Never again in my boat!
The Good Guys have attempted the SB-KH race twice. Twice we finished. Twice we became despondent in the early (0200hrs) morning doldrums and elected not to postpone the inevitable motorized trip home, beginning in the evening of the second day. DNF-ing was the best option for all of us.
As Mainsheet Guy said,
There's nothing wrong with the King Harbor Race. It's great! Only problem is that when it's over, you're in King Harbor!I make no bones about it. I am motoring-aversive; mainly because I am engine maintenance-aversive. If I am going to King Harbor and back, I'd rather do both trips on the freeway than have to do the return trip under power on the water; even - as it is - only half the return under power. (Trophy Wife disagrees! She thinks the return sail across Santa Monica Bay easily makes the race worthwhile.) If we had gone this year, we would be finishing the sailing portion about now as I write this, or at least thinking about turning on the engine to plow through the residue chop from the day's winds.
But, until midnight of the first day, it is a great sail. If we had a different hull under us and could finish earlier or ghost through two-knot breezes in the wee morning hours of the second day, I Could feel much different.
Such a hull could be Bucket Boat #1, about which I have already written. The reason I bring it up again is that I just ran across this video:
An E-33 would get me to King Harbor and back in a style to which I could become accustomed. At least, that is my fantasy!
As I watched the video, I kept saying to myself, "This is a lot like the Etchells and the features I like on the Etchells." Turns out, according to the literature, this boat was inspired by the Etchells. One difference: A brand-new E-33 costs about twice what a brand-new Etchells does. And you can get a used Etchells for far less. And it's easy to convert an older Etchells into a more comfortable but still high-performance day-sailor -- one such conversion graced the cover of Sail magazine a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteA good point Carol Anne. Actually when you look at the used market, Etchells cost exactly 10 times less the what the E(xpensive)-33's are asking.
ReplyDeleteDo items on a bucket list have to be affordable? Is that a rule?
ReplyDeleteAround $179,000 base for an E33. After building a trailer, replacing rigging, and other projects, Carol Anne had less than $10k in her $1000 Etchells.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the current market, you could probably get a really nice 45-foot world cruising yacht for the price of a new E33.
Don't think ol' Man H-Dazs is into cruising or large boats, Pat! I think he's into day-sailin' & racin'. Don't think he can afford the style he prefers, though.
ReplyDeleteWho can afford the style he/she prefers?
ReplyDeleteVlad and Baydog are both right.
ReplyDeleteBut you can come close to the style you prefer if you play the thrift shops right. You can take a bargain-basement Etchells and make a really sweet day-sailer out of it.
ReplyDeleteJust saying, is all. You can certainly keep fantasizing about the Expense 33.