Day 7 of our adventure has us sitting at our mooring within Kingman Yacht Center in the very bucolic town of Pocasset waiting for the right parts to arrive from Teleflex to repair our fly bridge helm. The helm has leaked hydraulic fluid since we bought the boat, but we never really paid a great deal of attention to the situation until our first day out when we noticed that the steering was not quite responding the way we would like. We were able to circumvent the problem by using the auto pilot but decided it would probably be a good idea to have the steering apparatus in top working condition for our journey. Based on information from brother-in-law Bob Roemer, Kingman Yacht Center can fix anything, so we pulled into port after a wild ride from the western terminus of the Cape Cod Canal on Monday.
On Tuesday, Bob went to the service center with all the pamphlets he had on board about the helm. Of course, the needed parts were not in stock and had to be ordered with delivery on Wednesday. That day we did laundry and caught up on boat chores. On Wednesday, we took a bike ride on the Shining Sea Bikeway to Woods Hole, which should have been about a 12 mile ride each way. However, par for the course, we got lost a few times. In addition, on the return trip, we stopped at a street crossing where PM was crashed into by a young bike rider who didn't quite make the corner turn. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but PM's bike suffered a bent beyond repair front wheel requiring a visit to Corner Cycle in Falmouth for a new wheel. When we returned to the marina, we found out that the parts that arrived on Wednesday were the wrong parts and the correct parts ordered for delivery on Thursday. So here it is Thursday. The first delivery truck has arrived with no parts for the helm. We await the second delivery truck which may or may not have the parts!
PM -- the Back Story
The plan for this adventure goes back at least five years. After two years of searching for the perfect boat, we found what we wanted in a 1988 Monk 36 owned by Winn and Leslie Pillsbury that wasn't even actively on the market and obviously very well maintained. Winn wouldn't provide us an asking price, just told us to make an offer. We developed an offer based on an accepted offer we made on a 1986 Monk 36 which fell through due to the condition of the vessel plus increases based on the age and condition of Winn and Leslie's Monk. Our developed offer was at the upper reaches of our budget. We invited Winn and Leslie out to breakfast at the Front Room, a trendy restaurant in Monjoy Hill in Portland on a Saturday in mid March 2010. At breakfast, Bob and Winn talked boats, Leslie and I talked price. By the end of breakfast we had delivered our offer. Neither Winn nor Leslie showed any reaction one way or the other. "We'll have to think about this and get back to you in a day," was all Winn said in response. Bob and I picked up the tab for breakfast as a leveraging tactic. We went home and waited. On pins and needles.
Both of us had our concerns about what our next step would be if the offer wasn't accepted. However, we took the strategy that we shouldn't pay tolls on bridges we don't have to cross and just waited. We tried to keep ourselves occupied so we wouldn't obsess. I did laundry, grocery shopped, made soup. Bob took the car to the carwash, worked on the snow blower, read. We deliberately avoided each other for fear of starting "what if" conversations. We jumped every time the phone rang. Finally, the call came. "We accept your offer." There is an old adage among mariners that the happiest days in a boat owner's life is the day one purchases a boat and the day one sells a boat. Both Winn and Bob were happy mariners.
Arrangements were made for payment, transfer of ownership, registration, insurance, and finally launching in mid May. Bob and I were on the boat as the transport truck slowly trailered the Monk from its winter storage location, along the street, through the parking area, down the ramp and into the water. I was struck by how huge the boat was. As the boat floated on the water and glided off the trailer I couldn't help but think, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" Bob, on the other hand, was all smiles and giddy at the prospect of owning a boat large enough to live aboard and travel long distances. Winn jumped aboard and showed us a few basics of the boat. The engine required multiple attempts to turn over before it started to hum. Winn suggested we take a short tour of Portland Harbor before we parked the boat at our slip in Port Harbor Marina. Up on the fly bridge, Winn showed Bob the particulars of upper helm as we went out to Portland Headlight and back. I watched the process without paying very much attention, being aware only of how high I was off the water, how rocky/rolly the boat was, and asking myself if I was really cut out to do this.
That summer we were primarily weekend boaters taking only day trips with just two overnight ventures. At this point I was still working full time and we still lived in a house with a big yard that required attention. Bob was also working as a boat launch driver for the summer. Our next task was to extract ourselves from our land based life which took another two years. During this time frame, I arranged for the transfer of the operations of my business to the staff and we tried to sell our house. The housing market stilled suffered greatly from the impact of the Great Recession and despite all our broker's efforts, we didn't even receive one offer after a year on the market. Fortunately, we were able to find renters who insisted that they sign a lease for a three year term. From our perspective, this was ideal!
We originally thought we would start the trip last summer but during the prior winter Bob fell on ice and ruptured a disc requiring surgery. Although he was well enough to do the trip by summertime, the thought that something could happen to Bob that could incapacitate him left PM with a very sinking feeling. "I just don't feel competent enough to get up back to land," PM decided. "I'm just not ready to go." Bob was okay with this decision as he felt he could use the time to get even stronger as well as learn more about the boat and diesel engines as well. Last September, we both attended Trawler University in Baltimore sponsored by Passage Maker Magazine. PM took the two day intensive women at the helm course and Bob took the diesel engine course. Feeling much more confident, 2013 was the summer we were going to finally start.
Departure date was set at Monday, June 10 from Port Harbor Marine in South Portland, Maine. Two days prior, the weather reports for Monday predicted high winds and rough seas and heavy rain for Tuesday and Wednesday. We pushed the start date to Thursday, June 12. On Monday, the weather was ideal -- not a cloud in the sky, no wind, no rough water. It did indeed rain on Tuesday and Wednesday and the forecast for Thursday started to look dismal. Friday wasn't looking so good and news reports forewarned of a potential derecho forming and hitting the east coast between New York and Washington DC which had the potential to greatly impact sea activity in New England. In any event, we decided to delay departure to Saturday or even Sunday when weather was predicted to be fair.
We awoke on Thursday to ideal boating conditions. Clear blue cloudless sky, calm seas, gentle winds. "That's it, we're leaving Friday no matter what the weather forecast," PM declared. We were beginning to realize that the weather forecast gave the worst case scenario which rarely developed. "We can always turn around and come back if it gets really hairy outside Portland Harbor." So the decision was made. We were leaving Friday. Friday we awoke to a very overcast sky, but the seas and winds were calm. We left the dock by 8:30 AM headed for Portsmouth, NH. Beyond Portland Headlight, seas and winds remained favorable. We were on our way!
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