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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 20, 2012 - 09:28pm PT
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Home. Santa Cruz tonight in a bed on dry land. Although rumor has it raccoons have been having a hey day at my house. Ummm. Hope it's just pet food thievery. See y'all at Face Lift. Pics soon
Susan
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The Alpine
climber
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Sep 20, 2012 - 10:04pm PT
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Wow, what a saga this thread has been. Thanks to Michael and Susan for making the leap, and to Guido for keeping us updated!
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 21, 2012 - 09:07pm PT
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Bay Area Traffic of another sort
Yes, I see it!
Our welcoming committee, Oracle, comes out to greet us...how nice, Larry.
Susan
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Ferretlegger
Trad climber
san Jose, CA
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Sep 22, 2012 - 12:00am PT
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Hello everyone,
We are indeed back. Wandering about the house kicking dispititedly at the piles of stuff dumped on the floor at the last minute before departure for the race. Dust and dirt everywhere, no food in the fridge, lots of laundry. I feel very much at peace and relaxed, though. The feeling is like what one gets after topping out on El Cap. I went to download all my email and instead got sucked into You Tube, and ended up watching/listening to zillions of wonderful rockabilly tunes with great pinup art from the world of hot rods. I guess I am sort of starved for entertainment...
Good thing there are no carnival sideshow scammers with three walnut shells and a pea around here...
I am looking forward to Facelift. Susan and I have a place at housekeeping. It will be great to smell pine trees, and the other scents that make Yosemite such a fond memory over the years. No bilges to check, no engines or sails to tend, no worry as a ship ignores your repeated calls and steams ever closer. Wahoo!! If anyone wants to chat about the trip, just comne on over and have at it!!
Many thanks to Guido for posting up our updates! And also to those of you who have encouraged us or written to us. Life at sea puts one in a weird world, and it has a small horizon. Outside contact is both wonderful and also strange, but very welcome. The whole ocean passage thing really is like climbibng a big wall, and requires exactly the same things for success: a moderate skill level, great desire, greater tenacity, and the willingness to trust that you can somehow solve the problems that you inevitably face. Of all the qualities, the need for skills is dwarfed by the value of personal committment and a mulish unwillingness to admit defeat (although sometimes, you have to know when to fight another day...).
A minimum level of skill and judgement ARE required however, at least in certain areas. I met a fellow in Neah bay who took our lines when we were doing a dodgy approach to the fuel dock. He asked for us to hang around while he brought his boat over from the marina to fuel up, so we stayed to give him a hand. His boat was a charmingly eccentric cold molded copy of a lifeboat hull that he had spent 14 years building. In that time he had taught himself a very high level of woodworking skills, and the boat was a perfect vehicle for expressing his artistic nature. It was, in over 35 years of sailing, one of the oddest boats I have ever seen. The cabin top was a bulbous construction that looked somewhat like a boot. There was a 5 foot carven staff on the bow with an Egyptian like carved head with emerald colored jewels for eyes. The rudder had a similar carved head on 3 foot high curved and laminated wooden struts, and the tiller was a whimsical corkscrewed device. There was a beautiful laminated framework around the cockpit, intended for a hooped sort of enclosure that had not yet been built. The engine was a 9 HP outboard built into a well in the center of the cockpit. Inside reminded me of the canonical minimalist apartment. There was a main cabin which had a small stove, like a Jet Boil on steroids in the corner, and a tiny washbasin in the other corner. The floor was flat, and there were no benches or any other furniture in the boat. Forward was a V Berth like bunk, with low overhead. He had a tiny solar panel, and a single chartplotter/GPS. The mast was made from an aluminum light pole, which had been inset into the hull in a very rugged way. The mast had no boom, but the rig was designed to use only jibs, although he had no poles for downwind work. All-in-all, the craftsmanship was excellent, and if eccentric, the boat was well suited to his original purpose of wandering about the various islands and anchorages in the Pacific Northwest. When he mentioned that he was planning to depart the next day for Hilo, Hawaii and asked if the weather would be nice, I almost fainted!!!
He had actually never taken the boat into the real ocean, and had very little actual sailing experience. As we talked, it became clear that he had just finished the boat after 14 years work, and being that the season for cruising the Northwest was ending, felt compelled to go SOMEWHERE in it, and the most obvious "where" was Hawaii. We talked for several hours, and I tried as best as I could to be tactful. All my friends reading this have just snorted coffee all over the keyboard, but I really did try to wean him from this suicidal idea as gently as I could.. Eventually, I think he saw the light and decided to wait for next year and cruise the islands of the NW as he originally intended. I hope he did forgo the ocean passage, as the boat, although having a sturdy (and oddly beautiful) construction, was totally unsuitable for ocean crossings, at least offseason to Hawaii, not to mention the (much harder) voyage back.
When one goes cruising, one of the great delights is meeting unusual and interesting people. This fellow was certainly that. He was also intelligent, articulate, and thoughtful. He was just temporarily (I hope) in a state of denial about the proper places and uses of his delightful little boat. Having said that, some of the most amazing voyages in human history were undertaken in unsuitable little boats by people who had either amazing skill or incredible resolve, sometimes both. I had the unbelievable good fortune to literally bump into the "James Caird", a converted whaleboat in which Shackleton made perhaps the greatest small boat voyage in history from Elephant island to South Georgia Island in 1914 (I think). The adventure was a life or death situation (which always strengthens resolve...) to get rescue for his crew who were, at that point, marooned on Elephant island, in the antarctic. Anyway, the boat was on a dolly pushed into a dim corner of the British maritime Museum in Greenwich, and had been loaned to the museum as part of a program on polar exploration they had been having. I almost passed out with surprise on seeing it, and later had a good cry. For offshore sailors, this boat is one of the "Holy Grail" boats of legend. I won't bore you with the whole story of that day, one of the most profound I have had, in which I saw close up all of the original Harrison Clocks, detailed in the book "Longitude", and Robin Knox-Johnson's "Suhaili", the first boat to circumnavigate singlehanded, and Chirchester's "Gypsy Moth IV", and a number of other things which offshore sailors have as the stuff of legend (similar to John Salathe, Dolt, Harding, and others of the Golden Era of giants in Yosemite...), but if you are interested, chat me up at Facelift.
Anyway, my longwinded point is that although great skill is not needed to cross an ocean in a sailboat, a certain amount of it, along with common sense, IS required for survival, just like on a wall. And lacking it, bailing is not a shameful or embarrassing thing, merely a recognition that ambition and desire got a bit ahead of the tools or conditions needed for a reasonable chance for success. It is the same in sailing as it is in a Big Wall. Climbing and offshore sailing have a lot in common, especially in the realm of the character traits and mental skills that they develop.
Thanks for following Susan and my travels this summer. Being able to share them with fellow climbers was a special treat for me.
All the best,
Michael
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Sep 22, 2012 - 01:37am PT
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Thanks for the memories! I do take some issue with your comparing Big Walls
to Big Oceans. While some walls are hard or even nigh impossible to bail
from there generally ain't no bailing (yuk-yuk) from far at sea. And then
there is the minor detail of the constant motion, wind, and waves. The
water never stops moving, 'cept when you're becalmed.
I hope you don't get post-partum depression. But since you've not been beached
at half-pay and you know what your next command is then dreaming can commence afresh!
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SalNichols
Big Wall climber
Richmond, CA
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Sep 22, 2012 - 01:04pm PT
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One night I watched the ISS pass overhead when we were in the third day of motoring through the PAC High. It was an interesting thought that those astronauts were only 80 minutes or so from being able to abandon the ISS and land in Russia, while we, being hundreds of miles off of any shipping lane were days away from any kind of help. That realization helps to keep you focused on sailing the boat when you're enduring a five day gale 1300 miles out.
I hope Mouton Noir fared better than No Strings. My holding tank broke free of it's tabbing...fortunately it didn't spring any leaks...it did manage to break the furniture up a bit. I've been home for two weeks and the de-humidifier is STILL pumping out a quart of water every couple of hours...and the bilge is bone dry.
We did find one of the missing Japanese docks out there...you wouldn't want to meet this in the dark of night. Hmmm, can't seem to upload....
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 22, 2012 - 01:11pm PT
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We did find one of the missing Japanese docks out there...you wouldn't want to meet this in the dark of night. Hmmm, can't seem to upload....
I am so glad I did not read this before we were home. That was one of my biggest fears. The worst we encountered were two huge logs on the way to Alaska that we glanced off. Some of our compatriots did encounter 2 abandoned fishing boats, at least one upside down, probably debris. Would that dock have been picked up on radar?
So sorry about the tank, nasty nasty, nasty! Glad you are home safe too!
Susan
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 16, 2012 - 04:19pm PT
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Well, will you look at this....a beautiful welcome home gift from Miss NeeBee herself!
Thanks so much!
We met a wonderful young German couple, who are circumnavigating, in Hanalei Bay in Hawaii. They were on their way to the South Pacific when several folks talked them out of that and to go to Alaska instead. We met up with them in Sitka and did some buddy sailing. Now they are in the Bay Area and we've reconnected and we are now off to show them Yosemite! We leave for Moab next week and I'd love to get them down there too!
Susan
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 16, 2012 - 04:24pm PT
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Wonderful story - sorry I didn't get a chance to talk with you about your adventures at the FaceLift.
Wasn't Slocum's Spray the first boat to be single-handedly circumnavigated, albeit over several years? "Sailing Alone Around the World" is full of fun.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Oct 16, 2012 - 05:27pm PT
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hey there say, susan... whewww, was not sure if it arrived safely...
it is egg-temerpa, with a bit of oil paint on the words...
so it is not too smooth, and it may SCRATCH OFF easy, :)
well, until monthsssssssss later, so i've read, :))
so very happy your whole journey went well, it was sooo
amazing... my dad had a cal20, and we loved sailing on it...
my brother walter, has it now, :)
think it is at santa cruz, somewheres...
:)
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 15, 2012 - 01:02pm PT
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Some of you have been asking me for some pics. I've been on the road alot and not able to organize them. Instead of posting a bunch here I'll post a link to the pics when I get them all uploaded. I'll just post a couple of my favorite now...
Going up the Tracy Arm to the glacier...the pic doesn't do justice to the magnitutde of it...plus a huge part on the far left side calved while we were watching it.
Turn! Turn! Turn!....an iceberg, we don't want to be the Titantic. Actually it wasn't quite that dramatic, but it was a big berg.
Navigating the arm through the "bergie field". Everyone had a chance to navigate, and every one on board that wasn't steering was on "bergie patrol". Some are so hard to see because they are clear. We didn't hit any and I think we only pushed one or two small ones out of the way. Boat Hook, my friend.
Will get the link up to the whole enchilada in a few days.
Susan
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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May 27, 2014 - 11:57am PT
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Wash, rinse, repeat....the journey continues, Part Deux. Every two years it comes around. In 30 days Michael (Ferretlegger) will be setting sail to Hawaii in the SingleHanded Transpac. http://sfbaysss.org/shtp/racers/
I'll join him in Hawaii and set sail together from there to where????
More sails, winches and antennas accompany us this time! As fellow sailors refer to Michael's penchant for gear: "you have more spare parts than a 3rd world country". Indeed, and it's served us well at sea!
Susan
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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May 27, 2014 - 01:00pm PT
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Wait, lemme get this straight. He enjoys this nonsense?
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Lorenzo
Trad climber
Oregon
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May 27, 2014 - 02:03pm PT
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Wait, lemme get this straight. He enjoys this nonsense?
What could be more fun than buying gear?
Puts a rack of cams to shame.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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May 27, 2014 - 02:21pm PT
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A boat is a hole in the water into which you (happily) pour money (and blood, sweat and tears)
I'm a recovering sailboat-aholic.
Carry on Michael and Susan and many happy days sailing. Keep us posted
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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May 27, 2014 - 02:27pm PT
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Lorenzo, I'm down with the gear-buying angle, it's the no sleep and nobody to tell
"Here, hold my beer while I get another can of kippers" that I don't get.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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Lots of SF Bay sailing this weekend. Shrinking list of things to "shake out".
Wait, lemme get this straight. He enjoys this nonsense?
Not sure who said it, but.... "whoever would go to sea for pleasure would go to hell for a vacation"
Kinda like big wall climbing with the added pleasure of drowning.
Back to work...(we just troubleshot the man (or woman) overboard module.
Susan
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Tell him to be careful. There are some desperate characters out there...
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Ferretlegger
Trad climber
san Jose, CA
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Hello all,
I guess Susan has spilled the beans. I am working like a dog to get the boat ready and plan to head out the Gate on Saturday, June 28 with 20 odd other souls, some of them really, really, genuinely ODD!. Here is a video I found that might help answer the solo sailors equivalent to Mallory's question of "Why do you do it?". As I have mentioned before, in my mind, climbing (especially big wall and big mountains) has an awful lot in common with ocean sailing, especially inside your head and soul. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OzsrJOn9YQE
Michael
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