Photos My first (and most likely last for a while) solo trip on a sailboat

[LostHobo]

So about a year ago a friend of mine came to visit me for a weekend and bought a sail boat, 26 feet long, low to the water, with a working Honda outboard of 8 hp and the sail and the dignhy for 2k. To keep it in the harbour where it was, the Lil'Seabird (the boat) had to have a local owner... Yes that was me.

So I took care of it for a while, learned the basics of sailing, took it out in the inlet where it lives for day/half day trip to learn the ins and outs of sailing.

We took it out to Herriot Bay, on Quadra Island together, which was a really nice trip in of its own. Herriot Bay faces Whaletown on Cortes island, where a ferry connects the two of them, so when I hand an opportunity to go to Whaletown on a date I though: "Sweet, I even already sailed across, I know the waters and the current there, I can make it".

On the way there, there wasn't the shadow of a breeze

so I though it would be a good time to take my first selfy...

The little dignhy and a view of desolation sound, referred to as "The backyard" to people living in Lund

The tuckboat to the left is the only boat I saw all day, carrying its load of raw log

All together, it took me just about 8 hour to get to whaletown. I got in just as the sun was setting

The Whaletown ferry in the morn.

The next day I went motorbiking and hiking and a nice meal, learned about the anarchist community that lives on the Island and also of the infamous FREESTORE on the island and of its posters proclaiming:"Shoplifting is encouraged". Needless to say, that was a cool date

The next day, things started not to go to well, when I tried to leave the harbour, my throttle cable broke off on me. Luckily, I had a spare one that someone had given me from a dirtbike "just in case you know". So I start working on changing the throttle cable, realise the float needs adjusting on the carburetor, and start working on that. The marine forecast is now calling for strong wind alert in the area starting in the evening. Fecken great...

Meanwhile, a couple of retireies on their Über catamaran pulls in and start having conversation with me. Turns out, they have been sailing the coast for over 50 years and they remember the days they where on small boats like mine etc etc etc. while the wind picks up and my boat starts rocking like a drunk crusty, so I go and test my fixed engine and raft up on the catamaran.

The red hulled sailboat is the Lil'seabird, next to the giga Abundance.

This is where the pictures end but the story gets crazy. The following morning, I get up and it's windy like hell, giant chop on the chuck and I tell the couple that I'm not feeling that weather, I'm gonna stay put.
"ha don't, no need for that, we'll reef you up and then we can party together, we'll be flying down fast, you'll be home in no time"... Sure got me cocky...

So they help me get the boat ready, the forecast says wind 15 to 25 knots. Ok. Engine is warmed up and ready. Ok. Not to bad.

We head out, I go in Iron, lift my sails and head out the bay... to find 6foot+ waves and hauling wind.

Fuck me. I try to jibbing to follow the Catamaran, my boom touches the water, I'm lying in the cockpit to stand up, water comes in above my ankles. Quickly release the sheets (the lines that holds the sails), so to boat comes back strait. Adrenaline is high as fuck, I nearly capsize in very, very fucking horrible weather. I try for between 15 to 45 min (lost track of time quite frankly at that point) different combination of tension between the jib and the mainsail while jibbing and tacking to absolutely no avail. I'm deeply cursing my self for listening to that imbecile, knowing full well that I am the fool of this story. I don't want to go on the deck, the wave are HUGE and the wind fierce. FUCK ME...

I start the engine, steer in the waves, pull down the sails while holding the boat, while the boat is fucking drifting sideway into the fucking waves, while someone on shore is calling the fucking coast gard to rescue me, while I fucking come back alive in the fucking cockpit with fucking dead engine...

Crank the engine few time, nothing, short panic... this is the end for me. No wait something, or me, knock the gas line off of the tank.

From there, there was only too long of a drive with the engine coming out of the water every time a wave went in the middle of the boat, calling the coast off, getting in touch with the Abundace and ancoring together in Manson Bay, five nautical mile from Whaletown.

I motored out the next day, back in Okeover inlet. I don't think I'm going out sailing on my own anytime soon now, but I just received a Trimaran and want to pull a crew together and get back on the water soon

Thanks for reading all the way through

 

[MirandaLeigh]

WHOA! Scary as fuck, loved the read though, had my heart pounding!

 

[Matt Derrick]

moved to our sailing section, i think more people will see it there and it won't get buried in the other stories in the travel stories seciton.

 

[Peregrin]

I grew up sailing small boats, Hobies, Daysailers, Lazers, etc. This sounds like my kind of trip haha. I'd love to do this.

 

[MirandaLeigh]

I am afraid of deep water (funny cause growing up I wanted to be a marine biologist!) but I still would love to sail one day. =)

 

[Section 8]

man I just had a terrible horrible time by myself too,,,I set out down the Chesapeake,,cause I had to get away,,a 1%er MC club wants my head bad,,cause they ripped me off for about 4 grand of bike work,,so I was nailing the enforcers 23 year old hot ass stripper baby momma,,and rubbed it in there faces,,the meth has been strong this summer here,,burnt that bridge,so I decided to set out,lovesick,hunted,broke, very piradical shit goin on,,destine for the ICW through NC to Ocracoke Island for the Blackbeard memorial,,,so I was gifted some kind of Research Chemical that was like K,DMT,and PCP,,a gram of herion, quarter of weed, and a case of beer,,I set off Sat nite,,fkn jamming,,relize my vessel is haunted from its deceased owner who died on it,,crazy strange lights at nite,unexplainable,,everyone sees em,,so I start filming one and talking to it,,it starts blinking at me,I laugh at it,and it disappears,,sunrise is within an hour,,mind you I had a live Hank 3 show playing through all this,very devilish shit goin on,,high n tripping.. morning comes,badass sunrise

then the fixing mixing elbow on my exhaust explodes,,i been motorsailing all nite into the wind..

ya im fiquring out the picture deal....so I say screw it,,put up the sails and start to head back home,,,you got to have a motor for the ICW,,so now I been up since Sat morning, and its Sunday afternoon,,Im starting to nod,,so I decide I will just head over close to shore and anchor,eat,sleep for the nite..so that's what I do,,relize the herion is soaking up the moisture in the air,,and I guess I should get high,,so I nod out and wake up, its nite time 9pm, Hank is still assjacking devil shit hard,and its getting rough out on the Chesapeake, I listen to the weather band and it says 30 mph winds after midnite,,I get fear of draggin anchor and becoming beached so I decide to head out into it,,with a 185% hanked on head sail,,of which I had a storm jib stowed,,but im high off herion and sum kind of crazy pcp shit,but myself,,total dumbass,,,well it got fukn bad,,5 footers rollers,,the wind screaming through the rigging and Im deslusional as hell,,I fight it all nite,, I through all the dope n weed over ,just wanting to sleep,,boat laying all the way over,water coming over the side,,everything is flewing around crashing in the floor,,soaking wet,,all electronics are out,,fkn hell,,something breaks in my running rigging,,morning shows a ripped head sail

so I take it off and just release it to the sea,,im too weak to try to pull it on deck,, fire up the diesel and just let it exhaust in the cabin but the rolling n pitching has sludged up the fuel lines,,,now I decide im goin to raft up my RIB with 6 hp motor and push myself into a port,,well I just in it,,and they pull rope breaks,,so I take off the cover and cant get it started,,im rolling sideways towards a lighthouse,,so I get back on the sailboat and start to hank on the storm jib..like I should had done 14 hours earlier,,,well the damn inflatable comes untied,,I try over n over to get it back but in 5 footers and 25 to 30 mph winds it aint easy....I finally make it out of the bay into mobjack and anchor,,sleep for 15 hours,,wake up,,clean the fuel system,,fire the motor and make it to some old guys dock,,turns out someone spotted the inflatable,called the coast guard,,they did a search n rescue,,,I had to drive over a hundred miles to get it from them..and now Im waiting on the parts for my yanmar.

SHE was like a damn kite back there, flying around

 

[LostHobo]

@Section 8 man that is the worst sea story ever! I'm glad I wasn't there with you haha!

 

[LostHobo]

WHOA! Scary as fuck, loved the read though, had my heart pounding!

Thanks, that was fun to writte to! If you ever get near the coast of bc, send me a note, I'm looking for peps to go sailing with so I don't have to do it alone again

 

[LostHobo]

I grew up sailing small boats, Hobies, Daysailers, Lazers, etc. This sounds like my kind of trip haha. I'd love to do this.

If you ever feel like going out on the water, I'd more then welcome someone with more experience than me!

 

[LostHobo]

@Matt Derrick thanks for saving my post from drowning (the pun was too tempting sorry...::bag:

 

[Sirius07]

WHOA! Scary as fuck, loved the read though, had my heart pounding!

Meeee Fucking toooo. I wouldve shot my pants.....then went back to the Tiller

 

[LostHobo]

I wouldve shot my pants.....then went back to the Tiller

Their was no time for it (and fortunately I had gone to the warf outhouse before it happened )

 

[Seeds21]

That's a good one. Sounds like you need to slow a wee bit down on the happy happy fun time chemicals and concentrate on being prepared a little more. I know myself I have hit way to much rum and weed and gone out myself and paid for not having my sails properly and a shitty vovlo diesel that let me down coming back from powell river to ladysmith bc wind forecast light winds bullshit try 50 knots plus as soon as I rounded lasquetti island in the straight I was fucked for 20 plus hrs on the tiller in a new boat. Got into French creek dock after messaging a body to check his noblectec to figure out where I was (severly fatigued halicanating) pulled into the dock as the Coast Guard was calling me on channel 16 asking if I needed assistance I messaged back and laughed yah about 10hrs ago Im at the dock.

 

[Jone]

Sounds svary, great story, thanks!!! I would so be ns with a sailung trip, im currently in oregon. Have some experience, grew up sailing, but should work on my knots. How's the trimaran looking? P.s. I'm a wicked chef.

 

[Durp]

lol, don't get discouraged, once you figure out what you are doing you will love romping in those conditions. On a boat like that, it would be near impossible to capsize in a 6 ft wave. These are my stomping grounds too. From your description it sounds to me like you were pinching up too hard into the wind and should have eased off on your sheets to a reach to spill the gusts and ease the motion. It is really easy to wreck your motor trying to use it in these sort of conditions. If the wind is howling, you should just focus on the sails. A little trick I learned in a similar situation is to put on a size smaller head sail and reef the main once extra then what you think you will need. It is really easy to shake out the reef if you need more power, but more times then not you will have a more comfortable voyage since you won't be stressing about having to change down the sail area. Unless you are racing, then its balls out all the way.