Caroline's Voyage
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Chapter 7
This is not the time to head offshore for Bermuda, but I'm not ready yet anyway. I don't even have a boat yet.
Something else just happened that makes me want to shout. One of the Maine boat bulders heard about my plans and said they'd match any deal the broker down in City Island might make; and loan me a 32 foot sloop that'll take me offshore. I have a hunch the owners here where I work told them about it. This Yard makes only big boats. Anyhow, I'm getting the specs in the mail, probably tomorrow, and if I think this is what I want I'll go up and meet them near Bar Harbor.
One of my friends told me not to mention it; it might jinx me. But the whole point of doing this is to share my journey with you and your friends - so the heck with that.
It's great to have a choice between a very fast, light trimaran that will not carry much in the way of supplies and heavy anchors and lines; and a more classic monohull that I'm used to sail and will be more comfortable - but will sail slower. I'll need to see the other boat first, but maybe I got a break by not being ready anyway until the Spring.
What do you think?
I looked into how much it might cost to truck a 30 foot boat across to Seatlle, San Francisco or Long Beach so I could begin the trip in the Pacific. Probably $7000, one trucking company told me, and that doesn't include insurance. That would be a big chunk out of my budget.
Maybe I'll mosey down the coast and head over to Bermuda from New York or even North Carolina. This would give me time to get used to the boat before I head way offshore. It would also get me farther south during the stormy weather we usually get in the spring, because I could always find shelter along the coast. Then when we get a good weather window I would becloser to Bermuda.
What do you think?
I need to remember hurricane season too. I've done some research and see that the early hurricanes usually come out of the Gulf of Mexico. Although Atlantic storms can come in June they don't very often. I'll be in the hurricane zone all the way from New England to Panama - if I start from the east coast; but shoulld be well past the worst areas by August/September when the big ones usually hit. Once through the Canal I should be okay until our winter - which is summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
There were more hurricanes off the coast of Mexico and Central America last year than in the Atlantic. So this is a problem whether I leave from California or Maine. In fact by going through the Caribbean to the Canal I'll be well south of where those Pacific hurricanes start up. I'll be heading away from that area too, unless I go out to Hawaii from the Canal.
This is complicated stuff. One of the guys at the yard says it better to be lucky than smart.
Do you agree with that?
I'm too excitied about seeing this new boat. I can't wait until I get the specs. . You can help me decide. I'll show you pictures if I can figure out how to do that.
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