CRUISING ADVENTURES AND GUNK HOLING IN SMALL SAILBOATS 13

Article By Richard Frye
Part 13 of the series: Backpacking On The Water

Breakfast at the marina was non-eventful but the food was delicious! I did have a nice chat with another waitress about getting me some of those unbreakable Tupperware tumblers with the snap-on lids! The food at the restaurant was home cooked, and made to your order, and far better than having a can of something on cold bread aboard Sea Mistress! For some unknown reason, someone else’s cooking always has a better taste! After breakfast I headed back to the Sea Mistress to get started on my organizing plan once again, and hopefully get it out of the way before dark now that the hard part was done.

People were milling around the far dock and a new boat was being secured that must have gotten there as I was eating! It was one of the boats from their cruising group! I went over and John was talking with a man in his early 60s and introduced him as James, the owner of the wooden hulled gaffed rigged sloop that was being tied up. The boat was of English design with a plumb bow, robust lines and a fresh paint! She was a beauty by any standards and a classic without a doubt! From our brief conversation, I discovered that she was built in England, during the mid- 50s or and was in tip-top shape. James told me she had a double keel. Some referred to them as bilge keels, and the term was entirely new to me! I acted like I knew what he was referring to but really had no idea what he was talking about other that it had something to do with the bottom of the boat, or the fact that the boat had twin keels! Soon I would see for myself while playing around in clear water as we moved south. Further up the river I could see two more masts reaching towards the sky! One boat was a tad smaller than the others, and I was going on the height of the mast and overall appearance! You can’t go by that on a gaffer when looking head on because the mast is much shorter to begin with, but I knew these were Marconi rigged sloops! They must be the more of the group that John and Mara were expecting. Everyone was getting excited, and wanted to get together for breakfast!

Not wanting to eat again, I explained that I would just have coffee since I was stuffed! It was time to sit and listen to these fine sailors get it together! These are the times when it’s best to listen and pay very close attention. Five boats would be heading to the same destination down the coast! Whoever got there ahead of the others would most likely have first choice for the best mooring! These folks were not that way. The largest boat was moored first, and then the smaller vessels would find a suitable mooring or slip at the dock. It was clear that John had the largest boat, but the other Morgan gave in at a close second! Others could be rafting together, or anchoring solo for the evening. I would probably stay out of their way as much as I could! As the other boats drew closer, it became clear that I was the smallest ship of the lot at just under 25 feet! Sea Mistress was 24.58 to be exact so I rounded her OAL to 25 feet with a smile since she was technically speaking over 24-1/2 feet! I don’t know why I was boasting so much! Sailboats less than have my size have sailed across the Atlantic and Pacific! Some even made it around the world! John said his boat was a 34 footer, made in New England around 1957 by a private builder and patterned after a Nathaniel G. Herreshoff design. Herreshoff was called the, “Wizard of Bristol!”, and has a very interesting history in our world of modern day sailing and yachting! More on that later! Actually, ONAWHIM was exactly 35 feet if measured from stem to stern and had a longer water line that any boat in this group. This fact alone would more than likely make her the fastest of the fleet and make me the slowest as my waterline length was only about 21’-4”!

These fine sailboats were pretty much equally matched as far as speed was concerned. I begin thinking now that I’m going to have a hard time keeping up with them.

Within an hour the other boats were secured and the normal greetings took place, and then the introduction to me and everyone in the group. And yours truly being the new one welcomed to the group with the smallest boat! Sea Mistress was small, but she was mine! I had overheard complimentary remarks about her! For example, “I bet that little boat is fast! She just looks fast! We might have a time keeping up with that little rascal!” Ha! I said to myself! Right on bubba! But I know better because the longer the waterline gives the faster boat! Besides, it could be compared to the cute little Shetland pony racing against a Kentucky Thoroughbred! No contest at all I thought! Little did I know at the time that I was in for a big surprise!

Tables were pulled together so we could all sit at the same place. They all had companions, wives, or mates. I was the only skipper sailing alone and took my place at the end of the table.

Before I go any further I need to explain that information from the logs books of Sea Mistress tell basic events for an entire day in 4 or 5 sentences. The journals give much more detail of what was actually going on and were written days, or in some cases weeks later when I got around to it. Logs books are dull and boring to read for any length because of going straight to the facts. Really boring unless you are looking for something special!

One boat I was admiring wasn’t that much larger than mine but cost a lot more! Upon closer examination, she revealed her identity and she was a real Morgan and built in the St. Petersburg, Florida plant! Before the company had expanded I think they were located in Chicago, but I’m not positive about that. Beamier and very heavy in my book for her size! I had heard of these fine sailboats, but had never seen one except from a distance. Morgan yachts were gaining an impeccable reputation for speed, performance and being made from the highest quality materials in their construction! One boat that a group of us were looking one day at was spied from the boardwalk in the front of a pub while staring out at the bay! Someone said that was a Morgan and the chatter began! Everybody wanted one! I took that for granted at the time, but she was just too far out at sea for me to notice anything identifying about the boat other than the fact she was a sloop and under full sail! These were sailboats designed by Charles Morgan himself and this one that that had the looks I was growing fond of was only a few years old and she was spotless! I had no idea at the time that only a few would ever be made. She was called a Tiger Cub 28! The other boat was larger at 33 feet, and about the same size as John’s boat, but also a Morgan built in the late 1960s! All I can say at this point is that I felt low on the totem pole with my little sloop made by Macgregor Yachts! That feeling soon passed because these wonderful people treated me as if I was the captain of the Queen Mary and my little ship as if she was the Queen Mary! They had money, I didn’t! But that did not matter to them! A sailboat that is cruising seemed to be put in a different category over and above the casual weekend sailor!

I had a distinct advantage in many ways! My boat was lighter, and could be put on a trailer in about 10 minutes. Fifteen minutes later I could be heading to the Gulf of Mexico on the other side of Florida! They couldn’t do that because of their width and weight. I could go places on land or water that they could only think or dream about! That stuck a feather in my cap! This was the advantage to own a larger but still trailerable boat that was comfortable for sleeping overnight jaunts, and extended cruising too! I did have the opportunity to spend the night on the east coast and then the turn in for the night in a new slip on the west coast of Florida that same day! Did that several times! If the boat was over 8 feet a special permit and sometimes a special carrier would be needed to transport the boat. I think it depended on the length, width and gross weight as well! The light and affordable Macgregor opened up a new world for me and allowed me to go where I wanted to go! I was also able to venture into very shallow water where as they would need more under their keels. I could actually cruise under sail with a little over a foot and a half of water! Their boats were considered shoal draft vessels and not a true blue water boat with a full keel fin, but they still had a deeper draft than I had! Regardless of the boat’s design, size or shape, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. With a foot and a half draft, I could run up on the beach, step or jump from my ship onto dry land, and claim the land in the name of the queen! They couldn’t do that! Plus the lighter weight gave me another wonderful advantage! My little boat was easier to shove off the sand or pull off with anchor and winch if I grounded!

That happened a lot to me because I was always snooping into places where I shouldn’t be in search of sea food delicacies such as crab, shrimp and fish that often hid out in the shallower but murky water! But most of the time it was because I was not paying attention to the water level, and the tide went out and left me stranded in black gooey mud! That always called for a glass of Strawberry Hill and lots of insect repellant!

If the water was clear, the sea creatures would be deeper to escape predators, and sleeping during the bright daylight hours.

Watching the tide go out, I was getting anxious to get underway. I like it here but was ready to move on, and hoped that would be soon after accepting the invitation to sail with these boats and group of delightful people. It became clearer by the hour that we had a common bond with each other, even if we were total strangers.

I enjoyed conversations with the others but there was work to be done and I needed my boat ready to go. Stuff was still piled up on the dock! It was now well into mid-afternoon and everything was finally in its place! Wow! What a difference that made! I intended to keep it that way, knowing in my mind that it would be difficult!

As I looked down the waterway, another sailboat approached that I was unfamiliar with. Nice boat it seemed! It got closer and was preparing to moor at the dock, on the other side of my dock. I jumped up to help with the lines and the smiling couple threw a bow line to me. I quickly secured it and then a stern line was tossed and temporarily secured. Spring lines were belayed later. I introduced myself and they did likewise. The man whose name was John already knew that I was going to ask about his boat because it was new and his face beamed with delight! You could just tell that he was ready to answer any question about his new sailboat! A little shorter than mine but it was difficult to tell at first glance. He suddenly said, “I traded one of those (pointing at my boat) for this boat!” Well …! That took me by surprise as he recognized my fairly new Venture that to me was Queen of the Oceans! But I did notice that this boat called Sandpiper II was indeed a well-constructed boat. The quality shown upon first glance! I was jealous!

John and his wife Gerri was a bowl full of smiles as they stepped onto the dock. Since their names coincided somewhat, they were often called Tom and Jerry by their close friends! Ironically the cat and mouse were also their favorite cartoon characters! Since I had been there a while I offered to give them a tour of the marina and its facilities but to my surprise they were relatives of the folks that owned it! They certainly didn’t need my help! They practically grew up there, or very close by. They attended the same elementary school and were high school sweethearts with John being two years ahead of Gerri! A fairy tale relationship if I ever saw one because they continued to be close after he graduated!

Everyone in the restaurant knew them well! We had lunch together and I discovered they had just purchased this new boat and were giving her a shake-down cruise that would end at his aunt’s house in Boca Raton. She lived on the water, had a private dock, etc. and lived alone. Wow! Must be nice! They had plans to visit for a while before setting sail for Ft. Lauderdale where John was part owner of a small restaurant, and that was where they lived at this time. John told me that he wanted to move further south and open up another seafood/pub if he could get a business loan, and sell his share of the other restaurant to place to his partner. He wanted a more family oriented place that offered a nice menu other than just booze and fast food snacks.

So with the basic conversation out of the way our interests turn to sailing and I was curious about this new boat. She was called a Catalina 22. Sandpiper was nice to look at period! He invited me onboard and the first thing I noticed was that it was well lighted inside from the large windows! My boat had a lower cabin roof and the windows were squattier! It was gloomy inside compared to this new Catalina! Very bright inside and I really liked that! As far as performance goes, she was rated her at the top of her class! A great sailboat on all points! AND…he also mentioned that with her a shoal keel and swinging centerboard and was proving to be a good boat for the gunk holes and shallow water sailing too! He and Gerri enjoyed exploring the shallows and various rivers further south and mentioned the Florida Bay but there are places there where only a flat-bottomed boat would do!

I think we had three Johns in the group! So we would refer to them in various ways. Like Gerri John!...that sounded like a portable toilet! Mara John and one other in the group also named John. One of the marina owners was also a John! Suitable names would be chosen for them as well to keep the confusion down!

With everyone finally together we were all anxious to get underway the next morning! I climbed into the V-berth and went out like a light, but was up at first light having my coffee on deck and my sails ready to go. Fuel was primed to the engine as we would motor out to open water since the wind was light and from the Southeast. Some were returning from breakfast, others would eat after they got underway, and I had an eggs sandwich that I would also have once I was underway with a full thermos of coffee. A wave of hands from each boat from a crew member signaled that it was time to head out!

My little Evinruded sparked to life and warmed up while I untied my lines, stowed them and drifted away from the dock. I gave a little throttle and lowered my centerboard a little for better control and steered my Sea Mistress in the middle of the river for the next few miles. Two boats were behind me and the others were in front. Soon we were all abreast as the sailboats cleared the mouth of the river, and I heard a horn to get everyone’s attention. Someone yelled, “Let the little boat take the lead!” Wow!...they wanted me and my little ship to run point! HA! I hauled the main, set the genoa and she jumped forward with surprising vigor in the light breeze! Now that we were well off shore and out of the ICW traffic, we could see that it was getting busy even this far out! Soon, nothing was insight but a dark line, and I estimated we were about 4 miles off shore. Sailing conditions were perfect and I was making good time as I swung her around to 192 and headed south on a wonderful broad reach.

I settled in and decided it was breakfast time. My egg sandwich had been sealed tight in Saran Wrap, and it was a little soggy but still good! I put a tiny bit of ketchup on it! Did you know that ketchup will kill the taste of anything?

Now that my breakfast was down the hatch and would stay there since the water was smooth, I looked back as I poured the rest of the thermos into my big mug! To my surprise, only two of the boats were slowly gaining! The others fell way behind! Did I actually out run them without even trying! Naw!..... but Sea Mistress was strutting her stuff and had indeed walked off from all the the larger boats. ONAWHIM with John and Mara was gaining on me but ever so slowly. Hmmmm! This is going to be interesting! There was not a cloud in sight and the sun was bright. The temperature was a nice 72 degrees and we headed to the bottom of the world!

The sailing was non-eventful except totally delightful as I heard the horn again and saw John heading inland! It was almost 1pm, and there was a mention of a stop for lunch, relax time and locate a mooring for the night! This is when I spilled air and dropped back to follow them. Soon we were back in the ICW and the gaffer now took the lead and pointed the way into the mouth of a small creek! Everyone luffed, secured their sails and I pulled alongside and asked John what was going on. He said some friend lived on the creek, had a private dock and there was plenty of room for everyone to drop anchor for the evening! All sounded great to me as I fired up the old Evinrude and followed them into the small creek!