BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Cruising plans, discussions, etc.
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GeoffSchultz
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

Bob,

I'm personally a big fan of the camberspar, especially when running downwind. I can't tell you how many boats we've passed and had the husband run forward (often with a whisker pole) and try to get their foresail to do what we do with ease. If you plan your route correctly (Eastern Caribbean to Venezuela to NW Caribbean), you'll be able to experience a lot of down-wind sailing. Perhaps you can get better performance to weather with a roller furler, deck tracks and cars, but then you're beating (and losing a good chunk of what Freedom's are known for) and your admiral probably won't be happy with the contents of your home getting tossed around down below. (Not that I know that from experience...) On the plus side, not having to go forward to drop the jib would be very nice, as would being able to partially furl the jib. Hey, it's a boat and everything is a compromise!

Also, I find that while the camber spar can get in the way while anchoring, a nice hip check will position it to the side and it's not that hard to work around. Given that you've got a manual windlass, I would spend the money upgrading that as you're going to spend a LOT of time at anchor and the manual part of the windlass will get old very quickly.

Now, as to the in-boom furler, I'm not a big fan of them as you will want to maintain the fully battened main, and the issue is that in boom furlers tend to get jammed at just the wrong times. If you think that it's a pain getting on the steps to attach the halyard (which I can imagine that it is...I'm 6'3 and can just reach it),having it get jammed in bad weather sounds terrible to me and I've heard too many horror stories.

I don't know if I shed any light on to the subject, but the good news is that my advice is free and worth every penny! Everyone has to find what works for themselves and it'll take a while to figure that out on your own. I've refitted most of my systems 2-3 times before getting things right for me and I'd still like to make modifications.

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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sailmon
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by sailmon »

Thanks Geoff. Appreciate your thoughts - especially the last paragraph. The way I see it, at least 1/3 of the fun is messing around and improving the boat (while keeping the admiral happy). Other 2/3 are sailing and waking up in beautiful anchorages.... ok - I guess the 4/3 is the sense of satisfaction when you overcome adversity... storm, broken equipment, navigational challenge...
Sailmon (Captain Bob Allenick)
S/V Her Diamond
1991 Freedom 38
Cleveland, OH

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GeoffSchultz
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Location: BlueJacket: Guatemala
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

Tomorrow we head back to Mexico for 4 months of cruising. Here's a log showing our cruising plans: http://www.geoffschultz.org/Log_Page.ph ... 20Schedule

Ed Reiss will be taking over the management of the forum while I'm away. Thanks for the help and please treat him nice. (Yeah, this is such a rough forum!)

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

On Monday, Feb 4th, we'll be headed back down to La Paz on Mexico's Baja peninsula to start the next leg of our cruise. This year we'll be headed to El Salvador, which is about 1800 miles from La Paz. You can find details about our upcoming trip at:

http://www.geoffschultz.org/Log_Page.ph ... 20Counting

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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sailmon
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Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:53 pm

Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by sailmon »

Hey Geoff,
Your boat name has been borrowed. We just returned from the Chicago Boat Show, where we saw a beautiful new 40 footer called a Blue Jacke 40. Base boat runs around $400 K and is a collaboration between Tim Jackett and Bob Johnson... Built by Island Packet. Beautiful boat... Only major flaw... wires are required to hold the mast up.
Sailmon (Captain Bob Allenick)
S/V Her Diamond
1991 Freedom 38
Cleveland, OH

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

sailmon wrote:Hey Geoff,
Your boat name has been borrowed. We just returned from the Chicago Boat Show, where we saw a beautiful new 40 footer called a Bluet Jacke 40. Base boat runs around $400 K and is a collaboration between Tim Jackett and Bob Johnson... Built by Island Packet. Beautiful boat... Only major flaw... wires are required to hold the mast up.
Yeah, I've seen it and am trying to get royalties on the name use! :lol:

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

t-23 hours and we'll be on our way to the Mexico. Sue has bags packed and now we're pretty much just finishing up last minute stuff around the house.
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

We're in La Paz, Mexico trying to get the boat ready to move. To say the least it's been problematic. Here's a link to my latest log titled "Trials and Tribulations":
http://www.geoffschultz.org/Log_Page.ph ... ibulations

And for anyone who wants to get daily updates, you can "like" my FaceBook sailing page: https://www.facebook.com/BlueJacketSailing

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

We're getting ready to head back to the boat. By this time tomorrow we'll be in the air headed to the Pacific side of Mexico where BlueJacket has patiently been waiting for us. This should be an amazing cruising year as we'll sail from Puerto Madero, Mexico which is the southern most port in Mexico, to Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. We'll take BlueJacket through the Panama canal and leave her on the Atlantic side for hurricane season.

You can follow our adventures via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BlueJacketSailing) or on my web site at https://www.GeoffSchultz.org

Image

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: BlueJacket Sailing Logs

Post by GeoffSchultz »

We've been working our way down the Pacific side of Central America and are now located in Costa Rica, where we plan to spend about 2 months before heading to Panama and then through the canal. I've been blogging about it (http://www.geoffschultz.org/Log_Page_In ... egion=2014) and photographing as I go along (http://www.geoffschultz.org/photos/inde ... 4_cruising).

It's been a trip wit lots of mechanical/electrical issues (all dealt with) and lots of wind, but thankfully we're through the worst of the wind. Anyhow, check it out it if you're interested as it's not a place that lots of cruisers visit.

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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