Hi. In order to better organize the overall HJ Sailing site, this page is devoted to Hazel James’ and my voyage in the winter and spring of 2020. Our voyage was 119 days and from Florida to the Bahamas to the Virgin Islands and back. I’ve also included the blog posts that I made over the summer and fall of 2020 as I was refitting Hazel for our next set of voyages. The posts are in reverse chronological order (newest on top). Start from the bottom if you wish to relive this voyage from beginning to end. Happy reading!
I’ll Need a Volunteer
I can saw a woman in two, But you won’t want to look in the box when I’m through. —Warren Zevon; For My Next Trick, I’ll Need a Volunteer(added to HJ Sailing playlist) A couple weeks ago, my friend Sarah forwarded me a text: Sarah, tell your sailing friend that I have been listening to…
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I’m Taking Monday Off!
Over the weekend I got an email from my dear friend, Jon, in Northern California. It began: Hey Dan – after you paused your blog in June and it left me wondering if maybe that was a wrap for this epoch, I just discovered that I had quite a bit of your blog to catch…
Keep readingThe Past Year…Etched in Stone
In a twisted way, it feels good to be through the first year without Colleen. Not that I’m happy about it, but it feels good to have proven to myself that I can do it. If anything, it feels increasingly real—that she’s not coming back. This reality was punctuated by an email from Colleen’s parents…
Keep readingThe Past 365 Days: A Reaction or A Dream?
Well…here I am, or—better said—here we are, on this morning of the first anniversary of Colleen’s death. We’ve made it this far which is, in itself, an accomplishment. When I say “we”, I could be referring to my three dogs who almost never let me sit on my screened-in lanai alone (it’s where I do…
Keep readingThe Last of the Firsts
I’ve been feeling a bit down and out-of-sorts lately. While Hazel’s refit is proceeding well, emotionally I’m in a staring contest with the month of August and at the moment it’s unclear who’s going to win. Regarding the refit, we’re in that classic middle-stage with a million things started but very few totally completed. In…
Keep readingThe Baths, The Refit, The Grief
Lines of latitude are also referred to as “parallels” and the refit of Hazel James parallels my grief for Colleen. They are both so big, so enmeshed in the fabric of life, enmeshed in the weave of the fiberglass of Hazel’s hull—it seems like they will never end, they will never be “done”. Perhaps that’s…
Keep readingSummer 2020 Refit – Part 1 of ??? (Keel Bolts)
Well…right now, I’m kind of focused—perhaps overly-focused—on the question marks in the blog-post title. The overall refit of Hazel James reminds me of my consulting days when a client would call and request an assessment of their troubled, multi-million dollar project. Often, in assessing the project, under every rock we would find ten more rocks;…
Keep readingAnegada and the Beach Walk
While I’m still deep in the midst of Hazel’s summer re-fit and also dealing with a potential Coronavirus exposure, I thought you’d enjoy this blast from the past… I spent March 18-24, 2020 anchored off the British Virgin Islands (BVI) island of Anegada. The map below shows just how far Anegada is separated from the…
Keep readingThe Voyage: What I Learned, How I Grew
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”—Henry David Thoreau I discovered this quote when reading Diana Nyad’s inspiring autobiography Find a Way. She achieved her goal as the first person to swim the 111 miles between Havana, Cuba and Key West, Florida, and…
Keep readingBack in the Saddle!
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking,Racing around to come up behind you again…. Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines. —Pink Floyd, Time, added to the hjsailing playlist Ahoy friends!…
Keep readingThere and Back Again
No person will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get themself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned… a person in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company.—Samuel Johnson Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Although I’m missing Colleen…
Keep readingMay Your Boat Sink in Warm and Shallow Waters
Those were the parting words from my good friend William when I made my 6:30 AM departure from Little Harbour yesterday. He, Kim and Rachel paddleboarded over to wish me safe passage. Ben cast off my shore lines. I weighed anchor (pulled up the anchor) and was off! They all had their conch trumpets with…
Keep readingUh Oh…Busted!
OK…let’s have a quick, lightweight, fun post for a Sunday evening… Late last week, this BVI police boat hove into view around one of the headlands of Little Harbour. While all of us in the bay were pretty sure we were doing what we were supposed to be doing, given the communications and how things…
Keep readingI’m Comin’ Home
I’m comin’ home,Made up my mind that’s what I’m gonna do.Can’t love nobody on the telephone,I’m comin’ home to you. —Robert Earl Keen (added to hjsailing playlist) Author’s Note: While I still have some hurdles to clear prior to my departure and our exact embarkation date is uncertain, once the curfew is lifted, things will…
Keep readingRunaround Hazel
Ah, she likes to travel around,She’ll love you and she’ll put you down.Now people let me put you wise,[Hazel] goes out with other guys. —Dion, Runaround Sue (#1 on the Billboard Charts, October 1961), added to hjsailing playlist That blog-post title and song reference goes out to T. McMahon (Terry). He’s my great friend and…
Keep readingZeitgeist, Collective Grief and The First-Mile Problem
In reflection, that’s some ambitious title for this post—let’s hope the subsequent writing can deliver on the promise. I’m over 90 days straight of living on the boat and, given our lockdown, approaching 30 days at anchor in one place so I’ve certainly got the time to do it right. Here goes nothing… You’ve got…
Keep readingPrickly Pear Island
After that blog post that was a slow-song, tearjerker, I think we’re all in the mood for a dance number. Several weeks ago when I was in Gorda Sound on the Island of Virgin Gorda, BVI, I had a beautiful and photogenic beach walk on Prickly Pear Island. I find that when I get to…
Keep readingMysteries, Sea Glass and Irrational Fears
One foot in and one foot back, It don’t pay to live like that.So I cut the ties and jump the tracks,For never to return…. Three words that became hard to say,I and love and you. —The Avett Brothers, I And Love And You I played bass in a rock and pop band for a…
Keep readingIrMaria
When I get to heaven, I’m gonna shake God’s hand,Thank him for more blessings than one man can stand.Then I’m gonna get a guitar and start a rock-n-roll band,Check into a swell hotel; ain’t the afterlife grand? And then I’m gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale,Yeah, I’m gonna smoke a cigarette that’s nine…
Keep readingFauna
A wonderful bird is the pelican,His bill will hold more than his belican,He can take in his beak,Enough food for a week,But I’m damned if I see how the helican!—Dixon Lanier Merritt Editor’s Note: As this terrible pandemic rages, I’ve heard of some particularly tone-deaf billionaires escaping to their luxury yachts and then flaunting their…
Keep readingGo & Lan
OK my digital stowaways—all hands on deck, batten down the hatches and shorten sail ’cause this next tale is a lulu… For me, the story starts several weeks ago; for the heroes of the story, it starts several years ago. On March 11th, I entered the British Virgin Islands (BVI) at Spanish Town on the…
Keep readingSpace Mountain (from the passage)
Let me ride on the wall of death one more time,Let me ride on the wall of death one more time.You can waste your time on the other rides,This is the nearest to being alive.Oh let me take my chances on the wall of death.—Richard Thompson, Wall of Death (added to hjsailing playlist) Some quick…
Keep readingDiversionary Tactics
Is there ever enough, space between usTo keep us both honest and true?Why is it so hard, just to sit in the yardAnd stare at the sky so blue? —John Prine, You Got Gold (added to hjsailing playlist) Between celestial navigation and grief, our recent posts have been rather heavy. Given the news of the…
Keep readingWe All Go Back to Where We Belong (from the passage)
I can taste the ocean on your skin,Because that is where it all began.We all go back to where we belong,We all go back to where we belong.—REM, We All Go Back to Where We Belong As I began to formulate this plan to sail to the Virgin Islands, another idea came to me. It’s…
Keep readingA Sense of Where You Are, Part 3
My middle and high school friend Paul and I reconnected recently, partially due to this blog which is neat. He recently added a kind comment to the blog that it’s such a welcome diversion from all the Coronovirus craziness. I hope others find the same. A couple of related items in light of the current…
Keep readingA Sense of Where You Are, Part 2
In Part 1 of this celestial navigation mini-series, we focused on concepts, definitions, units and tools. In this post we’ll focus on the easier of the two coordinates: latitude. As a quick refresher from Part 1, latitude is a measurement of distance from the equator. It ranges from 0 degrees at the equator to 90…
Keep readingA Sense of Where You Are, Part 1
If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.—Lewis Carroll I think there is a sailing and a strategy corollary, “If you don’t know where you are, your course is meaningless.” For those of us who did a lot of driving in the pre-GPS days, you can probably remember being…
Keep readinghjsailing Playlist Now Available
When I started this blog I never thought that music would play such a big part of the story. I should have known better. In thinking about all the references, it hit me that a playlist would be a handy addition. I’m thrilled to say that a Spotify playlist is now available with all the…
Keep readingThe Dating Game
Let’s face it, I dated a lot before Colleen and I married. I was looking for that special something—my life-partner for a very important and specific part of my life. The funny thing is—now that we’re being totally honest—you’d think that 29 years of marriage would have slowed down my dating. It didn’t. If anything,…
Keep readingPinch Me
I’ve been in the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park the past several days and have been so impressed with the hiking. The vistas of the mountains descending into the sea is incredible. Also, I love the flora, the cacti mixed in with other tropicals is such an interesting mix. It’s also amazing how empty it…
Keep readingA Birthday Tribute
Today is my father Dave’s 92nd birthday. Although I’m moored in a secluded bay of the Virgin Islands National Park on St. John USVI—a literal paradise, I so wish I could be transported to Pittsburgh for his birthday party. Being away from home the past 43 days and sleeping every night on Hazel James has…
Keep readingShip Ahoy! (from the passage)
On the afternoon of Valentine’s Day, 2 days out of Harbour Island Eleuthera, Bahamas, I had a good close encounter with a freighter. I say “good” for a couple reasons. From a Murphy’s Law perspective, so often when you have a close encounter with a freighter or cruise ship, it’s 3 AM, the wind is…
Keep readingOverall Thoughts on the Passage
Now that I am in the Virgin Islands, I can be a little bit more “transparent”. When I say transparent, it’s a euphemism for “honest”—because, let’s be honest, I haven’t been totally honest. Over the past several months, when I would tell well-meaning friends about my idea to sail 1,000 miles of open ocean over…
Keep readingLand Ho! (part II)
Thanks to Jack for keeping the site updated while I was away and also posting about my landfall. Midday Sunday, February 23rd, after 11 days of sailing, I saw land for the first time. It’s funny, over the past day or so, thinking about approach-options to the Virgin Islands and where I make landfall and…
Keep readingLand Ho!
02/23/2020: PompanoDan Voyage update: Dan has nearly made it to The Virgins. As of this morning he expects to Anchor near St. Thomas tonight, and then find a marina and check-in with customs tomorrow, Monday. Below are a few images from the MarineTraffic app of Dan’s location as of roughly 9:41 EST this morning. I…
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Briland / Harbour Island / Dunmore Town
“…shiver me timbers I’m a-sailin’ away”—Tom Waits, Shiver Me Timbers While confusing, all three of the names entitling this post refer to the same place. At one time Dunmore Town was the capitol of the Bahamas and was also a prosperous shipbuilding town. Harbour Island, the island on which Dunmore Town is located, is roughly…
Keep reading“Aubrey, May I Trouble You for the Salt?”
One of Jack and my favorite lines from the movie Master and Commander. The officers of the ship are eating and the Master of the ship “Lucky Jack” Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is describing the first thing that Admiral Nelson said to him. On my first night-out, back on January 18th, I had anchoring problems that…
Keep readingWhen a Negative is a Positive
Forward: by Jack (Pompano Dan’s Son) Hi all, Jack here. Dan is currently in transit between the Bahamas and the Virgins. Marked with red pin, on the Google maps screenshot below, is Dan’s approximate location as of yesterday evening 02/19/20 (23°27’N 66°40’W). We are communicating 1-2 times daily via satelite text/email at this point. A…
Keep readingDear Addiction
“I know the whole truth there is horrible,It’s better if you take a little at a time.Too much and you are not portable,Not enough and you’ll be making happy rhyme.”—The Gypsy Life, John Gorka Days after Colleen died I found myself alone, by choice, going through her things. Partly because it was something to do…
Keep readingReading the Devil’s Backbone
“There are two kinds of sailors, those that have run aground and those that haven’t yet run aground.”—Old nautical proverb My 15 mile journey over the Devil’s Backbone was an awesome experience. Thanks in large part to Bruno Underwood, the pilot I hired to guide us over this potentially treacherous piece of water. You can…
Keep readingWhen You Get a Sec…
Check-out my updated About page. I’ve got a new picture of HJ up there and a really cool watercolor that a fellow cruiser and friend did while we were talking. Thanks for following along.
Keep readingAnd You Thought I Had Come a Long Way in a Small Boat
My four nights in the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven were delightful. For $2.50 per foot per night ($78 per night for HJ’s 31 feet), I had hot showers, a pool and easy access to the village to do some re-provisioning. In addition, my neighbors in the slip next to me are my newest friends. In…
Keep readingEnjoying Spanish Wells
“A person’s character always takes its hue, more or less, from the form and color of the things about them.” —Fredrick Douglas Whenever I read a quote from the past that refers to the masculine, I like to think that—today—the person would have phrased the quote more gender-neutral. I hope Fredrick Douglas won’t mind my…
Keep readingA Well-Earned 55 Miles
In my introductory comments to this site, I suggested that it’s actually not a small world and time doesn’t fly. I added that I want to earn my distance, not just hop a plane and be deposited somewhere. The other night my wish was granted by the Northeast Providence Channel. It roughly separates the northern…
Keep readingI Wouldn’t Want Her Any Other Way
“She was a rare thing, fine as a beeswing. So fine a breath of wind might blow her away.She was a lost child, she was running wild.She said, ‘so long as there’s no price on love I’ll stay.’And you wouldn’t want me any other way.” —Richard Thompson, Beeswing It’s 11:00 PM and I’m anchored up…
Keep readingBrown’s Garden
Wonderful dinner a couple nights ago at Brown’s Garden in the Berry Islands. Ronnie Brown is the rightfully proud proprietor. Featured dishes are conch and spiny lobster. I had the conch and it was out of this world. When I had this dinner, I was in the marina so cycled to Ronnie’s on a marina…
Keep readingGoing Outside
The day looks good so I’ll be checking-out of the marina shortly and anchoring up outside. I’ve heard there’s a cool plane wreck to check out via kayak and snorkling, as well as a blue hole nearby. I think this is the plane incident (posted for all my pilot friends, you know who you are!).…
Keep readingHJ Flies the Bahamian Flag in Her Rigging!
Note: Bahamian wi-fi appears to be on “island time”so I can’t upload pictures. Thus, you’ll be getting 1,000 words with this post 😉 Spoiler alert…we made it! Hazel James and I made the passage from Florida to the Bahamas, and are now in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas. While I know that pride is…
Keep readingThe Shakedown
Firstly, thanks for all the positive commentary on this site. I really appreciate it. Sometimes I feel so good, other times it hits me that Colleen died less than five months ago. Lately, when I’m feeling down, I think, “If I feel like this now, how in the world did I make it through the…
Keep readingThe Plan
“People Plan, and God Laughs.” (Yiddish adage) I was going to title this post “The Goal” but to me, a goal intimates that any deviation from it is some sort of failure. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve got my plan of where I want to go on this voyage and how I…
Keep readingHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Like many, I often gravitate to the darker and melancholy side of things. So it goes with Christmas carols and songs, my favorite is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. A couple Christmases ago I noticed that there were two somewhat different sets of lyrics to the song. While neither are “jolly” one set is…
Keep readingIt’s Not a Small World and Time Doesn’t Fly
In my professional career I travelled extensively, worked in constantly forming and re-forming team structures, and lived a generally fast-paced lifestyle. “It’s a small world,” was a frequent aphorism that my colleagues and I would use when we made a professional acquaintance and then discovered that person had a connection to a close friend or…
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