The First 1500 Miles (Part I)

42.3636° N, 87.8448° W

Delivering a boat from Chicago to the Caribbean is not a small task. Some choose to steam down the Calumet River to the Cal-Sag Channel, down the Mississippi and around the Gulf of Mexico before crossing the gulf stream eastward. We, however, chose to save 3 months by trucking the boat to Miami. This 1500 mile trek began with a sail to the boat yard.

Sailing North to go South.

On September 1, 2020, we started the delivery. The Sabbatical began with a 36 nm sail from Belmont Harbor to Waukegan, Illinois, where the OG would be prepped for transport. 10-12knt westerlies were forecasted, but 18-20knt southerlies were delivered, kicking up 4 foot swells. . . a real “puker” of a down-wind run.

Upon arrival at Larsen Marine, the boat was effectively disassembled for shipment. Sails were stowed. The mast and all running and standing rigging were removed, labeled and packed. All canvas, instruments, and the solar array were also disassembled and wrapped for shipment.

For the next three weeks, we completed our final preparations for the trip. Both battery banks were replaced; firmware on the navigation system was updated; anti-fouling was patched, and the “joker” valve was replaced on the marine head (yuck). We also replaced the cutlass bearing on the drive shaft and rebuilt the prop. Mostly, however, the boat was packed up for transit to Miami.

While the boat was “on the hard” we also took the opportunity to pre-provision and tried our hand at canvas work. We had a complete systems inspection and commissioned a new marine survey, in connection with obtaining off-shore marine insurance.

Where’s all our F**king Rigging?!

On the morning of September 16, I arrived at the yard to find that all, ALL, of our standing and running rigging had been stolen. “Running rigging” refers to all of the sail control lines. “Standing rigging,” on the other hand, is the stainless steel cables that hold up the mast—so, they’re kind of important. The specialized nature of the equipment stolen resulted in a $5,000 insurance claim and threatened a significant delay to our departure.

It was all labeled and coiled up nicely for the marine surveyor’s inspection that day. But at 5:50 the night before, right before the entrance to the boatyard was locked, a red Honda Accord entered the yard and circled the rows of cradled boats. At 6:20 he rolled up to the OG, grabbed all of the nicely coiled stainless steel and Dyneema and drove for the exit, all recorded on surveillance video.

The following evening, at 5:50, right before the entrance was locked, the same red Honda entered the yard. This time, however, the security guard immediately recognized the vehicle, and its driver, and locked the gates behind him. While the red Honda circled the rows of sailboats searching for a target, Waukegan police arrived on scene. The man was arrested and his car searched; but, unfortunately, our rigging was nowhere to be found. He sold it to a scrap yard in Libertyville for $.22 per pound—about $10.

Replacement parts were ordered and Larsen’s rigger, Mike Shield—who bears a striking resemblance to David Crosby in a Hawaiian shirt—committed to creating all new shrouds, stays and halyards before the OG shipped south the following week. Thanks Mike!

Trucking south to Miami

On October 28, the OG was loaded onto a trailer and trucked south. I followed, but detoured to Detroit to pick up extra crew for the trip. Pici (pronounced “peachy”), a 6-week old boxer puppy—along with audio books written by Anthony Bourdain and John Bolton—kept me company for the ride south.

After destroying two “pet-friendly” hotel rooms, one in Dayton and the other in Atlanta, Pici and I arrived in Fort Myers, where Pici would find a new home. I stayed on for a few days to catch up with my parents, who we had not seen since Christmas, thanks to the ongoing pandemic.