Work took me to San Diego last week. It was a great time and a fantastic business conference; However the boating highlight of the week was taking a little walk in San Diego and seeing the sailing yacht Zero. I am an avid YouTube watcher, and I enjoy living vicariously through other people’s adventures in life. Some of my favorite sailing channels on youtube are below:
I’ve been following Christian and Rebecca on sailing yacht zero for a couple of years now. Zero is a Hudson Force 50, which is a very similar ship to the Formosa 51. Hudsons were built in the shipyard just across town from Formosa in Taiwan and also designed by William Garden. I always enjoy watching how other people have fixed their boats or sailed upon them. They keep me motivated for doing the work that never seems to end as we refit a 40-year-old classic.
I reached out to Captian Christian to see if he was going to be around and grab a beer or coffee and swap some stories but I missed him and my schedule didn’t allow too much flexibility.
I sat on a bench watching Zero bobbing on its mooring. Three other people were sitting on the bench next to me talking and looking at the boats as well. As my mind wandered, it dawned on me that if boats could talk, imagine the stories they could tell. I am fairly certain the vast majority of people that walk by the mooring field every day assume that the boats are just recreational or abandoned in some cases, but imagine the stories if they could express them.
The personification of Zero just kept coming to me as I sat on the bench.
“My name is now Zero, but I have had many names in my life. 
I was born in Taipei Taiwan over 40 years ago, and I was fitted by master craftsman using hand tools and carving beautiful wooden doors down below. I sailed with many families and crew until I was old and tired in Mexico. Some great people saw my inner beauty and gave me a facelift, stronger bones, new makeup and all new clothes. They loved me, and it felt great to have the attention. We had a great relationship, and they directed me West across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. I repaid them by making sure that the Captain was safe as he solo sailed all the way to Alaska…”
Most people have no idea of the stories that are there.
While in San Diego, I also visited the Maritime Museum and the Star of India tall ship. It was an excellent experience, and I did a video tour of the trip. Check it out below.
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