A Boater's Life, Part 1

There are countless resources for the boatowner in this day and age. There are hundreds of books dealing with all sorts of minutia on the subject matter, workshops, videos, classes, websites, and on and on. Yet, nothing substitutes for the experience gained by casting off from the dock or mooring in a sound and readied boat, and heading out. Believe me, there is no better way to learn.

For many of us, boating is a generational thing; ie, our parents had boats and often our children will have boats when they come of age. My first boating memory was on Lake Erie: a huge cardboard box arriving from the Alcort factory in Waterbury, CT containing all the parts and pieces for a plywood Sailfish, the predecessor to the ever popular Sunfish. At the time, my Dad was a young man; and, over the course of his life five boats followed, including his last, a Luders 36. On each of those boats I have fond memories, snapshots of my youth, and I enjoyed many wonderful sails aboard each. When I eventually became a young man, I owned and lived aboard "Halcyon" with my wife and infant daughter. Other boats were to follow. Similarly, my son has recently purchased his first boat, a vintage wooden sloop we both are busy getting ready for the coming season.

For me, boating is a family affair. Boatowners have many reasons for making their first purchase though my favorite reason is that it is something the whole family can participate in together. And, taken to the extreme as was in my case, the boat became our liveaboard home for many years. A home with a simple, cozy interior - tied to the dock in the winter and on a mooring during the summer months, sometimes with 3 dingys hanging off the stern. And we took cruises - weeks and sometimes months at a time. Our family was young enough to know any better - before kids grew old enough for summer jobs. It was an experience they will take with them for all of their lives. And then, just maybe, pass this cruising life along to their children.

During our liveaboard experience, we had the good fortune of meeting other cruisers, some with small children aboard. Many have become lifelong friends, and to this day, some of us still sail together. This points to another grand reason why people choose a boater's life - the enjoyment of meeting other cruisers and liveaboards. Many of the great yachtsmen that have gone before us - Eric and Susan Hiscock, Irving and Exy Johnson, Hal and Margaret Roth, Lin and Larry Pardey, all seem to agree, the most wonderful part of cruising are the friendships made along the way. These folks, among others, are the great ones - the pioneers of small boat cruising, bravely crossing oceans before the days of GPS and other modern conveniences of navigation. Their cruises and writings have inspired a generation of sailors and influenced small boat safety and seamanship as we know it today.


Many will not find the inclination to take heroic offshore passages and be thoroughly content with cruises in local waters - an overnighter or a weeks worth of day trips can be just as exhilarating and gratifying. The important thing to remember - just go. You won't regret it!