........... by Soren Petersen
A wonderful story of the rebirth of a Spencer 42 and her following voyage
DREAMING AND PLANNING
In the fall of 1999 we decided it was time to realize our dream of buying a sailboat to take us cruising for some years - away from the plain establishment of cold Denmark. Our plan was very much fuelled by my memories of 5 years hitchhiking around the world on numerous professional and private yachts between '86 and '92. Many times during my voyage I swore that one day I would come back to a particular place on my own boat with my loved ones.
Actually, one of those places is Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean and I am still reminded about my pledge when looking at photos of "Voyage of Out of Bounds". (Check under 'Cruising' on the Spencer Website). These remote atolls are just unbelievable.
Inspired by my tales and many cruising books, my wife Ulla, who is a proficient sailor, was ready for adventure and keen to give the cruising lifestyle a try. Our two girls of 3 and 4 at the time are strong and seaworthy and had a couple of years to go before starting school.
BUYING "BLIXEN"
During 1999 I searched the
global boat market for a sturdy blue water cruiser with the following basic
requirements.
Around 40', Maximum $35,000.00, Classic design, Plenty of cruising gear, and
Good looks. It became evident that I could only find such a boat in the
U.S. - Europe is 40% more expensive, and cheap Australia is just too far
away. Because we had plans to visit friends in the Virgin Islands anyway,
the U.S. East Coast or Florida were appropriate places to buy the boat.
In November '99 I flew to Miami and lived 5 days in a rental car while reviewing a total of 4 prospective boats. For two days I was close to buying a 42' steel double ender for about $25,000.00 and while waiting for a haul out and survey, I decided to drive up to Titusville, Florida, near Cape Canaveral, to check out my last and lowest-priority prospect; a Spencer 42 selling at $49,000.00 - $14,000.00 above my ceiling. Obviously, I would never have driven so far for a boat that was too expensive if I hadn't been so intrigued by the brokerage material and photos of this beauty. She was on land looking really tired with faded light blue Gelcoat and all the teak green with fungus, but I loved her a first sight for her schooner-like transom, strong keel and massive cockpit. When I saw the interior and all the quality installations including a ton of solid cruising equipment, I just knew I had to own her, and although the asking price was impossible for me, I felt I might negotiate a realistic price because of her sorry condition.
The Broker said quite honestly that the seller would be ready to sell at a lower price. The Spencer had been for sale for 3 years standing in the same spot for 5 years and had only had a few bids prior to mine. Having poured a fortune into the boat before having to devote all his spare time to a private business, the owner had been reluctant to drop the price for several years although the boat was badly deteriorating from sun and moisture. Furthermore, she was tucked away in a part of the Inter Coastal Waterways where boats drawing more than 5 feet are pretty useless, and therefore, she had little appeal to anyone just coast sailing Florida.
All in all, circumstance and timing was on my side and I bid $30,000.00 not subject to survey. This I thought would be a chance for the seller to quickly say farewell to his beloved boat with no risk of a discrediting survey report. Personally, I knew I could fix whatever problems she might have and therefore needed no professional to point them out. All installations, although idle for 5 years, where high quality and pretty much just needed reviving and she was structurally flawless. According to the Broker, this tactic was just right and I was able to buy the Spencer for $33,000.00.
PREPARATIONS
On February 1st 2000, we all arrived in Titusville, Florida to start our yachty life. Back in wintery Denmark, we had
quit
jobs, sold car, terminated lease and generally deregistered from Danish
society to devote an undefined period of time to this old boat and the
waters below her keel. After one week, Blixen was launched with
great excitement and anxiety. But there was no sweat. All through-hulls
sealed fine and the old Perkins was gradually trimmed to run and cool quite
well. The wooded boom with massive bronze roller-reefing hardware was
simply too heavy and clumsy for our taste and I fairly quickly built a boom
based on an old mast profile (has since been awlgripped white and optimized
to fit fully battened main). The large bronze collar connecting the goose
neck to the round wooden boom I reused by heating the bronze until it fit
around the oval shape of the mast profile and then bolted it through an
insulating rubber seal. It actually compliments the boat better than a new
aluminum gooseneck and boom would.HEADING OUT AND HOME
After a total of
4 weeks in the ICW fitting and trying out the boat we headed towards Great
Bahama Island across the
treacherous
Gulf Stream. Our overall plan was to transit the Panama Canal around March,
but we first wanted to visit good friends in the British Virgin Islands
where I had worked 2 charter seasons some years ago. Also two parties of
Danish family already had tickets to come and visit in Tortola within a few
weeks. So, although a rather "mad" first destination considering my young
unadapted family and the newly launched project Spencer, I was intent on
pushing on against the Trades within the limited time frame. In hindsight,
I realize that we probably would have continued cruising the World for
several years had our first passage only been down wind to e.g. Cuba. To
Ulla, the roughness and fear of that first night labourng into wild easterly
weather off the Florida coast had a lasting shock effect, which generally
forced us to give up the idea of long distance cruising. Although I timed
our departure with a diminishing trade wind pressure shifting southwest, we
were quite unlucky and generally spent 50 hours hard on the wind in very
choppy conditions. Our girls (right), adaptable as kids always are,
managed the hardships fine and so did Blixen. Although the going was
obviously quite slow - hard on strong trade winds with worn sails - she
never complained. After some trimming, the old Aries vane steadily steered
us east giving me more freedom to fix, trim, use and repair the many
mechanical details that were thus brought to a sudden awakening
.
In Lucaya Marina on the Southeast side of Great Bahama, we spoiled ourselves
with luxury facilities for 4 super-expensive nights and the little family
put the memories of that horrible virgin journey behind it for a while. The
remaining non-stop passage to the British Virgin Islands (800 nm) was slow
but quite nice considering. Luckily, the easterlies dropped significantly
during that passage and we were underway for 11 slow days during which my
family saw their first whales and dolphins, swam in the dead calm ocean and
generally
had a cozy family-friendly passage on our beloved old Spencer. Although the
mood was somewhat restored during this voyage and our BVI arrival in
particular, we had decided that we would cross for the Mediterranean in May
and eventually head home through the European canals during fall of the same
year. Ulla, content that the yachting episode now had a clear
not-so-distant finish, started thriving on board. After a lovely 10 weeks
all over the Virgin Islands we set out for the Azores with passage crew.
My mother was in fact the only extra crew from home and at 63 is an
experienced sailor. Ulla and the Girls endured the 21 day voyage with no
dismay. By this time, I was recovering from my disillusionment over not
being westbound towards the real adventures of our original plan - the
geography and culture of those wild Pacific atolls not to mention the
fascinating continents of Australia and Africa and the ocean between them.
I can still feel the disappointment and longing, but I also realize that it
might have jeopardized Ulla's happy spirit and indeed our marriage.
THE 5 REMAINING MONTHS IN SHORT
Blixen on the Rhine
Tied to a Giant Lock
Soren and Ulla Peterson
Members - Spencer Yacht Owners Group
Blixen - Spencer 42 Hull 3
BLIXEN IN DENMARK
For us,
Blixen was the perfect cruiser and home. We are grateful for her
strong, functional design, which provided pleasant
and safe handling in any conditions and not least for her beautiful lines
causing many turned heads and a feeling of great pride. Today, I run Blixen
with my parents and she is definitely the most exotic boat in our little
local marina. Those Brandlmayr lines are just so different from anything
else on this side of the Atlantic - a real Sailboat. Blixen will be
cruising extensively all over Scandinavian waters for many years until one
fine day when she will realize my dream or revisiting Chagos.
THE ROUTE OF BLIXEN
Soren Petersen - Nivaa, Denmark
................Story by Soren Petersen
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