Dreaming of Cruising



Back in 2002 while living on the south shore of Long Island and working as an air traffic controller at JFK Tower, I read something somewhere that got me hooked on the idea of retiring and living aboard a boat.  What it was, I can longer recall, but I soon had books such as "Voyaging Under Power" and "The Troller Yacht Book", and was consumed by the idea of living and cruising on a power vessel when I retired.  I did not consider sailing at that time as it seemed too difficult for a single person and I felt that my retirement budget would allow me to absorb the costs of fuel.   I went out that summer and bought my first boat.  Man, I loved that boat.  It did not love me back.  It could NOT have been a worse boat for a newbie.  A 1976 Silverton 26' Flybridge Cruiser.  It was a single inboard with a minuscule rudder.  I could not get it on or off the dock without assistance, and after one or two memorable attempts, I stopped trying.  It became a dockside condo for me.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, I got a lot of enjoyment out of sitting in my cockpit feeding the swans and ducks with a glass of wine in my hand, a steak on the grill and enjoying the sunset.  In fact, it was great and I miss it.  But I bought the boat to learn TO boat, and it was not the right boat for that.  

Then in 2003 I got a little sidetracked, as the whole boating thing was not going as planned.  I decided to work on a retirement "Plan B".  I started researching oceanfront property.  It took about 15 seconds or so to discern that I couldn't afford any in the US so I started looking at other countries such as Mexico (not comfortable with those laws), Bay Islands of Honduras (difficult to get to), Costa Rica (too expensive), and the Bahamas.  I went to Long Island Bahamas in July 2003 and looked at some properties, and finally settled on a small unimproved lot on the western shore.  I started the purchase process, little did I know it would take almost a year to complete.
Bahamas Lot

In the fall of 2003 I was thinking maybe I should buy a power catamaran, as I loved the Bahamas and the draft of most trawlers was going to present a problem.  I was searching on Ebay for catamarans when I stumbled across an auction for a crewed charter in the Bahamas on a 42' Fountaine Pajot sailing cat.  I bid and won, for a ridiculous price.  So in Feb. 2004, a friend of mine and I set out on a first for both of us.  We had a blast.  It was wonderful.  I was hooked.  As a side benefit, we sailed to Long Island and I got to visit my lot from the water, which was awesome.  I had just gotten word that the sale, which had been stalled for a long time, was moving again and they were in the final stages.  I was definitely hooked on catamarans and thinking maybe I should learn to sail as well.
2004 Charter

I also went to Barbados in 2004, I ended up taking a side trip to the Grenadines and enjoying a wonderful sail in Barbados as well.
West Indies 2004  

When I got back I signed up for a women-only intro to sailing class up in Oyster Bay.   It was fun, but it was very basic and pretty short.  I wanted to take a real class but I could never get the time off that summer.  In the fall of 2004 I found out that I would be transferring to the Washington DC area to work at Dulles Tower the following spring.  The next two years saw my dream put on hold, as 2005 was taken up by moving, training, then moving again, and 2006 kinda slipped by in a blur as I realized I wasn't where I wanted to be in life.  I know I made the right choice in leaving New York, but the work environment at Dulles changed radically with changes in the FAA, and it soon became a miserable place to work.

In late 2006 I joined the Carefree Boat Club in DC right before they closed for the season.  It seemed like a perfect opportunity.  Lots of boats for use (including 3 or 4 sailboats), no maintenance hassles, and reciprocal clubs all over the country.  The only problem is, I still lacked confidence and was afraid/unwilling to go out alone.  I did a few times in 2007, but not as often as I wanted to.  The club did have some really enjoyable social events at events such as the 4th of July fireworks in DC and Aquapalooza at Fairview Beach.  My friend Kristi and I spent the night on a SeaRay 215 Weekender at the marina on the 4th and had a blast.  The club also sent a few boats to Aquapalooza.  That was a fantastic day.  The only downside to the club is you cannot anchor out overnight.  This really limits you and is disappointing as that is one of my favorite things to do. 

 CBC Boats
Aquapalooza 2007

 
Update on the boat club....they have made some changes....got rid of all the sailboats except for the one MacGregor 26X, and it's not allowed off the dock if there is a small craft advisory. Kind of pointless. The rest of the boats are at least allowed in the river. Also, the overall number of boats has gone down and availability is less. Gangplank Marina is also turning into a pain. They took away our gate cards which means that you have to ask a guard to buzz you in & out for every trip to the car and even the restrooms. Not to mention that the restrooms are closed right when you'd be either leaving or getting back. Add to that the hassle of having to go to James Creek Marina for fuel or pay a hefty refueling fine, and the DC location becomes more trouble than it's worth. Haven't checked out the new location in Occoquan yet.

Anyway....to start off 2008 I decided that I was going to try to get serious.  I've had this dream for a while now and was going nowhere fast.  So I looked at the schedule and got a week of leave in April.  I booked a class through Fair Wind Sailing School on a 45' Leopard catamaran in the Virgin Islands.  What a great trip.  I learned a lot, and got hooked on sailing.

Virgin Islands Sailing Class

I came back with ASA 101, 103, 104 and 114 certifications, but still lack confidence and experience.  I came back very determined not to forget what I learned.  I put an ad on craigslist and got a few offers to go sailing.  My first trip was with an FDA doctor and some of his friends and that was a great trip.  We rafted up and anchored out which is something I can't do on my club boats but thoroughly enjoyed. 

First Sail on the Chesapeake

I also fell in love with the Chesapeake Bay.  I just wish it wasn't such a long haul out there.  Soooo....being the idiot that I am, I decided that I should.......buy another boat!  :-)  I figured I could keep a boat out there and either find people to sail with me, or sail with other folks and have somewhere to sleep and make a weekend of it.  Plus it would be fun to be able to go out to the bars and restaurants after a day on the water and not have to worry about driving.   So I went boat shopping.

I headed out to the Annapolis Spring Sails Event on May 3rd 2008.  The first boat I looked at was 27 years old, tiny, and cheap.  And it looked like it would be fun.  The engine was shot though, and the draft was a bit more than I wanted.  Then I headed off to the boat show proper to check out the "big iron".  The first boat I went on was a Catalina 309.  I was quite impressed.  The rest of the boats there were too large for me.  I was not impressed with how difficult it is sometimes as a female boat shopper to get people to pay attention to you.  A few of the dealers just acted like I was invisible.  I have encountered that numerous times over the years, even in places like West Marine!  It gets aggravating sometimes, other times I'm just as happy to not be harassed when I'm shopping.  :-)  I wandered around for a while then headed across Spa Creek to the Eastport dealers, where the cats were supposed to be.  Priority one was to look at Siyaya, an Island Spirit 401 from Bay Yacht Agency.  I had heard good things about these boats but had never seen one.  I wasn't to see one this time either.  I found Siyaya in the water, but couldn't find anyone to show her to me.  Oh well.  It worked out for the best.

I wandered around the dock back towards the Lagoon I had seen earlier...I wanted to get a few shots for Rudy.  I've never been that drawn to the Lagoons as their looks didn't appeal to me and they were a little too pricey.  Well, I am now a believer!  Sign me up for the Lagoon fan club.  I walked up and took a photo or two, and the folks on board invited to climb aboard and look around.  The boat was brand new and beautiful, and for sale by the Annapolis Catamaran Center.  All I could say was "Wow."  Untill I asked, "How much?"  Then I really said "Wow!"  To his credit, he still invited me along for a demo sail.  What an awesome ride.  I got a good demonstration of the maneuverability of the boat, along with it's ability to be single-handed, and its nice handling under sail.  I had the helm when the winds approached 25 kts with full main and jib, and the boat felt rock steady.  Very, very nice.  I plan to try to go look at a 380 sometime as the 420 was just too big for me.  At least as a singlehander.  A 380 might be too much too, I wish there were more 35' cats out there.  I can't thank Tommy Smith from the Annapolis Catamaran Center enough for inviting me along that day.  Everyone else on the boat felt the same way.  He did a great job of demonstrating the maneuverability of the boat.
Boat Shopping and Lagoon Demo Sail, 5/3/08


In spring of 2009 I decided some more schooling was in order as I never really got to sail again after all the activity in spring 2008. I went with a four day liveaboard class on an Island Packet 32 from the Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship.  It was great.  I realized I had learned more than I thought and felt a lot more confident. Definitely was money and time well spent.
Sailing Class Photos

When I got back I was on fire to do more sailing, and went boat shopping. I found a great deal on a 1972 22' Westerly Cirrus currently down in Kinsale, VA and bought her on 5/27/09. She needs a little work, but not much at all.  I couldn't wait to spend my first night aboard and get sailing.
Westerly Cirrus First Photos

Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems.  When I went down again to put stuff on the boat the marina owner came over and gave me the great news.  There was an outstanding marina bill of over $1000 to be settled that the previous owner never told me about and that didn't show up on the title.  And the boat couldn't leave the dock until that was settled.  What a kick in the teeth that was.  Guess that's why it was such a great deal.   It took four months to resolve that issue, and I was finally informed that the boat was free and clear in October 2009.

Once again, nothing is ever easy, is it?  :-)  I headed down to the marina in Kinsale where the boat was to put on the new engine I had bought and try to start working on it so I could get it out of there ASAP.  I pulled up to the marina and it was deserted.  I got out of the car and soon saw why.  The docks were under water.  Unreal.  The docks are old, fixed docks and have settled I guess.  So a heavy rain put them under.  I waded out and it was knee-deep at one point.  I realized I couldn't even get on the boat as it was so high above the dock.  Worst of all, it was being damaged as it was coming down on top of a piling with every wave.  I was livid.  I waded back to my car almost in tears and tried to decide what to do.  I pulled up the tide tables on my phone and saw what time low tide would be.  I figured I'd go drive around for a couple hours and look at other marinas and come back at low tide.  Maybe I'd be able to get on my boat then.

First place I stopped at was Port Kinsale Marina, a couple miles away by water but in a different branch of the Yeocomico River.  I fell in love with the place and the people almost immediately.  I told them my sad story and two of the mechanics hopped in a runabout and headed off to tow my boat there.  It was awesome.  I was so happy to see it pulled up to that dock.  When they hauled it there was a few years worth of barnacles on the hull and it took them several hours to clean it.  I left them to block the boat up for winter storage and headed home feeling really happy I had my boat safe and in a nice marina.

Boat Moving Day and Port Kinsale Marina

I headed back down a week or so later to work on cleaning a little and loading the boat with all the stuff I had accumulated.  On the way I did a little sightseeing and visited Ingleside Winery for a wine tasting.  It was a good day.  I love the area.  Very laid-back.

On the hard at Port Kinsale

Hopefully spring will come soon and I can get to work getting the boat ready for water.  I'm still worried about going out singlehanded, but at least I signed up for a swimming class in March, so hopefully I'll be a little less anxious.  Even though I religiously wear my PFD, I need to learn to swim.

So now I feel like I am getting on track towards achieving my goal of retiring and setting off on June 1st. 2014.  It's a good feeling.

Stay tuned for more................
gail@dreamingofcruising.com


        

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