Build it and She will Sail

We have just returned from a sailing school vacation with Swain Sailing on a 36' Beneteau out of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. This brilliant idea was mine - an attempt to get my butt on a warm sandy beach while keeping my first mate cognitively and physically engaged in his surroundings.  Ya see, I've come to realize that he doesn't really "get" my concept of vacation (whereby I sit on a beach with book and rum) so I thought it would be prudent to try to keep him busy while I veg.  It was a busy week but one that we both enjoyed.   The BVI are a great place to learn to sail!

Sailing the BVIs

As I sit here in my down jacket in front of the wood stove eating the first mates awesome veggie chili, I have to say I am missing the Caribbean and our stay on the boat.  Nothing can compare to crawling out of your berth, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting in the cockpit in the warmth of the early morning sun.  Hope is in the air here in NH, though.  It is late February and this winter has been incredibly balmy by NH standards.  This morning I had my coffee on the side porch in the sun (in my down jacket and hat).  A walk around the garden this morning turned up green sprouts of daffodils.  It is all happening quickly and early this season and it has me looking forward to our first sailing day of 2016 and thinking about how this sailing thing started for me.

My still fledgling sailing career actually got its kickstart  in a garage in Kennebunk, Maine.    In 2011, the first mate and his Dad conceivved to build this little gem of a sailing dinghy from a plan they bought from +Woodenboat Magazine.  Its called a Nutshell Pram and it is 9'6" long.   They finished her in 2013 and christened her in the Mousam River (alas I was not there to photograph the moment).  Here is the link to the boat plans if you have any inclination to try this at home: http://www.woodenboatstore.com. She is called the Merry Rowe II.

The MRII in Progress
Kennebunk, Maine

They built the boat over a number of weekends, one heart attack (Dad) and one back operation (Dad). The fruit of their efforts has been my gateway to the sailing world.  This little boat has taken us all over Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Well, of course, WE have taken IT all over Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  It is literally a boat in a bag.  It stows quite nicely on the top of the ole Ford Focus and all its accoutrements fit in one perfect bag.

Here it is on the +Ford at +Potts Harbor, Maine.  The sail is always rigged and all the lines, sail, yards and mast fit nicely on the car and under the boat.  Oars fit too!  The little box is actually the remains of my fathers cat, Wolfie - the reason we were in Maine that weekend and a story for another time.  The mast was a struggling  Colorado Blue Spruce growing in Parsonsfield, Maine, again, a story for a later date.

The MRII on the Ford
Harpswell, Potts Harbor, Maine

Here is "the bag" -the cream/green thing - on the beach at Sebago Lake, Maine.  That's the first mate under the MRII and yes, this is how we get her in the water (another subject deep enough for an entire post).  The rudder, tiller, centerboard, oar locks, belaying pin, bailing supplies and PFDs fit in that bag.  The other bags are the stuff the first mate can live without but I cannot- beer, sunscreen and a fleece at minimum.

The MRII on the First Mate and the bag on the Beach.
Sebago Lake, Maine

The first mate has patiently taught me to sail this little boat over the last 3 summers.  We have sailed it on rivers, lakes, bays and harbors.   There are conversations popping up here about retirement, bigger boats and smaller houses- longer term adventures of the sailing sort on a vessel with a galley and a head.  For now, these are hopeful dreams for the future.  This year, as in past years, it will be the MRII that will get us up and out on warmer weekends for sailing adventures of the smaller kind. I hope to keep this blog up to date with stories about our adventures aboard the MRII!