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"Philosophy of Sailing": Ericson 38 Solo to Hawaii

nquigley

Sustaining Member
Thanks for the availability prompt/reminder.
Ordered mine on Amazon just now - Prime says it will arrive on Thursday ... the day before I fly up to Detroit for this year's Port Huron-to-Mac Race!
I'll take it with me - let's see if I can finish it before I get home again next Wed night ;-)
The first book was a real page-turner - I expect this will be too.
 

Filkee

Sustaining Member
Book Shopping

Mine arrived yesterday. My wife is fairly convinced that I am a member of some cult.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Vikings in the mead hall.jpg
Mine arrived yesterday. My wife is fairly convinced that I am a member of some cult.

Here's a picture from one of our NW Rendezvous gatherings.

We do sort of resemble a "cult" !

:egrin:
 
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Bolo

Contributing Partner
Cookies

Just up to about chapter four or five and already found out something I didn't know about Christian. He sure loves his cookies! :egrin: Then again we always have a supply of cookies on board Vesper. Enjoyable book so far.
 
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nquigley

Sustaining Member
I'm also up to about the same point in the book - great read so far!
I've been thinking hard about his philosophy regarding wearing just a harness on deck (no pfd) for off-shore single-handed sailing. If the pfd has an EPIRB on it, there would be good reason to wear a pfd, but otherwise, after you leave coastal waters and major shipping channels, I get where he's coming from. I do like his practice of wearing his harness 100% of the time below and above decks.

Given there's only enough in-boom equipment to handle 2 reefs, I find his trick of re-reeving the #1 reef line through the #3 reef cringle on the sail (and back again as needed), genius! The same could be done if you had a 4th reefing position in the main (instead of a storm sail - as Skip Novack recommends) - just let the #2 reefing line do double-duty with the 4th reef position.
 

Bolo

Contributing Partner
Depends on where you sail.

I'm also up to about the same point in the book - great read so far!
I've been thinking hard about his philosophy regarding wearing just a harness on deck (no pfd) for off-shore single-handed sailing. If the pfd has an EPIRB on it, there would be good reason to wear a pfd, but otherwise, after you leave coastal waters and major shipping channels, I get where he's coming from. I do like his practice of wearing his harness 100% of the time below and above decks.

Given there's only enough in-boom equipment to handle 2 reefs, I find his trick of re-reeving the #1 reef line through the #3 reef cringle on the sail (and back again as needed), genius! The same could be done if you had a 4th reefing position in the main (instead of a storm sail - as Skip Novack recommends) - just let the #2 reefing line do double-duty with the 4th reef position.

Since I do almost all of the sail and line handling, while the “admiral” stays at the wheel, I almost always have my PFD on and ALWAYS sailing solo. I don’t own a harness but the PFD I use has a “D” ring built in to it. When I solo I also attach a portable radio to my belt. Sailing the Chesapeake Bay isn’t like the open ocean, of course, and there are usually other boats in sight or not that far away. So going over the side my plan is that the PFD inflates and then I call for help. Of course, that assumes that I’m still conscious after I hit the water but no plan is perfect. I can see the logic of not wearing vest in the open ocean if you’re sailing solo cause who’s gonna get ya? I think I recall seeing the Coast Guard board Christian’s E32 during his first trip to Hawaii and giving him some Jazz about having a flotation cushion on deck and he said something like, “Who’s going to throw it to me?”

I was pleasantly surprised to see that his book is written not just for sailors but non-sailors alike. There are the sections with careful explanations about the bilge, sails, self stealing, explained in a way that anyone can understand. So now I can recommend his book to a few of my “land bound” friends.
 

bgary

Advanced Beginner
Blogs Author
I got the new book today, and ran across a blurb about the guy who bought your old boat.

He’s a lucky guy. And I know he’s proud to be a part of that boat’s history.

Will there be a Kindle edition?
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Bruce, I would still be owner of that boat if you had not expressed immediate, knowledgeable interest. I tell myself to always move on but it takes a shove. I still believe the 32-3 to be proportionally perfect.

Kindle on the way this fall.
 

Bolo

Contributing Partner
A book review (Sort of)

Just finished reading Christian’s new book, Philosophy Of Sailing: Offshore In Search Of The Universe, last night which was a sort of sequel to his previous book Alone Together about his first solo too Hawaii in his E-32 III that was of particular interest to me because I own the same model. But the new book although similar in a few ways is also quite different so if you read the previous one then you shouldn’t put off reading the new book because you might think it’s just about another crossing to Hawaii. You might miss getting a peek of the universe.

He again takes us along for the ride but this time we’re more of an invited part of the crew. In fact, the boat gets a bit crowded at times because Christian has also brought along some of his other “friends” like Bertrand Russel, Edmund Husserl, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Friedrich Nietzsche and many more all stored in water tight containers in the V-birth. It was hard to get a word in edgewise! Also along for the ride as part of the entertainment was, of course, Thelonious Monk, who helped pass the time with some “cool” jazz although I would of also have liked to have heard some John Coltrane or Miles Davis too but it wasn’t my boat.

Still it was an educational and informative adventure with someone I consider a sailing master because I’ve only be a sailor for about 18 years compared to Christian’s long life time history on sailboats. The “Preparation” sections were also quite helpful even if you weren’t planning on an ocean voyage. More importantly to me, I was encouraged by the story of a sailor who while celebrating his 74th birthday was soloing to Hawaii. I just celebrated my 67th birthday and although I’m a semi-retired commercial photographer there are still a lot of non-photographic things left for me to do on my bucket list. Christian’s voyage gives me the inspiration and hope that I can cut that list down to size while still telling a good story and at the same time letting us in a little on what makes him “tick”.

So I strongly suggest this book to everyone on the EYO web site and don’t limit it to just those sailors. The book is written in a way that’s more approachable to non-sailors also or at least those interested in sailing even though they may not be planning an ocean crossing. My only beef are the photos. I’ve seen most of them on the EYO site but being a photographer a few intrigued me. There is a photo of the “Williams Brothers” that included Dad and the two brothers. You’ll have too read the book to find out how they were ALL called “brothers”. The black and white images are a bit “blocked up” as they say in my business but that is because of the paper stock used for the photograph pages. So I hope that when the book comes out in electronic form the images are clearer. Maybe you can post the image of the “Williams Brother” here, Christian? I’d love to see what a younger you liked like. Wonderful book and thanks for taking me along to Hawaii. Where are we going next?
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Thanks Bob. I hope you'll post some version of this on the Amazon site. The search engines are deeply influenced by reviews.

Here's the photo in color. Complicated. Manley Cadwalader Williams, center--hmmm. Jeffrey Cadwalader Williams. After a medal n Vietnam, heroin addict, died miserableh--hmmmm. The other guy--hmmm. In the background is the World Trade Center. Hmmm.
 

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Bolo

Contributing Partner
It's amazing how many things have changed in that photo. :esad: Review is on Amazon.
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
Well...Christian pretty much looks exactly the same, so things haven’t changed so much as you might think. That’s the World Financial Center in the background, not the WTC; it’s still here. The view looking out from pretty close to the other side this afternoon:
 

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Geoff W.

Makes Up For It With Enthusiasm
Blogs Author
Thanks for sharing your experience, Christian. I stumbled upon your video while going through a Youtube sailing black hole and am happy to see you're a moderator here. It is a wonderfully made video and the story is told very well. I appreciate the humility and honesty as well - as a new sailor, seeing someone quite experienced say they were seasick for three days and wanted to go home is....inspirational, in a bizarre sort of way. Like I stand a chance at this as well.

Hope you've kept your fruit intake up onshore. Sobriety, err - Scurvy, can sneak up on you.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Kindle edition now up

>>>>wanted to go home is....

Thanks. I do get seasick. I don;t think I ever wanted to go home--thought never occurred.

For those who asked, the Kindle edition is now up at the Kindle Store, available at iBook, Barnes and Noble and elsewhere, and will be eventually linked to the Amazon book page.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GFQB6FK/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb



 
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Mack8964

Member I
Loved the book especially how its both an outward adventure novel as well as an introspective exercise. As always I'm a little backwards so I'll be reading the 1st book second. :egrin:
 
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