SAILING AROUND THE WORLD WITH SPIRIT OF ARGO

Quinn, his Humans and the Boat

The canine CAPTAIN and his crew

QUINN

The author of the blog

Welcome to my blog. I hope to entertain you with MY adventures sailing around the world with a couple of clumsy humans as crew. To start with let me introduce MYSELF.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT ME?

BREED: Irish Terrier

RESPONSIBILITIES ABOARD: Chasing off sea birds, trying to poop on the boat, and barking at dolphins

BAD HABITS: Stealing the entire sea berth when on long passages.

FAVOURITE PASSTIME: Chasing coconuts on the beach. As long as I have water to jump in, and cool off.

SAILING: Toilet trained on the boat and did my first Ocean passage by the time I was 6 months.

HATE: Thunder storms and fireworks

LOVE: Meeting anyone who likes dogs

THE HUMANS

It is hard to find good crew.

We all started our journey together on the South coast of England,  the beachfront play ground of Brighton, in July 2012.

 

Neither of the humans had ANY sailing experience before they bought the boat, sight unseen, over the internet.  The challenges started there, and it has been a steep learning curve ever since.

They got beaten up a few times in the English Channel.  Dramatic tides meant they also did their fair share of groundings.  Somehow they did not kill the boat and learned how to sail her.

I joined the crew, and we were off.

First across the Channel.  Then the Bay of Biscay.  Escaped the European coast for the Atlantic islands and finally we did our FIRST ocean crossing.  We have not looked back ever since.

I hope our adventures inspire you to take the path less travelled as well.

 

THE BOAT


Spirit of Argo is a Kelly Peterson 44.

Built in 1979 she was designed by Doug Peterson as a blue water cruising yacht.

She was purchased in 2003 in Florida, USA and sailed back to England.

Peterson 44 Specifications:

 

  • LOA: 43’10” (13,36 m.)
  • LWL: LWL 38’8″ (11.78 m.)
  • Beam: 12’11” (3.93 m.)
  • Draft 6’4″ (1.98 m.)
  • Ballast: 10,000 lbs. (4,536 kgs.)
  • Disp: 30,000 lbs. (13,607 kgs.)
  • Sail area: (100%) 1,011 sq.ft. (93.92 sq.m.)
  • Ballast/Disp: .33
  • Disp/Length: 232
  • SA/Disp: 16.7
  • Fuel: 117 gal. (443 ltr.)
  • Water: 132 gal. (500 ltr.)
  • Auxiliary: 62-hp Perkins 4-152 diesel
  • Designer: Doug Peterson

Boat imageThe galley table drops and forms an additional double berth.

The settee, on the starboard side, becomes the sea berth.  The base board and cushion pull out to form a wider berth in calm seas and a lee cloth, stored under the cushion, holds you in when the seas get ‘frisky’.

We put a lee cloth through the centre of the fore cabin and piled up the extra sails on that side.

We removed the sink, vanity and the toilet from the master cabin head.  We ran the shower, hot and cold, up to the cockpit instead.  We now have the option of showering (or rinsing off) in the cockpit and gained a large storage space below deck.  This is now storage for bicycles, dive equipment, spares and a lot of the equipment needed to keep a sailing vessel going.

Later, if we decide to sell the boat, it will be a simple process to change the master cabin head into a shower room.

There is a hatchway and stairs/ladder down from the cockpit into both the saloon and the master cabin.  This allows better air circulation through the boat on anchorage.  We usually shut the master cabin hatchway underway, but the saloon hatchway is well protected by the spray hood in all but the ‘bumpiest’ of passages.  When at anchor, the sprayhood and binimi offer enough protection in the rain, we are able to keep the master cabin hatchway open to improve ventilation.

If you want to learn more about Peterson 44s here is a link to the owner’s association website.

http://www.kp44.org/index.php/


Additions to the top deck

Dive tank holder-deck view

Dive tank holder-beltsWe felt a little exposed on deck when reefing so we added granny bars for safety.  Dive tank holders

We also needed someplace to store our heavy dive tanks, so we ‘killed two birds with one stone.

The fenders are UV protection and theft deterrents.

CIMG4613We added a storage box to the back of the boat.  This houses our dive compressor, drogue and still has room for storing flammable liquids.

We added a nylon top so that we can use it as a cutting table when fishing and a preparation table during BBQs.

We even made a cushion to sit on the top.

IMG_7889We were very fortunate that the previous owners of the boat fitted a very sturdy aluminum radar arch onto the back of the boat that included dingy davits.  This system supports 600W of solar panels and a KISS wind generator. We stuck our old 80W solar panels out the sides with fold down hinges.

IMG_7970Never enough storage space!

We keep two single person kayaks on the foredeck.  The type you just sit on top of, not inside.

This is our primary mode of transportation and we keep them close at hand for easy launching.  On passage we have some end straps to secure them in place.


Here are a few pictures of down below

Galley and stairs

The main stairs drop down between the galley and the navigation station.  The double sink makes washing and draining dishes easier at sea.  We have a shaped cutting board to cover one sink.  This gives more counter space and keeps dirty dishes in place, most of the time.  If it get really rough we stick them in the oven.  It keeps the ‘projectiles’ down to a minimum!

We halved the original size of the fridge, in counter on the right, and the freezer, in the counter under the stairs.  We insulated the boxes further before fitting new walls and a base.  At the same time we tore out the old 110V cold storage plates and replace the system with an energy efficient 12V keel cooled system.

Varnish-navigation station

After an electrical fire, on passage back in England, we upgraded the original wiring and circuit breaker panel.  Well it was insured.

Varnish-saloon seating and table

Before leaving to go cruising we tried to make the saloon brighter by upgrading the upholstery and moving the mirror from the master head into the saloon.  The ‘ultra-leather’ is still holding up well even after over 3 years of abuse.

The table goes down to make a big comfy bed.   Especially with all the extra padding we added.

Varnish-sea berth

We love our sea berth.  On rough passages, when you are off watch, it is lovely to curl in here with the lee cloth up.  On ‘smoother’ passages, and at anchor, this bed pulls out into the companion way, to give you lots of room to spread out.  With the sea berth at the centre of the boat, you get the least amount of pivot and movement.  Sweet dreams!

Head-new varnish

 Unfortunately the head on our boat is nothing special.  It is a combination toilet and shower room, but you could not pay me enough to shower here in the tropics.  We use the cockpit shower for that.  I will give praise to the Groco toilet though.  With a little vinegar, and greasing every 6 months, it rarely lets us down.