We are FINALLY Going Sailing Soon!

The adventure begins anew soon.

Refresher

The second half of 2022, after completing the purchase of our 2019 Nautitech 40 Open catamaran and moving it from the Bahamas to Florida, was all about projects, learning the boat, and preparing for hurricanes. There was a mountain of administrative work including importing a foreign vessel to the US, documenting or ‘flagging’ the boat with the Dept of Homeland Security, obtaining new ships station licenses with the FCC for our VHF, documenting new emergency beacons, re-certifying our life raft, etc, etc. If you’re contemplating importing a foreign vessel into the US I have one word of advice - DON”T! Not a lot of fun and very time-consuming but essential to safe passage making. It also hardly makes for exciting reading. Thus the big time gap between newsletters. Prepping for hurricanes falls into a similar category. Not a lot of fun but necessary if you want to avoid significant damage.

Work in particular on the electrical system making Endurance capable of operating on US and European electrical systems is nearly complete. We added 2, 12-volt air conditioning systems which means we can be cool without the need for shore power OR a generator. We increased our battery capacity as well for extended time ‘off the grid’ with plenty of power to run the water maker, washing machine, and air conditioner. Endurance now has the capability to go months without the need to connect to shore power. We also sold our Yamaha 20 HP outboard for the dinghy and have replaced it with a new 10 HP electric motor from Mitek in Italy. We are Mitek’s very first customer in the US and we look forward to sharing more about our experiences with their new technology. In fact, we have been so impressed with Mitek that we are in discussions with them about acting as their representatives in the US. Let me know if you’d like to learn more. So we have now completely eliminated the need for gasoline on board which is a significant safety enhancement and reduced our carbon footprint (much more to come on that).

We’ve also added Starlink for on and offshore satellite communications. It’s hard to imagine high-speed Internet offshore however there are now lots of people doing just that.

I am now a licensed Captain!

I have often imagined that somewhere in my lineage there was a sea Captain. The Doherty ‘clan’ is from Northern Ireland so it’s entirely possible. I’d assumed that my love of the sea must have some deep family roots. One of my ‘life goals’ has always been to become a licensed Captain. After several weeks of classes and lots of studying/cramming light signals, rules of the road, navigation, plotting, etc I took the 3 1/2 hour exam to become a licensed Captain. Amazingly, I passed all four sections on my first go proving that yet again you CAN teach an old dog new tricks! The 51-page application took months to process but is now complete.

I am now a Merchant Mariner and can take up to 6 paying passengers as far as 150 miles offshore. We are considering opening up Endurance for weekly charters on a very limited basis. Let me know if you’re interested. I also agreed as part of the application to be pressed into service driving boats in the event of a national emergency. God help us all if that day were to ever come!

What’s Next?

Endurance is currrently ‘on the hard’ in Port Canaveral, FL. The bottom has a fresh coat of paint and the primary electrical system is completing an upgrade. Much more to come on that as we soon embark on a life ‘off the grid and on the water’. We’ve decided to modify our 2023 Float Plan as well. Since we are getting off much later than planned we’ve decided to spend the season cruising in The Bahamas. As much as we love the Chesapeake we’ve decided to spend this coming summer cruising Long Island Sound and Martha’s Vineyard eventually landing in Boston Harbor (so I can make it back to my HS reunion!). That will give us a chance to get more ocean miles in closer to the US before attempting a much longer open water crossing, i.e. trans - Atlantic. We’d like to bring Endurance up the East River to Long Island Sound as part of that passage. We’re thinking it would be pretty cool to sail by the Statue of Liberty and go under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Staying Connected

I’m connected with many of you on my personal FB page. Emma has set up a separate Instagram page at ‘sv_endurance’. Emma is MUCH better about posting real-time updates. She is also going to start a YouTube channel now that we’re about ready to head for the islands. I explained that what draws viewers to YouTube sailing channels generally has little to do with sailing and more to do with bikinis. Her reply was that it would need to be ‘fair play’ and that I’d then need to wear a mankini or as my buddy Capt John calls them, a banana hammock. You can rest easy in the knowledge that I have turned that down. I’m pretty sure that image would also break the Internet and cause all kinds of global disruption. You’re welcome!

Finally, I’d be surprised if some of you didn’t wonder after reading this newsletter if it’s worth all of the time, effort, delays, frustrations, and expense to experience this lifestyle. The short answer for us is, yes, it is. To experience the beauty and challenges that life on the ocean and surrounding islands afford is, for us, living life to its fullest. The beautiful sunsets and feeling the boat glide through crystal clear water with the only sounds being that of the wind in the sails make up for the moments of terror and scraped knuckles. There is great joy in living beyond your current capabilities because they grow with you.

After a long period of silence, I’ll soon be able to write more about those experiences sailing while Emma captures them on film to share as well. We enjoy sharing our experiences and hope you find them interesting and inspiring. Perhaps you know someone else who might enjoy following our adventures? If so, please share this with friends and family so they can also scubscribe.

Wishing everyone ‘fair winds and calm seas’.

Capt. Mike

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein