WINNER OF OFFSHORE SAILING SCHOOL'S HUNTER 15 "WIN A SAILBOAT CONTEST"
Brian Kastner - Ada, Michigan
Brian and his son, Ian, took the Offshore Sailing School Fast Track to Cruising course at Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa on Ft. Myers Beach, FL in November 2010. The first two days they learned on the Colgate 26 and the next five aboard the Leopard 46 catamaran. Here is Brian's winning story.
The Best Family Vacation of Our Lives
In February of 2011, we found ourselves in the middle of Sir Francis Drake Channel on a 42 foot catamaran with a winch override and no "captain" on board?
How did we get into this situation?
It started back in 2005 when some friends took my wife and me on a bareboat sailing excursion. As Kansas natives having never sailed before and with no boating experience, we were intoxicated by the exotic beauty and adventure of bareboat cruising.
In 2010, while surfing the web and dreaming about sailing again, I came upon a link to Offshore Sailing School's seemingly outrageous claim that they could take me from novice to bareboat-charter-ready in 1 week in their Fast Track to Cruising program.
I made a few calls, checked some references, did some soul searching, and then booked the trip. My 12 year-old son Ian agreed to take off a week of school in December, 2010, to take the course with me in Fort Myers, Florida.
We arrived like blank slates, a true test of the Offshore method.
For two days, we were tacking
, jibing and having fun. On day three, we climbed aboard the 46 foot catamaran on which we would learn to bareboat.
I can't describe the thrill of pulling the 13 ton catamaran off of the dock for the first time, or scarier yet, of bringing it into the tight marina at Captiva Island. When we were under sail, with sun shining, wind blowing, and Ian smiling, I was in heaven.
I passed the tests and received my certifications, but the real test was yet to come.
My goal: to take my wife and four kids to the BVI (British Virgin Islands) for a bareboat cruise.
We reserved a 42 foot catamaran out of Road Harbor, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Prior to the trip, my wife Gina had been trying to contain her anxiety and to stifle the urge to repeatedly suggest that maybe we should hire a captain.
In February, 2011, we pulled out of the harbor (without hitting anything), sailed an exhilarating broad reach across Sir Francis Drake Channel, picked up a mooring ball at the Bight of Norman Island, and shared a bunch of high fives. We snorkeled that evening at the "Caves", and the next morning we set out for a short sail to Peter Island.
That's when we experienced a complication.
We were sailing close hauled, and I had let my son Will take the whee
l. When I looked up to find ourselves in irons, I took the opportunity to explain backwinding the jib, which the wind did for us. Unfortunately, when it came time to release the jibsheet, we discovered it had got caught up in a winch override. With twenty knot winds and 25 knot gusts, the jib backwinded, off our intended heading and the jibsheet under impossible tension, we were in an obvious bind.
My four kids displayed no apparent distress, but Gina's face exhibited real concern. It wasn't the happy sailing she had been worried about; it was getting in over our heads and not knowing what to do. Without delay, I grabbed a deck line, formed a rolling hitch on the trapped jibsheet, ran the deck line to another winch, released the tension on the override, corrected it, and we were back on our way.
That's when my wife looked at me, tilted her head slightly, and said, "Wow! My Captain."
We ended up having the best family vacation of our lives: togetherness, adventure, challenge, beauty and lots of relaxation. By the end of the trip, Gina was asking if we could someday live on a boat.
What a success!
Brian Kastner
Ada, MI 49301
kastnerbrian@yahoo.com
See a complete slide show below of their experience aboard
Offshore Sailing School's Leopard 46 during the Fast Track to Cruising course, their cruise in the British Virgin Islands with the entire family,
and their first sail aboard their new Hunter 15!