Amen, Jeff!


"Jeff" wrote in message
...
The problem is you only see one aspect of sailing and judge
everybody
and every boat according to that. But boating has many
dimensions and
enjoyment comes in many ways.

Your chosen boat boat may be fun to sail for a few hours, and
if
that's all you plan to do with it, it had better be a *lot* of
fun.
Frankly, if I want to daysail, I can take out one of my
dinghies. Or
I can go to one of the clubs where I'm a member. I love to
sail 505's
and Solings, I'm just too busy cruising to do it often.

Sorry Bob, I sailed for many years on small boats in sheltered
waters.
I've even got some silver from my racing days. I also spent
years
instructing in dinghies, and running collegiate regattas. I
have
nothing against daysailing and still do it whenever I can.

And for a while a long cruise usually meant 20 miles up the
coast for
a weekend. But then I got bit by the cruising bug. There's
nothing
like packing up for a few weeks and deciding when you leave the
harbor
whether to head North or South. Or having to analyze the
weather each
day to pick an anchorage. Or visiting some small island that
only a
handful of people will ever get to. If it means I don't have
the same
"feel" at the helm as a racing boat, no biggie. If my boat
doesn't
heel like a monohull, that's an advantage. I can be 50 miles
from the
nearest town and still take a hot shower. My queen size bunk
has two
large hatches above, so A/C is never needed. And I have
another like
it for guests. I carry enough food for a month, and enough
tools and
spares to handle whatever comes. I even have a spare engine!

I can sail a racing boat any time I want. You'll never be able
to
wake up at Merchant's Row, or Pulpit Harbor, or Long Point, or
Hadley's, or the Sassafras, or the Wye, or the Alligator River,
or the
Little Snake, or Cabbage Key, or any one of several hundred
other
places we've been to.

Sorry Bob, you're a landlubber.

Capt. Rob wrote:
but the only advantage you seem to have over me a an air
conditioner
that you can only use at the dock.

Our boat handles better than your boat. It's more fun to
sail. It cost
a LOT less than 70K and we bought it outright. It's gone up
in value
for the last 4 years as well. It's fun to daysail, even for a
short
sail. It doesn't need to be stripped down or sailed hard to
be fun.
That's not only an advantage over your boat, it's the whole
reason
we're out there.

Sorry, Jeff. You're a powerboater.

RB
35s5---a better boat by far