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If bankers were still calling their customers, I’d probably be receiving a few phone calls. But we’re nothing now to financial monster corporations, which hold our money. So I can just hit submit and forget about it. Expenses have been accelerating these days: $4,000 for food, $2,400 for a registration, $2,500 for electricity generation, there’ll be the fat boatyard bill, and the usual tons of incidentals (tools, clothing, spares, stuff). This is where a sponsor would help … Or donations. It sounds like going back to work when I’ll be back is not going to be an option! As if it ever ever was … who am I kidding?

Is CaB big enough?

I just received most of the freeze dried food. And now the puzzle begins. I mean how will I stick all this in the boat, in a somewhat organized fashion? I can barely move in my office what with all the bags and cases lying around: JetBoil fuel cans, spare hydraulic oil, wipes, foul weather gear, clothing, spare rope, spare electronics, spare solar panels, not mentioning all the stuff that is already on the boat, nor the small/medium water containers. Things are spilling over into the garage and living room. It’s going to be interesting trying to stay organized! And there’s more coming: sport supplements from Hammer Nutrition, a small spinnaker.

Speaking of sustenance

I have refrained from buying good stuff, you know, like candies, cookies, snack bars. I’m trying to reduce exposure to sugar. I’ll admit that I did get a lot of freeze dried deserts. But that’s only crème brûlée, chocolate cheesecake and mango sticky rice, all nice and slushy like freeze dried food is. So it’s sweet but not crunchy. Oh, and I should be getting freeze dried ice cram, courtesy of my friend Jackie!

Comfort food can be important in that it is a source of … comfort. So I’m not sure what I’ll do in the end. Snack bars are definitely going to be required; I just haven’t found the right ones yet.

Doctor?

If I get sick or hurt, I’d prefer to not have to bail out. So with the help of Jackie we’re putting together a pharmacy kit. I got the prescription meds yesterday (another $350 goes kaboom). I’m not sure how I’ll organize that either, nor if I’ll be smart enough to figure out what to use when.

In both my long distance trips, I experienced injuries. During the South Atlantic crossing, it was an eye scratch. And during the SHTP, I lost a tooth filling. So it is likely that something will happen. That said, let’s be positive, the doctor said I’m in good health!

What’s up at BMC?

The team at BMC has been busy finishing preparing the hull for paint, and improving the situation around the keel box to hull junction. There has also been conversations about replacing the port V1 shroud. If all goes well we should be splashing Changabang end of next week, with a brand new, super slick bottom. I look forward to seeing an improvement in boat speed!

That’s all for now! Oh no, one more thing, I converted all my old CDs to mp3 and dumped that on a flash drive. And I also downloaded a few guided meditations. No movies, no books, is it going to be a boring adventure?

I thought it’d be wise to do a quick health check before leaving. After a few blood and stool (the joys of turning 50 are just around the corner) tests, it appears everything is boringly normal. I had teeth cleaned up too. In fact, my main concern for this sailing voyage is my dentition. My teeth are always borderline sensitive; they often make themselves known. With the soft freeze dried food, I hope all will be all right. I’ll certainly be ready to do a temporary filling. I need to remember that during the SHTP I lost a filling!

Other than that I’ve finally gotten back into running (ok, walk, running, really). So I feel like my level of fitness is improving.

All good news so far then. I even have what may be a final job interview on Tuesday (speak of being indecisive, or would it be more like keeping options open?!?).

On August 21st last year, Changabang and I met for the first time. It took many steps but then she was here. And now we’re D-50 from departure (that’s variable of course). Time flies; are we ready? Not yet …

Where is CaB now?

On 8/12 I left Half Moon Bay to sail to the Berkeley Marine Center (BMC). I left with no wind, and motored for several hours before hoisting the sails and enjoying a wonderful, soft, upwind ride up the coast. When we got into the Bay the wind had climbed up to 18-22 kts. BMC is located in the Berkeley Marina, which is in a shallow area. My plan was to wait until high tides around 5PM to make my entrance. But I was there early so I dropped all sails, and made my way slowly through the shallows, doing 3.5 kts with no engine and no sails, closely monitoring the depth. 3 feet, 2 feet, 1.5 feet. We were clearing the bottom just fine when we arrived at the marina entrance so I decided to go in. I moved about to get the fenders in place, and stopped watching the depth meter. And, of all place that could easily be dredged, I ran aground in the marina entrance, with rock jettys on both sides. Not exactly a great prospect. Tide was rising, so that was good.

I tried powering up the engine in reverse or forward, but all that did is get me stuck deeper. My friend Jacky was waiting to help with the docking, and also had mentioned having banana bread in her purse. Damn, so close but so far. I proceeded to tidy up things on deck (might as well put time to good use), until a fellow on his dinghy came along proposing to help. I declined as I didn’t think he could much. He was insistent and started pushing the bow. With some engine power we then managed to clear things out. And so, finally, we got into the fuel dock, where the water was deep enough.

Yet again in the lift

The original plan was to haul out the next day. But I was there, the BMC crew was there, so Cree, the owner, told everyone to haul us out a day ahead. In my little time with CaB, she’s been in the lifts more time than I thought reasonable! To get in the water in Frossay, to get on the quay in Antwerp, to get on the cargo ship in Antwerp, to get off the cargo ship in San Diego, and now to get the keel looked at and the bottom painted in Berkeley.

Things went well, and an hour later Changabang was resting in a keel pit. She attracted attention, being a racy boat and what not, which always leaves me uncomfortable, not being a racy skipper and what not, hitting above his weight, etc. (says the monkey on my back).

I slept on the boat that night, waiting morning to discuss work on the boat.

Keel no Achilles’ heel

Confirming that the keel was good to go for a circumnavigation was an essential reason for my visit to BMC. We could see that the crack that was repaired in France, was in fact still there. Whatever putty was applied didn’t seal anything; water could be seen at the edge of the cracks. So there was, as we knew, water in the keel well. I spent the better part of the day hammering two keel bolts. We found them in good standing for the most part, with one slightly corroded. Over the next few days lots of material was sanded out to expose the crack and see if anything else was brewing.

Cree of BMC says the keel is not going to fall, and PJ of CaB starts spending money again! There is still work to be done, for sure, as this picture shows but all in all, when we leave the boatyard, we should be in a better position than when we arrived.

A new sail

That first day on the yard, Sylvain of UK Sailmakers showed up to make measurements for the sail that will be funded by the Ocean Cruising Club. Sylvain has been very helpful in my early days with CaB; he’s even helped shorten the maxi spi hoist. I really look forward to hoisting a new sail on Changabang! It should be ready mid/late September.

A third auto-pilot

A few days later Brian of Pelagic autopilot showed up to discuss placement/installation of his autopilot. Brian is always so helpful. He helped me quite a bit with my preparation for the 2018 SHTP. Once this complete system will be in place, I’ll have 3 fully independent self steering solutions: the old (and trusty?) B&G, the new’ish NKE (which hasn’t (yet) really proven itself on long distance sailing, on CaB that is), and the Pelagic. I also have a spare hydraulic actuator, which can be used by all 3 autopilots. I hope this will be enough, but we shall see.

At sea boat repair kit

One thing I discussed with Cree was the need for a fiberglass/carbon/and more repair kit. “Chemical” Dave at BMC made a fantastic proposition, which he even took the time to demo. That was really great! I hope to never have to use the kit, but if I have to, it feels like it is something that even this two left hands boat project guy may be able to do!

All in all it’s been a good experience so far, with Ruben helping me with my questions as his day flies by.

An unbalanced balance sheet

Confirming that the keel would be good for the trip was a key turning point for my bank account. I submitted fees to the WSSRC for the record attempt (about $2,400). I bought loads of freeze dried food (about $4,000 as Backpacker’s Pantry back pedaled on their originally generous discount, settling down to only 20%), and more incidentals. Meanwhile the GoFundMe page saw a $65 donation, for which I’m grateful of course. If you have read this far, would you consider a small donation, please?

What’s next?

There is hope that Changabang will leave the yard end of next week, maybe a little later. On the way back to HMB, I’ll be testing the Pelagic auto-pilot. Once back in Pillar Point Harbor, it’ll be time to prepare Changabang for departure (cleaning, loading, and a few test sails with everything aboard). And then … setting sails for a little voyage!

Sorry, no picture/video yet.

We’re about 2 months away for the scheduled 2020 departure. Next week we’re hauling out Changabang at Berkeley Marine Center, Thursday in fact. I think it will be a decisive moment as it will give us an opportunity to look at the keel. There’s still a small possibility that I would delay one year, mainly because repair costs would be prohibitive (and I’d have to go back to work to make up for it). Fingers crossed!

It is time to take stock of what I’ve done so far. To put things in context the Vendée Globe organisation now requires aspiring skippers to complete a 2,000 NM qualifying sail. My longest sail in Changabang was about 400 NM, which is a little less than I’d have hoped for. This was partially dictated by lighter winds off Half Moon Bay than usual, and also because I do have to spend time in other areas, mainly skipper/boat preparation.

Are we there yet?

I think my approach to this preparation was mostly based on a couple of things I learned from my reading and personal experience, as well as the specifics of this voyage:

• In terms of the boat’s integrity, I do think she has proven her mettle many times over; putting the keel aside, I think she can be trusted. In other words, I don’t think she’ll break apart after 2,000 NM of sailing.
• In terms of getting to sail Changabang, the beginning of the course should provide me with plenty of opportunities to refine sail handling. I can start easy, learn as I go and push accordingly when confidence builds up.
• Where I will have no opportunity to improve as I go is having solid boat systems and enough tools/spares/supplies to fix things. This is also where a lot of attempts fail, i.e. due to equipment failure. Considering my very limited experience and budget, this is where I spent a lot of times.

Surprisingly there are still more things on the list than I would care for at this time: getting a fully functional hydrogenerator setup (port and starboard, plus spare), installing an above deck autopilot, testing a spare below deck autopilot (and replace hydraulic oil in all 3), getting a new spinnaker.

What then?

When Changabang comes out of the boatyard (hopefully before September begins), it’ll be urgent to tick off the above items off the list. That’s because then the departure checklist will start: clean up, provisioning, organizing, etc, and getting my shore life in order to depart for 6-8 months. Judging by the pace at which things are moving, I hope somewhere along the path we’ll see some acceleration!

Feelings?

For some reason I had never been afraid when going sailing. But … I read one more story of a circumnavigator, that of Alain Colas. He speaks of his fear in ways that somehow resonated with me. When I went sailing after reading his book I was uneasy about everything, for several hours. Then I put a bit of music on and things settled. But, yes, I do not know how I’ll feel when I’ll have to run in front of 30 feet waves in 60 kts of wind, with a sideways swell, the autopilot craps out and the jib halyard blows out. Side note: Alain Colas and his boat disappeared at sea, both never to be found.

Considering that I may leave on 10/10, it’s only two months left now. To a certain extent, and assuming the lists above get done, I feel, mmmh, about 80% ready.

I’ve scheduled the haul out of Changabang for mid August. She’ll get a new bottom paint, and we’ll have a closer look at the keel. Once that’s done, I’ll know for sure if leaving this year will be ok.

In addition, I’ve confirmed the start/finish line with the WSSRC, should I sign up for a record attempt (foolish, ain’t it?!?). It’s almost as simple as “pass under the Golden Gate bridge”.

I’ve looked at possible start dates as well. I’m thinking of sailing into San Francisco Bay on Friday 10/16 (probably staying at South Beach Harbor, unless I get an offer from another marina with enough depth), and depart Sunday 10/18 after an early lunch, benefiting from an ebb tide. Of course this is all weather dependent. I may also move everything up by one day and depart on Saturday.

This past week has seen light winds off the Coast but things should lively up again Monday. I’m planning for another shakedown cruise leaving tomorrow then. The brand new Watt & Sea hydrogenerator had to be shipped back to France as the seal failed (and there may be more to this too).

I’ve been testing, as you may have seen, posting to the blog via email. I think I have a good solution now. We’ll see.

That’s all for now. All the best.