A Soft Launch Into Cruising — California Coast to the South Pacific
Three of my college friends and I quit our jobs to sail across the Pacific on our 1989 Beneteau 50, which, at 36 years old, is the oldest member of the crew by a decade. Jack, Lauren, Teddy, and I purchased Open Range in Emeryville last October after nearly a year of searching for the ideal offshore cruiser to accommodate our crew. She soared through a sea trial and passed a rigging, engine, and general survey. We fell in love with Open Range’s beautiful teak trim and spacious cabin, but it was clear she needed some work before crossing an ocean. Miraculously, the boat fell within our price range and it was a done deal.
We sailed Open Range out of San Francisco Bay and down to Santa Cruz, where everyone but I lived at the time. Naïve as we were with our timeline to outfit the boat, our determination prevailed. Each of us brought unique skills to the table to tackle the ever-growing list of projects. Teddy, the electro-wizard, overhauled nearly all the boat’s electrical systems: wiring in new solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, and a new alternator, to name just a few. Lauren secured the plumbing by resealing and flushing out decrepit water tanks, hooking up the holding tank, and installing a new macerator and bilge pump.
Jack, the mechanic, rebuilt and fine-tuned parts of our Perkins diesel engine. I became the rigging guy, replacing the old running rigging, splicing halyards, reducing chafe, and the like. With a bit of internet research, some grit, and lots of guidance from friends and other fine folks at the Santa Cruz boatyard, we got Open Range into fantastic shape for offshore cruising in just a few months.
Back when we all lived in Los Angeles, Jack and Lauren owned a J/29, Free Range, the first craft we all sailed together. Free Range made regular trips to Catalina and the other Channel Islands for overnight expeditions. Cramming into the snug berths, sometimes with five people on board, strengthened our teamwork and sparked dreams of a longer passage.
Avid adventurers by nature, our crew met through the surf club at USC during my first semester of college, and, coincidentally, the final semester for Jack, Lauren, and Teddy. Within weeks of meeting, Jack, Teddy, and I drove south of the border to Baja California, Mexico, to score empty surf breaks off washed-out dirt roads. Lauren joined in for the next surf safari to the north shore of Oahu, where we shared a rented Dodge Grand Caravan as our luxury hotel for a long weekend.
Before sailing together on Free Range, we’d all come from varying nautical backgrounds. I spent a few breezy summer days sailing on Chesapeake Bay with my grandfather growing up, but prior to college, I couldn’t tell a jib sheet from a cotter pin. Teddy shared my lack of experience. Jack and Lauren, who held greater knowledge from owning Free Range, crewing aboard race boats, and chartering, were the more experienced sailors and boat owners who drove the planning of this trip.