Titusville, Florida, USA, thursday December 28. 2006
26. of December, two years ago the world was shaking by an earthquake north of
Sumatra in Indonesia. I happened to be on PhiPhiIsland in Thailand when the tsunami washed
away most of the island, but like most of my friends, I was lucky to survive. Goos was in Sri Lanka
when the same thing happened.
I helped a lot of people to helicopters and boats and properly saved some lives.
I was shaken by this disaster for many months after, December 26. is special to me and this one
was no different.
In the search of a sailboat, my dream for the past five years, I made around 100 phone calls and spend hours talking to people with boats, we drove over 1000 miles to look for different sailboat. Some were really in bad shape, others were too expensive or had to many things missing,
like radar, dinghy, GPS and so forth. I been on the world wide web so many times in the hunt for a sailboat, so when people asked me from which website I got their
number, I had no idea. Giving up hope for the ultimate freedom has never been an issue, but it?s been
damn close. At one point I had a very nice sailboat all the way out of the water, just to find out it
was full of deep blister on the hull. That little adventure taught me a lot, but took 800 dollars
of my budget.
Goos and I ended up in a small town called Titusville in Florida, right by the Kennedy Space Centre,
where two boats were located. They looked okey, both needed some work and money, before they
were seaworthy. A third one was for sale, so the foreman of the marina, Rick showed us to it.
Goos and I was stoked, the sailboat was nearly perfect, but before we got all fired up, we wanted
to inspect the hull for blisters.
The owner, Robert L Thompson or Bob as everyone calls him, got to the marina and we had
a long talk. In two days we wanted to haul the boat, before I would make up my mind about
buying it. If I didn?t like it, Bob would pay for it?.. I had learned an expensive lesson last week!
Last night I didn?t sleep to good, I think I had too many thoughts about the haul out.
9.30 am we sailed the boat around the dock and got it hauled, and after it dried out for an hour or so,
there was still no blisters... I FOUND MY SAILBOAT!!!!!
It took some hours before I could believe it, I was so happy I did not know if I should roll around
the grass laughing or find a corner and break into tears.
We got it pressure washed to get rid of growth and barnacles, cleaned the propeller and painted
the bottom.
It is now 10 pm and it's hard to wipe off the smile on my face, my brain is still struggling with the
thought of having its own sailboat, but in a few days it proberly gonna get it.
The hull is made of fiberglass and is one of ten ever made. Bob the owner, got it in 1974 and spend
nearly 4 years building everything from the toilet (head, AARRGGHH) and the
kitchen (galley, ARRGHH) to the engine and the deck.
It is 44 feet (13,4112 meters) long, sticks 5 feet (1,524 meter) in the water and weighs 24.000 pounds
(10.886,2176 kilos). It has a Perkins 85 hp engine and all other equipment a boat needs, the list is
endless. It?s been sailing all around the Caribbean, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sailed around
the Mediterranean Sea.
It?s a very well build boat and has lots and lots of new adventures to look forward to. The last
cruise for this fine sailboat has not yet been done.
The boats name is "Solitude" and it is the original name, which I'm going to keep.
The next step is to get it ready for the trip through Caribbean to Curacao, we think it going to
take two to three weeks and then the adventure will begin.
I found "Solitude2 on December 26. the date is even more special to me now...
Titusville, Florida, USA, monday January 8. 2007
First of all, happy birthday to Elvis, David Bowie and Jon from Bornholm!
The project is slowly moving forward. We have done a lot of work on the boat, mainly small things
like checking all pumps, rinsing the water tanks, oil up cables and bearings and so forth.
Sunday we went on a sea trail, the very first time I saw the boat sail.
Bobs son, Mark Thompson came and helped out for the weekend. He has been sailing with the boat
pretty much his hole life and showed us a lot of tricks and tips.
The sea trip went very well, is was beautiful to see the sails up and just cruising without the engine
running.
The sound of the hull slicing through the water when you were standing in the bow was amazing.
Once again I couldn?t stop smiling and just thinking about the adventure that was lying ahead, made
the adrenaline pump. Visit remote places, scubadive everywhere and be free as a bird, this is
my dream coming true.
Mark and Bob were working really well together, they been sailing "Solitude" for many years.
They were really like father and son, making jokes, discussing how to sail and where to go. It made
me miss my dad a lot.
We all had a great time sailing "Solitude", but for Mark and Bob it was a bit sad to say goodbye to a
family member. Bob who build the boat and sailed it for many years, was captain for the last time on
his boat. He asked me a couple of times if I wanted to steer, but I said no thanks. I'm going to steer this
boat for many years to come, it was the last time for Bob.
Back at the marina we secured the boat in the slip and took a photo of the four of us. Both Bob and Mark
told me, that they were happy that I bought the boat so it would continue to sail the seven
seas and not sit in some random marina.
We thanked Mark and promised to call him just before we left American waters.
When Mark and Bob left the boat, Goos and I stayed to do some things on board. The feeling slowly
appeared that it was becoming my sailboat.
I can't wait to continue in the spirit the boat was build for, sailing and adventure.
Goos and I still have things to do but expect to leave in about 8-10 days. 12. January we're moving from
the motel and down on the boat.
