Meet the Man
My name is LaMaurice Gardner, Lama for short. I have been sailing since is was 11 years old, where I learned how to sail from Pontiac Yacht Club in West Bloomfield, MI. It was a seemingly random decision by my father to enroll me in sailing summer camp, at least from my perspective, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Had he not decided to do so I may not have entertained this wonderful wild world of sailing. I would not have known nor entered this crazy rollercoaster ride I'm on. I spent the next three years in the advanced courses at the same camp, learning the skills needed to learn how to race. Throughout high school I was off the competitive scene, just casually sailing but it always remained a constant thought in my mind. As an adult I picked up sailing again, buying a laser of my own in 2017 and racing it until I yearned for something more. I wanted bigger grander adventures but I wasn't quite ready to dive all the way in. In 2020 I settled on buying a Macgregor 26S, a bigger boat than the lake dinghies I used to but not too crazy. She was a cheap boat but she was a trooper. I used that boat to hone in my experience on larger vessels. After hundreds of miles on the great lakes, down the east coast of New Jersey and Delaware, and the Chesapeake I learned two things. I was ready for more, and the Macgregor is a terrible boat if you're trying to sail hard anywhere. For both these reasons I decided to buy the current vessel, Fresh Breeze, a Caliber 33. A solid boat who could anywhere. She took me all the way to the Bahamas and back and will do plenty more.
Meet the Machine
Fresh Breeze is a 1987 Caliber 33. She has spent the last two years as a liveaboard in southern North Carolina. After rescuing her, I have put in countless hours to bring her to cruising standards for her sea trial to the Bahamas. After passing that test with flying colors she was put in Virginia for rest and refit in preparation for her next grand adventure. My current upgrades include 400W of Renogy solar panels and 400AH of renogy AGM batteries, a new AIS tranceiver/VHF radio, new prop shaft and coupling, refurbished 10ft dinghy, and soon to be a custom inner forestay. Here are some stats from Bluewaterboats.org:
LOA: 32' 6"
LWL: 29' 6"
Beam: 11' 4"
Draft, Standard: 4' 6"
Draft, Shoal: 4' 0"
Ballast: 6,100 lbs.
Displacement: 11,400 lbs.
Sail area: 525 sq.ft.
Bridge Clearance: 50' 1"
Headroom: 6' 3"
Fuel: 30 US Gal.
Water: 68 US Gal.
Engine: Yanmar 27hp diesel
Year Introduced: 1985
Year Ended:
Total Built: 70 (over 100 including Caliber 35 / 35LRC)
Designer: Michael McCreary
Builder: Caliber Yachts, United States
LOA: 32' 6"
LWL: 29' 6"
Beam: 11' 4"
Draft, Standard: 4' 6"
Draft, Shoal: 4' 0"
Ballast: 6,100 lbs.
Displacement: 11,400 lbs.
Sail area: 525 sq.ft.
Bridge Clearance: 50' 1"
Headroom: 6' 3"
Fuel: 30 US Gal.
Water: 68 US Gal.
Engine: Yanmar 27hp diesel
Year Introduced: 1985
Year Ended:
Total Built: 70 (over 100 including Caliber 35 / 35LRC)
Designer: Michael McCreary
Builder: Caliber Yachts, United States