Caroline's Voyage
Chapter 4
<< Previous Chapter | To Edit This Chapter, Click Here | To Comment on This Chapter, Click Here | Next Chapter >>
Trimarans do not have a deep draft, and you can sail some of them right up onto a sandy beach, which would be great in the South Pacific islands or any place where anchoring is a problem.
When I tell my friends this, they ask me if I’m going to wear a bikini. If I say, “Don’t think so,” they frown, and if I say, “sure,” they whistle.
The nice people on the TV program in New York asked me if there was a steady boyfriend that I’d be leaving behind. Mom warned me that someone would ask that question, so I wasn’t completely surprised. My answer was that I like boys, date boys, but there’s no serious love affair going on here. I’m pretty tall. Mom tells me I’ll fill out in another year or so, but right now I’m pretty skinny too. Not too many guys feel comfortable dating a girl that’s as tall or taller than they are, especially if she’s not a living doll. My friend Betsy’s very cute, and she’s got boys hanging around all the time. At the end of summer when she goes back to Boston, my social life takes a dive into the doldrums.
I haven’t mentioned my height before, and I apologize for that, because it’s also a factor in choosing the right boat, assuming that I have such a choice. I guess I might have trouble fitting in a 20-footer. I can’t afford what most good used boats, say 24 to 36 feet, are likely to cost. These figures can run as high as $130,000 and would start around $60,000 or $70,000 for one designed and equipped to take me across an ocean. There are exceptions I guess, but these are the amounts I’m looking at, and they’re all out of my range.
The Trimaran being offered is a loan (they call it a charter), not a gift, and the charter price would be one dollar and the right to tell the world that a 19 year old female is sailing their design around the world. They think that’s worth the cost of the boat. I guess it will be if I make it, and if I do they’ll give it to me. Betsy’s father worked out all the conditions so there are no hidden traps or clauses that might cause me difficulty later. The boat owner handles the insurance, and I can give it back anytime I want and call the whole thing off. Betsy’s father insisted on that, not me. But I’d have to pay for getting the boat back to New York if I decide to bale, and that could be a real bummer.
Tomorrow’s the day. We’ll drive four hours to Betsy’s house outside Boston, stay over there with her mother and father, and head for New York from Logan Airport early the next morning. Then repeat the same on the way back. This will give me a chance to go over the details of the arrangement with Betsy’s father. It also means we won’t need to stay in a hotel in New York, which was kind of expensive last time we went. The yacht broker’s going to meet us at LaGuardia airport and from there it’s only a short drive to CityIsland.
The more polished, and more expensive, trimarans, like all sailboats have nicer acomodaions. Have a look at this layout. I'm not sure what it would cost, but it's a very nice layout.
The secretary at the brokerage office told me we’ll fly right over their place on the way in to landing at LaGuardia if the wind is out of the southwest where it usually is. I’m excited, but scared to death by what I’ll find when we get there.
I love this boat. I’ve spent the last two and a half hours climbing (and squeezing) into every claustrophobic corner, and inspecting all the hardware, except the engine which I still need to choose and isn’t in yet. The boat has more room than I thought it would, because I knew the the prime hull is very narrow. Also you can’t store much in the amas or wings (they don’t call them outriggers any more). These need to be very buoyant to do their work.
If I’m willing to take delivery of the boat at CityIsland they’ll help me with the outfitting and teach me to handle it in different conditions. This saves them the cost of delivering it way up to me, and gives me a big leg up on getting used to handling a Trimaran. Their yard foreman said that any new boat will have things that need attention, and if I’m local they can make it right. The only catch is they’ve asked me to do it in March, before their season really gets busy, but when it’s still very cold in New York. I have a couple of weeks to make up my mind.
While we were at the yard on CityIsland a reporter from one of the big Long Island newspapers came by with a photographer and they took some pictures and asked plenty of questions. There’s also going to be a story in one of the yachting magazines, and I was told they might pay me to send them stories from time to time from the trip. I guess that would be okay so long as they don’t want to control where and when I go.
Every place we went the people really took to Mom. While I was off squeezing into corners, examining sail handling and other equipment, and giving the yard answers to questions about what I would prefer, or would not need, she was visiting with all kinds of yard hands and office workers. I think she had as good a time as I did. They all asked if she’d be coming back with me in the spring. We were both exhausted by the time we climbed on the last Shuttle back to Boston’s Logan airport.
It was a really good day. I hope I feel as good about it tomorrow. Mom says sometimes you get so caught up in things you’re doing that you don’t see the bad parts. Then later those hit you, and it takes away from the experience. But I kept telling myself when I was climbing all over this boat that it would be my only home on an ocean that has no friends and takes no prisoners, that this hull would be the only thing between me and some shark’s tummy, and that if I missed something major now I might regret it for the rest of my life. I won’t try to kid you or myself that I managed all that, but I tried.
I’m going to check out two or three of those used monohull yachts that I can’t afford, and make a comparison. Since the TV show in New York I’ve been getting a lot of advice. We average a dozen or so e-mails a day and about half that many letters.
Most admit to being experts, and the votes are about 3 to 1 against my choice of a Trimaran. Many believe it’s not as safe in heavy weather, but some of those admit there are many other equally or more important things that will affect my safety at sea. I’ve made a list of these and I’m burning the midnight oil studying.
I’ve also done some more research on sailing Trimarans. I’ve found others who have successfully crossed oceans on them, including Ellen McArthur, a young English woman, who broke the world record in a very large Trimaran by sailing non stop around the world in 71 days, and a guy who sailed a 28 foot tri, very similar to the one offered to me, around the world, sticking to the equator the whole way. Of course he had to cross a lot of land and jungle too, because the equator is not all water. If he’d been in a 28 foot monohull it might have taken him more than twice as long on his ocean passages, and I don’t think he had any prior experience in Trimarans. So I guess I can make it in two years.
None of this would be possible without the help I’m getting from Betsy and her family. What a great friend she is. Mom says a lot of girls would be jealous of my getting so much attention from their father, but Betsy’s not only fine with it, she’s my biggest cheer leader. Her father asked his accountant to help me work out an expense budget for my voyage, I’m working on a first draft to send to him. I won’t bore you with all the details, but it looks like I’ll need around $20,000 to get me through each year that I’m out there. What I’ve saved, together with the money my grandparents donated, gives me enough for year #1. Now I’ve got to figure how long it’s likely to take me.
<< Previous Chapter | To Edit This Chapter, Click Here | To Comment on This Chapter, Click Here | Next Chapter >>