Down time

OK, it is ski season now so the boat is on hold. Mike has made some trips to clean,paint, etc. Tom and I did some scraping and sanding, but really no progress to report. Well, we did bring the tiller home to refinish. Anyway, ski season is short in Virginia so we will be back to the boat project in no time.

Tom and I decided we are buying each other boat parts for Christmas. He said "Great we need all new sheets." I said, "Cool, can they be monogrammed?(ha ha)" It took him a minute. I think he thought I was serious. (If you don't get the joke, look up sail boats)

Mike, age 16, sails around the world alone beginning Nov. 18 2008. Check it out at the link below.

A simple work update

I thought a brief work update might be good at this point.


Mike and Tom have been down to the dock to work on the boat on several weekends. I have had schedule and health conflicts and have not been able to help as much as I would like, but now I think I will have more time. We just ordered a small propane heater so we can work into the cold weather. The work has been slow, but it is beginning to show. There is lots to do before we head for the big waters, but it is started.

We (mostly Tom and Mike) have cleaned the inside, purchased teak that will be cut in strips to replace some deck trim pieces, painted the inside walls, replaced all of the bunk boards and found the right company to make new cushions, worked on the small engine needed to get us clear of the dock (no luck getting it going), purchased a pump to clean out the rest of the bilge water, and run up the main sail to check its condition.

We had a major setback when the young man who was to pull the boat out of the water to work on the outside, died unexpectedly from sepsis.

I have added some historical, black and white pictures that were sent to us by the previous owner. The early photos of the construction came from one of the two original builders, Valentine Howells.

Who's Boat is This Anyway

Tom and his best friend, Mike had decided to be 50/50 partners on the boat. That was fine at first because I only had minimal interest in her. But as I learned more and began to feel attached, I mentioned to Tom and Mike that I had an interest in having my name on the title as well. Mike's response was, "So that means you will be paying a third?" Well, I admit that thought had not occurred to me since Tom and I consider our money to be "our" money jointly. While I stood there at a loss for words and deciding how to answer, Tom jumped in and said, "No, she will own half and you will own half." I got a kick out of his quick response to an awkward moment, but later forgot about it. I had not taken it as a serious arrangement, just a humorous and quick witted comment. However, several weeks later when we got the title (long story why it took so long) Tom wrote my name and Mike's name on it. And that is how my husband's best friend and I became partners on a boat.

Fromstock Filius - The beginning

As our search for the boat's history would reveal, she was was one of two. The twin boats were built from matching hauls by the father and son sailors, Valentine and Philip Howells. Valentine, or Val as he was known, was already well known in the sailing world at the time this boat was built. Of his son, Philip, there is less information. As of this writing, Val is still alive and living in Whales, though in his 90s. We have been unable to discover the whereabouts of Philip.

In part, Val is easier to research because he wrote several books about his sailing adventures. At least one other book by another author gives a first hand account of him, which paints a very clear picture of a man worth admiration, but I will get to that in another post.

The boat we now own is a Jester class named the Fromstock Filius that was built by Philip. His father's boat, the twin sister to ours, was named Unibras Brython. Both started in the 1976 OSTAR for which they were built, but the Unibras did not finish due to an injury to Val early in the race.

Of the 125 boats that started the race, only 73 finished with 2 skippers lost at sea. Our boat finished in 35th place and 22nd in its class. Each boat had only one person on board. Remember that this was before the time of GPS and cell technology, so alone was ALONE.

This began my thinking about the relationship between a lone man in his lone boat and how he trusted his life to her. Later I was to learn more about the construction of these special little boats. . .

At first sight

OK, I need to amend. I didn't actually fall in love with the boat at first sight because the first time I saw her was in pictures that Tom took to document her current condition - so there were dozens of close-ups of rotting wood, moldy walls and stained cushions. If one is trying to make a good first impression, zooming in on the wrinkles is not the way to go. After seeing the pictures I was not expecting much.

However, some time passed between the photos and the first real visit (She is docked almost 2 hours away so I needed to plan some time to go there.) During that intermission I began to study her history, which turned out to be interesting indeed. That is when the love began to grow. It all started with a father and son preparing for the 1976 OSTAR race.

Below is a brief history of the race from wikipedia...

The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race was conceived by Francis Chichester and Herbert "Blondie" Hasler in 1956. The whole idea of a single-handed ocean yacht race race was a revolutionary concept at the time, as the idea was thought to be extremely impractical; but this was especially true given the adverse conditions of their proposed route — a westward crossing of the north Atlantic Ocean, against the prevailing winds.

Chichester and Hasler sought sponsorship for a race, but by 1959, no-one had been prepared to back the race; the two men eventually decided that they would race for a half-crown bet if all else failed. Finally, though, The Observer newspaper provided sponsorship, and in 1960, under the management of the Royal Western Yacht Club of England, the Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, or OSTAR, was on.

The first run of the race was a great success; since then, it has run every four years, and has become firmly established as one of the major events on the yachting calendar. The name of the event has changed several times due to changed in main sponsor; it has been known as the CSTAR, Europe 1 STAR, and the Europe 1 New Man STAR; the latest edition was run as The Transat. Throughout its history, however, the essentials of the race have remained the same. It has also become known as a testbed for new innovations in yacht racing; many new ideas started out in the STAR.

planners vs schemers

I know this blog says it is about a boat, but first I need to explain a few things or you may not understand my attitude. In this world there are planners and there are schemers (OK I know there are more categories but I am conveniently ignoring that). I am a planner.When I have a plan I focus on it - I build a time line, I get things in order, I think of all of the contingencies. For example, if I am planning to go to a movie, I look at the entire day and the day after. Do I have a big morning planned? Then I schedule an early movie so that I am assured of a good night's sleep. I always bring a sweater, even in July, and a bottle of water so I am prepared if I get thirsty. I will have read the reviews to ensure that I don't waste my valuable time on a bad one and I have purchased discount tickets weeks before, just in case.

In contrast, my husband, Tom, is a schemer. His favorite word is "or." Let me give you an example. Tom says, "Hey, there is a job opening in Italy. I think we should go." Feeling up for an adventure I say, "Yep, that sounds like a great idea," and I begin to collect books and maps of Italy and search the web for facts I will need to know - start thinking about what I will take with me and asking friends if they will take my cat. Just as I am about to sign up for Italian lessons I hear the dreaded word - "Or, we could move to Peru, or maybe Oregon, or maybe..."

Long story short - after 26 years of this, I have learned not to pack a bag until I actually see the airline tickets. Which is why, when he said, "I found a boat I want to buy." I didn't even turn to look. I figured there was an OR in there somewhere, since the plan the week before had been an airplane. Now my point is not to say that one way of thinking is better than the other, because truth be told - I can see the pros and cons in both. My point is that the boat held no fascination for me at all until the money had changed hands and I actually saw it. But when I did, I fell in love. She was beautiful.