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Is sailing really more fun than playing Wolfenstein Enemy Territory?

At least you got to talk to someone truly intelligent like Intrepid, Eznupnya, Unterhosen, Ravage or for God sake Indiglo Pulse.

so.... no more stories?

ya we want more stories. this thread is becoming outdated!

TLDR; Pics below


I'll try to write out a few more stories. I'll have to look back & see what I've told & what I can still remember.

We had a very extensive medical kit. I'll try to find a photo. When we layed it out everything completely covered a space approx. 6' x 8'. We had books covering every scenario including amputations. We had surgical equip., 1st aid & enough drugs to choke a horse. Our mom works at a hospital & facilitated our getting everything we could possibly need. Fortunately we never used more than a few band aids. I think we spent a little over 1k on medical supplies. I still have much of the 1st aid on board & when we returned we donated all the drugs to charity before they expired.

Yes & most definitely.

Nice. Glad you had a good run & enjoyed the fishing. Living off the sea was one of my favorite parts & made me incredibly healthy.

You have me confused w/ someone else. I have never played that game & don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about. I can assure you that, yes, it is more fun than playing a video game.



Until I can write up some more stories, I do have an update (W/ Pics):

After our circumnavigation I drifted away from sailing some & needed to do other things. Recently the desire to go back to sea has taken hold again & I have moved the boat & begun repairs & preparations to take off again.

This is the marina where i kept the boat the last 4 yrs:


This is the bay I moved to about a month ago & where I am now living. Christmas Cove, in the lee of Great St. James Island.


Here is a picture I took this morning, from the masthead, of St. Thomas.


S/V Grace "on the hook"


I went up the mast this morning to inspect the rig & snap a few pics for OOT. You can see my "car" tied to the stern. Recently repowered thanks to Keyser..



My fair weather grind setup:



My inclement weather grind setup:


My goal is to be somewhere south of here by the time hurricane season hits. I am working on refitting the boat & will see how my plans work out.

I'll try to write up some more stories & keep you updated on my plans.


In case anyone missed it the 1st time around, here is the link to my brothers photography website w/ all the photos:

http://web.mac.com/RyanGettler/iWeb/RGP/Welcome.html

I heard from him the other day for the 1st time in a few months via skype & found out he's somewhere in Ethiopia right now.

i hate pirates almost as much as i hate guys who kidnap and rape women and children

there should be an international law that these people are tortured to death slowly if ever caught.

Dude, I'm not a pirate.

Do you reckon we will get a big hurricane season this year?

I live in the BVI. Great thread btw

i know.

i hate the people who were a threat to your and your brother's life.

they should be tortured for their crimes.

Legendary thread.

Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks.

Just curious about where your at now in your life? Whatever happened to said girlfriend? Did you ever move to Vegas?

De Captain, glad to see you're back on the water! Plz keep us updated. Good luck and godspeed.

It's definitely a possibility. As you know, the Easterly trade winds never filled in this year & what wind we have had has been largely from the South keeping the water temperature warmer. I've lived here since 2001 & the weather is different this year than any other.

I think the southerly breezes & warmer water could definitely make for an active hurricane season.

Thx. I concur.

GF & i split up about a year after I got back. I still see her regularly & we sometimes hang out. I have spent about 12 months in Vegas over the last 2 years, splitting my time between Vegas & St. Thomas. I spent 6 mos. straight there last year, which was too long. I really like Vegas but a month @ a time is enough.

Thx.

De Captain,

I read this thread late one night last year. I have always wanted to sail and be at sea, and your story pushed me over the top. My wife and I are leaving Alaska in the fall and hopefully moving to Port Townsend, Washington. Or possibly some other sail friendly town. Although circumnavigation, or at least traveling the world by sea, is our end goal, we will probably start by crewing during regattas.

Thanks for all the stories and information. Hopefully sometime in the next few years I will have my own stories.

Alaska

Best thread in the history of the world.

I am working towards living on a boat in the Caribbean, just need to save a few more $$$. I have no sailing experience yet so that will come. I doubt I will ever circumvent the globe, but if I actually learn how to sail someday (and learn to sail more than just the caribbean) that would be an absolute dream... Hopefully someday. My fear of pirates scares me more than the trip itself.... is that an unreasonable fear? (And I am not a ninja)

Also a bit off topic but what would you say the chances are of a single guy meeting a potential wife in the Caribbean? I am single now and would prefer to move there with a wife but can only wait so long...

OP you are truly awesome.

Can you drink the water of the places you stopped? Wouldn't you be filling up with Montezuma's revenge water? Do you have some sort of special filtration device on the boat?

if you have to ask, not good.
but still not bad!

Were you the guy I got into a fight with at Willie T's?

Just kidding.

What are your thoughts on this girl that tried and failed to solo circumnavigate the world?

Very cool, good luck w/ your plans.

Piracy is a real threat, but a very small one & you deal w/ greater threats in your day to day life now. I wouldn't let it be a factor in your decision to go sailing or not.

As for finding a wife, it depends. The guy to girl ratio in the caribbean isn't very good unless you are looking to meet someone from the caribbean, say a Dominican or Panamanian woman, in which case I would say your odds of finding a wife are very good.

we drank the water every where we went without any problems. We always add a cap full of bleach when filling the water tank, but that is more to keep any growth from starting in the tank as opposed to purifying the water. We always ran our drinking water through a brita water pitcher & that was it.

I am pretty sure it wasn't me, I am more of a lover & not a fighter.

Given the timing I assume you mean the 16 yr old who was just dismasted in the Indian ocean. That is a tough question.

I pretty much always say go for it to anything, but I am not sure that at 16 you are really prepared to make that decision. Apparently both she & her parents thought she was, so who am I to say.

As for the dis masting itself, that can happen to the best of them & doesn't necessarily mean she is a poor sailor. It certainly could mean that she wasn't properly prepared or wasn't handling the boat well, but from what I read , there wasn't enough information to know.

I don't think the boat they chose for her to use was a good choice.

De Captain you are my hero man, would love to try a similiar experience. One question, in your travels how tough to do you think it would be for young guy (24) to make a living in the Caribbean (job,housing,etc). I've had it here in Philly.....

did you visit Costa Rica

wtf at some of these questions lol. Got one tho, for someone with almost zero experience sailing, how long would it take to get the skills necesairy what you did?

Adding the bleach would do a good job of purifying the water. Even if making it potable wasn't your primary goal, it probably saved you some indigestion.

amazing thread spent literally all yesterday slowly reading the whole thing.. sounds like such a amazing experience.

I guess it depends on what skills you have & what type of work your looking for. The Caribbean has been hit by the recession just like every where else & some jobs are scarce.

If your looking for something in food service or tourism those areas are kind of tight right now, if you do construction & you're good there is still plenty of work.


Overall, if you're reliable you'll find work because the caribbean is full of so many flaky people who just don't show up to work 1/2 the time.

No, I haven't been there. It is on the the list of places to go soon.

Sailing isn't that hard, you can figure it out pretty quickly. The other skills you need are more important than sailing ability. You need to be able to diagnose & fix diesel engine problems, repair electrical, electronics, plumbing, sewing, etc..

In that respect I had a bit of an advantage because I grew up on a farm & had a construction background.

As for the sailing itself, the furthest I had ever sailed before setting off around the world was 35 miles to St. Croix & back. I have never really sailed w/ someone else to learn & learned everything I know through books & trial & error.



A few recent changes in my plans mean the boat is now seriously for sale. This is the chance for anyone ready for an adventure to take off. Online payment accepted. Pm if your interested. This boat can take you anywhere you want to go.

You could be living in the Virgin Islands within a week & sailing around the world by fall.