Electric motor conversion

Now comes the hard but exciting part. Replacing the forty year old Atomic 4 gasoline engine. We are replacing it with an electric motor to be provided by Electric Yacht. The plan is to haul the Atomic 4 out with the clubs crane, along with the fuel tank and other elements related to the gasoline engine.

Once removed we'll clean up the space, prepare it for the electric motor and batteries. While at it we'll be upgrading the electrical systems on the boat in order to comply with requirements for insurance. In order to do this our survey suggests several areas that need work including re-wiring the AC shore power systems, adding a GFI outlet, updated wiring that complies with marine code, a new electrical panel, updated DC systems wiring, and electrical wiring and systems to support the new electric motor, battery system and house DC power systems.

The future systems making our sailboat a truly "green" transportation option and vision for the future of electric powered boating include:

1. Electric Yacht 10 kW, 200 Amp brushless electric motor
2. Eight deep cycle (Trojan?), rechargeable batteries (upgradeable to 16 in future if required)
3. Charging systems from AC shore power.
4. Charging system support for propeller driving electric motor as a generator while under sail.
5. Four solar panels (4 x Siemens 40 Watt solar photo voltaic panels) mounted as a bimini on the back of the boat. Charging for electric motor battery or house batteries (switchable or automatic).
6. Two deep cycle batteries for house power separate from electric motor. Switchable in emergency to be able to provide electric motor power.

Future Add Ons:

1. Wind turbine for charging electric motor battery system.
2. Small gasoline generator for backup/long haul electric motoring.

All of these systems are designed to test and learn how well electric motor systems work for sailing. What we learn will be used to design, plan and eventually build a system for a future 36-40 foot catamaran sailboat we'll be upgrading to sail around the world on 100% renewable energy from solar and wind (gasoline generator will be for emergency use only). Catamaran upgrade to electric motors will require the use of two motors mounted in replacement of two diesel motors.

Here is a video showing an Electric Yacht conversion story:

Here is a 40 foot sailboat conversion story from Electric Yachts web site, check it out:

It was a fortunate day in February 2008. Fortunate because hull number 82 of the legendary Cal 40 came my way and fortunate too because she came without an auxiliary. The diesel had expired and lay ashore somewhere waiting for yet another rebuild and more. Having had a couple of less than pleasant experiences with diesel motors in previous boats I had developed a phobia, an allergy even, to those belching complications. Normally I would go engineless or clamp an outboard on the stern but the Cal 40 was somewhat large and I did not want to remove a very useful Monitor vane to make way for an OMC. What to do?

I had heard of electric motors for sailboats but the task seemed daunting because I am a mechanical klutz and also with the boat in Malaysia and the electric units available only overseas, it appeared a mission impossible. Anyway, I plugged away on the Internet and on an off chance, sent an email to Electric Yacht and as they say, "the rest is history."

Scott McMillan immediately came to grips with the complication of installing an electric motor in the Cal 40. The motor needed to sit backwards and down into the pan which housed the v-drive. It would be tight. Measurements and details went back and forth for a while. Amazingly all my concerns were addressed, all emails were answered and I knew this guy was several steps ahead of me. But was it doable? Scott thought the dimensions might work but was concerned the 48 volt system was too small for my boat, being 15500 lbs displacement on a 30'04" waterline length. The decision was mine. I knew I was in good hands and put trepidations aside and mailed a check for the deposit. It was done.

There was a delivery backlog which gave me time to remove the old tank and its 110 litres(29galls) of diesel, get rid of forty years of crud and grime and cut out the v-drive with an angle grinder. White paint followed and the bilge shone. Scott sent me a photo of my unit with the super short shaft and pretty soon a hefty parcel arrived at RLYC Langkawi. Duty free, of course.

Custom built motor, throttle, percent meter, master switch, 48 to 12 volt converter, custom cableing for the batteries and the controller which Scott had built separately so it would'nt get wet at the companionway foot, detailed instructions ; it was all there. He'd even upgraded me to a dual 48/72 volt system, in case I should need it.

Often times things just fall in place. My South African friend, Faith offered to help. A piece of 2 by 4 drifted by and made a stong back from which to hang the motor on a handy billy and within a week it was all hooked up. No engineering, no dry dock.

Fortunately Trojan T105 batteries are available in Langkawi and with the help of a two young and strong Burmese workers we placed them in the space where the diesel used to sit. Not exactly level but secure and unable to come adrift at sea.

Now for the results:
Conditions; no wind, flat calm, runs up and down tide and averaged. GPS speed.

1.1 knots @ 4 amps,
1.93 knots @ 11 amps,
4.0 knots @ 72 amps.

Cal 40
LOA ----------------------- 39'04"
LWL ---------------------- 30'04"
BEAM ----------------------11'00"
DRAUGHT------------------5'07"
DISPLACEMENT---------15500lbs.
Long fin, spade rudder, flat sections.

The motor limit comes on at 75 amps. The pitch is not quite right. It should go to 100 amps which may deliver another half knot and give a little more torque. The extra pulley Scott sent along for the 72 volt system may do the trick and I will swap it around soon. Otherwise I will have to adjust the Max Prop (self feathering) at next dry docking. Manoeuvering with the electric motor is a snap. Plenty of torque and of course no noise, no smoke. I charge up the batteries from shorepower at the marina via a battery charger. It's only pennies.

I have been in and out of the marina twice and the batteries are down 10%. When I extrapolate the data I come up with an endurance of 20 miles to a 50% discharge level and 30 miles to a 75% discharge level. Underway I will charge the batteries from the Air Marine wind mill; solar panels via Zahn's 12 to 48 volt optimizer. Another option is to change to a fixed propeller which would let the regen work on passage but the price is high; 15% loss could add up to a 30 mile a day deficit. There is a good chance I can do it all without buying a generator.which like the diesel is a step in the wrong direction.

Weight comparison might be of interest:

Perkins 4.107, Walter v-drive, full lube oil and bunkers, 4 Trojan T105, 1 starting battery, exhaust/cooling paraphanelia
Total approx weight…………………………555kgs(1228lbs)

Electric Yacht motor complete, 8 Trojan T105 batteries, Battery charger.
Total approx weight…………………………258kgs(567lbs)

That's it. I wish you, "Good sailing". With emphasis on sailing. Ben Lexcen's famous edict, "Fast is fun" got it right. Sailing is; motoring is not. Electric Yacht is a happy compromise.

Main sail rigging

Decided to unwrap the main sail and start getting it rigged. Still don't know if we have a boom vang, so will continue to research that but in the mean time, need to get the main sail on so it feels like it is ready to go. The biggest sail bag I could find seemed like the right place to start. The top bit seemed right, with a ring that I could attach the halyard to. The bottom stern end of the sail also had a wring that I could attach to the out haul. The bottom of the main sail slipped nicely into the rail on the boom, which I pulled out until it was completely threaded onto the boom. I then attached the main sheet halyard and began to tug the sail up the mast putting the plastic bits into the slide rail as I went. Up she goes. Got about half way up and noticed that we have some pockets for battens. Went down below and found four battens. The smallest one fit perfectly in the top batten pocket. The next largest was next and so on. The last pocket was too small for our last long batten, so not sure whether we're missing one or it isn't used.

With Leigh helping, we then lowered the sail flaking as we went, just like in the basic sailing course and our Guadeloupe trip. We did a reasonably handsome job of folding the sail on the boom, about a foot on each side, pulled nicely towards the stern as we went in order to keep the sail from overlapping with the mast. Once we had about half the sail down we wrapped and tied, with a reef knot, the first half the the sail. Next we brought down the rest and tied up the middle and front end of the sail. A beautiful dark blue sail cover fits snuggly over the sail, wrapping around the mast and protecting our big main sail. She is ready to sail...just need to ask about the missing batten at the bottom, as well as rigging up some reefing line to the sail.

Feels good to have that sail ready to go. Still working on the engine and electrical systems. Hoping to get out soon. Also need to pull out the jib and genoa sails and see what kind of shape they are in.

Oops, now the boom

So, a couple important things. First, we had the main halyard and the topping lift (the line that holds the stern (back) end of the boom) on the bow (front) side of the boat. That means it was looped over the spreaders and needed to be moved to the stern side. We must have made a mistake when raising the mast and left these two lines on the wrong side...note for next time, keep them on the stern side before raising the mast. This is THE way to learn, the hard way, one that makes it hard to forget.

Soooo, how to get those pesky lines on the  correct side of the rigging? Bosuns chair, apparently a device that allows one, with some help, to be raised up the mast to do work such as this. Don't have one yet. A little nervous of the idea. Would have to learn this whole rig-a-ma-roll (sounds like that little expression came from sailing?). Think. Try out every line, see what pulls what, could one of the lines haul up the messed up lines and then drop them on the correct side and return...not likely? Interesting, the topping lift has no line to raise it up. Only the main sail halyard has a line that can raise it. So, we try raising it with the topping lift line attached...it goes up, but doesn't feel like it'll have enough weight to come down...too much friction. So, I start tying various tools on to give it this required weight...wrench, spanner, another wrench. Getting heavy enough to come down once lifted up. Then I see that when it hits the spreaders it get stuck...won't go higher as the spreader is blocking the path.

Attach another thin line to the weight and use this to pull the whole thing towards the bow as we reach the spreader, then, as the boat rolls a little I pull and let the weight swing towards the stern and at the moment it is past the spreader heading further towards the stern I quickly lower the weight, bang, into the mast, but nicely below the spreader, now on the correct stern side of the boat. Success...in so many ways. Imagine, as I had visions of, a large set of steel tools up at the spreaders, stuck, dangling and clanging at everyone, look over here at this bozo. Fortunately, this time this ridiculous work-around has a pleasant ending.

With the topping lift and main sail halyard now on the stern side of the rigging, we are ready (or at least so I think) to attach the boom to the mast. We (my Dad and I), attach the topping lift clip and line to the loop and cleat, adjusting it to the height that ensures the pin goes through the connection at the mast. I slide the boom into the gooseneck, drop the large think long pin down into the hinge, pop a cotter (someone mentioned I spelled this differently in a past blog, and perhaps even in reference to a different piece of hardware...live, learn, try, forget and learn again) pin in to hold the large pin in place. She holds nice and fast, providing a boom that appears to be in the correct place, and the right way up.

I'd gotten the few block and tackle gizmos and lines that looked like the right pieces for holding the boom in place. Was trying to get the boom vang as well, which I thought I had, but turned out to be the main sheet (think rope with pulleys for hauling the boom in and out through tacks, turns...you know). Review some similar C&C boats, for ideas, and then hooked up the main sheets that clicked right into place towards the stern end of the boat on the boom. This also clipped in nicely to the slider system in the cockpit. A nice pull on the main sheet and the boom tightens up nicely into place. It swings back and forth when pulled in and out (useful for performing the necessary tacks). We then lock it into place in the centre of the boat so that it holds the boom in place right down the middle for now (some people clip it in to the side opposite the dock so that there is lots of room in the cockpit when docked).

It wasn't elegant and there was some thinking that perhaps we should wait for others to tell us how, but this attempting, trying and learning through every little mistake is quite a thrill. For today, the story ends well. I am sure there will be many ups and downs through this process. In fact the downs make the ups feel that much more exhilarating once accomplished.

Next hurdles include boom vang (no idea on this one yet...may just be some of the line and some pulleys). Then the sails need to be mounted and adjusted. Also, the electric motor is still on order and we will need to work through hauling the Atomic 4 gasoline engine out, clean the area and replace with the electric and batteries.

Raising the mast

Since our Atomic 4 gasoline engine would not start we got a tow to the area where the crane can hoist the mast onto the boat. Preparation for this maneuver included first getting about seven guys to lift the heavy long mast down off the storage racks. Once down and sitting on four horses spread about twenty feet apart we began hosing down about four years of dust, dirt, bird crap, spider nests and who knows what else. After the initial hosing down we began scrubbing with sponges with an abrasive scrubber side. The slide rail needed an especially thorough cleaning to ensure nothing would cause it to get caught on the sail slides going up but especially when bringing it down. We ran our hands along all of the standing rigging which is made out of steel cable to make sure there were no burrs that might be a sign of damage and potential hazard for the sails to get caught on.

Once everything was thoroughly washed and cleaned we were told to use an acid wash to get the mast even cleaner. Also, all the rope (lines) had to be cleaned as they had accumulated a lot of dirt. At the bottom of all the standing rigging are turnbuckles. Each of these was thoroughly cleaned with water and then WD 40 was used to lubricate them to ensure they would turn easily without jamming. It was important to ensure that the steel rigging did not get bent improperly as this could permanently damage them. The sailboats chainplates and shackles were checked with cotter pins and split rings placed ready in these fittings to which the shrouds will be attached to secure the mast forward and aft (front and back), starboard and port (right and left). We were missing one on the starboard side. Keep spares available. Lubricate all moving parts so halyards are turning pulleys smoothly, check for abrasion and replace as necessary. Check all the clevis pins. They should be secured and ready to be taped so they don't damage the sails.

The boat was positioned close to the crane so that the mast, once raised would be directly under the mast seat and deck hole for the mast. The mast was positioned with the rail side up so that as the mast was lifted and moved over the boat it would be facing the stern (back) of the boat where the main sail will be mounted on that slide rail. A bowline was used to secure a very thick (1/2 inch) line (rope) to the middle of the mast, about eight inches below the spreaders. This was then tied down at the base (bottom) of the mast so that the loop in the middle would not slide up into the spreaders. The spreaders were attached with some screws and then taped with white electrical tape. The upper shrouds were then attached to the spreaders, plastic caps placed over them, and these then taped with white electrical tape on all three side to ensure it stays on and protects the sails. It is very important to ensure that the standing rigging from the top of the mast are all on the right sides and that they are not going to get wrapped up by the rope or crane. All standing rigging required on the port side was placed on the part side and all rigging required on the starboard side were placed on that side. The essential point is to ensure the upper rigging does not get trapped on the wrong side of the rope being used to raise the mast. Be sure the halyards are not entangled with the spreaders. Tape spreaders ends to ensure they won't damage the sails.

DO NOT STAND DIRECTLY BELOW THE SUSPENDED MAST.

We should have tested all the lights with a portable 12 volt batter and labeled the wires. We didn't know this at the time.

The cranes hook was lowered into position and secured on the loop tied with a bowline at the centre of the mast just below the spreaders. The key is not to allow the substantial weight of the mast to be held by the spreaders...so the tied roped at the base of the mast must be secure and no stretch or loosening of the loop in the middle should allow for this.With at least three people, but ideally with four or five, the mast can then be raised.

The crane winch is first used to slowly start lifting the mast with the hook attached to the loop in the middle of the mast. The base of the mast must be held by someone as it will want to swing back towards the crane and lake. Keep the base of the mast down towards the ground and the mast will then start to stand upright as it is lifted higher. Keep an eye on all the shrouds and rigging to ensure it isn't getting caught on any of the horses. The cranes hook cables should also be secured so they don't twist s they will have a tendency to do. The manned positions are an operator of the crane winch, someone strong and heavy to keep the base of the mast down and guided, a crane rotation operator, and someone ready on the deck of the sailboat prepared to guide the mast into the mast base hole and the seat once it goes through the hole in the main cabin. With the mast hanging directly over this mast base hole, get the mast perfectly vertical and position the boat so that the hole is directly under the mast by shifting the boat in the mooring back or forward. Slowly, very slowly, lower the mast into the hole, with the hand on deck guiding it into place, keeping all the electrical wiring (for lighting and radio antenna) well clear of getting caught or pinched. Adjust the boat and crane as required to keep the mast coming straight down into the hole.

Once the mast is in the hole a foot or two the deck hand can go inside the cabin to prepare to lower the mast onto the base plate shoe. Here it is critical to get everything positioned perfectly so that as the mast is lowered it will sit right in the shoe. Move the boat six inches at a time back or forward until the mast appears to be ready to meet the shoe, the mast should be within an inch or two of the shoe to make these adjustments. Check the vertical positioning as well. Once things look like they will meet when lowered, lower away SLOWLY, muscling the mast into the shoe. Once sitting in the shoe, secure the standing rigging, starting with the forestay, then the backstay, then the upper shrouds on both sides of the boat, and then the lower shrouds on both sides of the boat. Secure with codder pines and split rings. Codder pins are pushed through towards the bow of the boat. Insert all clevis pins with heads forward or outboard, and tape over the bent cotter pins to protect the sails.

The hook was then lowered using a pole to ease the loop over the steaming light on the forward side of the mast.

We still need to place the wedges around the mast at the collar where the mast exits the cabin. We also still need to lead running rigging to the appropriate blocks and winches and connect light wires.

Bring the mast down simply reverses this process.

Switch to electric motor

We've made the decision to switch from the Atomic 4 gasoline engine that dates from when the boat was originally built in 1974 to an electric motor. We've ordered the biggest electric motor Electric Yachts has. Bill and Scott who run the company have been very helpful as we learn more about this conversion. We plan to buy the batteries for the electric motor locally. We are looking into the details now of how to pull the old gasoline engine and assorted fuel systems out of the boat. Likely we will get some help with this at Island Marina.



I've found some some useful background information on electrical systems and requirements at various web sites. Most recently I've been reading the summarized version of electrical code for boats at New Boat Builders - link to code document is here. Interestingly much of the code deals with protection required of the electrical system when you have a gasoline engine. Essentially this is not an issue with our decision to switch to electric motor.  Just found a pretty good shareware summary of electrical system requirements - here. Ahhh, just found a direct link to the Canadian Marine Electrical safety page here.

As a part of the conversion I've put a couple solar panels off my roof down at the boat that will eventually be mounted on the bimini as a means of solar charging the batteries. Looks like we should be able to mount four 40 watt panels, for a total of 160 watts of solar charging capability. Interestingly the electric motor will also charge the batteries when we are sailing as the propellor is turned by the friction in the water turning the motor into a generator.

Putting our new 35 foot 1974 C&C sailboat in the water

The weekend of April 17/18 2010 was boat launch weekend at QCYC where our newly purchased 1974 35 foot C&C sailboat sitting dry. On Sunday, after a dry run sitting in the cockpit as the boat is launched, our boat was safely launched into Lake Ontario for the first time (other than a quick motor test that failed a year or two ago) in about seven years. Peter, Paul, Ken and all the other members worked together to get us in safely and secured at our temporary slip. Peter went over the through hull valves with us and made sure they were all closed except for the engine cooling intake. Dad worked himself to utter exhaustion over the two days manning the pull lines, pushing the hulls, and clearing the yard. What a great feeling for all to see Initram back in the water...she is a beauty.

Getting the engine going

Now the fun begins. The Atomic four engine won't start so Paul has kindly ordered the required set of replacement parts such as plugs, distributor, and other pieces that typically need to be replaced at the start of the season. Peter who basically did all the essential to launch our boat was able to get the engine to turn over but she won't start. Several potential issues are likely the cause including dirty fuel (from long term storage), gas line filter problems, spark plugs, points etc. As new boat owners with no engine maintenance experience all these new terms and issues are daunting. However, fellow members are providing us with so much help and support, based on their many years of experience that it feels as though we are not alone.

Bilge pump

My big concern has been the the bilge filling with water slowly. The only obvious source is a drip from the stuffing box where the propeller shaft goes through the hull (I learned a bit more about stuffing boxes at a web site created by a Don Casey with a section on Servicing your Stuffing Box - here). Apparently this is normal and should essentially cease to leak after a day or so assuming the stuffing box material is doing its job. If it does not, I am told the stuffing box can be tightened to stop the leak. With this leak I am over at the boat morning and evenings to manually pump the bilge as the automated bilge pump was neither functional nor connected/mounted. We have purchased a replacement automatic bilge pump (same model/capacity 750 automatic Rule) and I've got the DC battery providing power to test the new pump. It runs when I use the test button. However, having accomplished this small miracle (the switch to the wires used by the old pump are labelled water pump, rather than the more obvious but incorrect bilge pump switch) the questions are how do I mount the beast and to what hose do I connect it so that the water can be drained (without causing some other problem). So many switches and so little time. For a Bilge pump 101 course I found first David Pescoe with his All About Bilge Pumps - here and again on Don Casey web site Installation a Bilge Pump - here.

None of the hoses under the sink (picture to the right) where we found the old pump appear to be usable. From some articles on the web (see links above on Bilge pumps) regarding bilge pumps putting the hose into the sink through hull line wouldn't make sense since it exits via a through hull that is under water. The bilge pump needs to exit apparently through the hull at a point 12 inches above the water line (even when heeling). That suggest the stern where the existing manual bilge pump exits. No such hose or through hull appears to exist in this configuration. So, what was the setup before and what is the right way to proceed? If a through hull is required there is a pretty good article on the subject called Putting a Hole in your Boat. Stay tuned.

One suggestion from a fellow boat owner at the club is as follows: Install the electric pump in the bilge and run a hose up to where can splice a Y-valve into the hand operated bilge pump line.  Then you have to install a back-flow preventer (these allow water to be pumped through, but don't let water back) in both lines before the Y so that if you are using one or the other pumps, the water won't circle around and back into the bilge.  That way you can operate both at the same time and only have the one existing thru-hull fitting.

Guadeloupe sailing trip: intermediate sailing course

Our Air Canada flight landed in Guadeloupe Pointe-a-Pitre airport, French soil, on February 6, 2010. Flying in from Toronto, via Montreal, we were to meet our fellow sailing course crew mates, not quite for the first time, but close. Having had a couple of trip planning meetings in Toronto, we discussed as a group very little, and essentially had done nothing to prepare as a team for the voyage ahead, other than a quick lesson on Caribbean mooring, a brief review of the charts, and discussion regarding the need for food like sandwiches for lunch, beer and wine. Thus was our introduction to Birgit Woods, Ian Hoar, Pamela Borges and master (captain) Clive Smith. "We" are John Wilson (me) and my wife Leigh Geraghty, recent graduates of the Queens Quay sailing clubs Basic Cruising course this past summer. The plan, to sail for a week around the islands of Guadeloupe and Dominica in order to accomplish our intermediate level cruising designation...and perhaps much more. The question, as we set off on this adventure becomes, good idea or disaster waiting to happen?

Guadeloupe turns out to be one of the more affluent and well developed islands in the Caribbean, with modern freeways that whisk us quickly to the Sunsail (sailboat charter company) dock yard. Our group, organized by Clive for the sailing club has chartered two 47 foot Beneteau sail boats. A Sunsail representative meets us at the gate, speaking only French, and then leads us to our floating home for the week. We've shared the taxi bus to the marina with with Brian, Sarah, Birgit, and Ian (Brian and Sarah will crew the sister boat on the same course). A love affair is already blossoming as our French hosts introduce us to Vriend, our beautiful sailboat for the next week. Vriend is the biggest sail boat I've ever been on, only about seven years old, she appears clean, well equipped, well organized, and reasonably spacious. Quickly we each claim our accomodations, Leigh and I sharing a double birth at the stern, Ian on the other side in the stern, Birgit in the bow birth (to be shared with Pamela), leaving the double bunk for Clive.

Food (restaurant is just behind Leigh as she sits on our boat in the photo to the left). Just a two minute walk along the dock and we have a waterfront view from a laid back bar/restaurant where we can enjoy dinner as people arrive. We've learned that Pamela and the captain of the other boat have been diverted through Antigua and will be a day late arriving. My father, Ian Wilson, crew on the other boat, has already scoped out the area having arrived a few days early and we find him strolling down to the dock upon our arrival. Ian Wilson has already started to get settled in on his boat Marilyn... twin sister to our beauty Vriend.

Day 1 - Getting ready to set sail

next three photos below by Ian Hoar

Coffee. My first night on the boat is a somewhat sleepless one as the tight quarters, noise, and dreams (nightmares?) of what lies ahead keep me rolling over and over like a wave confined to a coffin. An old but trusted habit has me expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Here we go. Shopping lists are made, planning each future meal to be cooked by each of us on our allotted day as cook. Clive says we must plan for 2 litres of water to be consumed a day as a minimum requirement... so we plan to get lots of big bottles of water for drinking. While the boat has large holding tanks for water, that is for the showers, washing dishes etc.

Apparently wine and beer can be included in our plans for sufficient water...and coffee...so, we head into town, near the Marina, about a five minute walk. We find a quiet, nearly empty coffee shop on the water front and have a delicious cafe ("e" on the end of "cafe" with accent aigu... aaaay ... cafaaay) ... wonderful, and chocolate croissant. Our large groups overwhelm the quiet cafe and soon all the croissants, french bread, and jam is sold out.

Sufficiently caffeinated we head to the supermarket and load up on wonderful deli meats, fresh eggs, cheap french wine, beer, cereal, milk (uht - ultra heat treated so it need not be refrigerated...a good idea as it turns out), buns, bread, burgers, pasta...enough for an army. Pack it away in the boats fridge/freezer, cupboards, and cabinets, trudge back for a few forgotten items, and we are provisioned!

Next, getting ready to cast off, we've got to review all aspects of how to operate the boat. Clive has us dismantle all the floor boards in order to find each and every "through hull" or places where they've got pipes for taking in or exhausting water through the hull of the boat. We make a diagram of the boat and draw all these elements on the diagram so we know where everything is. Point is that if we spring a leak, we need to know how to find these weak points and potentially use the wooden plugs, under the navigation stations chair, to resolve the problem before sinking. Daily bosun duties are also reviewed including checking the diesel engine, oil levels, and starter battery disconnect switch. Next a safety check list review also includes finding where all the personal floatation devices are (and ensuring enough for each sailor), flares, noise maker (a little plastic trumpet?!), bilge pump, anchor, and heaving line (did I forget anything?).

photo below by Pamela Borges

Before we could finally get going Clive has us prepare the anchor rode (chain that is attached to the anchor) so that we'll always know how much we've let out. We mark with red electrical tape every 30 feet on the chain having hauled the entire thing onto the deck of the boat. The first 30 foot red marker has a single red stripe on the chain, the second two and so on so that we'll always be able to measure and check how much rode we have out. At anchorage we are apparently supposed to do a 1 to 5 ratio, depth to rode length, in order to ensure the anchors sits properly on the bottom to hold fast.

My first days duty is to take the helm, motor us out of the harbor and enjoy a brief sail to Le Gossier to find our first anchorage (while avoiding a few reefs). It being Sunday we will have to wait 'til Monday to clear customs in Guadeloupe at the "capitainerie". With Clive guiding me all the way I start up the monster diesel engine, get the moorings untied by the crew, and slowly steer us between the narrow lanes between docks...all 47 feet of our Vriend and who knows how many tons...we are on our way.

Our sister sailboat it turns out was grounded at the dock and so we circled once waiting for them to follow. Heading out we reminded ourselves of the rule "red right return" which means that you keep the red buoys on your right when you are returning to port. So since we are leaving port, I was to keep the red buoys on my left and green on my right. Okay, got it...important, don't want to run aground as my first experience at helm...no pressure. We've also reviewed the charts to make sure we know what to expect. As we reach the outer harbor and get beyond the last entrance buoys we prepare to raise the sails. Up goes the main...we are sailing...up goes the jib...whoa...the sheet (rope allowing us to pull in the jib sail on the right side), starts flailing around...Clive was a little pissed, bring down the sails, we'll have to motor over to Le Gossier and deal with the sheet issue at anchor. Perhaps we should have more thoroughly checked our sheets and lines before setting out...perhaps the figure eight knot was missing which might have prevented this problem. This is exactly the kind of experience I've been hoping for.

Coming in to anchor for the first time is a little intimidating. Clive has me steer up in between to other sailboats, leaving about thirty feet between us, slowly. Just as we stop moving forward Clive says to drop the anchor...estimating the depth at about 8 feet based on the depth finders reading. We let out about forty feet of rode. I reverse the engine slowly. We wait to feel the anchor catch and hold us fast. It does. We are set at anchor. Amazingly that is it. We will sway in the wind along with all the other boats on anchor. Incredibly we won't bump into each other as long as everything holds fast.

Exploring the small Ile de Gossier doesn't take too long. Sadly, our captain's hunt for the last beer on the island ends in disaster, at just 5pm all the beer is gone. Undeterred we wander around the small island, protected by a large reef, only to find a great reminder to us newbie sailors...a ship wreck. Yes, it is all good times and the easy life as the weather holds clear but as we can all see, the seas are not always blissfully calm.

Well, never mind. Sun is setting. Our anchor appears to be holding. We do what any sailors would do...sit back and enjoy the view as the days visitors are rapidly ferried off the island. There we are, Ian, Pam, Clive, Birgit, Leigh and John, enjoying our first evening on the beach at Ile de Gossier having swum over from the boat at anchor. Time to swim back to the boat for evening's cocktails and dinner.

You can see me pointing to our boat Vriend along with all the other boats at anchor (our boat is a little to the left of where I am pointing). The reef and the island provide very good protection from the waves that break on the reef. If we had wanted we could have motored our dinghy over to the main island of Guadeloupe again for further provisions.

Preparing dinner the first night is a team effort. Despite assigned duties for each day we all help each other out no matter what the task. Enthusiastic team work makes quick work of everything. All that hard team work requires sustenance which, as you will see, we enjoyed in abundance. One secret (not any more) we learned from Birgit on the first evening, is a surprising combination composed of a dried apricot, topped with a dab of blue cheese that holds a perfect little pistachio in place, followed by a swig of white wine or beer. Heavenly! Well, for some of us...definitely one of those love it or hate it combinations. All the more for those of us who love it.

Day 2 - Marie Galante

Take a look at that breakfast. Ian despite protestations of being unequal to the task of cook, turns out one of the most sumptuous spreads imaginable. Taking to heart the directive that breakfast must include a "hot" dish, we enjoy some delicious scrambled eggs, toast, cheeses, fresh fruits, and some wonderful coffee. This is going to be a good trip. Who knew this day would bring us some pretty stiff wind and a bit of wave action.

This is where the "patch" and the "non-patch" people come in. Patch people are those that choose to take the advice of cap'n Clive, who suggests the patch as a way of ensuring you don't get seasick. Non-patch people are those fools who think they'd like to find out if they get seasick on a boat. Really the question becomes where and when you will feel woozy. Patch people, like Ian, Leigh and Birgit have a little round bandaid like thing stuck behind their ear. These patches direct a mild(?) drug into the skin near the inner ear that does a very good job of eliminating the symptoms of seasickness. Oddly, the first morning after the patches are applied Ian and Leigh complain of a dizzy feeling before we've even left port. This is a side effect for some people and goes away. Birgit is not affected in this way nor are the non-patch people John, Pam and Clive. We'll see how this experiment ends later.

After breakfast we set sail for Marie Galante. I take navigator duty this morning. Clive shows me the charts, where we are and where we want to go today. He takes the parallel rules (attached by some hinges), and determines the heading we'll need to take by transferring the line we want over to the compass rose...very cool...just don't let the thing slip...or you might end up in Australia...which would be interesting. I have to admit that every now and then that old jingle from Gilligan's Island came into my head at the thought of such an adventure. We then used the divider to calibrate a nautical mile which we then placed on our course (we'd drawn it as a line with a pencil on the chart), and counted each mile by stepping the divider from our current location to our destination. Knowing that we might make about 5 knots/hour we could tell that we ought to arrive in about five hours....get it? There'll be a test one day...maybe.

After a good sail, more learning the ropes (lines?), we are slowly starting to figure out what all the winches, cleats, and colour coding of the lines are all related to. At first there seems to be so many. Slowly they all start to make sense and you begin to remember which is related to what. Arriving in Marie Galante, most of the crew headed for town to complete our provisioning... somehow we either couldn't get or forgot a few essentials. Luckily, we were able to get a few of the missing items. While most of the crew were in town John and Clive took care of the boat while enjoying a cold beer.

Day 3 - Dominica

This is the day we sail to a new country, from France (Guadeloupe), to Dominica, for which we had already made plans and preparations through the capitainerie in Guadeloupe. Wind is up to 20 knots for todays sail. Waves are reaching ten feet or so. Leigh is at the helm for what will be our fastest and most exciting sailing on a broad reach heading to Dominica. For a good portion of the sail we are able to reach 8 knots - even reached 10 knots a few times. Very nice. What a beautiful day of sailing. Felt great to fly across the water reaching Dominica relatively early in the day. Check out the video of us sailing...me at the helm for just a bit as we go by the southern tip of Dominica.

During our crossing we picked up a "mayday" repeated three times, coming in over the VHF radio which is set to channel 16. A woman's voice sobs "we are in trouble, please help, my daughter is hurt, please come quickly, we are running aground, our boat is breaking up, help!" Terrifying. Other boats respond (they aren't supposed to since coast guard is supposed to be allowed to respond first). No mention of location i.e. latitude and longitude... so how would we know where she is? Remember, explain your location when sending out a mayday in the event of an emergency. Eventually a man comes on the radio to say that the woman and daughter are safely on a dinghy, and that the boat is in trouble on the rocks and needs help quickly. Things are bad but a little better. Help is on the way.

Dominica is a beautiful island. The beach and bay are gorgeous. Tour operators and fruit sellers greet us in small colourful motor boats. Swimming in to the beach we have a blast swinging out from a palm tree over the water, after getting provisions and checking in with the local police station (for a passport stamp, not required but fun).

Dinner was our first attempt at using the charcoal barbecue which is mounted off of the pushpit at the stern of the boat. Worked like a dream for some delicious hamburgers and chicken burgers, along with a fresh salad (actually we had bbq'd the night before without any difficulty, no wind, but learned here at Dominica that you can use a shield made of tin foil around the edges to get the thing lit under high winds). Our sister boat's crew had a lovely, home cooked, local meal at the two storey restaurant/bar in the photo to the right above.

Each night we would lay on the fore-deck to star gaze. We started with the basics like the Big Dipper, Orion, and perhaps Cassiopeia. Clive would then start slowly, suggesting vague answers to different constellations, and in the end basically naming the entire solar system... wow! Great for celestial navigation. Just like with coastal navigation where you need three points, you can, with some celestial points in the sky, determine your location. Each leg of the trip Ian, Birgit and Pam would use the hand compass to determine our location. More often than not they were within just a few miles...which is beyond amazing given the rocky nature of the boat, lack of any clear objects, and the need to do math below deck... ugh, talk about woozy.

Getting lunch together while under way proved that old iron stomach Wilson, wasn't quite the sailor he hoped to be. After five to ten minutes on the big wind/wave day preparing lunch in the galley, I knew I needed to get out for some fresh air. By staring at the horizon, as though at helm, I was able to slowly get back to a reasonable feeling of comfort. As the days went on, and seas remained calmer, I found little difficulty working below deck, which I hope means I was getting some sort of sea legs. The patch people would have a blast working below deck despite the huge waves tossing them around. Apparently it is hilarious... as a non-patch person I don't quite get it... but it sure sounded fun... and thank goodness they enjoyed it so much or we might not have had lunch that day.

Day 4-5 Iles-des-Saintes

Now we head back to the Guadeloupe islands in the shape of Iles-des-Saintes which are the remnants of an ancient volcano caldera (collapsed volcano). Approaching these islands, which form a circle, we pass by a string of six double blade wind turbines on the wind swept coast line of one of the islands in the chain. We review our charts carefully as the most direct course into the protected bay is a very shallow coral reef that could cause us problems. So, we circle to the left coming in beside some tourists on a glass bottom boat, on what are some of the most beautiful turquoise waters we've seen so far. There it is, a large picturesque bay full of sail boats at anchor, red roof houses on the hill sides, and a feeling like this is one of those perfect places.

We stock up on provisions and explore the town, agreeing to meet up at the beautiful little church in the centre.

Elegant shops line the mainly pedestrian streets, along which are quite a number of scooters, and to my pleasant surprise, some cute electric cars. This is my kind of place. Our first night we decide to splurge for the first time and eat out. We've picked the right spot and find a very French restaurant to enjoy some great wine, French food, and a laid back pace. We decide to spend two heavenly days in this beautiful cruising sailors paradise.

On our first full day we make the hike up to Fort Napoleon. The views are spectacular (see the photo above of all the boats in the bay taken from the Fort). Hiking up takes only about thirty minutes. Having never been in any battles, the fort is in very good condition complete with a moat in which I can imagine alligators swimming around, although there is now no water in it.

Speaking of alligator, another interesting inhabitant of the island is a large iguana which makes the fort his home. They are crafty old lizards that hide very well in the rocky hills. Only while making our way back down to the boat do we see one up close.

Later in the afternoon we make a trek across the centre of the island to the other side to do some snorkelling on the reef. The beach is quite nice with plenty of shelter for picnicking. For the entire afternoon we snorkel across the entire bay enjoying the view of beautiful colourful fish, large stringy anemone, and plenty of spiky sea urchins. What a heavenly way to spend the day, drifting, floating, diving into the coral caverns, and becoming part of this different world.

photo below by Ian Hoar

On our last evening in Isle-des-Saintes we enjoy a feast on Wilson pasta, made to perfection with the help of sous chef Borges. As we finish up enjoying fresh fruit for desert a strange feeling of gritty dust descends upon us in the dark. Leigh questions whether this might be some kind of volcanic ash to which the answer is of course "no way"! A few minutes later the VHF radio sputters out a maritime emergency message: Montserrat has erupted with a large amount of ash blown into the atmosphere making visibility difficult downwind. We are down wind. We and our beautiful Vriend are being blanketed by grey volcanic ash. We close the hatches, clear up as much as we can see and go to bed. The next morning is quite a scene of grey dust everywhere on the boat and all over the town. Red roofs are now grey. The lush green land is now grey-green. Along with the other boats in the harbour, we spend an hour or two swabbing down the decks and cleaning up all the ash.

Day 6 - Back to Pointe-a-Pitre

two photos below by Ian Hoar

Our last day is already upon us before we know it. The trip has gone by so fast as we are busy every day provisioning, sailing, navigating, cooking, learning, fixing, star gazing, dreaming and exploring. What a great way to live. Weather was perfect. Our team worked brilliantly together. We had fun. We ate like the gods. We found places that dreams are made of. We have been so fortunate to have found the time to discover this way of living. We are so lucky!

Volcanic ash has delayed flights for a day, so we are kindly accommodated by our Sunsail hosts in a sailboat that is for sale. Our last feast together is a spectacular carnivore's delight of bbq'd meat on swords. Our new friends, crew of Vriend, have discovered a new world, a life on the water, exploring, and finding adventure. What a trip!

And so the journey begins. This is the continuing story of a quest to be the first father/son family team to circumnavigate the world in a renewable energy powered catamaran sailboat. I am calling this adventure Sun Challenge (see the web site at www.sunchallenge.com). Stay tuned to this blog and the web site for the next step towards this dream.

John Wilson