people I've ever met. Of course, he is trying to sell me a boat!

Ray