Astraea ("the star-maiden")  In Greek mythology, Astraea was a daughter of Zeus and Themis or of Eos and Astraeus. She and her mother were both personifications of justice. Astraea was the last of the immortals to live with humans during the Golden Age. As mankind became wicked, she was the last to stay on earth, ascending to heaven to become the constellation Virgo; the scales of justice she carried became the nearby constellation Libra.

NEW!  Click HERE for Pictures and Story of my April 2008 Sailing Adventure in French Polynesia 

These pictures will show you why I am ready to retire and take Astraea across the Pacific.  I cannot wait to return and have my own boat in these beautiful islands.

Sailing Vessel "Astraea"

Cheoy Lee 41 Ketch

(CHL036700481)

Watercolor Astraea Under Sail ^©

 by Margaret Fago of Alameda, Ca  http://www.margaretfago.com/

This site is for sharing information on our beloved 1981 Cheoy Lee 41 Ketch with our friends and other Cheoy Lee owners.  In these pages you will find a lot of information on the CL41 class of boats.  You will be able to follow the signficant refit of Astraea as we work on her restoration.  You will also be able to share some pictures from our sailing adventures on San Francisco Bay, one of the greatest places in the world to sail. 

Astraea will, however, sail out of SF Bay in September 2009 for her first circumnavigation.  At that time we will sail her under the Golden Gate Bridge, down the coast of California, to Central America, and then join the Puddle Jump in March 2010 for the crossing to French Polynesia.  From there the hope is to complete a three to four year circumnavigation, via South Africa, to South America, then to Europe, then visiting the entire length of the East Coast of the US, and then back to Panama, the canal, and back to Califonia. 

These pages document the preparations for this cruise, starting with the total refit of this great boat and adding the systems she will need to cross the three great Oceans of the globe.  Later you will be able to follow our adventures as we head out of San Francisco on this ambitious journey. 

When I saw "Astraea" in August of 2005, it was love at first sight.  Sleek and long and strong, this 1981 Cheoy Lee 41 ketch was saying to me "they don't make them like me anymore!"   With her sleek lines, full keel, spade rudder, and 22,000 pound displacement (empty), this boat was definitely one that could safely sail us to any place on the globe and get lots of admiring glances along the way!   Also, not only was she big enough and heavy enough and strong enough to make the trip, she could be easily sailed by two people or, if necessary, by just one single hander.  This was the boat on which I wanted to sail around the world. 

Astraea's hull number is 3670 (CHL036700481) and her construction began at Cheoy Lee Shipyards in Hong Kong on September 4, 1979.  She was sold through Jack Barr Yacht Sales and delivered on April 7, 1983 to San Francisco to her first owners, Richard and Rosalee Sanders.  She spent the next nine years sailing the waters of San Francisco Bay and Northern California.

In July 3, 1992 Astraea was acquired by David and Ingrid Angelini who extensively cruised Astraea for nine years in California, Mexico, and Cental America.   After nine years of cruising David and Ingrid actually "trucked" Astraea from Florida back to San Francisco where she has remained. 

 

 

 

Astraea became ours on July 19, 2005.  Although she had 22 years on her and many thousands of miles under her keel she had been well cared for by her previous owners and her survey showed that she was a solid boat in good condition but needed some TLC to bring her back to "like new" condition. 

We wanted to sail Astraea, not just work on her, so we have been doing a total refit in a series of phases, sailing her between each phase.  Because Astraea was in such excellent condition we have made it a priority to keep her as original as possible, with the exception of updated electronics.  In fact Astraea is almost totally original, down to the original Cheoy Lee winches, almost all of the deck hardware, the original Isuzu QD40 engine, the teak decks, and even the wiring (which is still in great shape, by the way).  Even the winch handles are original. 

We started our refit with work that would ensure safety and integrity of the boat in the challenging waters of SF Bay.  Phase I included structural and safety projects, including new standing and running rigging, totally rebuilt masts (the original Sitka Spruce masts were stripped, rebuilt, reglued, and painted with Awlgrip), new sails, new bottom, new instruments, engine work, etc.  Detailed pictures of the work completed since December 2005 by Svendsen's Boatyard in Alameda, California and Bay Marine Diesel are detailed on this site.

 

At the boat shows and in the yacht harbors I had seen a lot of the new production boats from Benneteau, Hunter, and other mid-priced manufacturers.  These would all be fine for coastal sailing, but my goal was to go across oceans.  Also, they all sported the "modern" look with plumb bows and reverse transoms (swim platforms) which I personally found unattractive and somewhat awkward.  They were light, normally 15,000 pounds or less, and not something I would trust to take me through a serious storm at sea.  These modern boats were also made with cored hulls of foam or wood between two layers of fiberglass.  Astraea, on the other hand, was manufactured before engineers really understood the true strength of fiberglass and back when glass, resin and labor were much cheaper.  Her underwater hull is 3/4 inch of solid fiberglass and the above water sides 5/8 inch.  Compared to modern boats she is made like a floating tank.

Also, almost without exception, newer production boats sported broad sterns to accomodate a spacious owner's cabin with a big queen size bed.  Frankly, they seemed more like small floating RV's than true sailing boats.

When it came to this Cheoy Lee 41 another factor that appealed to me was the beautiful simplicity of her systems.  As a retired senior Naval Officer and a trained Naval Engineer I know only too well the stress that the sea puts on a ship or a boat.  Simplicity and redundancy were what I wanted.  Astraea had solid, modern, yet simple rigging that could be relied upon;  a solid Isuzu diesel;  and simple yet adequate instrumentation.  She could be depended upon to work. 

This Cheoy Lee manufactured boat had caught my attention and admiration with her sleek beautiful lines and solid rigging. However when I stepped inside I was not prepared for the beautiful and classic interior.  Every square inch was Burmese Teak and all assembled with the exquisite joinery for which the Chinese craftsmen are famous.  She was also in remarkably good condition and had obviously been loved and well cared for by previous owners. 

Click here for details on the Cheoy Lee 41.

 

Although the initial survey of Astraea showed she was in solid shape, she did have 22 years of sailing, including nine years of cruising with her former owners.  She needed an extensive re-fit to get her back into first class shape.

Most of the work of this Re-Fit has been done by Svendsen's Boat Works in Alameda, California.  

Click here to see the story of this refit of a classic Cheoy Lee 41 Ketch, s/v Astraea .