Our Dream Like my Dad I have always felt an affinity for the sea. He raised a family virtually on the water building and racing power boats. More recently he has become actively involved in the sailing community. So after many years in land locked Alberta it was no surprise that while visiting friends on Vancouver Island that I felt the calling of the sea. Half in jest and half in earnest I flippantly suggested to my Canadian wife Pam, that we should eventually sail back home to Australia. She was a spirited girl, (one of the reasons I married her) and we had had lots of previous adventures from scuba diving the great barrier reef to climbing the odd mountain in the Rockies, but this was a little ....... out there! I held my breath and cringed inside at what I thought might be a , "Your friggin nuts!" kinda response but hey, she surprised me with an agreeable response albeit tepidly cautious, but a positive response non the less. She never ceases to surprise me. Just when I'm about to kick our lives into a different gear there she is with her hand on the shifter. She's great! Well that's all the response I needed to kick start my imagination and get the wheels in motion. She has since admitted that she did indeed think I was "Friggin nuts" but like most good wives who love their husbands she played along with yet another of my crazy ideas expecting it to die an early death when I woke up to smell the coffee. I Guess we both surprised each other. The Plan
In September of 2006 Pam and I, along with some good friends of ours, decided to charter a cruiser and do some sailing around the Southern Gulf Islands off Vancouver Island. We spent six days on Corvus, a 36 foot Catalina, not only was it a wealth of information but six days on a boat with five people gave us real insight into what typical cruising was all about. Chartering Corvus was money well spent especially when I was able to sell my idea to my (still crosseyed), significant other. After that trip I had her "Onboard", excuse the pun, and keen to find our boat! Adagirl!
Probably my two biggest resources for finding a boat were the Boat Journal and the internet. Hours upon hours of pouring over what was my new found bible and sitting in front of my computer revealed hundreds of potential boats more than capable of making our dream a reality. Even prices, reletively speaking, were what I deamed affordable and there was always a deal to be had. The term "affordable" is of course a relative term, so what do I deam as an affordable figure? Speak to anyone in the industry and they'll tell you that you won't buy much for less than a hundred to hundred and fifty G's and then some. Two years of searching however, revealed for example a 38' Bruce Roberts steel cutter for a paltry $20,000 cdn, albeit it needed some tlc. On the upper end of what I call "affordable" was a very popular 32' Westsail for $55,000 cdn. Keep in mind too that there's always room to dicker on the price particularily during the off season. This was encouraging indeed as we were by no means people of means if ya know what I mean! We worked for a living! Together with the fact that Pam and I both made a modest income, were fairly debt free, were fiscally responsible and had a great rapport with our bank manager, we could see that boat ownership was within our grasp.
In my initial draft of this story, I found myself waffling on about my own financial philosophies and how many of us are lured into eternal debt by the darksides use of easy credit and frivolous spending. However, I think that it's enough to say that listening to the sound advice of your banker, being financially responsible and following through with a plan means that adventures such as our own need not remain within the realm of the wealthy or retired. A good dose of patients and solid research also goes a long way to making this all happen.
What constitutes the "ideal boat"? Two equally important factors influenced our choice of boat. Firstly we needed a boat to perform a certain task. And secondly being what I feel is an extension of ones self, she had to "feel" right.
There are a variety of boats out there, built and designed to perform a certain type of sailing. Basically there are two types of hulls, monohulls and multihulls.
Catamarans and Trimarans constitute the multihulls and their particular attributes lend themselves to fast cruising speeds and shallower draft, making them ideal in the Mediteranean, Carribean and the Australian Great Barrier Reef.
Monohulls without a doubt, constitute the bulk of hull design and for simplicity sake are generally divided into two categories. Finned hull and full keeled hull design. Again for simplicity sake the finned hull is generally an aerofoil shaped fin of varying length and height that extends down from what is mostly these days, a rounded shallow hull. Relatively speaking finned hulls are fast maneuverable and light hulls, as demonstrated by the cutting edge technology exhibited on America's Cup and Vendee Globe racing hulls.
By contrast, full keeled boats, or "Keelers" are a rather deep hulled boat with an integral keel that runs from bow to stern. This traditional hull design, though slower than it's finned hull counterpart is nonetheless known for it's spacious interior, stable and comfortable ride when in a seaway and ideally suited for the rigours of an ocean passage.
This was the hull design that Bill garden was famous for and the one Claire Oberly had chosen for our Mariner 40, Penta Star.
As equally important as hull type is construction material. Once again, to simplify things, the three most popular construction materials are fiberglass or GRP(Glass Reinforced Plastic), steel and wood. Without a doubt the most popular material since the 1970's is unequivocally fiberglass.
Having built fiberglass boats with my dad many years ago, I can attest to it's durability, strength and virtual maintenance free properties. However, GRP can suffer from a condition in older boats known as osmosis. Many of Bob Perry and Sparkman & Stephens designs are of GRP construction.
Wood, or timber as some would prefer, is a more traditional material. One cannot help but appreciate the sheer beauty and craftsmanship found in the use of this age old material. Despite my love of timber for it's strength and beauty, it is also a somewhat high maintenance material suffering from rot if not checked annually. Many of Bill Garden's designs were built of timber.
Then there's steel. The Australian designer Bruce Roberts employs the use of steel in many of his designs. Although somewhat lacking in the esthetics found on timber boats, steel is nonetheless associated with heavily constructed solid boats more than capable of any trans-oceanic crossing. Of course, steel in a salt water environment is prone to rust warranting regular maintenance.
Just when you thought things couldn't get more confusing, one other consideration to throw in the mix is boat manufacturer. This is a whole subject unto itself, and most definately worth mentioning.
During the course of my research I came accross a myriad of names worthy of mention and more than capable of our intended trip. These included Cal, Westsail, Bayfield, Tayana, Hueys, C&C, Tartan, Ontario and designs by the aforementioned marine architects of Sparkman & Stephens, Bob Perry, William(Bill) Garden and Bruce Roberts. This list is lengthy and names too numerous to mention. Suffice to say that there are a great variety of affordable used boats to choose from.
Finding Penta Star
At the risk of getting too philosophical, here I have to say that I am a big believer in fate. I have experienced the phenomenon in my own life on many occasions. So came the day that fate once again, intervened in my life.
Pam and I had looked at numerous boats during our search and after looking at a 34' Ericson, that would have made a great coastal boat, we once again walked away disappointed. As I walked toward the gangway to the docks I noticed the classic lines, clipper bow and proud bowsprit that are the unmistakable trade marks of a William Garden boat. If for no other reason I had to stop and soak up the esthetics of her sweeping teak decks and ketch configured rig.
She was a beauty...and she was for sale.
I balked at the "somewhat more than I wanna spend", sticker price, but she beckoned me to investigate further. The companionway hatch was unlocked and curiosity got the better of us. We were both instantly enamored by her cavernous interior of rich Phillipino mahogony and obvious pride of craftmanship in her cabinetry....we had found our boat, and her name was Penta Star.
The Purchase
When making any sizable purchase particularily one of such high maintenance as that of an ocean capable yacht, it would be prudent to safeguard your possible investment with the proper inspection services.
After we had Rom Van Stolk of Custom Yacht Sales broker the negotiations between the vendor and ourselves, all we needed to secure stewardship of Penta Star was the green light from our inspection services. To survey the hull, marine systems and the general health of Penta Star we employed the services of Brian Whelen of Intermar Marine Services, who came highly recommended.
Brian pulled no punches and his survey of the thirty four year old vessel did reveal some issues, however generally speaking she was in good shape. Likewise with the engine inspection. Apart from some minor servicing the relatively low hour Volvo diesel was in good condition, thanks to Ben Gartside of Gartside Marine. Quite typically, the inspection services plus the vessel haul out cost us $1500.00, money well spent by our estimation.
The following year saw us effect the necessary repairs to the boat in between our regular five day sailing expeditions about the Gulf Islands off BC's Vancouver Island. Apart from the purchase of the boat, we found that one of the more expensive aspects of boat ownership was moorage.
In the Vancouver and Southern Vancouver Island area, moorage is simply at a premium. Typically during the summer months a berth will cost you between $11.00 and $13.00 per foot and most berths are built to accommodate up to 40' in length.
Our Mariner 40', as specified on the MOA(Mariner Owners Association) site, specified a length of 40' and 4" LOA (length over all). LOA as we found out seems to refer to hull length and not true length over all as Penta Star's bowsprit protruded from her bow five full feet and her mizzen boom protruded two and a half feet over her stern. As far as a marina is concerned this is LOA and at an average $12.00 per foot she was expernsive to berth.
Originally we thought we had purchased a 40' boat but at her 34 years of age she was still having apparent growth spurts!.
The two years or so that it took us to find our boat was indeed an adventure. A sentiment widely held among other boat owners in the sailing community. We set out with specific goals in mind and found the boat that we wanted in the price range that we needed, and she even exuded a character that was the extension of ourselves. Of course the adventure has only just begun. The summer of 2007 saw us playing in the cruising grounds of the Gulf Islands at every opportunity, discovering Penta Star and the joys of sailing with our good friends.
The Future
Our future plans at the time of writing this are to take Penta Star north to Alaska possibly in the spring of 2008 and to gain my instructors rating so that we might possibly infect others with our passion for the sea.
