In July 2024 I booked a trip to Oregon to see family and friends. Unlike in some of the prior years, this year I chose to fly versus drive.
I visited Portland and McMinnville to see family. Then a friend and I drove down to Black Butte Ranch for to rendezvous with a few other friends for a long weekend of biking, hiking, playing pickleball and putt-putt golf, lounging poolside, and eating!
In late 2023, I went through a rigorous evaluation process and was selected as a nationwide U.S. Sailing Instructor Trainer…. Basically an instructor of instructors. It’s quite an honor. In early 2024, I co-taught my first 3-day instructor course with a “Master Trainer” and received the final blessing to go at it alone.
In June 2024, the “nationwide” aspect of this new role kicked in — I had the opportunity to fly to New York to evaluate 5 instructor candidates. Sailing the Hudson for three days was an awesome experience, and I look forward to more work around the US in this exciting new role.
In October, 2023, I flew to New Hampshire for my 25-year reunion at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. I stayed at the historic Norwich Inn and had an amazing time with friends I haven’t seen for years. I really treasure my Tuck friends and the experiences we shared then, and now!
In August 2023, I flew to Europe for a multi-sport adventure.
It started in Greece, where some friends and I chartered a sailboat and did a week of sailing. Unfortunately, this was precisely when Europe was having fierce rainstorms. We enjoyed ourselves, but it wasn’t the sunny island hopping we’d hoped for.
I went to Croatia for a couple of days to dry out, and revisit my favorite cities of Split and Trogir.
I then headed to Germany for my good friend’s birthday in the north, and then usual hiking and Oktoberfest activities in the south. Always a good time. Danke!
Some friends and I rented a house in Sonoma for a long weekend of food, wine, and pool activity… which included learning the basics of fly fishing!
In June and July of 2023, I took an epic 2,000-mile road trip up to Oregon to see friends and family. I love the drive, both along the coast and through the Redwoods. I did some camping and hiking along the way. Many, many photos and stories… if I get time I’ll come back and add more detail so that my trip can be a reference for others, or myself next time I take a road trip.
Stops included:
Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area
Myers Flat
Shelter Cove and Black Sands Beach
Hidden Springs Campground
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Ferndale and Lost Coast
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Gold Beach
Bandon
Florence (to visit aunt and uncle)
Sisters and Bend (to visit friends)
Black Butte (to hike to top!)
Deschutes River Gorge (great hike!)
Vancouver (for “Cousins Reunion 2024”)
McMinnville (to visit parents)
Depoe Bay
Lincoln City
Gold Beach (for 4th of July)
Ferndale
Napa (to see friends’ new house!)
In January, 2023, I flew to Washington for another powerboating adventure in the San Juan Islands. It was winter time, so I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised that it was actually snowing as we drove to the marina. Nevertheless, we bundled up and prepped the boat for a weekend adventure. We cruised to Gig Harbor for a tasty dinner ashore and streamed NFL playoffs on the boat’s pop-up flat screen. Another highlight was cruising (at a safe distance) by the submarines the Kitsap Naval Base.
Like 2020 and 2021, the year 2022 saw limited traveling for me (versus 2015-2019). Sure, I’ve done some short 1-2 week trips here and there. But I haven’t been gone for an extensive amount of time, like in previous years when I was gone for months at a time.
Staying at home in the Bay Area allowed me to spend time developing my sailing and boating skills, and achieve more certifications with U.S. Sailing and U.S. Powerboating. These certifications, in turn, will provide further options for what I choose to do in the future.
In August, 2022, after 3 days of practicing on a variety of sportboats, with both symmetrical and asymmetrical spinnakers, I earned my “Performance with Spinnaker” Sailing Instructor certification from U.S. Sailing.
In November, 2022, I changed gears and took a 3-day training course to certify as a Cruising Powerboat Instructor. (I was already teaching powerboating courses, but passing this U.S. Powerboating certification course up-leveled me and really made it official.)
After extensive traveling during my adult life, especially during the early “Dannyboy Travels” years of 2015-2019, I found staying put during 2020 and 2021 particularly difficult. Although Covid was still lurking in 2022, I decided it was time to gamble and book a trip abroad.
Since I hadn’t seen my German friends for several years - and one of them was turning 55 years old in 2022 - so traveling to Germany seemed like the logical destination. I booked my flights.
The trip was a great success, with a few “mini-trips” embedded within.
I flew into Munich, direct from San Francisco, and then took the train to Starnberg where I met up with my friend Uli. He was gracious enough to allow me to use his home as a “home base” for the next several weeks.
Our first adventure was taking the express train to Neumunster, in the north of Germany. We rendezvoused with Ulf who then drove us to his vacation home on the island of Sylt. Here we spent the next several days together celebrating Ulf’s 55th birthday, along with many of his friends and family.
Our second adventure was a couple of day hikes back in the south of Germany. These hikes in the Alps are always fun, usually punctuated by some visits to huts for beers, lunches, and card games.
Our third adventure was the obligatory Oktoberfest, or Wiesn. Again, these days at the world-famous festival are unforgettable - full of laughs and fun.
Lastly, I took my own individual adventure to Innsbruck for a week. The train ride is beautiful, so I took my time stopping at a few villages along the way for an overnight or two. I’d spend the day doing local hikes and then stroll the streets in the evening in search of a rewarding meal.
I love going to Germany and am grateful to have such fabulous and generous friends there.
Vielen Dank!
Dan, Ulf, and uli on the island of sylt.
beach walk during a nice day along the north sea
hiking in bavarian alps
stopping to rehydrate and refuel
wiesn 2022
prost!
at the “top of innsbruck”
stopped for a couple of days at seefeld in tirol on my way back to munich from innsbruck.
spending a few days in berg (just south of munich) before my flight home
In July 2022, I met friends at Black Butte Ranch in Oregon for a long weekend of fun. We rented bikes, played putt-putt golf, relaxed at the pool, sat at the lake, walked along the river, and had some great food and laughs along the way. It’s a great group, and these reunions are becoming an annual thing.
In July, 2022, I flew to Florida for a friend’s birthday. The celebration took place at his spacious vacation home in Cape Coral.
We spent several days lounging around in the hot Florida sun.
The highlight (for this sailor, at least) was renting a pontoon boat for a few days. One day we took the boat out to Sanibel Island where we anchored and went for a swim. Another day we just slowly cruised through the canals looking at all of the luxurious homes and yachts.
I’m lucky to have a friend with a powerboat docked in Seattle. And it’s not just any powerboat; it is a proper cruising powerboat with all the amenities, including heat, air-conditioning, and yes, WIFI!!
During 2022, I flew up to Seattle a couple of times to help him with the boat as crew. Together, we’ve explored some of the San Juan Islands during long-weekend type trips. The pics below are from our first trip, in April 2022.
My favorite spot was Roche Harbor, tucked away on the north end of San Juan Island. We spent a few nights here relaxing and enjoying some fine dining. With covid still lurking, the quaint harbor was fairly quiet. (We’ve heard that during peak season, the place is packed!)
We also explored the secluded bays on Sucia Island, where we gave the new dinghy a try.
We also took a day trip to Friday Harbor for lunch. That was another quiet little harbor.
The ultimate highlight was seeing a few Orca whales (from a distance). Very exciting!
Anchored at sucia island
an evening stroll at roche harbor
orca!!!
Wow, time flies when we’re in a pandemic! It’s hard to believe I haven’t posted anything since December 2020. But then again, I haven't really done a lot since then. Well, at least not a lot of traveling. In fact, NO traveling.
But, I actually did have an interesting 2021. Here’s a quick recap.
1). I helped co-found a new sailing school in San Francisco Bay called “Inspire Sailing.”
The sailing school where I used to work as an instructor, OCSC Sailing, closed down permanently in 2020 due to the pandemic. I ended up meeting a couple of investors and together we started Inspire Sailing. I worked with the investors to put together the 5-year financial plan, and then established myself as the “startup General Manager” helping with facilities, fleet ops, insurance, hiring, U.S. Sailing accreditation, syllabus development, etc. I also built the website (inspiresailing.com) and managed the social media/marketing efforts. After a few months, I was able to hire a great full-time General Manager so that I could get back to instructing.
2) I became a powerboat instructor.
In 2020, I had a brief stint working at Club Nautique as a sailing instructor - after OCSC shut down and before Inspire Sailing started. When I moved to work at Inspire Sailing, I kept in touch with my friends at Club Nautique. As it turns out, that club has a great Powerboat program (in addition to Sailing program). I trained at Club Nautique to become a powerboat instructor in 2021, and now I teach powerboat classes for them. Powerboating is great fun!
3). I became a CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor with the Red Cross.
With the startup of Inspire Sailing, a few of us staff trained and became certified as CPR/AED/First Aid Instructors for the club.
4). I continued to enjoy being a boat owner!
In 2020, I had purchased a 24-foot sailboat called “Midnight Run.” In 2021, I continued doing small projects on the boat, but also enjoyed a lot of sailing, too!
So, looking back, 2021 was a pretty productive year, despite being “grounded” and not traveling. Now, in 2022, although the pandemic isn’t entirely behind us, I’m looking forward to dabbling in some local / domestic travel — short, relatively inexpensive trips so in case the pandemic flares up, I can quickly and easily change or cancel my plans. We’ll see….
Like 2020, the year 2021 was another slow year in terms of travel.
I became a power-boat instructor in 2021, and also enjoyed some fun power-boat charters!
I helped start a new sailing school at the Berkeley Marina, called Inspire Sailing!
Happy holidays from Midnight Run and me!
After the summer and fall filled with boat projects, the early winter has been a great time for some light-wind sailing… and actually enjoying my purchase and hard work! I’ve even single-handed a few times!
The running lights are sort of festive, come to think of it! :-)
Taking a break in the light winter breeze.
Sailing with the jib only is a nice, safe way to single hand if the conditions are right, since I don’t have to worry about the boom and mainsail.
A rare shot of Midnight Run and me from off the boat… thanks to my friend Phil who was single-handing his boat alongside me.
With the closure of OCSC Sailing, I don’t really have a way to keep my boat battery charged. I could remove the battery periodically and charge it with a charger at home, but that’s pretty inconvenient.
So I decided to experiment with a small 50-watt solar panel from Renogy.
I don’t want to install it permanently on the boat, as I don’t really know what I’m doing yet. This small, flexible panel is easy to pull out, hook up, and lay out on the deck for a few hours or half a day when I want to charge the battery.
We’ll see how it goes.
Easy enough to pull this panel out and lay on the deck for a while at the dock, or could be at anchor somewhere.
Charge controller to help monitor the charging and battery state.
I have a diver who scrubs and inspects the hull of Midnight Run every month.
He noted that there was paint peeling away from the keel, that had apparently been there for months (prior to my purchase). He even sent me pictures that proved the damage had been there for at least 6 months!
When I purchased Midnight Run, I made the decision not to have a surveyor inspect her prior to purchase. For this size and value of boat, it just wasn’t worth it. Certainly for a bigger, more expensive boat, you should have a survey done to uncover issues like this (or worse).
I decided to have Midnight Run hauled out for inspection and repair.
Was the paint peeling because of:
1) Collision with something underwater?
2) Blistering or electrolysis of some sort?
3) Poor paint prep on a previous bottom paint job?
4) Other?
After the haul-out and inspection, the boat yard concluded it was #3. Poor paint prep.
They scraped away quite a bit of paint from the keel, and then re-prepped and re-painted the keel with the same bottom paint (hard not ablative, for any sailors out there). The bottom had just been repainted in 2109, so I decided to save a bit of money and limit the re-painting to the keel. At some point in 2021, I’ll re-do the entire bottom, as per a normal 2-year maintenance schedule.
I was relieved to know that the cause was unlikely #1 or #2 (or #4).
Midnight run’s first haul-out (under my ownership). You can see the paint peeling away from the keel. (This is after we peeled away more to really see what the problem was. Originally the “peel” was only about fist-size.)
Peeling away even more to uncover any bigger issues.
On the hard ready for repairs.
Because of the coronavirus, I spent a lot of 2020 at home, sheltering in place and keeping socially distant. But I also spent a lot of time at my “second home,” my little J24 sailboat called Midnight Run.
Apart from the carpentry work documented in my previous post, the second-biggest boat project this summer was re-doing a lot of the electrical wiring and accessories on board.
I won’t go into details here since this post is already 3-months late, but suffice it to say, this project involved a lot of YouTube videos and internet research, as well as a few Amazon purchases (and returns).
Side note: I was amazed at how easy returns! I just dropped off the unwanted packages at my local UPS store (and they take care of rebooting and shipping).
I also went through a few pages of diagrams and schematics, trying to figure out what was best (and most importantly, correct). I had to keep reminding myself, “It’s only a J24, not a super-yacht.” I made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I’m pretty happy with the end result.
A quick summary of what I did:
Installed new wiring from the 32-amp hour AGM battery to a combo fuse box + bus bar, bypassing the old glass tube fuses in the electrical panel and opting for the cartridge style fuses in the new fuse box. I wanted to keep the original electrical panel (complete with “J24” labeling) but I liked the simplicity of the fuse box combined with a bus bar (which I used for my positive wiring.
Added an expanded terminal block for the connecting the wiring to/from accessories.
Installed two new cabin lights with new wiring in the main cabin. There is (or was) a light in the forward berth that I will eventually replace. But haven’t done it yet.)
Installed new wiring to the compass (which has a self-contained light).
Installed a new DC Plug and wiring. This isn’t functioning so I’ve done something wrong. Needs to be investigated.
Installed new illuminated switches on the electrical panel. These light up when powered on, so at a glance I can tell if any of the switches are on.
Connected (or re-connected/tested) the running lights at bow and stern, as well as the steaming light on the mast.
Like I said, this took me a few tries, and it’s certainly not perfect. But everything works (apart from the DC plug) and I’m happy with the safety of all the connections.
For the most part, I used components from Blue Sea Systems and Ancor, including heat-shrink marine grade ring connectors and butt connectors. In many places, I not only replaced the wiring but I also upsized the gauge (going a bit thicker, with 10-AWG from the battery to fuse box, and 12-AWG to many of the components and accessories). The running lights and steaming light are on the wiring that came with the boat (but I know the previous owner had just updated that wiring, so it’s still relatively new.
Here are some pics.
Removing the old components.
Diagrams and schematics. What am I doing?!
From diagram to actually laying out the pieces.
Starting the connections… Battery to fuse box / bus bar, and to/from the switches on the electrical panel.
Adding the terminal block where I’ll connect the positives from the accessories.
The electrical panel which I want to preserve, but I’m replacing the switches. The fuses, on the right, will be bypassed, but I’ll still get new caps for the plugs.
How the old-but-new electrical panel looks now with illuminated switches and new caps for the fuse plugs.
New cabin light works! These little lights have a blue mode and a white mode.
The blue looks cool at night. Yes, I’ll still use my red-colored head lamp for when I need to preserve my night vision. But I don’t really plan to do a lot of night sailing when I’d need to be down below navigating or working on something. So these blue lights are just for fun.
Starboard running light works!
Compass light works!
There are many jokes about boat ownership.
“The two happiest days of a sailor’s life are (1) the day he/she buys a boat and (2) the day he/she sells the boat.”
“What does BOAT stand for? Bring out another thousand.”
And so on.
But I knew this going into my purchase of the J24. It’s one reason I only bought 24 feet of boat.
I also knew that owning a boat is really an investment in a lifestyle because the boat will require a lot of time and attention with maintenance, repairs, and hopefully sailing! I’ve been witness to this having been a member of a sailing club for 7 years, an instructor at a sailing school for 3 years, and a crew member of an ocean-cruising vessel for 7 ocean crossings.
Boats are a LOT of work. There is always a “boat job” to do… more like 100 boat jobs to do.
And when you fix one issue, two more likely pop up.
Again, I knew this going in. And it’s another reason I only bought 24 feet of boat. How many issues can you have with 24 feet?
Well, apparently, quite a few.
Upon buying my boat, “Midnight Run,” I bought a little notebook and made a long list of boat jobs. Sure enough, for every job I completed, at least two more were added. For every boat part I fixed, I managed to break two more parts.
For example, one of the very first things I did was clean the bilge (the lowest part of the boat’s interior, where water collects). It was dirty and moldy. I scrubbed and rinsed, during which time more water (now soapy dirty water) naturally collected in the bilge. No worries. I went to the manual bilge pump to pump the water out… and after about 3 pumps, the bilge pump broke.
I sponged out about 8 inches of water from the bilge, and then added “Fix Bilge Pump” to my list of boat jobs.
Another example. I proudly checked off “Fix Latch on Galley Cabinet Door” on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I broke the same cabinet latch when I removed the water tank from the cabinet. Back on the list it goes. “Fix Latch on Galley Cabinet Door (Again).”
Such has been my life for the last month. Fix one thing. Add two more to my list.
It’s actually been great fun, but a physical, mental, and intellectual challenge. I’ve had to contort my long, lanky body into strange positions to reach screws, bolts, hoses, dirty corners, etc. I’ve had to keep a positive attitude and not get frustrated or overwhelmed. And I’ve had to learn how to be a carpenter, a plumber, and an electrician. Thank goodness for the internet!
The biggest project, which is documented below in pictures, is the refurbishing of the shelving units on both port and starboard sides of the main salon. Yev, the previous owner (and also head of Fleet Service at OCSC), helped me with this project.
We removed the existing shelving, which was old and moldy, and separated the pieces. We kept the original frames which I sanded and varnished. Yev cut new shelf boards and support struts, which I then also sanded and painted. We reassembled on the dock and then re-installed the units.
I had plexiglass sliding doors custom-cut for the front of the shelves (tracks were already built-in to the frames). However, I learned (or re-learned) the importance of “Measure twice, cut once”; my first set of measurements were wrong, so I had to go back to the plastics shop and pay for a second set of sliding doors.
The shelves look great, and are now actually very useful. I’ve lined the bottom of the shelves with non-skid to prevent items from moving around. The sliding doors also help keep things organized and secure, while adding a sense of streamlined simplicity to the salon by hiding clutter.
In addition to the shelves, I also painted the interior of the three cabinets and varnished the cabinet doors. The upper galley cabinet on starboard side now holds various picnic items (cups, plates, napkins, utensils); the lower galley cabinet on starboard side houses the 5 gallon fresh water tank, complete with new hosing; and the gear cabinet on port side is freshly painted as well. The nav table and armrest on port side have also been replaced by new marine plywood and varnished. And the four settee boards (covering four storage areas) have been sanded and varnished.
I’ve also done some more minor cosmetic things like polish the stainless steel railing; clean, polish, and reset the sink; replace the faucet; buy additional fenders and ducklings; add plastic storage bins for owner/guest gear; and more.
The next BIG job is to re-wire the electrical system. That is going to require some research!
Interior stripped down and ready for some TLC.
New hose for below the sink, draining out through the hull. Took me a couple of tries to make sure the connection points didn’t leak!
After the outbreak of the coronavirus in mid-March 2020, the country (and in fact the world) has been in various degrees of “shelter-in-place” for months. Social-distancing and mask-wearing have become common everyday practices in most communities.
For me, here in the Bay Area, I’ve been mostly confined to my 1-bedroom apartment. I take daily walks and make bi-weekly trips to the grocery store. A big part of me misses my house during this time. I’d love to be sitting out in the backyard, enjoying the breeze and the barbecue. But without a job, I know living in my house right now would not make economic sense.
My apartment isn’t that bad; it has many windows and quite a bit of space, except for the tiny kitchen. In normal times, I wouldn’t mind the small kitchen because I rarely cook. But in these quarantine days, I’m cooking every day so a bigger kitchen would be nice.
A highlight over the last three months has been going sailing once or twice a week with a friend of mine from OCSC Sailing. Although OCSC was closed, we had access to privately-owned boat, a J24 called Midnight Run. This was a great arrangement until my friend moved back home to the east coast.
But… coincidentally, the owner of Midnight Run told me that he was planning to sell the boat so that he could focus on his efforts on his other J24.
I wasn’t really looking to buy a boat, but I realized this was a great opportunity for a number of reasons:
1) The owner is a friend whom I trust. He also works at the Club as Head of Fleet Service. He has put a lot of work into refurbishing Midnight Run.
2) If for some reason OCSC doesn’t open for a while, I could use the boat to teach private lessons or take people sailing for a small fee as a way to make some money during the pandemic.
3) If OCSC does open, I can leave the boat in the fleet and participate in a “revenue sharing” agreement with the Club as a way to help fund my owning and operating costs.
4) I can learn about boat ownership and boat maintenance on a small, relatively simple boat that I already know pretty well.
6) The boat is small enough that I can single-hand sail her around the San Francisco Bay.
So, with minimal hesitation, I talked to the owner and we arranged a deal! On June 26, 2020, I became the proud owner of the J24 “Midnight Run.”
Since I’m not traveling right now due to the coronavirus, I'll use this website to document some of my local adventures on Midnight Run.
But first, I have a few boat jobs to do...
Midnight Run. She’s a J24 keelboat. Although I’m the new owner, she currently is active in the OCSC Sailing School fleet.
Dannyboy travels … but maybe not in 2020!
In light of the global coronavirus outbreak, travel is obviously NOT on my immediate to-do list. Fortunately, I didn’t have any flights or hotels booked, so I haven’t had to face cancellation or change fees.
I’m hopeful that the pandemic will peak by summer, and life will return to “normal” for the second half of 2020.
I still plan on working at OCSC Sailing Club as a Sailing Instructor. Our peak season is usually April through September; that will clearly be cut short.
I also have some of my usual trips in the back of my mind… Germany in October to visit friends for hiking, and maybe the South Pacific to visit Avalon for sailing. But, again, nothing is booked or definite at this point.
For now, I’m hunkered down in my apartment in San Carlos, practicing #shelterinplace and #socialdistancing.
As you might have guessed, I have snuck out a couple of times to go sailing with a friend of mine. I can only go so long without that fresh salty air.
I venture out to the grocery store about once per week to stock up on supplies, trying to be as healthy as possible with fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and grains. I don’t wear a mask (yet) but I do wear nitrile gloves and use hand sanitizer before and after shopping. I have started to even wipe down boxes, jars, and cans; and I wash fruits as vegetables as normal.
I’m trying to stay productive and active: experimenting with my Insta-pot by cooking soups and stews; taking walks around the neighborhood; catching up on projects (like digitizing photos, making travel videos, and updating DBT.com); and doing general spring cleaning. I even gave myself a haircut!
That said, I’ve also been quite lazy… watching movies, strumming guitar, playing video games, and reading.
Strange times indeed…
grocery shopping gear
stocked up on daily dose of fruit, vitamin c, and beer!
Desperate times call for desperate measures… a diy haircut. (Notice I'm not posting an “after” picture)
had to get out for some fresh air again!
social distancing. is this far enough?
el sully - my beer of choice for the strange times.
sunset
After 15 years working in finance at tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, I decided to quit my job and take a break to reflect on the direction and content of my life. Coincidentally, in the last 2 years, I've become an avid sailor. So as I look to "chart a new course" for my life - I'm hoping to center it on sailing, volunteering, and traveling.
