22:38, Monday, 23 Jun 25
Four days until the race starts or 108 hours and 13 minutes, but who’s counting?
There is so much to think about: logistics, shopping lists, weather, tides, wind, supplies, watch schedules, etc. It’s enough to make my head spin. Some of it’s easy, some of it is not, and some of it is so hard to predict that my approach is to just handle it as it happens.
Brady, Corey, and I just spent 30 minutes discussing pre race logistics because, much to our surprise, all the ferries to/from Port Townsend and all the hotels are booked. Michael has to fly into Seattle and drive up to Port Townsend. And, because the ferry is so full, we have to either store the outboard in Michael’s car or carry it onto the ferry to get it back to Corey’s house for the duration of the race. His son has to know when to pick us up and drop us off. We have to then catch the ferry back to Port Townsend for the start of the race. Further, I may stay on the boat Friday night just to be safe. And this was a relatively short discussion.
Lengthy discourses on the logistics aside, there is still a laundry list of things to do before the race starts on Saturday. Primarily, we need to organize the things on the boat and remove anything we aren’t willing to pedal or row around the Puget Sound. Some of the minor things are now falling into the “fix/upgrade it underway” category. Little chores like fixing a broken strap on the bimini, adding a tie down for some supplies, and whipping ends fall into this category. They give us something to do to pass the time and they harken back to working boats when maintenance must be performed underway.
I’ve come to the conclusion that no boat is perfect after it is first put in the water, there will always be something that needs attention. There is an old adage that goes “a boat is just a hole in the water you throw money into” and after two trips to WA just for maintenance I feel that the saying should be edited to include time as the other occupant of the aforementioned hole. Given that boats are a consumer of an infinite amount chores and money, we have to stop to ask ourselves
“Have I thrown enough money, work, and curses into the infinite dark void called ‘boat’ to appease King Neptune, Davy Jones, and whatever other lords and beasts may lurk below?”
For a boat like SV Courtney, a Catalina 25, I think the answer is a small fortune, an existential crisis, and at least one string of curses so foul you need to ask the Lord and all your ancestral matriarchs for forgiveness. In which case, I feel that we are covered three times over!
It may sound like I’m overwhelmed but I’m not. Things are getting done. The bottom is painted, we have tested the new sails, the electronics have been updated, we have added solar panels, the mast has been dropped and the rigging has been inspected, the pedal drive is finished, the rowing arrangement is finished, and a million other little things I can’t think of have been tackled.
None of this would be done without this kick ass crew. These guys are great; they work hard, they crack jokes, and they are all super smart. I’m in awe of this crew’s ability to problem solve effectively. It’s pretty great to watch them in action.
Corey has often stated “just getting to the starting line is an accomplishment.” He’s right, two of us live in Wyoming, one travels for work, and none of us have ever raced sailboats before. We have accomplished so much in six months that it’s hard to believe. We all signed onto this race for our own reasons but we all agreed that it would be a catalyst for making us better sailors. That transformation just so happened to start long before we get SV Courtney to the starting line.
Christian Phillips – Skipper of Team Common Loons
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