Okay sailing is fun. We prove it in our videos. We have demonstrated before the effort that goes into running, managing and maintaining a cruising sailboat, and you will see more of that on this trip.
A charmed life….
At home when your car breaks someone fixes it. Air conditioner, toilet same thing. There is always a fixer nearby and we go through our lives without the hassle of hands on maintenance of our cars, houses and toys. For 20 years Lennie and I owned power boats between 30 and 60 feet. Some were big complicated machines with huge motors and generators and I didn’t know crap about any of it. If the generator stopped we panicked. If the air didn’t come on we cancelled the trip. Whenever we returned to the dock or limped back to port we made a list and left it on the counter and called captain Doug. He was my fixer and he could do anything. He would call me to discuss each item and repair but I always thought he was Greek. I didn’t get any of it.
Where’s Doug…..
When we bought our Hunter 49 in the Caribbean we closed on the boat, brought all our stuff down and had a “boat loading trip” and then we went out on our fist cruise in the BVI and we couldn’t have been more excited. We left the marina and in 5 minutes realized the chart plotter was blank, the depth sounder didn’t work and we couldn’t unroll the main sail. I went below with Lennie at the helm looking for where the depth sounder transducer might be. When I found it forward under the floor boards I saw that it had been pulled out and a plug put in place of it. I guess this was to prevent barnacles from growing on the electronic end that sticks in the water. I yelled back to Lennie “I got this” and I reached down and pulled out the plug. Now picture this. The wind is howling, the boat is leaning, Lennie is steering, there is no chart plotter working and I am in the bilge with my hand in the air holding a plug that I just removed from the bottom of my boat the left a 1-1/2” hole and seawater was shooting up to the ceiling of my stateroom. Panic ensued. There is a mathematic formula for how many pounds of pressure is against a 35000 pound hull 4 feet underwater and what happens when you put X size hole in it. I learned it quick. Long story short I got the plug back in, gave the bilge pump a work out and we made it to the anchorage to find the windlass wouldn’t work. We picked up a mooring ball and started calling the around to find help. There is no help. You are anchored at an island in your boat and you are responsible for fixing it.
We got this…
So now fast forward 4 years. We have a tool set that can rebuild an engine. We have watched countless maintenance videos and somehow figured stuff out. Now when we cruise the boat we are masters of our domain. We change oil and test electrical connections and identify failures and causes and handle it ourselves. It has added a level of independence to our travels and we no longer feel helpless. When I say anybody can do it I mean it because I am the least handy person I know.
Vessel Vanguard
Our maintenance management tool was instrumental in our learning and new found abilities. This is the future. A boat owner gets his boat registered with all the equipment and VV sends you an email every month with what to do and when to do it. It even has a button you click to describe each task. Some people ask me how I know all this stuff and really VV is like having a captain and engineer with you. And with VV I am not talking about fixing what breaks I am talking about preventative maintenance so nothing ever goes down and it works. I can’t imagine what this traveling adventure would be like without it.
Mom’s
Oh yeah. Our moms came on this trip. They gave birth to us so they are entitled. And they were a lot of fun so they are welcome back anytime.
Mayhem…
Stuff happens. Watch the video below….
Margot A
This was so fun to watch! All I have to say is, “holy shit!!!”
Love you all,
Margot
happytogether
Hi Margot, Your funny! Randy
Capt. Rob C
Wonderfully eclectic video Randy!! Loved seeing both Moms aboard. It must make you both very very happy, deep inside. Also loved seeing the ‘nuts and bolts’ of daily maintenance chores. Most of the time other videographers ignore this. Episodes like you had with the rudder cable are all too frequent. I once had a technician service my throttles and push the ‘disconnect’ button to get a fast charge into the batteries. When he left, forgetting to reconnect, I left the mooring ball and to my utter dismay had no throttle to transmission connection. Like you, I had a bit of trouble speaking logically to my first mate for a minute or two before I realized what he had done. Thank goodness I was watching him when he first arrived or I would not have known what had happened!!!
Thanks for taking the time to transfer your knowledge and learned skills to others, no matter how mundane the task might be. Know that it is much appreciated by so many others out there!
Vessel Vanguard will be MY friend as well someday soon, when I get my Lagoon 560 S2. And I’ll love to visit Loterie Farms! {Hard to leave Baie Rouge and Cupecoy Village and Marina when we stay at a villa on the island}
Capt. Rob & mate Colleen–big fans!!
happytogether
Hi Rob and Colleen! So glad you liked the video. You will love the next one called Haul out and Haul ass. Great story about your mechanic. This is why we no longer let people work on the boat unless we are there. It makes such a difference to see what they are doing. We went and looked at the 56 in SXM you mentioned. The boat looks great. Are you still thinking about that one?Randy
Rick
Damn Randy, you almost lost your skipper stripes with that rudder cable mishap. Love seeing planes land in from of Sunset Bar @ Maho beach, that never gets old and I’ve just added one more reason to go back to st.Martin- DJ in a treehouse!
happytogether
Hi Rick, Yes lucky the co-captain thinks fast! Randy
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happytogether
Hi there, Thanks for reading!! Randy
savingplaza
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Sue
I have really been enjoying your vlogs! I grew up in Grenada and lived on a 42 ft sloop for much of my childhood. We sailed most of the islands of the Caribbean so it is fun to watch you make the trek. We started our trip to Grenada from Illinois and went down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, through the Gulf and Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea. Unfortunately, we didn’t make all the stops you did and were at sea from many days until we made it to St. Thomas. We had lots of trials and tribulations on our trip and I really appreciate how you show the “oh shit” moments and the maintenance as well as all the fun. If you are interested, here is an article that Chris Doyle wrote about our memorable delivery. http://doyleguides.info/art-The%20Traumerei%20Delivery.html
I’m now a landlubber in Colorado where I have lived for the past 25 years while raising my 3 children. As with you and Lennie our youngest 2 (twins) will graduate from high school this year and we are looking forward to the next step! Until then I relish our Colorado summers and suffer through the winters looking forward to the yearly trip we take “home” to various parts of the Caribbean either on my brother’s new Leopard 44 of through other charter companies. Thanks for keeping me entertained until our time comes!
happytogether
Hi Sue, I really appreciate your story here and all this info adds to the quality of our blog. What an interesting life you have lived and now you will head back to boating soon enough. Small world that your brother has an L44. Do I know him? Keep watching lots of great videos to come and I appreciate the feedback. We make these videos to entertain and educate and its become quite a hobby for me (read lots of hours) and I love it. Keep watching and giving feedback. Its appreciated. Randy
James Bergman
That is a scary story. I don’t know if I would be able to keep my calm if there was water shooting of my bilge. I am also like the tip of using something like vessel vanguard to help me figure out how to maintain my boat. As of now, the only thing I know for sure I can do on my own is changing the windshield wiper blades on it. OK, I am exaggerating a little bit, but it sounds like I have a long way to go before I match your maintenance skills.
happytogether
Hi James, Glad you like it. I have to be honest and say I didn’t know the right end of a screwdriver before I got into boating and we have learned along the way. Vessel Vanguard has been a great help and I think it has been the most influential in our learning and also I have to say the maintenance is fun. Its part of the entire experience of boating. I didn’t think we would enjoy it as much as we do. Thanks for watching! Randy