The Errant is ready to set sail. You may remember that two years ago my brother-in-law, with some financial help from us, purchased a forty-year-old, 40′ Morgan Sailing Ketch. The boat wasn’t a complete disaster, had a running diesel engine and came cheap. I was excited thinking that we’d be on the water quickly after a short refit. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The first thing my brother-in-law Matt did was begin gutting the boat like a house you’d see on one of those flipping shows. He took everything out. The interior, with the exception of the engine, was empty. He then set about the tedious process of fixing the soft spots on the deck. The repair usually involved finding a weak point, cutting out the fiberglass and wood and then patching it with new fiberglass and wood followed up by lots of sanding before repainting.

After two years of work, the boat looks amazing. We wrote about the transformation earlier this year in “A New Name for an Old Boat“. Just yesterday, the boat and its crew achieved another milestone: Errant’s journey south from Annapolis to Florida and then to Saint Thomas is underway.

Matt, Andi, and two crew members Sam and Dyan raised the sails and found a heading south through the Chesapeake Bay. Their goal is to meet me in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in about two weeks. I have my fingers crossed they can stick to that timing. I’ll then hop aboard and guide Errant the rest of the way through the Bahamas, past the Dominican Republic, around Puerto Rico and into her new port of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

We all have experience sailing but this will be our first big trip without a seasoned professionals’ experience to fall back on. Think of it like a pilot taking his or her first solo flight. We know a lot of things can go wrong and if they do success will come down to how we handle them. I have a lot of confidence in our ability, especially my own. I’ll ask you to wish us luck as we make a rather big journey for a novice crew. 

The progress of the Errant and her crew

Matt taking command of the Errant