Kelly IV - Delivery of New-to-Me Cruising Sailboat - September 23, 2007

My thanks to the hardworking crew of Bill Paviol, Sarah Paviol, Keith Otto, and Bob Zimmerman. And Especially the former Owner, Don Slessman! Don joined us for the sail and kept a positive attitude even though I tried to dunk him 5 miles off shore! I'll explain that in a minute.

The 5 of us from Pittsburgh all drove over Friday evening, Sept 14 in the van, so we arrived together, found a neat Czech restaurant for a late night snack in Vermilion, OH, then moved aboard Raconteur (soon to be Kelly IV), the 1979 Endeavour 32 cruising sloop to sleep for the evening.

Raconteur

At dawn we all visited Kathy's Kitchen for a great breakfast, then we got to work, moving sailing gear, reorganizing gear on board, replacing some old rigging lines, and finally getting underway for our delivery trip moving Raconteur from Vermilion to Sandusky. Unfortunately, the fuel line stopped delivering diesel about 30 minutes into the trip, but at least we were well out into the lake, so tight maneuvering was not necessary and sailing was a great option. We raised the main but had to jury rig the Genoa (Hood's furling dealer didn't ship the parts we needed so the furler couldn't be used. We had a terrific sail for almost 2 hours, but without the furler, we couldn't point upwind very well. That wouldn't have mattered, except that the wind was out of the northwest, yes, exactly the direction we were headed! Even though the forecast said the wind would gradually grow weaker, we experienced an escalating wind. In fact, we were heeled over so much at one point that Don, on the leeward side of the cockpit had an excellent view as the water completely washed the side deck and nearly dunked our new found friend and crew mate! Well, after a couple hours, the jury-rigged jib halyard failed by cutting itself off about 15 inches from the head of the jib. We assume it was rubbing on one of the shrouds near the masthead.

The solution was to call TowBoat/US and take advantage of my unlimited towing coverage. A terrific tow boat operator then towed us the last 15 miles into our slip at Sandusky Bay Harbor Marina. It was a lazy, comfortable ride. Bill and Sarah graciously took the van from Vermilion to Sandusky so we'd have a ride back home and met us at the slip, helping tie us into our new "home".

Bob, Bill, Keith with the "new" Endeavour 32

Don took us to the best pizza in Sandusky, Cameo's Family Pizza, not far from the marina. Afterward, Don drove home and we returned for our second night sleeping aboard the soon-to-be Kelly IV.

We awoke to a brilliant sunrise, checked out the facilities in our new marina (they have a pool! Closed after Labor Day, though). We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at our soon to be favorite breakfast place, "Better Half". It is a fun place with one half designed for the wife's interests, the other for the hubby's interest. Next door they have a great ice cream bar, so we know we'll be back!

Murph with his new-to-him Endeavour 32

Although there are a number of jobs to be done, the boat is mostly in great shape so the work isn't nearly what would be required by a much lesser boat of this age (28 years).

Keep your eyes on the schedule coming out next spring! We'll be sailing the Erie Islands and Canada in western Lake Erie and I would very much like you to join us! Here is a link to learn a little about the islands: Click Here.