sailing aeolus - 1966 caravelle yawl

May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
ice boxes. an ice box is like a fire place. with a fire place it can be fun to build a fire and keep it going all day long. having a cabin, that needs a fire going for all the heat is a fun challenge for us city dwellers.
cruising with an ice box is the same. 100 year old skills are helpful.
it's camping style, keeping your food nice is a chore of fun. it's camping.
zero electricity. nuff said.
i love cruising aeolus with a proper ice box.
i'm good at it.
 
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JayZ

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Dec 4, 2007
60
Hodgdon Bros. Alden Caravelle Seabrook, Texas
Jon, Looks like I will be in your sailing grounds either later this week or the following. I sent you a private message as well. If it works out and you would like to show off that lovely Caravelle of yours, reach out. ...won't be able to have that race as I won't have either my car, sailboat or one of the 4 wheel toys with me. I sent my phone and email via private message.

Jay
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
well, i could not take it any longer. the covid was way worse in toledo than in door county. the first of september i slipped up to sturge where aeolus was waiting in the water. i went sailing, but only a few times. a brother had splashed the boat and in only a few weeks there was lots of work to do.

i had some great sails, the kind that stir the heart. one was with my two daughters. one 30 and one 39. no kids, no husbands, just me and my two girls. now they both started sailing in diapers. they are both highly skilled sailors, the best crew you can ever dream of. blowing thirty out of the SW. once out on green bay the forty mile fetch has these delightful 5' rollers. 80 degree day, mostly sunny, lots of wind. we sailed out of down town, down sturgeon bay, out into green bay and ripped across to the U.P. of mich then tacked and ripped across again and sailed up to downtown. sailed through the bridge again and spun in front of the dock and dumped the sails. the girls did all the work, i just drove.

just me and my girls, for just one more day. sweet.
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
banjo bolts, banjo bolts. why mess with 50 year old banjo bolts. every time you loosen a banjo bolt you must put on a new washer or at least one that has been heated by a torch. well the crew was in the engine room. banjo bolts were turned , no new washers, air in the fuel line, of course. and, number four injector, the banjo bolt was stripped.

off to green bay to the diesel specialist, they are the best in N.W. wisconson. they are busy. they have work on this 50 year old engine for ever and have records of such. well, had all four injectors rebuilt and a new stash of banjo bolt washers. air in the fuel line, fixed. lost two weeks. rode my motorcycle daily all over the county. 04' BMW 1150r. got no tickets. the bike is a beast.

aeolus was dad's boat. last summer was season 47. then another sail.

two of my brother, no wives, no kids and i took a sail. this day it was blowing 35 out of the N.E. the waves get bigger, but again you can sail out of town, down the bay, across the big bay and back with just one tack..
three brothers, sailing our daddy's boat, laughing and playing and enjoying the art of the sail on dad's old alden. SWEET!
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
the boys at the yard, way younger than me saw me drive up on my beemer. they laughed and asked if that was too big a bike for an old man. i smiled back at them and said, 'it's way to large and powerful for an old man, but i just love the excitement too much"

been riding beemers for 60 years. i got skills, sorta :yikes:
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
Jon, what is the history of her travels from MAINE to becoming a Laker ?
dad bought aeolus in the spring of 74', through alden. i jumped off a ship and brought the boat up to the lakes that june. she was docked in conn. fun trip.
dad retired in spring of 78' and jumped aboard and went to maine for three seasons. we all visited. i got married in blue hill and honeymooned on the boat. then he brought aeolus back up to the lakes and the boat has been up here since. it's a perfect great lakes explorer. we have lots of wind up here. and love it. been all over all the lakes many times.
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
we have a 60 day trip planned for next summer, after the vaccine:cool:
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Jon, great stories, but I noticed you weren't wearing your life jacket in the pictures. Oh yeah, You didn't post any pictures, that must be why I didn't see you wearing a life jacket? ;)

In case you didn't get the hint, How about some pictures?

-Will (Dragonfly)