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After many tribulations, we finally have a deposit on a boat. It’s the Class40 #31, designed by Francois Lucas and built by Pascal Doin. It’s an early generation Class40, simple, strong and recently refitted by Jacques Valente for the Route du Rhum 2018. I’m going to Frossay again to do a final inspection, test sail and maybe move the boat closer to Antwerp, weather permitting. Why Antwerp? I’ve decided to ship the boat instead of sailing her to San Francisco. I didn’t want to take the risk of suffering damage en route, plus the logistics are really difficult and then there is this.

Why I like this particular boat

First of all, I feel good about her. There’s something zen about her. She has wonderful looks. For an older, well-traveled Class40 (3 Transat, 1 transequatorial), she still presents very well. I like her and I think she has what it takes to finish the RTW course. Looking at her record she finished all the races that she was registered for, except for one due to auto-pilot issues.

The construction, I was told by the architect, is excellent. It’s red cedar strip planking and Epoxy on the hull. She was built at a time when the Class40 was still giving minimal lip service to the cruiser side of the racer-cruiser equation. As a result, it’s cavernous inside and space is well organized for storage (allowing for stacking). I can stand straight and not touch the roof. There are some built-in storage spaces. The mast is carbon and very sturdy; the boom is aluminum. There are only 5 through-hulls, which I really like. Although the cockpit is not as well protected as more recent offshore designs, it does provide for an outdoor protected space, which is nice.

She was recently refitted, with a focus on ensuring that the boat is fresh from the inside out, not so much on getting the latest gadgets, which jives well with my “keep it simple” preference. The deck was stripped of all hardware and repainted. The same was done for the underwater section of the hull. The rudders were dropped and the bearings replaced. The engined was serviced and the sail drive joint was replaced. A new NKE system was installed to provide a primary auto-pilot system. New sails were acquired (of the right type for my project). The mast was inspected and lateral standing rigging was replaced with wire.

I’m being told she’s very seaworthy and does well upwind.

Nobody’s perfect

There are a few weaknesses. The secondary auto-pilot, although working, cannot be engaged right away (I think it requires a run at the masthead to replace the windvane) and is old (as in “2007 old”). There is no energy generation besides the engine (and a solar panel for when at the docks). There is no watermaker. There is no emergency rudder. Satellite communication is minimalist. Those are the big-ticket items; as always with boats, there are plenty of incidentals.

She’s also a little heavier than some of the other boats. And, of course, her design is outdated compared to recent Class40 designs. The 24 hours record was just broken in the Transat Jacques Vabre with a scow bow design reaching 415 NM.

Ultimately, she’s the only one standing after triaging for quality and budget. She’s the best I can have. I hope to be good enough for her too and that our partnership will be fruitful. Maybe we’ll sail together in San Francisco Bay this coming Spring.

And here’s a link to pictures.

That Class40 boat in Los Angeles would have been really nice, especially considering where all the others are! Unfortunately, the owner and I couldn’t find common ground and the transaction is not going through.

I’m pursuing the LC40 in France then. It is a very nice boat; it’s just that it’s in France, and as we’ve discussed before, the logistics are daunting. I have opted to ship the boat for now: transfer to Antwerp, transfer cradle to Antwerp, move cradle to cargo ship, move boat to cradle, wait, wait, wait, reverse the process in the US. And I’m not even thinking about all the customs and import stuff. Regardless, I “mustered enough energy” to put a formal offer through. We’ll know over the next few days the fate of this offer. It is now the 3rd boat I’m trying and I’m down about $3,000 just in travel and other expenditures to see and survey boats.

My offer, I must admit, is demanding. So … more hurry and wait now.

One more month has passed since my last post. It’s not like I’m not doing anything, but the truth is that there is not much to say when waiting for a boat to show up in my backyard. However …

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve made some progress. I won’t get into the whole story now but I have two boats in front of me. I am referring to the Lucas 40 in France (#31), on which I made a verbal offer, which was accepted. And there is a Class40 boat in Los Angeles whose owner and I have been negotiating a deal. I was in Los Angeles last Thursday to check the boat out. Technically, it was designed as an Open 40 and then modified and grandfathered into the Class40 rules.

I will provide more details once we get over the hurdle of getting some paperwork in place. What I can say is that along this journey I do get to meet amazing people, who have tons of sailing experience. I can’t shake off the feeling that I come along as this one guy who got lucky in an offshore race, doesn’t really know too much, and has no idea of what he’s embarking on. As we start finalizing a deal, I’m also getting under the pressure of what I’m about to embark on. It’s really hard not to panic when considering the amount of work and the cost in hard dollars and time of it all. When that happens I picture this:

I am really anxious about writing down some of what happened over the past two weeks. Soon now …

One can recognize the rounded hull shape of an Open 40.

It’s been over a month since my last post. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I said I would provide a weekly update. There is just not much happening for now.

I started researching and looking for boats in March 2018. It’s been over a year and a half. There are good boats out there but my budget is keeping them out of reach. I’m starting to feel like an armchair circumnavigator. Referring to my post about my odds, I’m growing concerned that I’m not moving from the first level (folks who say they’ll circumnavigate but don’t have a boat) to the second level (folks who say they’ll circumnavigate and do have a boat). And there are several additional levels thereafter!

In any case, another 8 Class 40 boats came on the market over the past 2 months. I guess it could be said that I’m monitoring the market. Once in a while, I get into a trigger-happy mood but so far I have been able to refrain from going down a path I don’t really feel good about.

There’s one small update: I’ve made an informal offer to a Class40 owner and he’s reflecting on it. If that doesn’t work out then I’m thinking of making a move on the one in New Zealand. The boat is out of my budget as listed so I would make a very low offer. If that doesn’t work out either then I think the Lucas 40 in France is my next stop. And if that doesn’t work out then I’m back to waiting.

While waiting I continue to make friends with the enormity of this project. It’s so easy for me to look at all the stuff that could go wrong that I’ve decided instead to think about all that could go well. And with that, I’m out.

Well, I just returned from France. My plan to see 3 boats had been downsized to 2 boats: an Akilaria RC1 and an LC40. Here’s what happened.

Day 1 & 2

On 8/19/19 I landed in Paris on a late Monday afternoon, followed by a TGV hop to Nantes, where I tried to sleep. The next morning I hopped on another train to Les Sables d’Olonne, where I had breakfast with the surveyor, Mr. Laurent Cordelle. We then made our way to the Vendee Globe slips, where the first boat on the list, the Akilaria RC1, is berthed, and met with the owner Mr. Francois Lassort.

It was a good day of going through all boat systems, hauling out the boat, having lunch together, going up the mast, looking at sails, motoring in the marina. All was checking out nicely. I made my way back to Nantes, on a train again, and went to bed, planning the next day’s visit.

A week before leaving for France, the owner had forewarned me that another buyer had just checked the boat and was very interested. That English man was on a tour, visiting several Class 40 boats. I was reminded during lunch that this person was very interested. How often do you hear that from a seller? I just brushed it off.

The day was full and I didn’t get much chance to visit around. I left Les Sables d’Olonne without having touched the heart of solo offshore sailing. No regrets, I was on a mission.

Day 3

On Wednesday, I spent a lot of time on public transportation. After trying unsuccessfully to find a reasonably priced car rental, I took the train from Nantes to St Nazaire, then a (mini)bus to Paimboeuf, and last walked 25 minutes to the dry marina where I had an appointment with the second boat. For this one, I had not scheduled a surveyor.

I’m not sure how to put this in writing without coming across as a lunatic; although on paper, the Akilaria RC1 with its 100,000 Euro refit is the better/newer design boat, something was not feeling right; that same thing, which felt right for the boat I was seeing that day, the LC 40. I knew it was more than just another stop. It was also about touching that ambiguous feeling.

I spent a few hours alone on the boat checking things out and taking lots of pictures. Then the owner of the place, Mr. Jean-Francois Mazan, came over and we talked about things. He was really friendly and invited me to lunch. I’ll also say in passing that he drove me back to St Nazaire at the end of the day so that I could catch my train. A really nice guy. Everyone I met, in fact, was really friendly. I’ll admit that I enjoyed meeting all of them: Mr. Lassort, Mr. Cordelle, Mr. Mazan and more.

He put me on the phone with the owner, with whom I must have spent about 30-45 minutes. Ultimately, between my limited time, the hour spent on lunch, the time spent on the phone, a few things were left undone: engine start, electronics start, sails check, mast check. That will have to wait for another day, maybe.

Surprise!

At the end of the day, while on the (slow) train to Bourges to meet with my mother, I received an email from the owner of the Akilaria RC1 indicating that he had accepted the Englishman’s offer. Bang, 600 Euro and a trip to France for possibly nothing. That boat had been sitting with no interest for many months. Talk about poor timing. For some reason, I’m not angry nor sad.

Carrying on

Thursday I had to catch up with work and I also wanted to spend quality time with my mother (I hope I was able to). I had been given a few phone numbers to call about the LC40: the architect Francois Lucas, the owner, a surveyor who had checked the keel, a potential delivery skipper to bring the boat across to Panama. I made those calls on Friday. On Saturday, we, my mother and I, drove to CDG airport. And I’m now back in the Bay of San Francisco, trying to decide what to do next.

If I make an offer it will be my fourth (Anasazi Girl, Pixel Flyer, #42 are the others).

Big news, this week! I heard from an owner I had contacted several months ago. He is now receptive to what I can offer. And so I’ve booked a trip to France for August 18-24. Hopefully everything checks out. Read on for another good news too.

Not one but three!

Although not confirmed yet I hope to see 3 boats. All of them are older Class40 designs. The one I was talking about above is an Akilaria RC1 and can be found here. It has a lot of great things going for itself as it was refitted for the Route du Rhum 2018. The boat suffered a headstay failure and so the skipper had to abandon the race. The rig was not lost, but that will be something to look for. There’s lots of new stuff: engine, sail drive, electronics, sails, rod rigging, running rigging, and more. Looking at pictures, there are also some weaknesses: rusty keel bolts, an electrical setup that looks more like a bowl of pasta, spars and foils that may not have been serviced in a long time.

Recently, this boat (#42) competed in Les Sables-Horta 2019 and finished 12th over 13.

Who are the others?

I’m also hoping to see #89, which would be available in Brazil after the Transat Jacques Vabre. It is also an Akilaria RC1. Not as much refit money was poured into this boat. But it appears to be in the hands of a person who knows a lot about boats. So I’m hoping for a boat in great condition. It is being refitted for a 4,350 NM crossing after all! I have just a few pictures of this boat. It did finish 8th in Les Sables-Horta 2019, almost 15 hrs ahead of #42 (over 12 days or so).

And the third one?

The last boat I am hoping to see on this trip is an LC40, listed here. This boat was built by its owner according to the architect’s plans. It was recently refitted for the Route du Rhum 2018, which the skipper finished in 30 days, being last before last. I looked at his track and he was very slow. Apparently he may not have used his spinnakers. Lots of good work was done here too.

Anything else?

I have this gentleman agreement on price on one boat. That’s now my baseline. I would like a newer design as they perform significantly better on reaching angles. So I’m reaching out to other folks who have a more recent Class40 design for sale. I’m offering them the same amount of money. Maybe one of them will be interested. Wishful thinking?

What if?

What if I do buy a boat in France? Oh man, it’ll be a long sail to bring it back here. I’m still trying to get a shipping quote; so far the cost is prohibitive (40k like). It’s likely she will be sailed on her own bottom. Being employed I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to sail her myself. Friends have offered their interest in helping sail the boat. There will be so much to do …

Wait, you said TWO big news!

Ah, yes, thanks for the reminder. This is something that I would prefer to keep close to my vest. I’m not sure exactly what it will translate to. It’s another gentleman agreement. A renowned boat builder has indicated that he will help me get to the starting line of my solo RTW. This could be big. In fact, without me noticing, there may be some sort of an informal team being formed around this little adventure. That would be so cool! And so important. There are already so many people I am grateful for.

Quick update 07/29/2019: I am unlikely to see #89 as the owner is considering keeping the boat for the Globe 40 race.