Cape George Cutters

CAPE GEORGE CUTTERS:  Got a note about maybe getting to deliver one of these little numbers.  I have admired the work of John Atkin for decades and never sailed one of his designs.  It would be quite a treat to get an ocean delivery and see how they handle offshore.

One of the "big debates" in cruising/voyaging is long keel vs fin keel.  As a kid I knew, local Cape Cod designer, Spaulding Dunbar.  One day I got to speak with him at length.  He talked about all sorts of things and the two types of hull designs.  His argument was simple, long keels take the bottom more gracefully.  Anyone who has sailed the shallow waters of Cape Cod, the Chesapeake, or Bahamas knows about going aground.  A proper fin keel goes to windward like a freight train on rails.  A full keel won't do that at all.  However... would the cruisers who plan to cruise long distances upwind please raise their hands.  Hmmm... OK, that's settled.  I haven't sailed a full keel boat since maybe 1972.  I hope I can get the time to participate in the delivery.

Sailing Literature/Seize the Day

Reading the book, Seize the Day, by Shirley Billing, a Brit who sailed around the world in the mid-1980s.  More on the story as I progress with reading it.  But... it seems to me that voyaging is less about the boat than the desire to travel.

My sailing students over the years have all asked, "what's the perfect cruising boat?'  Books are written and sailing magazines spill barrels of ink on the subject.  I think the answer might be: "If you want to go exploring by sea, you'll need a boat.  It doesn't much matter which one."  I have, somewhere in the archivdes, a picture of cruising boats viewed in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua.  My favorite is a 25 footer sporting a small hard dinghy hoisted out alongside in the fashion of much larger yachts.  A "shippy" little yacht being handled very professionally.  'nuff said...