Bad Luck or Par for the Course?
Lowell Sheppard • September 8, 2019
I had never intended to buy a boat in 2019.
My plan was to research the kind of boat I needed to safely voyage from Japan to Vancouver via Nemo North, and be in a boat by mid 2020.
And then SV Wahine
came to my attention, and she rose to the top of my list because she was already in the Yumenoshima
(夢の島 - Island of Dreams) Marina
where I needed my boat to be as it would replace my small Tokyo apartment.
Two experienced sailors were advising during my research, and they each separately went with me on a sea trial with Wahine in May. They each advised the following:
- Wahine is built for blue water and is a safe vessel for an ocean crossing.
- She is not a perfect boat.
- No boat is perfect.
- My readiness is more important than the boat.
They said to buy the boat that is here now rather than the one that is elsewhere and come here later. It was convincing.
So, I took the plunge and took possession on July 1st with help of friends and the previous owner, who gave favorable terms so that Wahine could sail on this mission.
It wasn't all smooth sailing
All was good in July. Lots of practicing docking and sailing, as well as learning the peculiarities and the particulars of Wahine.
Then came August and the gear box problem, and she was unsailable for most of the month.
With Wahine in dry-dock, I decided to clean up the underside which included cleaning up the crusted propeller. Remember the propeller! We will mention it again.
Finally, four days ago (Sept 4th) she was put back in the water. Immediately, the mechanics - who accompanied Wahine and me back to the birth - discovered the gear and throttle cable was stretched and needed to be replaced.
Fine. I ordered it. (Another few hundred dollars; arrgghh).
Then two days after returning Wahine to her berth, my son Ryan and I took her out for a lunchtime sail in Tokyo Bay. Yay! Back to practicing and developing my sailing skills. Such a treat.
Of course, we safely made it back to the dock.
24 hours later, I had ten people on board who had generously given their time and skills over the previous weeks to help repaint and repair Wahine. I was to take them on a thank-you cruise for a few hours. We were all ready to go. People in their places with life jackets, lines ready to be thrown, and I could not get into reverse gear.
Then I tried forward. No movement.
Stephan and Claude went to the engine room as I worked the throttle. They reported the engine was revving and shaft turning but no movement of the boat nor churning of water. Stephan, an experienced sailor, was saying it was as if there wasn’t a propeller. Another sailor sempai, Rick of the TSPS (Tokyo Sail and Power Squadron), stripped down to his shorts, dove under the boat to confirm.
No propeller!
Now I am told that due to the busyness of the marina it may be several weeks before a new propeller can be installed.
So back to my question: Is this bad luck, par for the course, or some other mysterious force at work?
Unanswerable, I know. But, I have decided to heed the advice of my wife Kande, who wrote me this text this morning
“Breakdowns can become breakthroughs if you use them right.”
PS: We are donning scuba gear once Typhoon 15 passes and diving to see if we can find the propeller. The area is five meters deep, and the bottom is 1.5 meters of soft mud.
