Engine-less Cruising

[Dexterbase]

The thought of cruising sans motor is very romantic and I know there are tons of skilled sailors doing it.

Right now, my boat is having the engine rebuilt and I still sail her. I have a (barely adequate) outboard kicker which gets me off the ball and back onto it as long as the swell is not too much that I hobbyhorse and the prop lifts out of the water.

I live in Monterey so the swell comes in straight from the Pacific and basically as soon as you pass the breakwater and turn left, you're in the ocean. When I bought the boat, her engine was out and for the year since I've had her I only use the kicker to get clear of the other boats and get the sails up.

I've sailed her around the bay and out far enough to get into some good whale watching. I've looked to the east at the smokestacks in Moss Landing knowing I was closer to Santa Cruz than home.

With no engine though, and a kicker that is clearly not up to the task of pushing the old girl home, I always watch the weather and the wind with a nervous eye, knowing if the wind drops off there's no way to get back home. It seems like the wind usually drops off to about nothing right around sunset here. I check the forecasts as best I can and try to make sure I'm back near the harbor well before the wind dies down.

I want to go further. I'd love to sail to Santa Cruz. The idea of entering the harbor at Moss Landing without an inboard diesel gives me goosebumps. (This is coming from a guy with two combat tours, five hundred BASE jumps and several hundred skydives)

I'm not much of a sailor. Basically this boat has taught me everything I know about sailing and I still marvel at the sailors I see sail off and onto their moorings. Someday I'll have that skill.

I do wonder about how people cruise long distance without an engine though. I hate having the motor on but sometimes, when I'm a few miles out and the sails luff while I'm surrounded by glassy water, it sure would be a nice feeling knowing I can fire the beast up if I need to.

How does one contend with currents and lee shores and all the hazards to be found out there?

I know a skilled sailor can do much without an engine, but what about when s/he has no wind either?

The whole idea humbles me profoundly.