the Cobourg concept

When I was 28, and I had just moved into my new condo, I promised myself that in 20 years I would move. 20 years is a long time to a 28 year old. 48 arrived and went. No move. It took 9 more years, but I have moved.

The move took about 5 hours; the thought process that was involved lasted about nine years. My first concept was to buy a boat and live aboard it. The concept of buying a very nice boat and never stop sailing is very appealing to me. My living costs would not be any more expensive than having a ‘fixed’ residence (but probably no less expensive either).

One of the my key economic principles is to buy low and sell high. When one makes a decision one should ask whether or not things are booming, only then to consider selling. In spring 2008, I decided that the condo market was nearing a peak (at least for that cycle). Time to sell. The condo was on the market for a few months but I was stubborn about the price. Neither of the two offers met my minimum price. I decided to wait for spring 2009.

Of course the ‘meltdown’ happened in fall 2008. It was a very frightening time. The markets went a bit insane IMO. Whatever, it was no longer a time to sell.

A seafarer is sometimes faced with an unwelcomed storm. I battened down the hatches. The key is to stay calm and ride out the storm. It would be a rough passage but I had faith that my ‘boat’ was seaworthy enough to ride out the storm. There were a few anxious moments and there were times when I questioned whether I had allowed myself to be fooled by over confidence.

The crisis caused me to do a rethink. I became worried about the prospect of being ‘homeless’. A house, after 20 years of inflation may be worth millions of dollars. I did not think that I would enjoy being a 80 year old live aboard! Any boat that I purchased would, in 20 years, be worth 2/3 rds of its original value. Economic uncertainties convinced me that it would be good idea to have a ‘home’ port.

What would I ‘need’ (or at least accept) for this putative ‘home port’? I came up with a list of criteria: 600 square feet, south view overlooking water, within walking distance of a grocery store, and not too far from Toronto. I had visited Cobourg twice during boat deliveries. The town was a good size and it was a pleasant train ride to Toronto. Cobourg seemed to be a location that would satisfy my presumed needs.

The Toronto condo market recovered nicely from the fall of 2009 to spring of 2011. I felt market conditions were as favourable as in 2008. Back to ‘sell’ mode. This time the condo was sold.

Now to apply the Cobourg concept. I made a couple trips to Cobourg and looked at condos. Although Cobourg was the inspiration for my thinking, I did not feel that the reality met with my expectations. No affordable water view; no nearby grocery store; no walk to the train. The Cobourg Concept could not be applied successfully to Cobourg! Was the Cobourg concept just some brilliant conceptualization that would not be found in the real world?

I went through a quick rethink of what I was doing. Time was of the essence. I was now committed to move. If not Cobourg where? The real estate market in Toronto suddenly went berserk. It would not make sense for me to downsize in Toronto. I checked out Pickering, Mississauga, and Port Credit but nothing met the criteria that I had established.

The key criteria of the Cobourg concept was a water view. I used mls.ca and scanned all the available listings along the shoreline between Cobourg and Toronto. Whitby provided the solution. All of the criteria were met. People ask me: ‘Why Whitby?’. My answer is: I didn’t move to Whitby I moved to a concept!

My new condo is slightly over 600 sq. feet. I have a lake view. The grocery store is a ten minute walk and the GO station is across the street. It ended up that in Whitby I found the realization of my Cobourg concept!

Still not racing

I don’t know what it is with motors, perhaps I don't love them enough, but I definitely have relationship problems. I even got new spark plugs! Motors: can’t live with them can’t live without them. I got the motor to start but then it would sputter and stop. How frustrating. Notorious took pity on us and gave us a tow out to the start line. Thank you Notorious.

The winds were very good from the south west from about 220°. There was a strong wind but not overpowering. Perfect conditions. We had a good start but I felt we were too close to Windlight; they were slightly ahead to leeward. We tacked away. Windburn and Windlight went left we went right. When we crossed, we hadn’t lost anything on Windlight but gained on Windburn (maybe). My conclusion was that it didn’t matter if we were on the left or right side.

We were the only boat to fly spinnaker. Everything went well. At the leeward mark we rounded inside of Windburn but were now well behind Windlight. On the upend leg we once again split. From the first upwind leg it was my thought that it made no difference which side we were on. I was wrong and they both made gains on us.

We had a nice spin set and settled into the downwind. I noticed a drop in wind and tried to heat up the angle. Nick noticed some boat troubles to windward. There was a huge windswift with strong gusts coming our way from the north. Boats were broaching and clearly in distress. We had to scramble to get the sails down and the boat under control.

I opted for complete sail down and I hailed for assistance. We had a dodgy (my beloved!) motor and we were head-on into a major storm. I did not want to take any chances. Avra offered to assist but in the end it was Dragon Lady who towed us in. Much appreciated, Avra and Dragon Lady.

No boats finished. With the missed first spring race, the 2nd race's confusion over division starts, last week’s abandonment by the RC, and this week’s unfinished race, we still aren’t racing!

Season start: 2011

We have had a seemingly long winter and a dreary wet spring. I have been somewhat distracted with some important personal decisions. After a bit of a delay the season has finally started.

I was very happy the tarp covering the boat survived the winter. For the last two years I have used two Canadian Tire tarps. Last year the aft tarp failed. The problem was with the way it was tied. The modifications that were made with the tie down this year’s tarps were successful.

The traveller needed to be repaired. The ‘car’ broke during the second last race last season. The repair was a great example of boat repairs in general. The new car would not fit the old track; the new track was too short; the adjusted height required new bolts which had to be costumed made. It should have been a simple replacement of the car. Instead the car required some other new part which required some other new part etc. I was glad when the traveller was installed and everything worked!

I always worry about the motor. The spark plugs were replaced and the motor started OK. YES! I did have to use the internal tank. The hose on the external tank has hardened and needs to be replaced.

The only other repair that was made over the winter was to the main sail.

My first sail of the season was at the second regular Wednesday race. A late start for the season and we were late to the start. I misunderstood the sailing instructions; we are Division IV but in the first start! We actually decided to start during the sequence for the fourth start.

Winds were east at 15 (?) knots; choppy, a bit of rain and eventually lots of rain. It was good to be back on the water. A great way to see if someone is interested in sailing is to take them out in a day like this and see if they are smiling. All crew stated that they were looking forward to next week’s race. A good sign.

There was a bit of a foul up with the rigging of tweeker. The crew handled it well. The boat and crew worked well  (if not perfectly).

The 2011 sailing season has started!

To the Bitter End and back

On Feb. 1 Harvey sent out a mass email announcing that he wasn’t going on the annual BVI ‘flotilla’ . The departure date was Feb. 8. It was an experience that I knew I would enjoy; but since 2008 I have been somewhat anxious about ‘the budget’. I had not been on a trip since my Cuban adventure in 2001. This was an opportunity and the ‘last minute’ discount put the overall expense at a tolerable level. A couple of hours of hesitation (can one call this deferred gratification?) seemed appropriate. I called Harvey.

A big question mark was the crew. I did not know anyone of the eight prospective crew mates. My first conversation with the skipper did not go well. Despite these first missteps, the crew ended up being a great group. No one was an expert in everything but knew enough about something to be helpful. They were easy going and forgiving; a necessity given my acerbic witticisms! I learned something from everyone.

We flew to St. Thomas and  there was a ferry transit to Tortola. It was a long day, especially since I didn’t sleep the night before; a lot of hurry up and wait.

The first sail was to Norman Island and the Bight. Kenner, the flamboyant chef, did his one and only stint with the BBQ: Poulet en flame, an unintended poulet flambe? We went to Plan B and, what was salvageable provided chicken sandwiches for the next few days. The Bight provided a very pleasant start. There was a good snorkelling area nearby called the Indians.

The winds were fairly strong from the east during the first three days of our charter. Our sail over to Jost van dyke was mainly on a broad reach. We moored in Little Harbour. Sydney’s was the onshore restaurant. Graham acted as bartender for ‘happy hour’. We orderdd dinner and I had the Grouper. It was an interesting experience but afterwards I thought that the BVI vibe was not quite what it seemed. Everything was laidback, but there was no service and prices were high. I call this a tourist culture. The natives provide a freewheeling ambience which the tourists find exotic.

On our way over to Marina Cay we stopped at Sandy Cay. Unfortunately there was a strong east wind and this made for a strong swell. We were unfamiliar with the technique of beaching the dinghy. I am sure our being tossed about by the breakers was amusing to the crews watching from the other moored boats.

We sailed along the north shore of Tortola which was mostly upwind in 20 plus knots. The seas were about 2 m.. We had to tack upwind in Guana Channel. This required short tacks and was made difficult without our main sail. We followed a larger yacht into Marina Cay basin passing to what I thought was the wrong side of a port hand buoy. I later discovered that it was a cardinal buoy and we were supposed to keep north.

I think Marina Cay was a good find. After we arrived a large turtle came by the boat to welcome us. There was good snorkelling and wifi. I stayed aboard for supper the two nights we were here. Vraiment un homme seul mais heureux.

On the second day at Marina Cay we went on a day sail to Virgin Gorda and the Baths. The Baths (for me) was like the CN Tower: something to see once but only visit again with nephews and nieces.

Our next port of call was Leavitt Bay on the north end of Virgin Gorda. On our way we saw two dauphins. Our one and only docking went well with the help of the dock master. This was a ‘flotilla’ rendezvous; it was our first chance to mingle with the other crews.

The next day we got over early to the Bitter End Yacht Club across the bay on the north side of Virgin Gorda. The plan was to cross Virgin Gorda by taxi to the Baths with a stop over in Spanish Town. It was an interesting trip. The island was very hilly and there were some great views from the hilltops. We got a better handle on how the locals lived. Apparently there is no problem with cars passing on hills or corners! Spanish Town was not very impressive.

On our second day at the Bitter End Yacht Club, I rented a Laser and spent the afternoon sailing on North Sound; while other crew members went on a snorkelling trip to Eustasia Reef. (They reported seeing a manta.) I only capsized the Laser once. At night we had our best meal of the trip at the Bitter End Yacht Club’s weekly Caribbean style BBQ.

On our pen ultimate day we sailed back to Road Town via the Dogs. At the Dogs we anchored. Anchoring was a new experience with the big boat and I was a bit overwhelmed; e.g. I left the motor running on the dinghy. The problem was that we didn’t notice until we were underway!

There was also some anxiety about the yacht’s engine. A wheel had come off and a drive belt was in some danger of failing. The skipper eventually was able to contact base and talk to a mechanic. Not very helpful. The mechanic concluded his conversation with: ‘Good Luck”.

There were other minor annoyances with the boat. The cockpit light didn’t work so, in order to see after dark, we had to jerry rig a string of flashlights. The dinghy leaked just enough to be very annoying. The chart plotter emitted a MOB alarm that I could not reset. The nav instruments, at the helm, did not work. There was no mast head light. Fortunately, we had no motor problems (unlike other boats in the flotilla).

We docked just as the sun was setting. The ferry that was scheduled to take us to St. Thomas was not available. Harvey, from TO, managed to make new arrangements. We ended up leaving at 9 and having to take a taxi across St. Thomas to the airport.

My charter, to the Bitter End Yacht Club and back, was a very enjoyable experience. The crew was great. The weather was great.  The BVIs are very scenic. A happy vignette was when I, on a boat moored at Marina Cay, was getting updated on world events via my netbook. Paradise? For me, yes.