Jakatar, a Corbin 39, Wins the Peniche Regatta

Jakatar won its last (2019) regatta in Peniche, in its last year in Peniche, just before sailing off to the Algarve, maybe forever!

If you can read Portuguese, you can read the Newspaper report about the regatta, or you can translate it on Google or, even better, you can skip it.

I won because I had painted the bottom weeks before and because I decided to be a racer instead of a cruiser for one day. This means that I actually concentrated on winning. A Rival 38 came second while the supposedly modern fast boats finished way behind. We had winds of 10 to 15 knots and the legs implied sailing in nearly all points of sail.

The photograph below shows Jakatar about to overtake two of the fastest boats participating.

Also note the ugly stripe, which I started to repaint between the haulout and the race, but only got as far as removing most of the oil-based paint with a heat gun and paint scraper. A real pain in the butt job that I performed with the boat in the water...meaning that I worked on my knees with head and arms hanging over the side. Then there was the sanding, taping and actual painting. Not to be repeated in any circumstances.

Before the bottom job:

After, a slippery bottom perfect for winning races:

Coming up in the next post: Building a concrete mooring on site on the boat and launched from the boat. 

Big Ideas

I've had a lot of big ideas in my life; I've also had my share of ups and downs. One of my favorite plans so far was to stop working today - yes today!

That's not going to happen today, tomorrow or anytime in the near future. Plan B says "another 5 years." The funny thing is that I could stop working today; I could if I were an island or the only coconut tree on that island. [Read my lips: if I lived on the boat.]

Life would be grand anchored someplace...like here.

Having a drink on the Porto Santo Ferry about 4 years ago. I look like I'm drinking lemon juice. Ana has since lost the little tummy through persistent jogging, cycling and gym sessions. But I like the picture anyway.

During our visit to Madeira, we took the ferry to the smaller island of Porto Santo, which reinforced my fondness for dry arid landscapes surrounded by ocean - preferably bays and beaches.

I've heard that a cold rainy climate has its practical and poetic virtues and is also a stimulant for an industrious mindset. I believe it because I've been a pack mule a good part of my life, except when I was busy being a book-reading dreamer and a bum. 

Regardless, I don't want to work anymore. I'm now totally ready and willing to waste my time doing something worth doing in a warm, sunny setting - I'd rather sweat than shiver.

Back to reality and to Jeep news: as I head into the third week of waiting for a stupid little engine part, the mechanic decided to have a local machinist manufacture it "Cuban-style."

Don't ask me about the boat. I haven't been there since the storm and it must look odd all lashed down with extra storm lines in this calm weather we've had lately.

I was going to take the bus into Peniche yesterday but didn't when an unexpected situation popped out of nowhere. Man, sometimes I feel like I'm moving but going nowhere.