Sunday, July 31, 2016

We arrived in New Berm, NC, about 9:30 pm on Saturday night after a 14 hour drive from Boston in an Enterprise one-way rental car.  Rich Terry and Jeff Gardiner did the driving since we were on the rental contract as drivers.  Jeff Jackel enjoyed the ride.  It was a long ride and our rear ends can vouch for it.  We did stop several times for stretch breaks and 2 times to fuel the car. 

After we arrived we moved into the boat and put our stuff away.  Jeff took the Vee berth, Rich the dinette, and I took the aft cabin.  After some conversation and some planning we went to sleep around 11:30.

We arose about 7:30 and started working on the boat to prepare her for the journey to Boston.  Jeff Jackel and Rich took the rental car into New Bern to pick up some boat supplies at West Marine and then off to Walmart for provisions (food) for the trip.  While they were gone I spent the day investigating the reasons that the stove would not light, the refrigerator wouldn't cool, and the anchor windlass wouldn't operate.  It was a frustrating day, since I found that the stove and refrigerator would need to be replaced becausevthey were very old and had failed.  Also a wiring fault in the starter circuit prevented the engine from starting.  I rigged a jumper to the starter solonoid to start the engine, but there is nothing we can do about the refridgerator or stove until we get the boat back to Boston.

Rich suggested we could use the microwave and the grill on the sundeck to heat food and water for coffee.  So, we decided we would "rough it" and go without  the conveniences.

The windlass required a lot of diagnosis and eventually require me to call the electrician who had worked on the windlass before for information.  He was willing to come to the boat on a Sunday to look at it.  He determined that the motor in the windlass had burned up and needed to be repaired or replaced.  Because it was Sunday he was not able to check with his parts people in Moorehead City, but he promised to call them at 7:30 on Monday.  He will let us know the status after he has talked with them and we will make a devision on our departure after we hear from him.

On Sunday evening I hosted a "Thank You" dinner at the historic Harvey Mansion restaurant in New Bern for those who have helped me with this venture.  There was Ed and Susan Gagnon who actually were the catalysts for me buying the boat.  Ed was the one I first contacted here in New Bern when I saw the ad on Boat Trader.com.  He asked his boating friends in Fairfield Harbor to help and they willingly pitched in.  Bernie and Nancy Teubert who hosted the boat on the dock at their home for the past two months.  Bud and Beverley Ellis who helped bring the boat from Cherry Pont to Fairfield Harbor.  Neal Byrne and his wife were supposed to be with, but could not attend the dinner because they were in Rhode Island due to a death in their family.  Our condolences go out to tgem for their lose.  And, of course me, Rich and Jeff J.  We had a wonderful meal and I was able to thank everyone for their help.

After talking with Fran and buttoning up a few other planning items we headed off to bed. 

Tomorrow we plan to leave as soon as we can to get to Belhaven, NC, before dark.  However, we need to wait for the electrician to call with the news about the windlass.  We will depart based on that information.

Buying "Dalliance"

The events leading up to my buying "Dalliance" are very interesting and I thought I would share them with you.

I have been a sailor since I was 12.  I have sailed to Canada, made seven offshore passages to Bermuda and a passage from Boston to Bermuda and then on to St. Croix in the Caribbean.  And, then made the return passage the following year.  These trips were made in a Columbia 29 named "Tranquility".  So, sailing is in my blood.

My most recent sailboat, "Crackerjack" was a Catalina 30 which I loved to sail.  She was a great boat and I hope the new owner and his wife have a great time sailing her.  About a year ago I was talking with a sailing friend and telling him about the arthritis in my thumb joints that cause me severe pain for days after a sailing trip.  I told him I was afraid I would be selling my boat because it was becoming too difficult for me to haul the lines to put up the sails and control them during a sail.

He said he had a neighbor who was interested in buying a sailboat and he would talk with him about buying my boat.  Well, that sale fell through, but early this Spring the same friend told me at a Masonic meeting and said he had talked with another Mason who was interested in buying a Catalina 30.  About 3 weeks later the couple came to look at the boat and I showed them through it.  They seemed very interested.  Two weeks later he came back with an offer to buy "Crackerjack".  It was an offer I could not refuse, so off went my sailboat to a new owner.  I was now without a boat.

Several days later I was on my computer looking at BoatTrader.com and saw an ad for "Dalliance".  She is a 30 year old Senator 35 trawler (Power Boat).

The pictures drew my attention and the features of the boat met my criteria for a boat I could handle and would be comfortable to operate.  I noticed that the boat was located in Havelock, North Carolina.  I have a friend, Ed Gagnon, who had moved to New Bern, NC, several years ago.  I sent an Email to Ed and asked him if he knew where Havelock was.  He said it was the next town.  He also said not only did he know of the boat, he knew the owner of the boat.

I asked Ed if he could make an appointment with the Broker and owner to inspect the boat.  After Ed and his friend, Neal, inspected the boat, Ed's comment to me was, "Book a flight!".  So, I drove down to Havelock on the Cherry Point Marine Air Station and inspected the boat myself and took it on a Sea Trial.  After the Sea Trial, I made an offer on the boat.  With the money from the sale of "Crackerjack" and some savings I was able to come up with a good offer.  The owner who due to a medical condition needed to end his cruising accepted the offer and the Broker completed the sale.

Ed and several of his friends in Fairfield Harbour, NC, have been great.  Bernie had previously owned a trawler that he sold last year and had an empty dock.  He said I could keep my boat on his dock.  Bud and Neal (both experience power boaters) helped Ed bring the boat from Cherry Point to Bernie's dock in Fairfield Harbour.  These guys have been very supportive and have given me lots of advice and assistance and I thank them for it.

This has been a great experience of serendipity and fortune to bring it all together.  So, I guess I have (as sailors put it) "Gone to the dark side" and become a "stink potter".  However, I look forward to many happy years with "Dalliance".

Welcome

This blog is to catalog our trip from New Bern, North Carolina, to Boston to bring "Dalliance", a Senator 35 Trawler, to the Metropolitan Yacht Club in Braintree, MA.

The crew will be Jeff Gardiner (Owner/Licensed Captain), Rich Terry (USPS Senior Navigator and Sailing friend), and Jeff Jackel (a Medical Doctor/Licensed Captain/Experienced Sailor and good friend).

We are planning to drive a one-way Enterprise Rental Car to New Bern on Saturday, July 30; provision the boat on Sunday and to set sail from New Bern on Monday, August 1.

We are planning the trip to take about 10 days for the journey from New Bern to Boston via the Pamlico Sound; Alligator River Canal; Albemarle Sound; the Great Dismal Swamp Canal; Chesapeake Bay; Chesapeake-Delaware River Canal; stop in Lewes, Delaware to visit my brother-in-law; up the Jersey Shore; New York Harbor; Long Island Sound; Buzzard's Bay; Cape Cod Canal; and, Massachusetts Bay to Boston Harbor.

We will be letting you know via this blog our progress and how we are doing with the trip.