VIDEO: Hampton to Poquoson

Testing out the New Camera, short little video, hopefully more to come.

A lesson I will never forget

So I'm going to share a little story with you of something I did wrong while out sailing last Thursday that could have very likely caused my death. Here in Virginia we have had a rough winter, and a few days have been favorable. I decided to go out on a lovely day and anchor overnight and head back the next day, no rush cool calm and collective. The weather was a high of mid 60's both days, and the wind was favorable.

I headed out solo and stated my northern trek up the Chesapeake bay heading from Hampton to Poquoson where I would anchor. I had jacklines set up and had just purchased an inflatable offshore PFD with built in harness, as I was not going to go solo without a harness, no matter what the weather was like. I arrived at the channel at around 4:00pm an dropped the sails, turned on the motor and began to travel down the channel, towards the anchorage. A large barge was heading up the channel, so I steered clear out of the channel and all of a sudden came to a stop. I had gotten my propeller wrapped up in a fishing net that was not properly marked, and quite long.

Now here comes the part where I was stupid. I have unlimited towing with Boat US. Rather than calling them, I tried to use a boat hook to lift the net up and cut it, however I only got one side cut free. I then decided to inflate my dinghy and try to cut it away that way and examine the propeller to see if I could somehow untangle it. I brought the dinghy around and tied it up to the stern cleats. I climbed down and tried to cut the net free.

What I did Wrong:

I decided to be lazy with tying the dinghy up to the stern, it was loose, and the sailboat was bouncing on the waves. As I was climbing onto the ladder to get back into the sailboat to call the tow boat (which I should have done all along), the dinghy drifted, I slipped and fell into the water. The water had to have been 45-50 degrees, if not colder. I immediately activated my inflatable PFD and had luckily hooked my harness into the boat in case I had fallen in (This is what I did right). The sad part was that the boat was bouncing on the waves with considerable force.

I was in the cold water for 30-45 minutes before I was able to pull myself up on the ladder, which took all my remaining strength. I could not get into the dinghy which I tried do to the PFD getting in my way, and I wasn't taking that off. One of the major problems was I couldn't feel my feet or my hands, and on the ladder this was a major problem. I then stripped down naked, dried off and wrapped up into 2 sleeping bags to warm up. Gradually I did, called towboat US and was cut free and towed to docking.

What I'm glad I did:

Before getting into the dinghy I had called my cousin and told him of the situation. I have faith that he would have hopefully called the coast guard, but by then it would have been too late.

I'm glad I had worn my inflatable PFD and harness.

What I wish I had:

I wish I would have had a portable VHF radio clipped to my harness, I would have called the coast guard and hopefully would have been rescued without being in the water for that long.

Conclusion:

I know what I did was wrong. After taking so many solo sailing precautions by using jacklines and a harness, I was lazy in tying up the dingy. I also should have never done this alone. I should have called towboat US, especially since I have unlimited towing. I'm lucky to be alive. I did have a mild case of hypothermia, but luckily my army training kicked in, an I was able to treat myself appropriately.

Maiden Voyage

Finally, fair weather in the state of Virginia.  We have been getting hit with one of the worst winters I've seen.  Luckily, I think we are on the edge of spring.  I called my cousin up (the one whom I bought the boat from) and mentioned that their was nice weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures for Monday in the low 60's and Tuesday in the low 70s.  He agreed to head up and we planned to sail out, anchor overnight and sail back the next day.

Motoring out of the channel

My day started Monday about 4:00am when I headed out.  I grabbed some breakfast, gassed up my truck and headed to Hampton.  I couldn't wait to get underway on my newly purchased boat, that I acquired months ago and have yet had a chance to sail her.  Once I reached Hampton, I stopped at Walmart and picked up some beer, soda, snacks, and some stuff to make some sandwiches (in which I didn't even make).  I arrived at the boat before light, and began to load stuff on Catharsis, re-arrange items and wait for my cousin to arrive.  Once he arrived, I helped him load up his belongings, we started the engine and went over everything on the boat.  Soon, we were underway.  It was an amazing feeling, even just motoring out of the channel into the bay.  Today was the perfect day he told me, the wind was light, the water was calm, a perfect day to learn to sail, not necessarily the best conditions for sailing.  Our plan was to sail to Fort Monroe, which was a short ways away, but with light winds we averaged anywhere from 2-4 knots, occasionally hitting 5.  The autopilot wasn't working, so it was strictly wheel sailing.  The weather was a bit chilly, but luckily I was layered up, the only thing cold being my hands.  Along the way we saw many of the war ships leaving the channel, along with several ships transporting cargo.  A couple hours later, we were in the empty anchorage at Fort Monroe.  

Me at the Helm, enjoying a peaceful day.

The anchorage was peaceful, aside from the highway leading into the tunnel.  We ate snacks, talked about all sorts of things, and then my cousin made chili for dinner.  After eating and drinking a beer, I laid down for a nap....in which I didn't wake up from until the next morning.  Something about the water makes one tired.  The night was fairly chilly, but not unbearable in the least bit.  The next morning, I woke up and my cousin was already awake.  I wasn't too hungry, but he insisted on me eating at least an apple.  I'm glad I did.  We waited until a early afternoon to leave, due to wanting to arrive at high tide to avoid running aground.  The reason I was glad I ate something, was I didn't think the anchor would be nearly as heavy as it was pulling it up, but finally managed to get it up and cleaned off.  We departed, and had to move out of the way of a few large ships utilizing the channel.  Tuesday was a lot warmer and I was grateful for that.  Today, was a bit slower averaging around 2-3 knots with light winds.  We finally arrived back at around 4:00pm on Tuesday.  It was a great day, and I'm glad that I got to go out finally.

   

Another Warship

One of the Warships

Anchored at Fort Monroe

Anchored at Fort Monroe

My cousin cooking chili

Warm bowl of chili and ice cold beer.

A Little Bit of Cabin Fever

So, Virginia has been having some arctic weather going on, sailing weather not being favorable.  This really makes me want to just pack up and move to the Caribbean, but not yet to be a live aboard at this point in my life. So in my spare time, I decided to brew a batch of Bourbon Barrel Stout.  I've brewed beer in the past as a hobby under the name "Scurvy Dog Brewery".  I'm excited for this batch to be done.  It'll also be nice to have some beer on the boat to give out to guest.  Here's some pictures I'm sharing, and although not sailing, it's always nice to have a brew on the open sea, or bay.

Fermentation is done, in the next couple of days, the bourbon barrel soaked chips will be added to the brew for flavoring.  Should be ready for bottling in March.

Grains for the brew, ready to be steeped

Boiling the wort, almost ready for fermentation

Grains steeping in the brew

Custom bottle caps, for scurvy dog brewery

Introduction and The Beginning of a New Adventure

Hello and welcome to S/V Catharsis and to my blog.  I've decided to keep this blog as a log and to share my journeys upon my sailing vessel.  First a little about me.

My Name is Aaron Thompson.  I was born February 12th, 1986 and reside in Richmond, VA.  At the age of 17 I joined the United States Army and served 10 years.  Unfortunately on a deployment to Iraq in 2008/2009 I was slightly injured with a traumatic brain injury and have since been medically retired through the Veteran's Affairs Administration.  My urge to sail I think has always been there.  When I was a boy scout I did a little sailing for the sailing merit badge, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I do not really remember my experience.  I have always thought purchasing a sailboat was way to expensive, and only for the extremely rich.  I didn't learn that this goal could be obtainable until I ran into my second cousin Donald (unplanned) who I hadn't seen in about 6 years on a cruise ship with my family.

The Quest for a Vessel, Failed

After spending the week with my cousin, I'm sure that I asked tons of questions, and he happily answered them.  He was twice my age, but we had a strong bond I believe that week.  He explained to me that older
sailboats are well built boats and can be obtained pretty inexpensively.  After that trip I knew this is what I wanted to do.  That winter around November/December, I purchased a sailboat....well I thought I did.  I found a 1980 O'day 28 on the internet that was close by.  It was on the hard (first mistake) and they only wanted $3000 for it.  I took a look at it, didn't get it surveyed and talked with the owners.  They said the only thing it needed was a new self adjustable idler (the part underneath the helm that controls the rudder) it had been corroded (second mistake).  I thought it was an easy fix, gave them the $3000 and signed the title.

I ordered the self adjustable idler and that's where the trouble began.  I tried to get the bolts off, I could not.  I had a friend who is well versed in installing these things, he said that we would have to cut the cockpit out and replace it.  This was beginning to be such a hassle and to be quite costly.  To top that off, I didn't even know if the boat would float and after replacing the batteries, it seemed there was an electrical issue as well.  I decided to cut my losses and try to find a new vessel, a year after the purchasing of the O'day.

Finally, Mission Accomplished

I searched the internet once again and found some vessel's that looked good.  These of course were priced much higher than the initial $3000 purchase I made before.  I had a goal of no more than $12,000.  I found a 30 foot Catalina down in Hampton for sale, they were asking $12,000, I was going to talk them down.  Ironically I got a call from my cousin Donald telling me he was down at his boat and if I wanted to come on down.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity and he agreed to come with me to look at the Catalina.  We spent some time on his boat, working on a few things, him showing me around and then I called the owners of the Catalina.  They were located right across the channel from my cousin and we drove over to look at it.  I thought it was amazing, a lot of space compared to the O'Day I had, and I was asking all sorts of questions.  My cousin remained silent the entire time.  We left and the gentleman told us that the price was negotiable.  I then turned to my cousin and asked what he thought.  He laid it all out, telling me it wasn't well kept, needed new sails, was dirty on the inside, and required a lot of work.  It was definitely not worth the $12,000 they were asking.  I spent the next hour with him and tried to convince myself of why it would be a good boat.  I even stated I could offer them $6000 and still come out ahead.  My cousin assured me it would be a mistake and I wouldn't be happy.  I jokingly said that "You should just sell me your boat".

That's when the unexpected happened, he didn't say anything.  "You're joking right?"  I asked, and at that moment he told me how he lives 4 hours from the boat and water, he doesn't have time to sail and hasn't been on the boat in over a year.  So at that moment we shook hands, and I was the proud owner of a 1975 Dufour 31 in excellent shape.  This is a true blue water cruising vessel, and I purchased her for $12,000

Why Catharsis?

A boat name is always something that is hard to decide on, not the case with Catharsis.  My cousin had her named Catharsis, and part of the deal of him selling me the vessel, was I had to keep the name.  But what does Catharsis mean?  

ca·thar·sis

kəˈTHärsis/

noun

1. 1.

   the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

I thought that this was also appropriate for my vessel's name (not that I had a choice) after the emotions I have felt after returning home from combat.  So there you have it, how I obtained Catharsis and a little bit about me.  I am definitely looking forward to the adventures that await!