It's starting to get warmer, time for sailing!

I've always been a sailor in one way or another. I was born in Mexico while my parents were sailing a 32 foot Westsail for 5 years and, after being brought back from the hospital, didn't go ashore for 6 months. Three years later my parents decided to go back to normal life and moved back into the house they'd been renting on a small lake in one of the Suburbs of Seattle. My sister and I learned how to sail a little West Wight Potter 15' that I still own and occasionally take my 6 year old puttering around on the completely different lake that we live close to now.

I've been, recently, really wanting to get away from... everything. Just feeling generally anti-social. Watching youtube videos of guys making solo-crossings to hawaii and across the atlantic has made me crave that sort of solitude. There's something romantic and incredibly appealing about being the only person for hundreds of miles around. recently came into possession of a strange, but notoriously seaworthy for it's size, trailerable 26' sailboat called a "Parker Dawson 26" made in the 70s, and I've decided to fix up and use for some camping trips with my kids to some of the larger lakes in the area and eventually the San Juan Islands. Dawsons have made a number of recorded trans-atlantic crossings in the past, but my plan is, in about five years, to upgrade up a little larger, more blue-water focused boat and try to make a transit somewhere enjoyable. I was thinking Hawaii, but there's plenty of other pacific islands that would be a blast to sail to.

Anyone else of the nautical persuasion? I've always thought that having a decently appointed sailboat would be one of the better "bug-out" methods if society breaks down. I always joked with friends that in the event of a zombie outbreak we'd steal a nicely accommodated sailboat of about 30 feet or more. With a nice desalinator, a few 100 watt solar panels, a nice wind generator, and a good fishing pole you could last quite a while out there without even having to make landfall.

a reply to: Slanter


Ummm...nice...I sail a 25’ ODay with a shoal draft keel that cranks down to 6’...I mostly single hand...love being out by myself with just the wind and water for company...

I always wanted to build a 60 foot either cutter or ketch...perhaps in my next incarnation...

I love going out under wind and bringing her back to dock the same...if I have to start the engine...it makes me feel as if I’ve cheated somehow...I started out in a little plastic cat boat and moved from there to an island 17...then to a 27 ft ODay and finally to my 25...

As to your bug out thought...you might want to upgrade your thinking to a 36 or 40 footer...I’ve been on a few Beneteau’s and Hunter’s that length and let me tell you...the comfortable room on those far surpass a 30 footer...not to mention all that beautiful teak...they can also be sailed comfortably by two...

My 27 footer would not have sufficed...not as a live aboard...


If I was thinking long term...I’d probably go for at least 50’...there are some real fine used larger boats on the market...

Thanks for the thread...





YouSir

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a reply to: Slanter

I was in Bar Harbor ME not long ago, and while on a Kayak trip, got some interesting info from the guide, who lives there full time. Apparently old folks with ass loads of money, buy big sailboats, move up there, and die. They have such a glut of them, you can get them free or very cheap. I don't know what the situation is from year to year, but that may be an interesting thing to check out. If you strike out on a boat, the Acadia National Forrest is amazing for hiking and sights, so the trip won't be a bust.