Every good adventure begins with some serious challenges and adversities and the beginning of our adventure was no exception. 

After years of planning and upgrades, installations and fine tuning, we believed we were pretty ready to go! We had agreed to do a pre-voyage presentation of our upcoming circumnavigation, with pictures of the exotic places we planned on visiting, at Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Connecticut and for the Corinthians.

Ready to Go?

On the short trip to Greenwich for the presentation and open house on the boat, the engine started overheating! We found out later the heat exchanger had failed and was mixing salt water with the fresh water and antifreeze… not good. So although we had whipped up a PowerPoint with boat details, our personal history,
near future itinerary and long term plans and tentative places to visit, we now had a full stop problem! We limped back to our home port the next day.

It seemed the engine manufacturer had a “new style” part to replace the old style part and it mounted differently on the engine and was a “few” inches taller. Getting it to fit required cutting floor beams in the pilothouse and fiber glassing supports – a major project with the clock ticking to get out of Connecticut before winter set in! We were falling into the cruisers trap of allowing a schedule to dictate when you depart, rather than being ready and waiting for a weather window!

The Voyage (Finally) Begins

Finally, we were ready to set off. On a damp and cold Christmas Eve morning, our friend Gary slid down the frost-covered ramp at the marina to see us off. With a spare propane tank in the cockpit and a space heater in the pilothouse, we headed down Long Island Sound towards New York City and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

With the tide we flew through Hell Gate and down the East River in the late afternoon. Once in the lower harbor we set just the small staysail and raced down the New Jersey shore at seven knots with the hydrovane steering and the pilot house decorated for Christmas!

All Hell Breaks Loose

You can have too much of a good thing! A low pressure front that was predicted to arrive came in early – just as we were off Cape Hatteras and pretty vulnerable. The seas picked up to about eight feet as the wind increased to a steady 26kts and gusts into the 30s. Perfect opportunity for any crud on the walls of the fuel tanks to get stirred up and plug the fuel filters – plus anything that wasn’t nailed down ended up on the cabin floor!

Our bailout point was to be Cape Lookout Point, just before sunset. With the engine out we needed to sail to safety, around the point and into the safe harbor on the lee side. We checked in with both the Coast Guard and Sea Tow and made sure all the buoys were on location and there was no uncharted shoaling that we might encounter… they answered that there would be no problem and that they weren’t the least bit interested in coming out in the storm!

Wearing full foul weather gear and PFD harness’ clipped to jacklines, we made the approach in the pitch black and found we couldn’t get very far upwind in the narrow harbor with just staysail alone. So we dropped anchor in the mouth of the channel, where we stayed for two days until the storm blew through. During that time we picked up and re-organized the cabin and replaced the fuel filters and bled the fuel lines (yet again). We rejoiced when the engine kicked over!

We arrived in Beaufort, North Carolina and Town Creek Marina after motoring two hours from Cape Lookout Point with our fingers crossed that we’d make it. It was a bright, sunny day and all traces of the front were gone – with the wind on our nose we had to motor the whole way! We negotiated the twisty harbor channel avoiding shifting sands and at times ignoring buoys completely as instructed by the marina’s manager. We happily cracked a cold one when we made it to the dock!

Southern Hospitality in Beaufort, North Carolina

We were warmly greeted by the staff at Town Creek Marina and made arrangements to have the fuel tanks cleaned and the fuel polished (filtered) after the New Year. We greatly appreciated the marina’s generosity when they handed us the keys to the guest car for our stay while they took the week off!

As a send-off we had a traditional North Carolina meal of shrimp and grits… delicious! A big part of the fun of cruising is the great people you meet!

Arrival in Saint Augustine, Florida

We set off with the tide for the three day, 400 mile journey to Saint Augustine, knowing the engine and fuel tanks were in the best shape ever. We began sailing and ultimately had to motor for two and a half days with the engine purring. Night watches were spent dodging ship traffic and unlit Navy towers that dotted the coastline. Candy felt she was in a massive video game as she steered with the autopilot buttons weaving between targets on the AIS and radar screens.

We timed our arrival with the sunrise and the slack tide and were assigned a great mooring right off the Bridge of Lions and beautiful Saint Augustine, Florida. The boat arrived salt encrusted, but clean and organized inside. We made breakfast and cracked open a celebratory beer! After a short nap we were picked up by Rick’s sister Tish and whisked off to hot showers and professional chef level dinner. A great welcome to Saint Augustine!

Settling in and Boat Projects in Saint Augustine

We stayed a week at the Saint Augustine Municipal Moorings, enjoying the “Nights of Lights” (everything in the old town is lit in white Christmas lights), met new cruising friends and stayed with Rick’s sister Tish and her husband Ademir (both chefs and amazing cooks!) who live in town.  We moved the boat to English Landing Marina, a newly constructed marina with new docks, ramps and facilities, plus an interesting mix of live aboards, transients and Air BnB (Boat BnB?) clients who pay alot of money to sleep on someone’s “Yacht”, which never leaves the dock!

It was also very bizarre to hear guests in high heels with roller suitcases thumping down the aluminum dock. We made instant friendships and attended the Saturday night BBQ, and the celebration of the christening of one of the boats in residence (after a four year rebuild).

The marina is a mix of cruisers who have stopped in Saint Augustine on their way (and stayed for 18 years), and those who are completing rebuilds and projects and will be on their way within months.  There are also some who unfortunately will never be going anywhere and have found a safe place to rest. There are weekend jam sessions on one boat by a musician / sailor whose wife wasn’t ready to continue cruising. They anchored in Saint Augustine some years ago and unfortunately she developed Alzheimers.  He now cares for her onboard and sings about the cruising life – dreams unfulfilled.

After two family weddings and some time off cruising, we went home to work a few months to replenish the cruising kitty, rent houses and get organized for life as live-aboards. Rick’s daughter Chrissy and her husband arrived and boat projects on Independence started in earnest… definitely not Spring break! A new water-maker, wind generator, cockpit table, winch lubing, varnishing, some plumbing and new cockpit electronics… the boat finally went back to living area from construction zone and chaos! Candy cooked and froze seven days’ worth of hot dinners, (and provisioned breakfasts, lunches and snacks).

Finally Ready to Leave!!

It took a few weeks of almost constant work to pull all of the many tasks and projects together, but we were 99% done! Whew! We also purged many unneeded goodies (heaters, flannel sheets, extra equipment and years of accumulated “good stuff”) and loaded all the gear including toys (diving, drones and foil boarding equipment) and food on board.

Next stop – The Turks and Caicos Islands and a few days of sightseeing and snorkeling the reefs. Then on to the San Blas Islands of Panama and a step back in time. In a month we would be heading through the Panama Canal and into the South Pacific!

Rick Delfosse and Candy Wood
SV Independence

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About the Authors

Rick Delfosse has been in the marine industry for most of his life. He is a Coast Guard captain, National Safe Boating Council close-quarters boat-handling and open water boat handling instructor, Connecticut and New York certified safe boating instructor and a US Sailing-certified instructor. He also conducts on-the-water courses and classroom seminars on coastal and offshore cruising and boating skills. The owner of “Independence”, a pilothouse cutter, he has coastal and offshore racing experience.  He has known Candy since high school and reconnected with her some eight years ago. Her first sailing experience goes back to high school, when she and other brave friends went out on Rick’s fathers Herreshoff ketch on Rick’s first time out without Dad! Then he popped the question in every sailor’s heart… Want to sail around the world with me?

Candy Wood is a CPA, with a private practice in Connecticut. She has been a town Public Information officer and part of the Emergency Management Team and holds Wilderness First Aid, AED and CPR certificates. Her adventurous side led her to take sailing and basic keelboat courses, enjoy cruising on Long Island Sound and chartering in the Caribbean. After a 25 year sailing hiatus, she joined Indian Harbor Yacht Club and re-immersed herself in sailing, becoming chairman of the clubs “Focus on Sailing” program. Some years later Candy and Rick found each other again. After some coastal cruises and a horrible boat delivery from Bermuda to gain offshore experience, Candy got her US Coast Guard Captains License and agreed to join Rick on Independence and set off around the world.

Their Boat

“Independence” is a 43 foot Pan Oceanic Pilothouse Cutter designed by Ted Brewer. Although she appears to be a heavy boat, she is very responsive in light air with her medium displacement hull, sizeable keel and low center of gravity, she also copes well with strong winds and rough seas. She is spacious and comfortable, with lots of deck space, an ergonomic cockpit, a large saloon and pilothouse with inside steering, complete navigation station and sofa/bed.

Their Goal

To circumnavigate by boat and immerse ourselves in the culture and heartbeat of the places we visit. While we like to “buddy boat” with others, our visits are often longer and involve land travels to truly explore what makes each location or country “tick”, make lifelong friends and help where we can with donations of children’s books, school and art supplies, donated reading glasses, tee shirts and hats. We are not in a hurry (other than getting older) and are in awe of the places we have already seen and wonderful people we have met so far.

Follow their adventures at www.cruisingindependence.com and on Facebook at SV.Independence.

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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