Category: Sailing

Done deal!

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It’s all done! After a few weeks’ slightly nervous wait, the title for our new boat has arrived! Up until this point I was still not 100% sure that the California DMV (basically like the DVLA here in the UK, but they also deal with boats) would accept transfer to a non-resident, but we’re in the clear, and she’s ours. Proper exciting stuff, and a lot less painful that I was expecting. The DMV office at Corte Madera didn’t ever have more than an hour’s wait, and I used our work address in the city as my “home address”. It does mean that she’s a US registered vessel, and with me being a UK resident we may, in some distant remote port, have a few questions to answer to over-enthusiastic customs officers … but the other option of registering with the SSR (Small Ships Register) here in the UK would mean that I’d need to get a cruising licence to keep the boat in the US. The cruising licence is only available for a year, and whilst you can just renew for further years, you need to have the boat outside of US waters for at least 15 days between renewals. Which from San Francisco is actually quite a challenge – it’s either Mexico, Canada or hanging around offshore for over 2 weeks. I was very, very tempted to plan for an extended cruise down to Mexico 12 months from now, but with my work commitments that’s not really going to be an option. So, the Stars and Stripes will fly from our stern in place of the Red Duster. We’ll live with it. For now.

So, Rose and I are busy making plans for Things To Do when we move on board later this year; my list containing things like “fix masthead light” and “fit gas detector”, and her list having “paint locker doors” and “change curtains”. We’ve got to be careful we don’t end up just having “pink” and “blue” jobs around the boat though!

Trying to figure out what we’re going to keep and what we’re going to get rid of as we move from a house (albeit very small one) is a challenge. We like to think we’re pretty light on “stuff” – but we’ve still accumulated too much over the years. Rose’s vast art library and art collection is going to have to thin down somewhat; we only have one sensible sized “wall” on the boat, and the marine atmosphere probably isn’t going to be great on books, even in California. I’ve not got much stuff, but what I do have is very big. Surfboards, bikes, kitesurfing gear, snowboard, climbing kit … I think we’re going to have to find a shed to keep some of this!

Shove Your Chips
Shove Your Chips at home in Bristol. We’ll make room for you.

Plymouth – Salcombe

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First experiments with kite photos from Rancote.

To Salcombe under spinnaker
Heading back to Plymouth
Give us a wave!

Got a little distracted by kite flying as the wind picked up on the downwind run with the spinnaker up… Powering along at 6 knots; broached towards the land with only a couple of hundred yards to the rocks. Engine on; up into the wind to get the kite (the one with the camera) down, then charged off downwind to get the spinnaker down behind the main. All’s well that ends well!

Tom and Serena joined us for the evening, having driven down from Bristol.

Tom, Serena
Tom, Serena, Rose

 

Swinging at the mooring

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View of Salcombe at dusk from visitor mooring #10, as we swing around with the wind. Picked up Tom and Serena who’d driven down from Bristol for the day, had a cruise around the ria on the dinghy, went ashore for some fish and chips, then had a peaceful night on board.

Evening light
Summer skies
Harbour Master Rob

Salcombe was a lot quieter than the last time we were here; probably due to the forecast for the Sunday being damp and calm. This meant that we had a buoy to ourselves – always nicer not to have to raft up to someone else and deal with fenders, ropes and the squeaks and bangs throughout the night. Rob the harbour master came by in his launch, took our £12.60 mooring fee and left us with some biodegradable washing up liquid and a Salcombe handbook (I’m guessing it was Rob, unless he’d nicked someone else’s life jacket). Salcombe is one of the most forward-thinking places I’ve been to along the south coast; this year the fees are even recorded on an iPad, transmitted back to the office, and a receipt printed out while you wait. And I go to sea to get away from technology!

Delivery trip across the bay

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Sailing across San Francisco bay, under the Bay Bridge with Andy and Rose. The first trip on Folie a Deux! We met the previous owner, Robert, down in Alameda, transferred title and then set off. It’s only about 5 miles across to Sausalito, where I’d arranged a berth at Clipper Yacht Harbor. Having had a full survey last week along with a test sail, I was confident the boat was in good shape. I’ve discovered I’m not one for buying “projects”. I’d much rather get up and running first, and then work more on things later. Folie a Deux is the perfect starting point; very basic but in amazing condition, and ready for us to turn into something that’s really “ours”.

The wind picked up nicely, sun stayed out and we had a great sail. She’s a fast boat, even though the main sail is old and baggy! We took a trip into check out the Embarcadero up close, then shot past Alcatraz and headed out to the Golden Gate bridge. We were coming up to full ebb (where the tide rushes out through the gap between the city and the Marin headlands) so didn’t get too close as, whilst everything on board certainly felt tough and reliable, it’s still only the start of me getting used to how the boat deals with headwinds and currents.

It’s strange to think that we won’t be moving aboard for another 5 or more months, but the adventure has most definitely begun!

Golden gate bridge!
Me, Rose and Mulv
First mate Mulv

 

Folie a Deux – survey

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Last year I started to think about moving out to the US to help the San Francisco team at Brightpearl. Rose and I both feel like we’ve reached a point in Bristol where we need to move on. Although it’s a wonderful place where we have lots of wonderful friends and lots of amazing things to do right on our doorstep, it’s time for change. I’ve also longed to move back onto a boat having had a short but enjoyable period living on board Red Bull. Getting back into “big boat” sailing with Rancote has rekindled my drive for ocean adventures … and San Francisco is a great place to live on a boat.

So, I decided to check a few boats out whilst in the US this time in January. On the Saturday I spent a full day with a local broker (thanks Dana from Passage Yachts) taking a good look round ten or so boats of varying shapes and sizes. On the Sunday I took a look at a private sale in Sausalito, discovered in Latitude 38 magazine – a basic but affordable 1985 Pearson 36-2 called “Folie a Deux”. I’d seen a Pearson 36-2 the day before and immediately it felt “right”. Seeing a second one would give me a good comparison. The first had more equipment aboard; including a spray hood, new autohelm, working electronics, dinghy … but was $10,000 more. I figured that I could add the extra equipment when need required and budget allowed. And electronics are out of date the day you install them anyway.

After plenty of discussions between Rose and I about downsizing, moving countries, careers, life … and lots of research, I decided it was the right thing to do. I put an offer it, it was accepted and then deposit was sent! I arranged a survey for when I was next out in the states – although I’d given the boat a really good look over myself, I wanted a professional opinion and a haul out.

Jeff from Keiser Marine checking out the spreaders and masthead fittings
Docked at Grand Marina, Alameda
Open cockpit. You can see how basic she is; no inventory at all. A great base for a project!

Whilst she was in the water, we had a good dig around deep inside all lockers and spaces.

Steering quadrant

Next was the haul out. Even having done this many times with Red Bull and Rancote it’s still exciting seeing a boat lifted out of the water on one of these cranes. As soon as the boat rises above you it seems so much bigger than in the water.

In the slings
Bird’s eye view
Up she goes!

I was surprised at how clean the bottom was. The previous owner last had her out in 2010 (over 18 months ago) and there was only a small amount of growth. Either the antifoul is awesome or the water round here really doesn’t suit little critters trying to make a living in the shadows. Rancote has a good crop of algae on her after just one summer and a decent two coats of antifoul. Jeff ran around with his hammer checking for dull spots that would indicate a dry lamination or osmosis – with everything checking out OK. The lads in the yard renewed the anodes, and then we were back in the water!

Ooh, nice bottom
Testing for delamination
Going back in

We ended the day with a sail out of Alameda into the bay. We ran the engine fully up to speed, got the sails out and gave everything a good test. Probably needs a new main sail – or perhaps maybe I can get the bagginess taken out somehow? Short of a few other minor pieces of work that need doing, Jeff the surveyor declared her “excellent condition”.

Looking over the city

In my opinion, when buying a boat, by the time you get to the survey you’ve generally made up your mind, and you’d have to see some fairly serious problems to back out at this point. I did so once before when looking at narrow boats in Bristol – “La Jolie Demoiselle” needed so much work I would have condemned myself to 6 months of refit had I gone ahead. Anyway – Folie a Deux came up all clean. Time to jump in and commit! Now to transfer the funds across to complete the sale before Rose comes out next weekend…

Splash!

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I stuck my GoPro onto the end of the boat hook for this one. Lucky timing! We’re now heading back north having had a few days off Tanzania. The wind picked up considerably and because we’d torn the leech of the genoa, had to use a No.3 jib. Still made a good 6 knots to windward though.

Brian’s breakfast

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Brian B down below, cooking up one of his legendary fried breakfasts. We managed to get him into his bright sponsored shirt, too! We ate a fry-up every morning, and didn’t have much else during the day apart from a can or two of Tusker and a bit of stew or curry in the evening. I actually felt really good after a couple of weeks of this. Might have to try it at home…