This would be the biggest trip ever, and the longest time afloat in several years. It would also involve the greatest distance in open water and away from safe harbors. It would connect several dots I have made over the years--a five-day trip to Provicetown from Pymouth, and several trips among the Boston Harbor Islands--to some of my regular stomping grounds of New Bedford, Buzzards Bay and the Elizabeth Islands, and Martha's Vineyard. So far, the trip is not definite, since it involves disappearing with one of my boys for at least 4-6 days during a fairly busy time of year. But I'm going to do enough of the planning so that, should opportunity and weather coincide, I will have it together, and be able to go at fairly short notice.
This blog is mostly the stories of boat trips I have taken, written after the fact. But since planning is half the fun, I'm going to let you in on that, too, over a period of days.
First, some givens. I sail a home-built Core Sound 20 cat ketch named Beatrice Ann, designed as an open-cockpit, moderately high-peformance sailboat. Because I like to sail for several days at a time, and because the boat throws a fair amount of spray, I eventually built-on a small cabin. She is more comfortable now, but--due partly to a wonky hull (it was my first ever build) and the added weight of cabin and gear--she is high-peformance no longer, and does not point well. She is quite stable and will not likely turtle in a knockdown, but will not self-right from a capsize, either. As a sailor, I seem to be perpetually mediocre. As a navigator, I can't find my a__ with both hands unless one of them is holding a gps. The Beatrice Ann has no motor--not so much because I'm a purist as because I can't afford one. My two younger sons sometimes crew, but they are far from competent enough to sail alone. I am happy to teach them, but they don't have the drive to learn that I did at their ages. All of these facts make me a rather cautious adventurer. In the days to follow, I will consider each leg of the journey ahead and imagine the challenges and joys that might await.
This blog is mostly the stories of boat trips I have taken, written after the fact. But since planning is half the fun, I'm going to let you in on that, too, over a period of days.
First, some givens. I sail a home-built Core Sound 20 cat ketch named Beatrice Ann, designed as an open-cockpit, moderately high-peformance sailboat. Because I like to sail for several days at a time, and because the boat throws a fair amount of spray, I eventually built-on a small cabin. She is more comfortable now, but--due partly to a wonky hull (it was my first ever build) and the added weight of cabin and gear--she is high-peformance no longer, and does not point well. She is quite stable and will not likely turtle in a knockdown, but will not self-right from a capsize, either. As a sailor, I seem to be perpetually mediocre. As a navigator, I can't find my a__ with both hands unless one of them is holding a gps. The Beatrice Ann has no motor--not so much because I'm a purist as because I can't afford one. My two younger sons sometimes crew, but they are far from competent enough to sail alone. I am happy to teach them, but they don't have the drive to learn that I did at their ages. All of these facts make me a rather cautious adventurer. In the days to follow, I will consider each leg of the journey ahead and imagine the challenges and joys that might await.
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