The Dream
Reading can be dangerous! The more I read of nautical achievements (and most mariners seem to write books to pay their way around the world), the more I wanted to try it myself. Usually such cruising involves going between continents—off to Europe from the east coast or across to Hawaii from the west coast, for example. Even beyond that are the round-the-world circumnavigations and the single-handed trips that are the subject of many books. I recommend Tinkerbelle, an account of a single-handed trip to England from Massachusetts in a 13’ sailboat, or Slocum’s classic, Sailing Alone Around the World. I recently encountered a blog on the web posted by a 16-year-old girl sailing single-handed around the world from Australia in a 26’ pink sailboat.
I could imagine sailing around PEI or on down to the south shoreof Nova Scotia. Why not sail on down to visit my brother near Plymouth, Massachusetts? It should not be difficult to sail to Newfoundland or even up the coast of Labrador. After that, why not go on down to Bermuda or the Bahamas? It brings me to mind of Bilbo Baggins in Lord of the Rings,
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.[1]
My “door” is the WoodIslands harbour, about two miles from our house. Just think! With the right preparations, I could sail to any coast in the world from there. With a sailboat, the fuel costs would be minimal. About then I began to see the need to divide my nautical travel and boat recommendation books into categories:
- Tiny racing boats (tip them over and right them by yourself)
- Daysailing (out and back to the same place within a few hours)
- Weekending (short trip with one or two overnights)
- Coastal cruising (for perhaps a week or two)
- Bluewater cruising (far away from land)
- Circumnavigation (around the world in a year or two)
When you dream, dream big! Then learn Wisdom and appreciate your limitations. For quick jaunts, hardly any preparation is necessary. A bluewater sailor goes out where the shore is no longer visible—all around you only see blue water. Such lengthy cruises out of sight of land require preparation to be self-sufficient for weeks or months and even the type and size of boat change. Admittedly, Robert Manry sailed across the Atlantic in his 13½’ Tinkerbelle, and I believe someone has rowed across, but general wisdom would put you in a boat perhaps 40’ in length with a relatively deep keel and a sturdy hull. I have come to see that long cruises are not practical for me—my present boat could not carry extensive supplies and my wife points out that any such trips I would have to take alone! My throttled-back dream is to sail around PEI over a week or two, with the land firmly in view at all times.
Sailing Destinations
Near: Since PEI is an island, suitable water destinations are all around. No spot of land is more than 10 miles from the water. Over a century ago, there were shipbuilding operations all around the island, and many commercial ships began their careers with a launch from places like Murray River, ….[2] Now all this has vanished and the better jobs are in Summerside andCharlottetown—many of the former commercial centres have dwindled to mere bedroom communities. Still, the harbours and small towns retain their history and make excellent destinations in the summer when invigorated by the influx of tourists.
Summerside’s and Charlottetown’s marinas account for the preponderance of pleasure boats on the island and correspondingly large sailing communities exist in those towns. Coming across the Hillsborough Bridge into Charlottetown in the summer—especially on weekends and nice afternoons—I often see 10 or 20 small to medium-sized sailboats out in the harbour. Some may be participating in races while others are just enjoying a nice day on the water. George Powell, a friend who kept a mid-sized sailboat at a Charlottetown marina, introduced me to sailing. He would go out sailing on any pretext! While many small sailing dinghies operate in the harbour—apparently involved with sailing lessons—I have never seen small, open sailboats outside of the sheltered harbours of the two cities.
In the summer, an occasional transient cruising boat stops over in WoodIslands harbour and in Montague, so I assume they use other harbours around the island as well. I have chatted with cruising boaters who have visited Bras’dOr Lakes in Cape Breton and others from Montreal and the St Lawrence Seaway.
Pictou Island is just across Northumberland Strait from us, about 20 miles away. Lorin Panting swears by it as a destination and I will talk about our first trip there much later.
Sailing around PEI is a moderately near goal, although it could take a week or more. Since one can drive in a car from end to end in four hours, we could put in at any number of harbours and be “rescued” by friends if the trip went badly. Such a trip would keep the shore within sight the entire time, and the harbours could be scouted in advance by a day trip in the car.
Realistic Sailing Goals
Few attain to bluewater cruising—it takes a level of commitment and a cutting of shore ties that few can afford. On the other extreme, the water here around PEI is so cold most of the year I have no desire to get dunked and paddle around while trying to right a small dinghy. That is where the literature fails to help because most of those authors are writing about much warmer southern waters. Sometimes they talk about diving under their large boat to check the prop or condition of the hull! Impossible most of the year this far north without a wet suit.
I have concluded that my present goals involve 1) daylight trips 2) within sight of land. I have only minimal navigation equipment and would find it difficult to use at night. Night sailing might be feasible out at sea, but close to land, there are too many hazards to deal with in the dark. Coming into an unknown harbour in the dark would be truly frightening. Trying blindly to pick an anchorage or find a wharf would be difficult. Staying within sight of land is not an absolute necessity but my wife is against leaving such security. It seems to me there are many close places to visit before any such long trips would come up.