Remember vintage 1970's and 1980's Cruising World magazines? Passage Notes was a monthly column where short profiles of cruising sailors were presented. One of the things that sticks in my memory was the size of most of the boats that these folks were cruising on were under 40 feet or so. Back then it seems to me that people made remarkable voyages in 25-27-30-32-34 foot boats as a normal course of events. Each month the cruising prowess of Contessa 26's, Channel Cutter 28's, Nor-Sea 27's, Vertue 25's, Triton 28's, Golden Hind 31's, Spencer 34's, Westsail 28's and 32's, Seawind 30's, actually this list is quite lengthy, was chronicled. If you look back, most of the boats in the first single handed, non-stop sailboat race around the world, the Golden Globe, in the 1960's were under 40 feet. I think that the guy who won the race, Sir Robin Knox-Johnson sailed a 32 foot, tiller steered, wooden double ended cutter, Suhali. Some of boats in the first BOC Challenge in 1982-1983, now called the Velux 5, were in the 32-40 feet length range! Nowadays the pundits of Cruising World or Sail magazine are first to tell you that you need the 46-48-52-60-62 foot boat to safely cruise. Bigger is safer and more comfortable they say. Not only do you need the 52-60 footer to cruise but it's got to be loaded up with redundant computer networks linked to satellites for instant worldwide communication for safety and weather forecasting and big, flat screen TV's and XM radio for entertainment and AIS for vessel recognition, and watermakers, generators, microwaves, chart plotters , and ice makers and autopilots that work off your bluetooth and antennas that let you email anywhere from your Satellite-Phone, and instant-on water heaters.....the list is endless!
I can hear you all now......"Oh! Oh!.here's another one of those minimalist-survivalist, tiny-sailboat nuts that lives off of brown rice and waterline algae and sails around with a battery operated RDF, a hand bearing compass, and a hippy-looking girlfriend with a butterfly tattoo and macrame shoes!!!
Well! you all are wrong.....except for the girlfriend! I would love the luxury that a big boat affords......AHHH air conditioned cockpits with hard dogers and windshield wipers, electric winches, remote controlled autopilot, bow thrusters, washers and dryers, mainsail furling.......Ohhhh... the elation, the fun....the ease....the captains chairs in the cockpit....the ice machine in the pedestal.....dampness-free bedding.....non-stinky heads.....ecstasy at high sea! AHHH!! I could really embrace this kinda cruising. "OK? why don't you"....you ask?
Two reasons: #1- can't afford any more boat that what I have; and, more importantly #2- I don't know how to work all that stuff and don't have a clue as to how to fix it when, and it will, BREAK DOWN.
Oh how I envy you folks out there that know how to operate all this super sophisticated electronic stuff and know about modems and bandwith and SIM cards and know how to dismantle a diesel engine and re-build it on the galley table with an emery board, screwdriver, beer can and a pair of dykes or fix the autopilot with some duct tape and a piece of wire, and some surgical tubing. You guys are my idols. I'm really dense about that kinda stuff so as a protection mechanism for my fragile ego, I eschew purchasing a million dollar boat and loading it up with a half a million worth of preposterous gadgetry......well that and the fact that I currently find myself....somewhat.....sparse of purse!
Take care my friends.....thanks for checking in with us....these blogs will get better....I PROMISE!!!
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