When I completed my first circumnavigation in early October 1976 I had less than $2,000. About $9,000 now. Still not much for two people to live on for more than a few months, even though Suzanne and I were staying rent free in my grandmother’s house in Mission Beach.
I had a good literary agent in New York, who had tried unsuccessfully to sell some novels I had written earlier and would now try to sell the manuscript about the voyage, but that was uncertain, so I put EGREGIOUS on the market. Without an engine or lifelines or plumbing or an electrical system she was not an easy boat to sell.
I rewrote two episodes from the manuscript into magazine articles, one about the rounding of Cape Horn, one about the cyclone in the Tasman, and sent one to YACHTING, one to SAIL. No one knew who I was then and magazines often take months to respond. I get treated better now. Eventually both magazines bought the articles and in her letter of acceptance Patience Wales, then editor of SAIL, asked that I telephone her. I did and SAIL bought everything I sent them for the next twenty-five years.
In the meantime my money was diminishing with distressing rapidity. I heard by chance of a delivery of an Ericson 35 from San Diego to La Paz, Mexico and back. I do not like boat deliveries because I do not like to sail boats I have not prepared myself and I have done only two, but I accepted this one.
Suzanne and the boat’s owner accompanied me south. This was in early December. The arrangement was for Suzanne and me to return to the US, while the owner’s family flew down to spend the holidays on the boat, then Suzanne and I would return and sail the boat back to San Diego.
When we reached San Diego in late January, I learned that both book and boat had sold. And soon thereafter that the magazine articles had too. My money worries were over for a while.
EGREGIOUS was sold for $22,000 to a Canadian from British Columbia. I know that he immediately had an engine installed and took her north. A few days ago Gary, who owns an Olson 30, emailed that he had heard rumors that EMMA, a light blue Ericson 37 on a mooring in Maple Bay, B.C. was my old boat. He tracked down and contacted the owners, Chris and Tricia, who affirmed that the gel coat under the paint is indeed yellow. They are the third owners of the boat, having boat her in the 80s from a Canadian who had bought the boat in Southern California and sailed her home.
Note in the photos that she has a tiller. Good for Chris and Tricia. There cannot be that many originally yellow Ericson 37s with a tiller in British Canada. I am reasonably certain that EMMA was once EGREGIOUS. That even looks like the spinnaker I had.
She is a pretty boat and always was. She looks to be in fine condition, particularly for an almost fifty year old boat that was once sailed as hard as any production boat ever had been. I trust that she has brought sailing joy to Chris and Tricia and will for years to come.
I thank Gary for taking the time to track the boat down and for permission to use the photos.
You are not likely to have noticed, but this site and my main site are now https. The change cost nothing for the journal. Only changing one setting. I thank Rik for informing me of this. The host of the main site is charging me $50 a year for the ‘s’. This is probably a rip off. Almost the cost of a bottle of Laphroaig. The sacrifices I make for you.
If you have the main site bookmarked, you will have to go to the site by typing it into the address line and rebook mark it. If it says ‘Not Secure’ you are going to the wrong place.
I was in Hilton Head for seven months. Upon returning to our Evanston condo which we have owned for fifteen years, I discovered that I had forgotten how to do certain things here and where certain things are. The first morning I stood for a few seconds in the middle of the kitchen trying to remember where the juice glasses are. I have tried to toss trash into the location where the bin is in Hilton Head rather than here. And I have tried to get ice from the refrigerator door as I do in Hilton Head rather than in the freezing compartment where it is here. As has been noted before we live a significant portion of our lives on autopilot. I have tweaked mine just in time to go back to Hilton Head. I don’t think I’ve been gone long enough to have forgotten where things are there. At least I hope I haven’t.
And as Art noticed, I automatically headed Monday’s post ‘Hilton Head’. He caught it. I did not. I thank him and have made the correction.
From Larry comes a link to essential equipment for my next voyage. I don’t understand how I could have gone so long without realizing I need this. I will now be able to grill my freeze dry dinners in mid-ocean. I am sure you will rush to buy one, too.
Larry called this “a bad idea waiting for disaster.” Indeed. I thank him for the moments of amazement and amusement.
Don’t fail to scroll down and watch the video.
4 comments:
Floatngrill...
why would one want this? who would want this?
Indeed, "what could go wrong?"
Burns (as floating BBQ drifts into kids), flaming boats, waterlogged steaks....
It does rather beggar the imagination.
Re the grill, it reminds that just because something CAN be done, doesn't mean it should be done.
I swear, just now I was typing an email to you, because I had wondered sometime yesterday what ever happend to EGREGIOUS the 37 foot, I had remembered you writing about the original smaller one being located a few years ago. I decided to check the site for some reason before sending it, and look what I've found haha.
-Zach B
Cape Dory 25 "Wanderer"
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