About

I voyage offshore for a few reasons.  It is there that I glimpse the divine.  I am more connected to everyone I love and the infinite oneness when I am thousands of miles away from all the noise.  It is everything and nothing out there. 

Growing up sailing small boats, and the occasional multiday trip with my dad on his boat, I had never thought much about having my own boat and sailing offshore or across oceans.  It wasn't until I sailed by myself on a Hobie 16 around Lake Tahoe, camping on the beach, that it struck me that I want to sail around the world.

Well, sailing around the world was the first idea, the one that got me going.  Really I just wanted my own offshore capable boat that I could take across oceans to find adventure, empty waves, and freedom.  I ended up finding so much more.

I started reading.  A LOT!  Everything I could find about sailing.  Sailors accounts of their own circumnavigations, current blogs, books about offshore sailing and storm tactics.  And I started looking for a boat.  I didn't have much money, so I figured I would need an older boat, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time fixing it up.  I learned that a 1960s era fiberglass boat is what I needed.  In the 1960s, the hull design of the boats were often well suited for offshore sailing.  They were overbuilt because it was still unknown how strong fiberglass really is.  Also, the resins used were of very high quality, so even today most of those fiberglass hulls do not have blistering.

I found a 1967 Pearson Invicta II in Oakland, CA.  Most of the boat was in great shape, but it would need a couple things, and it needed an engine.  At the time, I thought that wasn't really a big deal.  I mean, maybe I don't even want an engine.  If I had known how much work that was going to be, I might have re-thought the purchase, but in the end I am glad I chose this boat.  Less than a year later, the boat was ready to go, or at least I was ready.

Two friends sailed with me down the California coast to Santa Barbara.  During this short trip we blew out a mainsail, hit a gale, hit calms, seized the engine, and nearly lost our dinghy.  We were cold, tired, and scared.  It was an amazing trip.  We saw dolphins, whales, bioluminescence, and amazing sunsets and sunrises.  We got a glimpse of this alternative lifestyle on the fringe that is the California waters.

Once in Santa Barbara we prepared for our trip to Hawaii...
The rest of the story is in the blog.

Thanks for helping me share this story with you.

Jacob

2 comments:

  1. Hey Brother, your living the life I am currently planning.... I understand fully why you do what you do. I will be starting with a year of living in the Gulf Islands Island hopping. From there.....who knows

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  2. Hi. Saw you on youtube; are you sailing these days?

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