My
boat was originally purchased new in 1986 in the
pacific northwest U.S. by an older couple who had the "dream" of sailing the Pacific. They paid good
money for the
boat and added some custom things like a
radar arch etc... They started down the coast had a
health issue (back problem I believe) and so their dream ended. Next owners had the boat a few years but, light winds in the area and lot's deadhead pieces of
wood floating which made for bent props and shafts and the fun was over. Next owner bought the boat and had it shipped to the
east coast . He had it one season and found out that wife and daughter got sea sick. He bought the boat in February 1995 and I bought it from him in October that same year and have not looked at another boat since. I've lived aboard it for six years while working in
New York back in the mid ninties and spent most of my summers aboard too since I bought it. Cruised up to
Canada and all along the local
east coast waters over the years. My freelance
work dried up this summer so I went sailing (one of the best summers of my life). Though I did have an Ephiphany of sorts while on board this year. The idea of heading south for the
winter did not feel as strong as it had in the past years. My companion and I have always done a lot of
winter sailing charters in places from the
Bahamas to
Belize so we have had a taste of the experience of those areas over the years. So I was sipping a
beer in the
cockpit one day thinking do I really want to spend five weeks motoring down south or would I rather spend five hours on a plane and then get on a boat where someone will hand me a
rum drink and fix any problems on board while I continue sipping it watching the sunset. Hmmm... We are heading to the
Maldives next year for a two week sail
charter. This summer I ran into a fellow who was working as a
Captain on a privately owned 80 foot schooner who had sailed over the world on his own boat. In our conversation it turns out he had actually sailed to the
Maldives on their own boat. I asked him how he liked it. He said they hated it. according to him there was nothing to do (no towns),
provisioning was hard and so was finding
water and
fuel. They could not wait to leave the area. Meanwhile I'm thinking seems like we made the right choice in chartering a fully provisioned boat with crew and not have to have such worries. I'm thinking I'll probably have a more enjoyable experience and memories than he did.
Not sure if I am losing my wanderlust but, I've discovered that I am still enjoying the experience of cruising the local coastal waters which can be just as much fun and "adventurious" as anywhere else we have traveled. I may still
head south some winter but, then again perhaps that "dream" is changing too. Either way I will follow it in whatever direction it takes me. But, I think the important thing is after 15 years I am still enjoying being on board my boat no matter where it is.
Linear Mode
Recent Discussions