The Infamous Vent D’Ete; A 41-Year-Old New England Built Classic
Designed By The Swedish Naval Architect Carl Alberg
This is the story of the infamous sailing vessel Vent d’Ete.
It is a glimpse into her 41-year past of numerous epic voyages (and many mini ones), spanning the distance from Nantucket to Eleuthera.
She has appeared in numerous newspaper features and articles, appeared in Cruising World magazine (April 1994), and even graced the front cover of Yachting magazine’s “Fitting Out” issue in April 1996.
I am John Lebeau, and this little lady was built for me in the spring of 1983 (her hull was actually laid up on April 7, 1983), by Cape Dory Yachts in East Taunton, MA.
The Company built 176 little yachts of this size. She is the larger sister-ship to “The Smallest Yacht in the World,” Carl Alberg‘s, 18 ft., Cape Dory Typhoon.
However, out of 176 CD 22’s made over the course of several years, the company only built 30 CD 22Ds, that came nicely equipped with a little 1-cylindar Yanmar diesel that gave these special little boats a 440-mile steaming range (diesel power alone), on just 13 gallons of fuel!
I’m not sure how many of these very special CD 22Ds, out of the 30 originally built, are still in existence, but one of this Captain’s life missions, if it is the last thing I do on earth, is to make sure the infamous Vent d’Ete is one of them, for many, many years to come, and hopefully long after I am gone, to be enjoyed by generations to come.
Yes, I am a sailor, and (being half Swedish), I have a Viking-like attachment to the Vent d’Ete.
Did you know that Viking men were so attached to their boats (longboats) throughout their lifetime that they would be buried in them with full provisions for their next and greatest voyage, this time to Valhalla, their vision of Heaven.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rare-viking-burial-site-found-in-scotland
But please, when this Viking goes off on his greatest voyage, do not bury me in my beloved Vent d’Ete!
She will be a gift to my even-more-beloved, Danish/Swedish/American, twin son and daughter and their little Vikings (I hope) someday, with an amazing provenance to go with her.
I am not just any type of sailor. I’m not the U.S. Navy type of sailor. I am also not a weekend yacht club sailor.
I am a Soul-sailor. I sail for the Zen-like experience of a different reality that can take you places on your chart and in your mind that you never imagined…
Like this place where I was stranded in June 2024 for 6 days on anchor, deep in the Low Country marshes south of Sapelo Sound, Georgia waiting for a 5-day-long, 20-25 knot Northeaster to abate so as to be able to cross the expansive sound safely.
Soul-sailing is not a recreational or sporting experience; it is a spiritual experience.
Soul-sailing is going to a place at sea (or even in the middle of endless, Low Country, Georgia wetlands), where suddenly you realize that you are closer to God than you ever have been, bathing in His glory all around you, giving you the precious gift of peace and fulfillment, unlike anything you have ever experienced, and often doing it alone on long open-ocean voyages (or even long coastal voyages), in a small sailboat that can be safely navigated and managed, solo.
So come with me on my next “Voyage of Peace and Fulfillment” where (though it is 15 months later and she is now 41 years young), we will celebrate the 40th birthday of Vent d’Ete for the entire rest of 2024, beginning with another epic voyage; this time from Jupiter, Florida to her original home port in Cape May, NJ, where, as soon as possible, she will be hauled and begin undergoing a total restoration to better-than-new condition.
As I write this, it is July 2, 2024, and I am half-way along the 1200-mile voyage to Cape May, in Beaufort, South Carolina, 68 miles south of Charleston, and on track to be in Cape May the first week of August.
It is still not too late to join me on this epic journey! Come share the experience, the scenery, and the voyaging details of this celebratory, Soul-sailing voyage of a lifetime.
Add to your summer fun and your own sailing aspirations by becoming a subscriber now at https://www.YouTube.com/@SailingVentdEte40yrs to follow along on this spectacular voyage up America’s captivating Eastern Seaboard.