It began with an Instagram reel, the short video featured a group of college students setting sail across the Atlantic on their newly purchased boat. University of North Georgia student Duke Neslen liked the looks of it. And he knew just where to forward it.
“Let’s buy a sailboat and mess around,” he texted to fellow UNG student Beau Donner. “Neither of us have any idea how to sail. Let’s pick a destination and try it.”
His good buddy didn’t need much convincing.
“I’m down,” he replied. “This summer.”
And so they planned to set sail.
First, they just needed a boat.
But turns out finding one was way easier than expected.
“We went to Facebook Marketplace,” said Neslen while standing on the stern of their recent purchase in a parking lot just off Morrison Moore Parkway.” And sailboats are pretty surprisingly cheap. Everybody’s trying to get rid of them.”
It didn’t take long before they scrolled across a 25-foot beauty named Afternoon Delight that was dry docked in Tennessee.
For a grand total of $2,000 they got the boat, the sail and the trailer to haul it on. Not only that, it came with a well-stocked cabin that can sleep a crew of four.
“It came with a TV, sink, a maritime radio, a speaker, a stereo,” said Neslen. “… all this for two grand.”
Now that the two had a boat, they just needed to chart their course for adventure.
And that course will take them south.
“We’re going to island hop the Keys all the way to Key West, Tortuga and Key Largo,” said Donner. “And if we have the confidence, we keep going to the Bahamas.”
They recognize that last stretch will be the trickiest.
“You’ve got to cross the Gulf Stream for that,” said Neslen, “which is sketchy.”
Donner agreed.
“For some reason the Gulf Stream is the most treacherous place to cross in a sailboat,” he said. “It’s like a river in an ocean.”
So, now comes the most important part…actually learning how to sail in that ocean.
STRANGE TIDES
If this sounds like an outlandish plan, Donner and Neslen don’t take offense.
The two juniors, who met their freshman year during FROG Week, take pride in their offbeat adventures.
Donner is from Dunwoody. Neslen is a Lumpkin County native. And they both like journeys you won’t usually find on Trip Advisor.
“We’ve done some kind of outside-the-box things,” said Donner.
For starters, they took a trip to the east coast last November. But they didn’t need to worry about gas money.
“We hitched from Gainesville to Charleston,” said Neslen. “Just all thumbs. … We actually made money. People were giving us money.”
In fact, they hitched 21 rides in total and made it to the coast in a single day.
Then, in March, they transformed a rented U-Haul into their own makeshift camper/rolling hangout.
“We started in Salt Lake City,” said Neslen. “And we drove all throughout Utah, Yellowstone, Wyoming and then went to Mount Rushmore.”
Neslen showed a picture of his buddy reclining in their U-Haul “man cave” complete with couches and a stuffed moose head.
So, could their sailing voyage be their craziest adventure yet?
Donner thinks so.
“When we get out on deep blue water with it,” he said. “Probably.”
But first, they need practice.
So if you’re wondering why there was a 25-foot sailboat parked in the gravel lot at Lake Zwerner last week, that’s why.
It was Donner and Neslen, preparing to take the Afternoon Delight on her first float in the waters of the Yahoola Creek Reservoir.
ANCHORS AWEIGH
YouTube is their sailing instructor.
That’s how they figured out how to attach the mast while in the Morrison Moore Parking lot last Wednesday.
“Yesterday we learned how to put that up,” said Neslen as he looked upwards. “That mast. That took us like three hours. And we connected all these cables and now we’re going to learn how to put the sails up. And then go out there.”
“And then you sail?” asked The Nugget.
At this, Donner and Neslen laughed heartily.
That’s the plan.
“I think we’re going to be the first people to conquer Lake Zwerner in a sailboat,” said Neslen.
City Manager Allison Martin acknowledged that this is a first for her.
“The sailboat was new to us too,” she said via email. “None of us ever remember seeing one on Lake Zwerner.”
When it comes to reservoir rules, sailboats are completely allowed, as long as the wind is doing the work.
“There was no gas-powered motor, so it’s not prohibited,” she said. “But we definitely were concerned they would find themselves aground.”
That seemed to be the problem initially.
On Thursday afternoon, the Afternoon Delight, while attached to Donner’s Ford, backed into the waters of Lake Zwerner slowly, surely and at a bit of an awkward angle. The only problem was the old pickup couldn’t haul the boat back up to straighten it.
A call went out to Neslen’s dad for a bigger truck. But, by the time they were all set to sail, the seas were too angry.
“We got stormed out,” said Neslen via text later that day. “Didn’t want to be on the water with the lightning so we’re trying again tomorrow.”
The next day, just before 3 p.m., that’s just what they did.
The Afternoon Delight eased into the water.
The sail was unfurled.
And Donner and Neslen actually found themselves sailing Dahlonega.
It’s something Neslen described as “amazing.”
And their internet-based sailing education seemed to do the job.
“The YouTube videos set us up pretty well,” said Neslen. “We knew what to expect for the most part. Sailing upwind was the only tricky part.”
While on their maiden voyage, they even settled in their respective sailing roles. Though they haven’t officially named a captain yet.
“I do the steering and Beau does all the rigging and the ropes,” said Neslen. “So, I’m not sure what that makes us, but Beau likes to think he’s the captain.”
After a couple hours on the reservoir, the pair pulled the boat out of the water, ready for the next adventure.
“Bahamas are still a go,” said Neslen. “We’re planning on leaving July 9.”
Yes, the southern seas are still calling.
Now, if all goes according to plan, the two-man crew of Afternoon Delight will soon set out for the ultimate college road trip, all the way from their home port on Lake Zwerner.