Cruisin' Tiki tour captain 'Barnacle Blain' to document 6-month sailing journey

Pittsburgh’s “Captain Barnacle Blain,” also known as Blain Manol, is trading his Cruisin’ Tiki hut for a solo sailing trip. The 49-year-old Oakmont resident is setting out on a six-month journey of thousands of miles from the Pittsburgh area to the Florida Keys, then returning north to Lake Erie while documenting the voyage. He plans to pilot a fully rehabbed 19-foot 1982 O’Day Weekender christened “R-2 Detour,” starting the trip in October. Manol outlined a route via Destin, Florida—requiring 33 locks—then the Intracoastal Waterway and the Panhandle, before wintering in the Keys and heading back up the East Coast in spring. He is leaving after emptying his 401(k).