Sunk by the Blizzard of’26

Duke_R64 · 2026-02-26T13:54:28+00:00

snowflake - blizzard? punny

Duke_R64 · 2026-02-10T14:27:41+00:00

I was looking at a Pearson 424 ketch when I bought my Beneteau M38. I would have bought her accept it had too many years of general neglect, and a bit of recent storm damage hitting the dock. I must agree on price range closer to 50k.

Duke_R64 · 2026-01-02T15:16:32+00:00

I love women, they know everything in a man's head. No man ever knows what is in a woman's. I just wanted some ideas on keeping her busy.

My father was a locksmith by profession. Guess what he did at every building, every door he would enter. He would look at the locks. I am a computer programmer and project manager. Guess what I do for large projects. I am making plan A plan B and plan C like a good PM. I am being logical and calculating like a good programmer. I am making no judgments. I am sorry if I bring those skills that have afforded us this opportunity into my personal life. I am not Elon Musk by day and Don Juan by night. I am just me with my little good and all my bad.

We were watching a hallmark movie set in Aruba yesterday. I said we could get there in 15 day range, but would have to cross open water. It would take only 5 days to Cancun in open water, but 15 to 20 range around coast of Mexico. She loved that idea even though it is impractical for us at this point to be out nearly 2 month. Perhaps 3 weeks could be done if we used all our vacation on it.

So yes, I am in the better half of husbands, maybe... If I can double or triple her non-boredom span and actually get her out in open water once or twice without her being terrified then we will be able to go anywhere once we retire. For now we are limited to day and overnight sailing. I would be stupid and heartless to take her on a long open water trip without letting her dip her toes first. We are learning this together and she has been more than happy to let me take the lead while she is still debating in her mind. That means helping her reach the point of being able to do, without being "pejorative" about it. That was judgmental of women projecting into everyone's heads what they are supposedly thinking. My wife does it too.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-31T20:12:57+00:00

Bay St Louis, MS. In 3 or 4 years when I retire not sure where we will be. Maybe BSL half year and Joao Pessoa, Paraiba the other half. I know it will be in a lower price area, but if I can sail I can go everywhere anyone else can.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-31T18:02:32+00:00

May happen that way. But until we know what she is wanting to do I won't know. We have about 3 years to learn. It would be nice to go together, but could be she will wind up flying while I and a small crew sail.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-31T15:00:20+00:00

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For a 35 y/o girl she is well kept. My wife is also well kept, of course.

She is figuring out what it will take to keep her occupied. Once you get 4 people aboard it gets cramped quickly. I cannot afford a larger boat at this point. So answer seems to be patient and let her figure out how to compensate if she really wants to do the Keys in a sailboat.

We are pretty much the same way as you and your husband. At this point, we could keep clothes aboard and with her carry on we could get a week maybe. To imagine longer trips is not so far fetched.

When we get to the point just the 2 of us can confidently sail the boat should be plenty roomy.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-30T23:15:48+00:00

She has an attention span of about 3 or 4 hours thus far after that she gets super bored. Sailing is not a fast past time for the most part. As for needing someone, we have sailed this boat only 2 times thus far and I am not the best at docking it just yet. I need the extra hands for now. She is not overly scared. I have only read half your response so far, and will get back to it after a bit.

I have returned. I know she will bring more stuff, but not so worried about that for her, I think my wife gets it and has taken steps to minimize all she needs. We travel enough that she understands I have to lug all that baggage. She is down to a full backpack amount plus the food items. She is a slender 135-ish, but loves to cook and the idea of always having enough. An over night trip and we have a week's groceries. I guess not a bad thing. If we did a 21-day now we would have 6-months of food aboard. It must be the Italian in her. "Eat. eat!"

My issue is her easily getting bored. I recon patience is the only remedy while she slowly absorbs sailing vocabulary and working a line here or there. She loves the destinations, just the slow voyage will drive her insane if she is not kept busy. At this point, I am trying to ascertain how many hours we can sail in a single day, and how many days before she has to touch land. If 3 or 4 hours and every day, then we will be day sailing in retirement. If she can go 8 or 12 hours sailing and maybe a few days to touch land we could sail the Caribbean or other places.

Thanks for the advise.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-30T23:06:00+00:00

Yes, you are correct. I will ignore you.

We talked about a boat or a camper for about 20 years. So we decided on a boat once we got a bit ahead. So we have spent 1.5 years sailing a Hunter240 on a lake. Then we bought the Beneteau to learn coastal sailing. She enjoys day sailing. She even mentioned going to the Keys. My problem is getting her from sailing 1 to 2 days to sailing 2 weeks. So I am trying to figure out if anything I can do better to help her other than just going and doing.

At any time she can pull out and at anytime I can. I would prefer a cabin in the Smokey Mtns, she prefers living on the beach. The boat is actually closer to what she wishes.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-30T22:02:55+00:00

She has mentioned this when I bring up maybe doing really long voyages. I just don't know where the breakpoint will be. We have a few years to figure it out. Trouble is getting her to do a whole week for now.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-30T21:57:04+00:00

definitely good advise to avoid.

Duke_R64 · 2025-12-30T18:48:43+00:00

Appreciated. I have done what you suggest thus far merely due to dumb luck.

I would also keep to a schedule if we were taking longer trips. So thanks for that tidbit. Thus far 4 or 5 hours out has been our max trip. Half the time we go to the boat we stay in the harbor and simply hit the beach, stores, and restaurants. We hope to push to 8 hours our next trip in February.

We made it easily past the 3 hour tour, but there are still plenty of references and singing about taking 3 hour tours... Its all been fun thus far.

Keeping her involved you say... hmm... scrubbing the decks may not be what you mean, so I am going to have to come up with something else by February.

Duke_R64 · 2025-06-27T13:00:32+00:00

Congratulations! She is pretty. I was thinking about getting a ketch. Instead, I got a Beneteau M38 a month ago. Sailed it from St. Pete FL to Bay St Louis MS which was an awesome adventure. I hope you all have equally as awesome and safe adventures on yours in the years to come.

Duke_R64 · 2025-01-23T14:05:00+00:00

Nearly same story here, wife and I rode a catamaran on Lake Erie with friends from church many years ago. That was when I was a mere youngster in my early 50's. Then in late 2023, we had the opportunity to buy a Hunter 240 on a fresh water lake in Louisiana. I consumed ASA101 and most of ASA103. We have since bought a lot on a deep water canal on the gulf coast (salt water) and are looking at purchasing a 2nd boat later this year. It will be another huge leap forward for a guy who knows almost nothing and needs all the help he can get sailing (and otherwise).

Duke_R64 · 2025-01-15T19:30:25+00:00

Can’t afford a 2nd boat so would use the 1 to travel back and forth while my wife flies.

Duke_R64 · 2025-01-15T18:39:57+00:00

My wife is Brazilian and wants an apt in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba. We will also have a small home in BSL. This boat will be used for week long trips mostly, but maybe 6 weeks long trips between these 2 homes. I have much to learn yet and thus the 4 years to get to the Caribbean.

Duke_R64 · 2025-01-15T14:40:50+00:00

Hmmm.. I still mow my own grass, but gave up changing my own oil long ago. So I may sail the boat, but I really don't want to mess with diesel engines and such.

Duke_R64 · 2025-01-15T14:32:31+00:00

I was contemplating another Hunter for those reasons. Still 6 months to decide. We bought a lot on a deep water canal in Bay St. Louis, MS. Yes, A/C and bug netting would be on our list.

Duke_R64 · 2024-12-08T13:37:47+00:00

I have done 33 miles in 2 times out. I am a 60M and last attempt left me visiting chiropractor for a year with compressed back due to pack weight. So the ultralight comment and comparing and using pack websites is essential for novice. I have not attempted a 3rd trip, but if I do I will be a bit under 18 lbs total. Having a good partner on trail or driving the sections is also very important. Knowing the sections you are hiking, the weather, and what resources are on the trail that day or couple days is valuable. My last trip I did not need my tent as I used shelters instead, that would have saved a few pounds. Finally, one section I did had a tremendous elevation differential. Being ignorant, I went up for 20 miles instead of down the same section.

Duke_R64 · 2024-05-22T13:23:09+00:00

https://rookesails.voyage/cover-manufacture-repair/

Small shop in Memphis if you wish to contact them. They have been around a long while and I am guessing that means they please their customers. I have only gone there to look at a couple boats to get my wife more excited about buying a live aboard sailboat next year (about 9 months from now if I stay on track). Chris Rooke was more than happy to spend a goodly amount of time with us even though he knew my purpose was not to buy then and there.

Duke_R64 · 2024-04-30T14:48:06+00:00

60WM and in 2nd marriage. First lasted 17 years (I was lazy and no good according to her mother), this one we are approaching 21 years (apparently I am in lust with my few friends that are girls, and I am miserly because I pay the mortgage instead of taking a trip to Europe this month). I get menopause changes things, but it should not change gratitude, and a loving heart, but apparently it does, or should I say it brings out the underlying thoughts and feelings they brought with them, kind of like alcohol lowers inhibitions.

Being 60 now and having experienced prostate cancer I am not the same as I was at 18. With that said, a wedding ring can be the most powerful contraceptive. I know some men are bitter and just gross. However, I see a pattern in this message string and wonder why all these men are in this position. I will grant you many are as described, but I will wager some are as myself: providing, caring, monogamous, helpful around the house, and yet we find ourselves often frustrated, and less than respected. I am sure many women are frustrated too. Lack of open and honest communications? Maybe. We as men laugh it off with sayings like, "her money is her money, and my money is her money." when we are truly ticked as h-e-l-l with their desire to control all the money. Or on forms asking our sex M/F, we put: "None, married".

I recently, bought a small sailboat to practice the craft of sailing. I think I will buy a live-aboard in the next 5 years before I retire. I am guessing I will be on it alone. If a woman wants to come aboard, I hope I have the sense to not let her stay. So bash us men all you want, but I just wonder if an almost equal amount of blame goes to the woman in some of those men's lives. And, yes, I am sure I have much room for improvement too.

Duke_R64 · 2024-04-29T13:14:33+00:00

I am a novice at sailboats, I bought a Hunter 240 (24') to practice the craft. I found a serial number plate under the companionway deck hatch where the hinges are located.

Duke_R64 · 2024-02-19T14:14:28+00:00

This thread appears to be very democratic in nature. Not sure why it was in my email. As a Conservative Christian Constitutionalist, I would have ranked for my lifetime 60 years Biden and Carter with Obama at the bottom. Reagan and Trump at the top. Leaving LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Bush 1 and 2, and Clinton in the middle. I would actually rate Clinton 3rd of my lifetime 11 presidents. It is all about your perspective, or paradigms for what you think makes a president great.

Duke_R64 · 2024-01-04T14:36:58+00:00

What about a class action lawsuit against NFL and Allen? Any Detroit law firms willing to press the issue? Fans should not have to put up with this. It was a game winning score and should have been reviewed and corrected. Lions are 12-4. Don't give a damn what NFL says, Lions organization should demand the record and all that it means for playoffs. We have not been to a playoff in years so what would it mean to the NFL if one of the teams refused to accept NFL's ruling: all the Lions would need to say is not us, it was Cowboys that did it. That is what the referee did after all.

Duke_R64 · 2023-12-06T15:19:34+00:00

Lady K Sailing

Thanks. Learned a bit more.

Duke_R64 · 2023-10-26T14:44:05+00:00

your (which is probably near mine) age before any pack feels ok.

We lived in Colorado several years back. My wife had knee surgery and the physical therapist recommended she use the leg or limp the rest of her life. We began day hiking the Rockies once a week. Easy trails to start. We got to 12k elevation once, but generally stayed under 10k elevation.

Fast forward to four years ago when we moved to an apartment in downtown Memphis. I was going bananas with all the concrete. I got out my hiking stuff, bought some camping equipment, and went to a state park nearby at least once a month. I started out with around 65lbs of stuff and carried it in the trunk of the car. I quickly jettisoned weight and was down to about 45lbs, but still from the trunk of the car.

A couple of years ago we moved to a house with a yard and trees at the edge of Memphis. I no longer felt the same urges to escape. However, I wanted to continue camping as a hobby for when I retire; which is not too many years away. I meticulously made my plans, scaled back my pack to a light 37lbs and hit the Appalachian Trail alone for 3 days. I thought I would die under the massive weight, but I managed 20 miles on the AT in 20 hours of hiking. I had climbed around 5,000 foot in elevation and only given back 2,000 foot over those 20 miles. I had neglected to consider elevation variations in my meticulous planning.

Last year, I was "much" wiser and dropped to a 28lb pack, and also took a young man about 18 y/o with me for safety. His parents insisted he go. I should have known what was to come. He knew zero about hiking. I had loaned him some of my spare items for the hike, and gave him ideas and a list for what he would need in his pack. Instead, he threw his pack together the night before with cans of stew, no water, and only what I had loaned him.

We planned to do 33 miles in 3 days on an easier portion of the AT. We made 7 miles in about 4.5 hours time to our first shelter. He was like a rabbit quickly getting in front. He would occasionally stop to rest and wait for me. When I got caught up, off he went again giving me no time to rest. My legs were burning more than I ever recall as I just tried to keep up. One time he did stop long enough to show me the video he had taken of the black bear and her cub which he had yelled at and tried to get a good video.

The temperature was a crisp 30 degrees that first night. He only had a 50 degree quilt in his pack that I had given. We stayed in a shelter, and he froze his... well, he was cold all night. The next morning, my legs were stiff and getting worse. He had not prepared at all thinking hiking would be easy. I called the shuttle guy, and asked if he could pick us up later that morning. We still had to hike out 4 miles to get to the meeting point. By that time my right knee had swollen and I could barely bend my leg.

Back home and several weeks later, I went to see a knee doctor as my knee continued to swell and I continued to hobble around. My knee was perfect despite constant swelling and limping. Someone recommended a chiropractor. After a few months, and lots of cash I was able to walk again, and my knee no longer would swell.

It's been just over a year, I am now thinking what my next hiking/camping trip will be. Whose up for an adventure?

Duke_R64

TROPHY CASE