"A cruising sailboat and a racing sailboat are not the same thing," my husband, Pierre, sarcastically remarked when I showed him a sailboat that I found on the internet. To me, the body shape and the price were good, and it was big enough for our family. "Why?" I wanted to know. "Go Google it!" he yelled.
As I became more interested in sailing, I came up with more questions. On the one hand, Pierre was happy to see my change in interest, but on the other hand, he couldn't bear my endless questions. I forgot that we basically got in touch with sailing at the same time. He was one step ahead of me, but many times he could be puzzled by the same questions I was pondering.
Not only did we have to go to work and travel, but also I had to care for two young children. How could I have enough time to search for information online -- like looking for a needle in a haystack! By asking him first, I could get an answer immediately. To me, it is a short cut. He just shrugged, "Is there a Google search button on my forehead?!"
In short, we visited more than a dozen sailboats in different marinas around the South African coast. As time went on, the more boats we put our picky eyes on, the clearer the picture of our new future home became.
Finally, a blue water ocean cruiser, Ithaca, came to us. She had been docked for a few years in Durban Marina. The sailing school we attended was just across the street on the other side of the dock. Whenever we had free time at school, we walked down the pontoons to check on her. As soon as the training was over, we did a trial sail and then signed a purchase agreement for her.
Before Ithaca came into our sight, she had been lying in the marina for more than three years. The previous owner died of a heart attack, which led to a dispute over the will. This complicated transfer procedures. Before us, an Englishman put in an offer to purchase Ithaca, but after a few months, he could no longer stand the long delay and cancelled the purchase.
Actually, Ithaca was the first boat my husband visited. It was on one of his business trips to Durban. When Pierre saw her, it was love at first sight. He was fascinated with her look and her design, but she had been sold to the Englishman. Then eight months later, when the agent informed us that we could become her next owner, my husband was overly excited. After some negotiations, the deal was closed.
At that time, we wanted to leave South Africa in two years. There was enough time; we didn't worry about the transfer and the boat registration problems at all. What we did not foresee was that the boat registration document (SAMSA) would only become available to us one month before our departure. It almost became a stumbling block for the voyage.
Now, let me introduce you to our ideal home Ithaca!
She is of ketch design, double-mast, high in front and low in the back, 45-feet long, LOA 14 meters and 4.5 meters wide. Later, we added a diving platform to the stern, for a total length of 15 meters. She has a lovely centre-cockpit layout, which was one of the major selling points for us.
Below deck, she has three main living areas. The forepeak has three berths, which belong to our two children. Their books and school supplies are stored on the shelves and in the cupboards. Under the foredeck, there is a sail locker, which connects with a storage area for the anchor chain. The hatch is right in front of the mainmast, and we usually transfer the sails from the deck through the hatch without going through half of the boat. How convenient!
Like most sailboats, the middle part is the living room with seats and extra sleeping bunks. Coming down through the boat's main entrance or companionway, the navigation area is on the left, and the galley (boat name for the kitchen) is on the right. From the navigation table through a narrow aisle past the engine compartment, you enter the back cabin. The back cabin was designed as a standalone cabin, with two single beds on each side and an en-suite bathroom (called a head on a boat). You can access the cabin either by the aisle inside the boat or a companionway in the cockpit. In addition, there is another head adjacent to the living area where you can take a quick shower.
Pierre loves the centre-cockpit design as the front and back cabin creates a family space. Furthermore, the bunks are away from the working area, which can provide a good rest. Later, while sailing, my husband and I used the cockpit as a full-time watch area and did not sleep in the back cabin at all. We let the children sleep in the back cabin, leaving the front cabin for fender storage.
Ithaca is a heavy, full-keel sailboat although her hull is only fourteen meters long. She weighs twenty tons because she is made of Ferro Cement; this kind of sailboat is not well-known in the market. When we bought her, she was 30 years old and well tried and tested by the sea. She was built in the Bluff at Ferro Marine Durban. After so many years, her hull is still perfectly smooth; even the boat surveyor was amazed at her appearance. Many people mistakenly think that Ithaca was a fibreglass boat. Her perfection means that her building standards were strict. This is especially important for a Ferro boat.
Once we took over Ithaca's ownership, we started to refurbish her. Her old aluminium stanchions were replaced and instead, we installed new stanchions with welded stainless-steel pipes. These pipes are high up to the waist, strong and fully connected. For the safety of our children, we also tied a sheet of tennis court net all around the stanchions. We extended the stern with a 2.5 meter long, 1.5 meter wide fishing platform. It also fitted with a 180 degree hinged diving ladder at the back for an extra entrance to the boat. At the top, four new solar panels were fixed on a supporting structure to provide some shade. Also, we closed the original semi-open cockpit with a layered adjustable canvas. On hot days, we roll up the outside layer for ventilation; on cold and rainy days, we put down the cover to keep the cockpit dry from the rain. We attached mountings on top of cockpit ceiling for fishing rods, a perfect place to store these long nasty sticks. This upgraded cockpit is an absolutely great investment and is worth every single cent. It has become the centre of our entire cruising life. All friends who visited our boat loved its spaciousness, the practicality, the safety and convenience of having a cabin outside.
To ensure a comfortable cruising life, you will need a sufficiently sized power supply. Our new solar panels have a capacity of 600 watts per hour. There were eight old high-cycle house bank batteries on the boat, but they were no longer in good condition. We replaced them with brand-new lead-crystal batteries. Additionally, we bought two starter batteries for the engine. When the power bank is fully charged, we can live off it for three days in raining and cloudy conditions, without having to charge them again. If it is a sunny day, we can also use our kitchen appliances, like the bread maker, the rice cooker, and even our washing machine.
Ithaca has three water tanks under the floorboard, which can hold 1200 litres of freshwater. This is enough for four of us to live for two months with normal consumption. We are not fond of a watermaker because we heard it had many issues on cruising forums. Besides, you must carry enough filters onboard. The new cockpit roof was designed as a rainwater collection system. The collected water is mostly used for washing. When we cruised in Patagonia, we could never use up all the free water and shared a lot with the other boats.
Originally, Ithaca had two diesel tanks, and we built another removable tank inside the engine room. Plus eight stored portable diesel drums, Ithaca can carry 1000 litres of diesel. If there is no wind, the motor can drive us over 1,000 nautical miles.
As a conclusion, she was our ideal boat. After refurbishment, she became our floating home of dreams.