I purchased Etoile du Sud, a Benford 34 Junk Schooner in February 2022 in Ventura, CA. The previous owner had used the boat as a convenient apartment for several years, and considerable work was needed to ready her for ocean cruising. The boat needed paint and new sails, the tiller was rotten, the engine was not running, everything needed to be cleaned, there was no way to pump out the holding tank for the head when underway, there was no permanent stove installation, ... the list of renovations and needed upgrades seemed to be endless. And my daily confrontation with these realities was dispiriting:
I recruited crew via OceanCrewLink* and three of us set out from Southern California, headed for the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. Our enthusiasm was quickly sapped by the engine conking out and refusing to start for more than a few minutes at a time, and we were treated to a first night at sea with no wind, a non-working engine, and a great clanging from wooden battens banging on the aluminum masts. Annie Hill's comments** about the advantages of wood masts definitely came to mind. Three days of slow sailing eventually got us into Ensenada, with help from a panga to get into a Marina Baja Naval slip, as the wind died completely at the inner end of the entrance channel.
The highlights of Ensenada included a fairly painless clearance process for the boat and crew, a fishmarket along the malecon, and, well, ... there were not many highlights. The difficulty of getting marine related gear in Ensenada lead to (1) a trip by bus, light rail, and taxi up to San Diego for a replacement fuel bleeding nut and a manual pump to evacuate the waste tank, and (2) a premature departure from Ensenada with a fuel system which was still not fully cleaned out. More slow progress south in light winds, and an episodically running engine, and enough power to more or less keep the battery charged. In Bahia Tortuga, the next stop south, we finally solved the fuel problem by cutting a hole in the top of the tank, pumping the tank contents into jerry cans, swabbing out the tank with a stick and rags, and fabricating a cover over the hole with a leftover radar mounting plate, screws, and gasket compound from the local auto parts store. No more fuel problems after that, but we did manage to kill the house battery by discharging it too deeply as we sailed on down to Cabo San Lucas with only one stop, an overnight at a peaceful anchorage just outside Bahia de Magallanes.
We passed Cabo San Lucas about 7pm one evening, amazed at the endless lights along the shore as we turned north into the Sea of Cortez, and the rapid transition from cold wind and ocean swells to delightful shirtsleeve weather, wind behind us, and a very pleasant sail north. Two days later we reached LaPaz, and found all marinas full, but the anchorage east of the sandbar had room for one more boat, and we anchored there for 3 nights while I found a replacement for the house battery. The two crew members decided to leave Etoile there, one to boat sit for someone else and the other to seek good internet to pursue her online job obligations.
I continued north, daysailing and stopping in several delightful anchorages before a final 88 nautical mile overnight and truly delightful sail north to San Carlos, where the boat was hauled out the next day, and I resumed work on the incomplete list of boat jobs. The list got longer when a neighbor enlisted me in his boat weight reduction strategy, offering me many boat parts, fittings, and two propane tanks at a bargain price I could not refuse. The boatyard also diagnosed strange corrosion spots on the keel as needing serious attention, involving removing the existing fiberglass coating from the lead and concrete keel, drying it out over a several week period after I left to head home to Seattle, and eventually putting on a new fiberglass, gel coat, primer, and bottom paint finish. As of August 2022, the boat is ready for me to head South again to resume work - deck paint, improvements to the sails, and new running jacks are the most important items, but I have a new highly decorative Talavera tile sink purchased in Puerto Vallarta to install in the head, not to mention a Y-valve so that the head can discharge overboard when at sea, or into the holding tank when in port.
The plan, following probably 2 weeks of work in San Carlos, is to spend several weeks cruising in the northern Sea of Cortez before putting the boat back into storage until spring 2023. Then I will either seek crew for a voyage out to Hawaii and then north to home waters near Seattle, WA, or continue coastal cruising in Mexico and then put the boat back into storage at San Carlos. The latter strategy would provide more time to learn how to sail the boat well, and would leave me in position to witness a total solar eclipse in early April 2024. (4 minutes of total eclipse will be visible from Mazatlan.***)
More posts to this blog can be expected, including one on junk sail building in one's living room, boatyard, and boat salon, plus lessons learned about rigging and sailing with this homemade rig, and more about cruising in Mexico, and perhaps, a voyage to Hawaii and Seattle.
One final note before ending this post. I would not have purchased Etoile du Sud, in the condition I found her, without advice and encouragement from several members of the Junk Rig Association.**** Several JRA members, including 2 or 3 who sail or previously sailed sisterships of Etoile, provided advice and encouragement. Arne Kverneland's pdf manual on how to design and build junk sails has been invaluable. The JRA is an important resource for all who are interested in junk-rigged sailboats and I highly recommend it to anyone considering an adventure with junk rigs.
*https://oceancrewlink.com
**See Annie Hill, Voyaging on a Small Income, a book about her experiences with partner Pete Hill, building and cruising s/v Badger, the original Benford 34 junk schooner.
***Eclipse fans, see Eclipse 2024 | Future Eclipses – NASA Solar System Exploration
****https://www.junkrigassociation.org
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