Fordy2 (2023-Present)
EHLO I'm a techie who grew up sailing on the east coast. I've longed to cut ties to land life and sail off into the sunset. Bought my first boat in 2020, "Pi Day" which was a Beneteau Oceanis 37, and set off sailing the US east coast in 2021. After two great years sailing the east coast, sold Pi Day in May 2023 after an awesome winter season in the Bahamas. Currently wondering the states in a van, while looking for the next sailboat.
We had a plan; a fabulous plan concocted two nights before departing. Turns out @leadingtheescapade were planning to set off the same day for the Bahamas. When two sailboats are going in the same direction… race on! Shit was talked, wagers were made. We were to meet at the point at 1100… but our autopilot had other plans. Our autopilot went out on our passage from PR and we had been troubleshooting it. We thought we resolve the issue (power connection problems) but seems we had not. End up spending an hour testing the power supply line and tracing the circuit back to the panel. Found the wire was loose at the panel! With the autopilot working again and supplies restocked, we set off trying to make up time. Alas, the light winds did not treat Grace well and Escapade was flying their ballooner. The light winds made for a peaceful start to the four day passage. When we came across a pod of bottlenose whales we had to stop and investigate! While stopped, why not go for a swim! The wind and seas picked up over the days to the point our island wasn’t able to stay upright. Had to lash it down to prevent anymore damage.
A two night passage from PR to Samana. Sadly no fish (we won’t talk about the one that spooled us), but we did make arrival pancakes after some much needed rest. It was a bit sporty the last few miles with squalls and rough seas. Oh, did I mention that our autopilot went out and we had to hand steer the last 12 hrs?
Day sail from St Thomas to Puerto Rico to kick off the trek back to the states. Arrived late but was still able to make a run for provisions.
but not before visiting Soggy Dollar! Had a few drinks and some grub. Turns out others had the same plan to recover at Soggy Dollar.
Morale was at all time lows this morning, completely due to the choices made at Willy T last night. Hangovers were in rare form but we all pulled through it and got underway. Nice downwind sail to Jost to end the regatta off right at Foxy’s.
Great day on the water with a few stowaways onboard.
First leg done! Dropped lines and wondering around until the start. We had a great start! There were shenanigans along the way.
Making our way to the YCA Floatchella! We came across something interesting… Bubbles blowing in the wind! We caught Bubbles! Made it to Prickly Pear and the raft up has started.
Fun day on the water sailing and swimming with a group of local kids! Once out, they quickly over ran us all and took control. Mutiny! We were able to quell the crew with some music.
Rolled right into the party last night! Time to get ready to chase some bubbles…
Bailed on Mammoth for June. After fighting the flats and finding the good terrain, it was a blast playing around in the fresh 22 inches of snow. That is until I decided to play in some untouched pow during a tree run. Turns out there was a small downed tree buried in the snow! Nose of the board and front foot went under the tree but my shin and lower knee smacked right into it, stopping me dead. Could have been a lot worse if I was going any faster. Didn’t hurt too bad and was able to get a few more runs in before calling. Bruised and tender for sure, along with a bit stiff the next day. Keeping an eye on it and icing it. So much for enjoying more pow for the next few days. Let’s go to Death Valley instead :)
23 inches of fresh snow fell overnight. Had high hopes for a legendary day at Mammoth but alas it was not meant to be. Most of the mnt was closed down. Did a few runs but packed up and headed to another mnt.
Getting the lay of the land before the storm starts tonight.
What an epic powered day at Kirkwood! Got first-ish chairs and no lift lines most of the day.
Way too warm for Canada. Making my way south.
Took me a solid 20 minutes to decide this morning if I should go snowboard 🏂 Snowbasin again or hightail it up to Banff for the incoming dump. Clearly I opted for Banff but only made it to Calgary. Close enough for tonight, to Banff Sunshine I go tomorrow.
I started the day off sad that I didn’t stick around for the 9” of fresh POW at Snowbird, however Snowbasin did not disappoint! What an incredible day pushing the boundaries and playing around.
Pretty good conditions on the mountain. Wasn’t too crowded considered it’s a holiday. I think tomorrow will be the Canyons side. Guess I should publish all my other trips….
I’m starting to get the feeling back in my toes! Found some nice spots with untouched pow.
A very very very cold day at Vail. I failed to take any photos of the amazing views of the bowls (this time). Tracked the whole day on the mountain for giggles.
Wonderful day at Beaver Creek! Riding a board 🏂 on frozen water still makes me a sea person, right? Decided to keep recording my runs! Is that a first for Sea People? Sorry, not sorry, for posting this before the other trips I have saved 🙃
It was a day filled with driving. I did stop by Hurricane, WV … it was a cat 1. Arrived too late to see the sights I wanted to see. That will be for tomorrow.
Took a non-direct route to Texas. Ended up checking off a few more national parks and states along the way. Passed through a hurricane to find where the gold is hidden, only to end up fighting off venomous snakes and getting lost in caves. Was able to find my way to the Pantheon and Opry but didn’t stay long as I needed a nice soak in the hot springs and natural springs pool. Oh, and found where the beavers hide out.
Snow here I come! Stopped by Lock 52 on the C&O Canal.
Had to start heading back to Annapolis. Had to stop at Coinjock just because. Last time I was there was in 2021 when motoring south on the ICW. It was weird seeing the canal and lock from the road. Then decided to stop at Jamestown before heading to Richmond to grab dinner with a friend.
Wondered south along the shore, stopping at Bethany Beach, Assateague Island (north and south), Va Beach, Sandbridge Beach, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, OBX, and Cape Hatteras. Would have continued but it was time to head back to DC.
Woke up with a lovely sunrise not expecting to get on or in the water today. Stopped by my old stomping grounds at RBSA to check things out. Ended up in a row boat 🚣 chasing down someone’s sailboat! Hey, I got a nice little sail on the bay out of it 😁
… or so i’ve been told. haven’t ever been in rehoboth for the festival, so let’s see what trouble finds me. easy drive, with a stop to catch up with a friend. too bad i missed funland being open.
It was a very, very long drive. The wind was howling all day. The drive started ok with the wind from behind but after turning more southerly, I wasn’t able to maintain speed. It took everything to keep the beast on the road!
Had a lovely evening with friends at Prost Biergarten. The sun was out all day with temps in the 70s! 🩳🩴 But all good things must come to an end. Get some miles in before calling it a night. Must make it to Boerne, TX for the eclipse in three days!
Sink or ~swim~ sail, I’m going! Fed up of the ICW and needing to get north, I went big for my second solo offshore passage. It’s been a few years so the details are fuzzy. Thankfully photos and videos exist to look back on. What a throwback! Passage started off calm and having to motor, but after rounding Cape Lookout was able to set sails and pick up a little bit of wind. It wouldn’t stay calm for long… While the night was calm, the following days things picked up. Funny now to look bad at how I thought 20 knots was a lot. Had beautiful sunsets and sunrises, with dark clear nights to see the stars. Ended up just ripping into the bay on arrival morning. The final miles were chill and perfect to relax after the previous 30 some hours. Made it safely to the marina and got tied up. Next up was to get ready for the haul out.
