Back at the helm

[Marlene A. Sassaman]

Back at the helm of my Corsair F28 I feel comfortable and confident. She's a fine boat with user friendly self tailing winches, comfortable layout, and speed to get you where you want to go. Her only lacking is her ability to cross the oceans. Out beyond the sight of land, on a passage from Ft. Pierce, Florida to Cape Town. Then around South Africa up through the Madagascar Strait and onward north toward the equatorial islands that scatter throughout the Pacific. Northern Australia, then a long sail to Easter Island and the Galapagos before heading home through the Panama Canal. That is no longer my dream. It is now my intent.

With only 20 months until I retire there is lots to do: find a boat in the $50-$75,000 range with the best radar, gps and satellite phone, with extra sails, rigging and rudder. Two of every possibly needed tool. In January I will take a class on celestial navigation which will end my debt incurrance. After buying a new trampoline for my F28, new spars for my sunfish, and paying for the course, I will cut up the credit card and get it paid off.

Oh yea, I need to resurrect my planning book and finish my website. The biggest challenge though is to win my husband's suppport.After again being reminded by our race committee chair that I am on the fringe of the 'ladies sailing group' I realized I could spend my senior years trying to be the square peg squeezing into a round hole, or I can accept my different ways of thinking and doing things while moving forward into the world I long to explore.

Any ideas for a successful voyage are appreciated. Thank you.

[Veranda]

While the notion of sailing off across to South Africa might be attractive you might want to reconsider and head west round the world instead....

Bill
s/v Veranda
Veranda422.blogspot.com

[Steve Knight]

I got to test-sail the Corsair 31 and 36. What a thrill! Extra rigging and rudders: One coil of wire about four feet longer than your longest stay (galvanised is fine) and a half dozen wire clamps will see you through any wire emergencies. I bought the Scanmar Monitor Self-Steering wind vane with M-Rud, the emergency ruuder option. Here's the link... http://www.selfsteer.com/

[Suky Cannon]

oh Marlene.... what fabulous INTENT ~!*~!*~!* You are going for it in a big way.... there's no fun in being that square peg *~!*!~