[snods57]

Howdy,

I recently returned from a vessel delivery (68'' ketch) during which I logged in 750 off shore miles: My first off shore passage. From the onset we experienced extreme weather conditions, e.g., consistently high winds and seas and a squall the just about blew the vessel out of the water with 45 k winds. Our crew spent the entire passage wet because every hatches leaked; several spent most the time feeling sea sick and one crew member appeared to have fractured his cocyx after a bad fall.

The original passage was to be from Ft. Lauderdale to St. Thomas. After we''d completed approximately 1/2 of the trip the boats motor came to an abrupt hault and couldn''t be re-started. At that point, the owner of the vessel decided to turn the boat around and head for the Bahamas where the boat''s motor along with other damage incurred through the passage would be repaired. The delivery ended in Abaco instead of St. Thomas but, as I see things, all''s well that ends well.

I''ve learned that sailing the Atlantic in November is not a thing for the faint of heart. It takes stamina, endurance, a sense of fearlessness and, above all, a sense of humor.

All that being said, I''m looking for future opportunities for off shore crew experience. If you''re interested, you can check out my personal page on sailnet. It''s listed under "Snods57". Email address is Snods57@AOL.com

Cheers,
Mary

[carib99]

So much for the complete refit... Glad you enjoyed yourself. I had applied for the same trip. So what was the engine problem??

[Shadow DancerII]

Hi,
My wife and I are planning to sail either to Mexico or Hawii next year and will need crew. From the story you relate I think your sense of humour and adventure would be great for our 37'' cutter rigged Coopers Seabird.

Please contact if interested and we will give more details.

Regards

Vic

[marciavelli]

how can you say all is well, when the owner didn''t get his boat where he wanted it, and you guys turned around in a storm when you could have sailed rite into st. thomas,didn''t have any idea how to sort out engine.. it''s amatuers like you that is convincing owners to go with alternate means of getting their boat places(shipping, container, truck) and licenced professional like me are struggling to get work.
if your not prepared,,, donh''t leave the dock.....
by the way 45 knots of wind is a blessing compared to some of the wind that i''ve seen....
get a book and read about passages you shouldn''t make them...........

[Jeff Aydelette]

Dear Shadow DancerII:

Would you consider a 51-year old white
male, non-smoker, who can share expenses?

I live in Oriental, North Carolina, and
need more sea time. Please advise or
call me anytime at (252) 249-9851.

Thanks.

[snods57]

[snods57]

Vic,

I''m most interested in learning the details of the trip you and your wife are planning.
My email address is Snods57@Aol.com.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Mary

[snods57]

[snods57]

To Maciavelli:

Ok. So here''s the real truth about this passage.

My navigation skills are just a tad, shall we say, sub-par. To illustrate what I mean, the aforementioned delivery was supposed to be from Ft. Lauderdale to St. Thomas but we end up in Abaco, Bahamas. Turns out we made a left hand turn when we should have made a right. So you can see what I mean when I describe my navigational skills as sub-par. Truth is, I have none to speak of. Nonetheless, I am delightful to be around regardless of the time of day. I do a great night watch. We didn''t even come close to running into another vessel throughout the entire passage. Perhaps that takes up some of the slack for lack of expertise in other areas. Oh, did I mention that I''ve been an RN for 30 years!

[troyaux]

Mary, you just keep right on track with your thoughts and forget the griper that can''t get work (most likely because of his grumpy disposition)

I''d rather have a pleasant enthusiastic rookie aboard as crew anyday over a obnoxious know it all. You just ignore that fellow and keep getting out there

And MACIAVELLI,
You had best understand that no one gets to be a seasoned sailor by sitting on the dock. Also, this is a friendlt site ...if you don''t want to be friendly - join a powerboaters site!