Cheoy Lee 41"Astraea"
Homeport San Francisco CA
"Astraea"
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.
Click HERE for Pictures and Story of my April 2008 Sailing Adventure in French Polynesia
These pictures will show you why I have taken early retirement and preparing to take Astraea across the Pacific. It is my dream and goal to return to the South Pacific and sail Astraea in these beautiful islands.
s/v Astraea, Cheoy Lee 41
Sailing Vessel "Astraea"
Cheoy Lee 41 Ketch
(CHL036700481)
Welcome to this website dedicated to the Cheoy Lee 41 class of sailboat and to my CL41, Astraea.
This website started out a few years ago as a means to document this particular class of sailboat, one of the great classic sailboats of the latter part of the 20th Century.
Now it is time for this site to become more a sailing journal and blog. On June 10, 2009, I left the corporate world in my wake and Astraea and I set sail at sunrise and sailed out the Golden Gate to adventures yet unknown. That morning was more than a new day, it was the beginning of a new phase in my life. It was just her and me, the two of us alone.
This first adventure was relatively modest, a 540 mile leisurely single handed sail down the California coast from San Francisco to San Diego. You can read the journal documenting this adventure by clicking on the "Journal" link at the top of this page or clicking here.
The summer of 2009 will be spent sailing alone and with friends in the warm climate of Southern California. In October two friends and I will be part of the '09 Baja Haha rally, sailing from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. After Cabo the plan is to expore the Sea of Cortez, the rest of the Pacific coats of Mexico, and parts of Central America. If, at that point, cruising is going well, I hope to sail Astraea as parat of the Pacific Puddle Jump in March of 2010 from Mexico or Panama, across 3000 miles of the Pacific to the ultimate sailing grounds, the South Pacific. You are invited to follow these adventures through my journal.
This is a boat that was built by hand, over a period of two years, by great craftsmen at the world's oldest operating boatyard. Also, she was built to be a blue water sailor and to deliver her crew safely to almost any part of the world's great oceans.
As time went on and I decided to do a total refit, this site became a documentation of that work. Most of the work thus far has been done by Svendsen's Boatworks in Alameda, California, one of the finest boatyards on the West Coast of the United States. It also documents the many hours that my life partner, Bob, and I have spent working on her.
Now the website takes on a third iteration, this time to document the preparation of the boat, and myself, for cruising. The first leg of the cruise was a single handed voyage down the coast of California from San Francisco to San Diego in June. You can click here or on JOURNAL at the top of this page to read the on line journal of the San Francisco to San Diego jouney.
The next leg of the cruise will be as part of the Bajaj Haha fleet in October 2009. With two friends along as crew Astraea and I will sail from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at the tip of the Baja Peninsula. If things are going well at that point then the plan is to sail on, most likely single handing, to explore the Sea of Cortez, the full coast of Mexico, and on to Central America. In March of 2010, if cruising is going as well as I hope it will be, my next leg will as part of the Pacific Puddle Jump, across 3000 miles of the Pacific, to the ultimate sailing destination of French Polynesia.
Hopefully this website will be of interest to other owners of Cheoy Lee 41's; to other people preparing to follow the dream of cruising; and to those , who due to necessity, commitments, finances, or whatever reason, find it not currently possible to pursue the dream.
About Astraea
When I saw "Astraea" in August of 2005, it was love at first sight.
Sleek and strong, this 1981 Cheoy Lee 41 ketch was saying to me "they don't make them like me anymore!" With her classic lines, cut away full keel, spade rudder, and 22,000 pound displacement (empty), this boat was definitely a blue water vessel that could safely sail 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 moored at the Sausalito Yacht Club, Richardson Bay, San Francisco. The mizzen sail keeps her head into the wind and reduces yawing at anchor.
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.
Astraea visiting Angel Island, San Francisco Bay
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.
Astraea after bottom job completion with all old bottom paint removed, new barrier coat, new bottom paint, new shaft, new prop, new cutlass bearing. 2007
We started our refit with work that would ensure safety and integrity of the boat in the challenging waters of SF Bay and also prepare Astraea for blue water cruising. 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 are detailed on this site.
New Furuno GPS/Radar at helm, new Westerbeke Panel, New Engine Controls, completed September 2008
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. The 38 to 41 foot models were light, normally 15,000 pounds or less, and not something I would trust to take me through a storm at sea. These modern boats were also made with cored hulls of foam or balsa 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.
Comfortable cockpit with high accomodation hatch reduces water entry
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.
New Westerbeke Engine and all new electrical system with 110Amp high capacity alternator, five (5) new 12V gel cell batteries, new fuel system, new cooling system, new hot water heater. Professionally installed by Svendsen's Boat Works, Alameda, Ca., September 2008.
The Refit of s/v Astraea
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 and a solid, heavy, traditional hull.
New Furuno GPS/Radar/AIS, new VHF, new sink faucets, new propane solenoid control, new reefer compressor controls (engine mounted compressor for underway, 110V for inport), high definition flat screen TV for movies, all new interior lighting - all LED, also all new navigation lights, also all LED. September 2008
This Cheoy Lee manufactured boat had caught my attention 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.
New Force 10 propane stove and oven, new sink faucets, new sink drain plumbing, original white formica counter tops. The large reefer has large cold plates which are kept cold by an engine mounter compressor when underway, or by a 110V compressor when in port on shore power.
New v-berth mattresses including new high quality foam and new upholstery, September 2008
New port quarter berths mattresses with new high quality foam and new upholstery. (Six person Windslow off-shore liferaft - new 2007 - is stored behind accomodation ladder for rapid access to cockpit if required).
Single head with new Raritan toilet and new faucets, new Sept 2008.
Enclosed captain's stateroom in starboard quarter.
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 .