Lee Winters

First off…Who are you? Where are you from? What would you consider your Home Port and sailing locale?

Lee Winters. I am a sailor singlehanding around the world on a 39 foot Allied Mistress.  I still consider Springfield, MO home even though I haven’t lived there since graduating high school.  Kemah, TX is where I bought my boat and started this long odyssey.  Current sailing local is the South Pacific.  Specifically, I am typing this on Bora Bora and leaving in the next few days making way towards New Zealand.

Please describe your sailboat. What type of boat is it? Year? Make? Model? How long have you had it? Any major modifications made to your boat for solo sailing or offshore sailing?

My sailboat, Jargo, is a rugged, heavy, forgiving old girl. She was laid up in glass by Allied in Catskill, NY in 1975.  She’s 39 feet long, ketch rigged, aft cockpit, full keel, and  has a cruising weight of ~ 25,000 lbs.  I bought the boat in late 2006, moved aboard early 2007, and refit her for cruising until my departure in January 10, 2009. No major modifications other than rebuilding the whole boat.  Systems were very tired and almost everything had to be replaced or renewed.  Engine overhauled, 100 gallon fuel tank removed and replaced, new electronics including wind, speed, depth, autopilot, radar, and the list goes on.  When it came time to evaluate the rig for single handing offshore, I just kept things as simple as I could.

How long have you been sailing? When did you decide that the solo experience was for you?

I’d never stepped foot or looked at a sailboat up close until 2002.  That’s when I signed up for the ASA program on a J22 in Dallas, TX.  I slowly started to sail on bigger boats until I decided it was time to jump in with both feet and buy Jargo.I read Slocum’s Around Alone in 2001 and the seed was planted.  I hated moving into the corporate world after graduate school and I began the slow change from lubber to sailor.  Not easy for a kid born in a land locked state.

A piece or pieces of gear you would not do without? Self-Tailing winches? AIS? Egg Timer? Gimbaled cup holder? What do you value and consider vital for safe, comfortable Singlehanded Sailing?

A bullet proof autopilot.  Jargo is heavy and I put a massive below decks unit in place of the old one.  Vanes are great, but in close quarters and deep anchorages I need time, the autopilot gives me that.  No question, number one piece of gear on Jargo is the AP.Second, maybe the ipod.  It’s plugged into my stereo so I use it for my watch timer.  That way I can get good sleep in my birth on passage, but wake up to the blaring Beasty Boys when it is time to have a look around. Otherwise, if your sails are good, standing rig sound, equipped with good ground tackle, everything else is optional.

Most memorable trip/passage/ adventure you have had so far sailing solo?

Without a doubt, the combined leg from Panama to the Marquesas, French Polynesia by way of the Galapagos.  Nine days out of Balboa, Panama I crossed the equator and made land fall in the magical land of blue footed boobies, giant land tortoises, and jet black marine iguanas.  The juxtaposition of the solitude at sea against the joys found on Galapagos will be remembers for ever.  From there it was 21 more days of beautiful trade wind sailing to Fatu Hiva, Marquesas, the most beautiful island I’ve ever seen.

Worries and or concerns when you are out solo? Pirates? Tankers? Whales? Flying fish? What is on your mind?

The answer to this one has changed considerably over the last 18 months.  I used to get depressed every night on passage when the sun went down and the water turned black.  I was scared.  Not of any one particular phobia, but of all of them.  Floating shipping containers and oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico did raise a special concern.  These days, the Pacific is huge and most of the fears have subsided.  As I close on the Gulf of Aden next year the pirate question will become much more poignant.

What is your favorite thing or things about being out in the middle of the ocean by yourself?

Time to think.  It is amazing how many questions we don’t make time for when you have to carry yourself through a daily grind.  Three weeks on passage in near total isolation give you a lot of time to reflect and evaluate this thing called life.

Solo sailors who have inspired you to do what you do?

Joshua Slocum.  I don’t think there are any single handed sailors who don’t know his story.  Sailing Alone Around the World is still a massively influential force on solo sailors. Robin Knox-Johnston.  The winner of the Golden Globe in the 1960’s.  His story can be found in A Voyage for Madmen & A World of My Own. The amazing thing about this guy is it took him almost 300 days to go around non-stop in the 60’s when he was ~ 33.  Just a few years ago he did it again, non-stop, solo in his 60’s.  That’s my kind of sailor.

Future sailing plans or aspirations?

Keep heading West!  New Zealand by Dec 2010.  Suez Canal by October 2011.  Atlantic crossing late 2012.

Why do you think people are drawn to solo sailing?

What is the limit of a man or woman?  What might we be capable of if we are willing to take a risk and cast off the general expectations of our societies?  Most of the solo sailors I know are pressing this question.  It is cliché, but people often ask, “how do you take the measure of a man”?  Put him on a small boat and send him off round the world and I bet he’ll have the measure of himself when he is done.  That is something few people ever know about themselves.

And now for the rapid fire, stream of consciousness, quick response section of the questionnaire…

Hank on or Roller Furling? Roller
Wheel or Tiller? Wheel
Fin or Full keel? Either, or… Full
Dacron or Kevlar? Dacron
LED Tricolor or Deck mounted Kerosene Running Lights? LED
Mast Steps or Ratlines? Mast Step
Depth sounder or lead line? Sounder
Bucket or a well plumbed head? Both
Water or Whiskey? Whiskey with a drop of Water
Whiskey or Rum? Rum.
Rum or Kool Aid? Rum
SSB or Sat Phone? SSB
Large meals or Steady Snacking? Both…I eat alot
Coffee or Tea? Coffee
Dodger or No Dodger? Dodger
Autopilot or Windvane? A/P 
Traditional Boom Vang or Rigid BoomVang? Traditional
Fresh water or saltwater showers? Salt
Solar Panels or Wind generators? Solar Panels
Three Strand or Spectra? Three strand

For more on Lee’s adventures check out: www.sailingforsos.com