Thanks, Lee , for your encouraging note. She is a fantastic boat and has always given me pleasure, protection,
security and confidence! Plus she's sea kindly, good looking and tough as nails!!
I lived in
Safety Harbor between '79 and '89, and learned to sail at an
ASA School - Suncoast Sailing Center in Clearwater Beach. My first boat was a new '83
Hunter 22 (1' 6" draft - board up), I berthed her in Ozona and sailed around St. Joseph's Sound (for short jaunts - Anclote, Three Rooker, Honeymoon, Caledesi, etc.). Naturally, I sailed the Gulf quite often, but usually as day
sails.
When we moved back to NY, the 22 was holed and sunk in storm and I bought a
Pearson 26, which was really an Army tank disguised as a boat! Sailing a heavy
displacement, solid boat really appealed to me. As you probably well know, the H30 - particularly pre '83 - are extremely well constructed, heavy
displacement, solid and unusually nimble (and fast!). So, when I decided to upgrade to a larger boat from the P26 and saw this H30, I grabbed it and it's never disappointed me.
We will be moving back to the house in
Safety Harbor at the end of this year and there is nothing more I would like than to bring her down with me. Naturally, I'd look to keep her in a Marina nearby, but in reviewing the chart depths (No. 11411) I doubt I'd be able to gunkhole the old haunts. I'm not adverse to finding new haunts that can handle 5'3", but the
charts seem to indicate that even the channels have only 5' depths.
Nonetheless, perhaps I can find a discussion that addresses this issue in one of the
forums here. Additionally, I'll probably go down soon, make some inquiries and attempt to get a feel for the local cruising opportunities.
Again thanks, and when I'm cruising the West Coast Gulf I'll keep an eye out for a well founded
Morgan 384!
Fair Winds!