Sailing to the Caribbean - Part II - Background and set up.

I remember sitting in front of my HUGE model, about 30" long and the same high, of the 1600's era British gunship Sovereign of the Seas. My great grandfather built it and now it belongs to my son. I sat there dreaming day after day of being small enough to be able to be on that boat, sailing everywhere. I have been blessed to be around all kinds of boats in every manner ever since I can remember. From using to building.    

That lifestyle brought me to eventually move to the west coast of Canada for the sole purpose of buying a sailboat and heading out. Yup - everyone thought I was crazy, except my Mom. She encouraged me to go and do it. To live it rather than dream it. She had a nursing friend Mavis, who, with her husband, bought s 35' sailboat and left to go sailing in the Caribbean. I thought that was awesome. great people are attracted to my Mom because she is so great. Thanks Mom.    

There I am on Vancouver Island rooming with a friend, while I look for the boat I need at the time. Something small enough to handle and learn how to sail a keel boat in tidal waters.  Quite different than the big lakes.  It also had to be big enough to live on so I can plunge in and see if the life really is for me.  I didn't want to spend too much.   

After a year of searching and about to give up I ran into one boat that was suitable to live on, but didn't look much like a really good sailing boat. I liked the room, but not the look.  It would do.  A Reinell 24.  It was cheap so I kept trying to buy it.  Something always happened that stopped the sale.  SO happy about that.  Because while the owner of that boat was humming and hawing, along comes this Grampian 26. She was perfect.  A bit more $$ than the other one, but not too far out there.  All the goodies I was looking for AND she had nice lines. Just needed a little bit of work.  Well worth it.  Previous owner was a reverend in the Anglican church and was happy to help me get into this beauty.  

Here she is: 

I went sailing EVERY DAY before work in that boat and was gone every weekend. She came with 6' headroom, queen sized V-berth (bed -shaped like a "V" because it is in the bow of the boat), separate head (Bathroom for you land lubbers) great cooking stove and a sink. I added a thermo electric Cooler and it was heaven. After the repairs were made and some "me" touches, Grampy was a great boat.  And wow, she sailed well. 6.5 - 8 knots is a force 4 -5 breeze with very little weather helm.  Started to get uncomfortable in 8 - 10 foot seas and force 7 or more, but was still super safe and handleable. Also very comfy to live on.

Time goes by and next to come along was Lucy. And the kids, Charlotte and Kingsley. Our first date was a sail around Newcastle Island.  Everyone came and it scared the heck out of me.  Lucy, from what I could see was a great lady so her kids must be the same right?  Yup.  .  Told her I was going to sail around the world. Lucy then asked if she and the kids could come. I said we'd need a bigger boat. :-).  IFell in love that day - with all 3 of them.  We've been together since and spent the next few years working toward the bigger boat.

After selling the house and pretty much everything else we owned in 2004, we bought an RV and drove north then east across Canada and west back through the northern US, to see old friends, family and sadly, my Granny, for the last time.  When we returned to the West coast, Stone age came into our lives. That's a good story too.    

We were sailing Grampy (her name officially was "Crimson Voyageur" but we always called her Grampy) back across Georgia Strait (Now the Salish Sea) and saw this huge boat sailing back the other way. The winds were about 25 knots and the seas were starting to build up past 8 feet so we decided to head for Lasquetti Island for the night to wait it out.  

Sailing across our bow was a magnificent beast. Huge compared to Grampy and all sails out, heeled over with her shoulder in and going FAST. I fell in love again right then and there. Next time we saw the same boat, Lucy and I were kayaking in Ladysmith harbour. There she was at Ivy Green Marina - Just sitting there AND someone was in the cockpit so we went over and stated a conversation.    

I said "Nice boat."   

He said, "Thanks."

I asked if he wanted to sell her. He said, "NO, We are on holidays go away! :-) But give me your number, just in case!" Which really broke the ice and we talked for about an hour after that. 

2 years later - September 2004 - we had returned from our Canada trip and were now in need of our bigger boat.  After looking at just about everything on Vancouver island for sale, finding many that were suitable but WAY above our price range and some close that would do, but would be too cramped having, now - pre-teens aboard and they were only getting bigger.  Plus this was to be home for the next - well.. we'll see. 

Then We saw her at the Nanaimo Yacht club. We had just been though some courses on the art of allowing and the power of attraction etc. so Lucy and I figured, why not apply those principles to this now. This was the last marina on Vancouver island there was to look at boats so we really hoped.  2 weeks later, several vessel inspections and a sea trial, we owned the boat I fell in love with so long ago. 

Stone Age used to be known as Melody Dawn. Yes, we broke tradition and changed the name. Yes we performed the required ceremony.  Lucy picked the new name out and it is VERY appropriate. 

Stone Age is a 60' length by 14.5 foot wide sailing cutter. Her draft (underwater depth) is 9 feet. The mast is 72 feet off the water. 75 with the VHF antenna. She is Ferro Cement designed by Jim Whyte.  I love the bow and the radius gunwales.  Sheds water so fast you'd think she was afraid of it. 

When we bought her she had very spartan accommodations. Aft cabin and one forward cabin were usable. Kingsley slept in a hammock in his stateroom until we got to building him a bed. He liked it. Took him about a year to ask for it to become a "real bed".  As soon as he asked to have it changed we did.  Main saloon (living room) was a wood pile with a wood fireplace for heat and well, camping chairs. The galley was an interior door on its side fastened to the fore and aft bulkheads with a coleman, a 5 gallon water jug and a 15 x 20 basin for a sink. we have come a long way since.  
 

The rig was on and the sails were almost new. She carries up to 2,700 square feet of sail with everything out. We usually sail with about 1800 feet up and get speeds of 10 knots sustained. Best we have done is 13.5

 She has 2 Mercedes OM636 diesels to push her when there is no wind. Both working well. A bit small, but useable. So we spent the next 7 years fitting her out and learning how to sail a REALLY big, 40 ton sailboat. Quite a jump from 26' and 3 tons to 60 foot and 40 tons. But the kids had their own rooms, and so did we.
 

Stone age just before we left on the trip - Hauled out for bottom paint and underwater things: 

On the way out:  

Blocked and the bottom cleaned.  Cutting in for the rolling on.  

Lucy doing a superb job of rolling on the copper paint.  We used an industrial blend found at the Nanaimo shipyards and added some cayenne to it. Put it on thick.  

Touching up the Boot Stripe.  

All put back together with new cutless bearings shafts checked for true and props re-pitched and polished.  

Almost ready to go:

Taping off for topside paint

Topsides painted.  Couple days of curing and she's ready to go.  

Heading back to the water:

Away we go. 

Stone Age now has 2 forward cabins with berths for 6, forward head. 8 x 12' main saloon a dinette that we have had 9 people at and a very good sized galley. Aft of that is a full size head with separate shower on the port side and a workshop WITH a vice to starboard. Aft is our cabin. Queen berth to the Starboard side and tons of storage.  

Now it's Fall 2010 and we are about 3/4 the way through getting the boat ready to leave for our journey. Yes, it takes a long time to fit out a 60 foot sailboat. Even longer when a family of 4 are living aboard.   So - There I am on the aft deck building something and Charlotte hands me the phone. It was a development from Belize I had contacted about them using solar and wind energy. Long and short of that phone call was I needed to ask Lucy if she wanted to move to Belize for a project we could do.    She took about 3 milliseconds to think about it - "yes" she said. We made arrangements with the development the next day over the phone based on a visit from us.

Charlotte, our daughter, was graduating from high school that year but didn't really want to come because offshore scared her a bit. She was going to start college the next year and wanted to pursue that so she was pretty much set in what she was going to do.

Kingsley, our son, came home with a surprise when he started school in September. This was a dilemma because he wasn't graduating until 2012 so we were trying to figure out what to do about it. Home schooling was looking to be the norm again. We'd love to do that as we did that for their elementary years and it was a blast.  Lucy was a bit apprehensive because of the more complex subject matters but was willing.  

Kinglsey comes home that early September day and says "Pa? I have something to tell you.    

What?, I say.

I saw my guidance councilor today and changed up my schedule a bit - I hope you don't mind.    

What did you change?    

I made it so I could graduate THIS year instead of next year so I can come with you and there are no worries about school.    

I think I cried.    

We flew down to Belize in Feb 2011, checked out the project task and decided to take it on. It was a VERY large development with a 40 acre, 175 slip marina that needed marketing and management. Where they were in the construction phase was right for the time needed for completion coinciding with our arrival about a year later. , in January 2012. A year to put in the slips and fuel station p plenty of time - and we'd be good to get started.  

View of the development from the air.  The only part of the picture that isn't the development is the upper left corner.  Total acreage is 14,000.  The marina is the well defined dug out close to the lagoon in the middle.  In a years time when we arrived, this would be complete and ready to go with slips and a fuel dock.  

At the Beach Club: 

In a local village called Dangriga: 

We would sail in, tie up and begin the long process of building up a brand new large marina business in Belize and expand with a boat yard when the time comes. We had to do it.     What that meant was shutting our business down (boat building, re-fit and repair yard in Ladysmith) and focus on getting the boat ready for the trip as the development needed us there as soon as possible.  Best we could do is a year.  

We continued with more zeal to make the boat acceptable for a sea voyage for the August/September 2011 window to sail south from the Pacific Northwest.   Instead of turning west at Peru like our original plan was - we would turn east and go through the canal and back up to Belize.  To manage a marina.  What could be better. 

Watch for Part III over the next day or two.  I promise - it will get better :-).  

Cheers from Honduras!