Delivery to Cartegena, Colombia

[s/v Faith]

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

  <just a short note from the office of ?dr. <oscar{ the owner here.  <should fly out in a couple days and have alrieady discussed future deliveries... we will see.

  <long trip, lots of stories to tell.  <thanks for all the fatchful eyes, look forward to being in the <us soon.

[Tim]

It's been fun!

[s/v Faith]

Looks as though they are in port!

Woo hoo!  Bring on the stories and pictures!

As requested.....


  Upon arrival in Clearwater, it was immediately apparent that this was not a Bene 465....



I have heard rumors about boats shrinking in the warm tropical waters so I did not figure it was a bid deal... I was hopeful that it would not shrink any farther as the owner might have been very disappointed if we had arrived with a Sunfish.

The boat has a 27hp Volvo, so I figured fuel at .5 - .75 GPH.  The tank was 20 gallons, so even with 8 5gallon jugs we were not going to motor for much of the trip.

The divert opportunities are fairly limited for this trip.  We had Key West a couple days south, the Grand Caymans beyond that and a bunch of places a few hundred miles to the West... but pretty much nothing handy till we got where we were going.

[s/v Faith]

We provisioned, filled up the fuel and water tanks, and made preps to get underway.

Notice the size of the wheel in this picture, more on that later.



We cast off the lines and got underway. 



The first night out into the Gulf of Mexico was calm and picturesque... it was to be one of only 2 such nights like this on the trip.

[s/v Faith]

Both Steve and I have a standing rule that includes placing a reef (or a 2nd Reef) in the main before sunset... we both decided to ignore this rule the first night out.

The wind seems to be offended by such violations, and rewarded us by building up and whipping the sea into the kind of short waves often encountered off of the West coast of Florida.

Apologies for the lack of photos for the next couple weeks of the trip the camera had live in my waterproof boat bag.  Itwas the ONLY dry place on the boat for the rest of the trip....

This is what the Stbd berth looked like with the lee cloths rigged;

[s/v Faith]

The boat had been on the market for a while, and any boat that sits at the dock has an adjustment period when she puts to sea.  This was no different.

The first night out the Chart plotter failed (and older SH 170).  Early the next morning the Navico Autohelm started slipping badly.  I know from experience that the belts on these units do not last long once they start to go... worse yet, the mount to the pedestal was cracked and flexed ominously with ever steering correction.

The Beneteau 1st 355s is a racer / cruiser... more race then cruise.  Every boat is a compromise, and most of the nods were given to the racer on this boat.

Her hull (especially her rudder) were not drawn with course keeping in mind... but the ability to quickly round bouys on a course.   This made a 1,400 NM passage without a autopilot less then an exciting prospect.

Notice the thin rudder on this boat;



The boat we were on is the 'deep draft' version.

[s/v Emerald Tide]

We provisioned, filled up the fuel and water tanks, and made preps to get underway.

Notice the size of the wheel in this picture, more on that later.



We cast off the lines and got underway. 



The first night out into the Gulf of Mexico was calm and picturesque... it was to be one of only 2 such nights like this on the trip.

So you two were actually to be seen sailing a boat called "Ooh La La"? 

[s/v Faith]

The design of the hull favored speed to sea kindliness.... the bow did not like to slice through the water as much as attempt to ride up on it.  This resulted in a pounding each time we would come off the top of a wave... Standing on the sole in the V-berth the 'bang' was so profound it would make you feet hurt.  We did what we could to minimize the pounding, but it was to be the constant theme of the rest of our trip.

The portlights in the year 355 we sailed were very large, and moulded so that the grab rails could be inset into the cabin top.

(sister ship)


I am sure this design worked well when she was new, but the mastic had broken down on this boat and each wave would force a significant quantity of water below.  It sprayed the cabin down like a broken sprinkler with each wave.  No amount of fiddling with the ports did anything to stem the ingress of water.

I removed the cushions to the V-berth to try to protect them... there was very little to do for the water but to bail each hour.. the bilge pump failed shortly after we got out of sight of land.

It was evident that we had to stop for repairs before we got to Cuba... Key West was still a ways away, but not too terribly out of the way.  We both agreed to divert.

[s/v Faith]

I have been to Key West before, and there are certainly worse places to be stranded.

We arrived shortly before the sunset, and were greeted by the procession of evening cruise boats going back and forth in front of Mallory Square before the Sunset Parade.



We made our way in and managed to find a spot near the fuel dock... no small miracle since it was the last week of Spring break and the slips had all been reserved some time in advance.

[s/v Faith]

Up bright and early the next morning... we started by taking apart the autohelm.

The mount was fractured where it attached to the pedestal, but a trip to Key West Marine for epoxy and a very large hose clamp would take care of that.  We searched through the boats spares and found a belt... very fortunate as several calls found no hint of a belt available in the Keys.  :P

The rollers in the Navico unit were all seized, but I was able to soak them in very hot soapy water and freed them up.  They all had flat spots on them where they had been damaged by being seized, but I was able to free them up.  The mount was epoxied and clamped and left to set while we went out to find some lunch and pick up a couple of provisions we had missed.

I skipped the part about the first night out when I learned the Cabin sole had apparently been cleaned with furniture polish...   :o  The result was that it became an ice skating rink when the water came in.  At one point my feel came out from under me (there are almost no hand holds on the boat) and I bashed my face on the edge of the settee.   Fortunately, I am not a very good looking guy so there was little damage... but my tooth tried to push it's way out of my mouth through my lip.  By the end of the day in Key West it was apparent it was starting to get infected.

VERY thankful for medial support that is a phone call away, off to go find a pharmacy to get Rx filled...

Key West is a great place... you never know what you will see.  Here I came upon Spider Man playing the Sitar...







Later the Sunset was the item of interest

[s/v Faith]

Found that Sailfar is amazingly well known... apparently SOMEONE had posted a couple stickers...



This one was quite a surprise, now WHO would post a Sailfar sticker on a pump out station>???



The Sunset parade from Mallory Square is always a treat not to be missed.

I carried my flute out with me, and played as the crowd filled in... no, I did not put my hat out.

The crowd built at Mallory Square, I am not sure but I suspect the flute was the big draw...



The view of the Sunset was wonderful;

[s/v Faith]

We bought a few rolls of duct tape for the portlights, and got underway.

  The departure was calm, and we motored out Hawks channel.  There are not many pictures from this point until we got to Columbia... there was no safe place for a camera on deck....

Sunset first night out... last calm sea we saw for the rest of the passage.

[s/v Faith]

We kept easing twords Cuba to get out of the stream... after we rounded St. Antinon  (?) light we had the wind about 40deg off the bow... where it would pretty much stay for the rest of the trip.

The boat has no dodger, and is a very wet design.  The combination was tough, with waves rolling all the way over the cabin top and generally winding up in your face.  I had just bought new foul wx gear and was VERY glad to have it.

The second night out a small bird flew aboard.  He kept me company in the cockpit, I felt bad for him as the waves would fill and drain the cockpit...



A total of 3 birds joined us, but sadly only 2 departed under their own power...

At least 100 flying fish also had their last moments on the boat this trip.... 

[s/v Faith]

The passage was long, hard and wet.

  We stood 4 on / 4 off, but the 'off' was not really off.  Sail changes (mostly reefing the main) were a couple times daily requirement.

  I tried to get wx info on my Kaito shortwave, but it was so wet on deck that I could not bring the radio up and the reception below decks was pretty bad.... got NMN out of New Orleans a couple times but only to catch the end of the 'high seas' brodcast which gave me a very clear picture of what the wx was like in the Gulf of Alaska.  ::)

  The boat took quite a beating on the trip.  First the top 'stair' on the companionway ladder broke loose leaving several jagged screws to add to the degree of difficulty going topside.

  Later the door to the aft cabin (where Steve slept) broke free of it's hinges and had to be stowed in the V-berth... an hour long trip involving many bruises.  It was joined by the door to the head a couple days later.  The boat was flexing all over... the port lights leaked more and more with each day.  The tape we added would not hold as the salt water could not be removed to apply it.

  One dark and stormy night the clew attachment line for the 1st reef parted and had to be tamed... the motor started right up, but the folding prop refused to unfold to allow us to motor into the wind to fix it.

  The bilge pump would not pump, so each watch would end with a time of bailing and pumping with a small oil change pump.  The cabin was a wet stuffy smelly place.  I slept tied into the settee bunk and my foul wx jacket over my head to keep the water off my face....

  The boat had a gimbaled stove, but the lack of hand holds made it nearly impossible to cook.  I ate from cans, and drank water with instant coffee.... at room temp.

  These are the costs of making such a passage in such a boat.  Each day I would think about how much easier this would be aboard 'Faith'....

 

[s/v Faith]

Thread to be continued in Cartagena, Colombia