Scuttlebutt Magazine - May 2008 - (Page 9) www.scuttlebutt.com May 2008 • Page 9 –––––––––––––––––––––– by Annette de Paz –––––––––––––––––––––– How do you gain cruising or open-ocean experience when you don’t have an oceangoing vessel? Do what I did. Search for a large vessel in need of crew. It took many fruitless Internet searches, but I finally found my opportunity while browsing boats for sale on Craigslist. The ad was placed by a live-aboard captain who spends winters in the Bahamas and summers in the Hamptons on a 38-foot sailing catamaran. She supports her lifestyle by offering charters and using the boat as a floating bed-andbreakfast in the Hamptons. The captain needed to move the boat north, but with no full-paying charter customers, she needed crew to share watches on the journey. The Craigslist ad offered crew berths for $100 per day, not including food. Bluewater rookie finds her sea legs I’d been advised that crew shouldn’t have to pay for more than their food and travel to and from the boat. However, I had no bluewater experience and was considering spending at least twice as much for a liveaboard sailing school, so I was thrilled to find the same type of holiday at half the cost even though I wouldn’t get any certification. My time on the boat was a profound learning experience. It’s one thing to read about having someone on watch 24 hours a day. It’s quite another to actually be on watch by yourself on the open ocean in the middle of the night and see a huge, fast metal ship approach at an unchanging relative bearing; to summon the captain, to hail the ship on the radio and spotlight the sail; to receive no response whatsoever; to watch the radar as the ship closes several miles in minutes; and to hold on as the captain turns a hard 180 degrees at the last second. I am now a sailor who will never cut corners on watches. From the Bahamas to Florida and north with the Gulf Stream, I learned what happens when current, wind and heading work together and how it feels when they don’t. I learned the importance of monitoring the weather as a named storm loomed nearby, and that mackerel is a poor substitute for mahi mahi. Unfortunately, I also learned about combining a hangover with rough seas. In the Intracoastal Waterway, I learned about narrow channels, navigation markers, electronic versus paper charts, depth finders, and suitable anchorages. I also discovered that waiting out storms on the hook and motoring at five knots can be boring. If you’re accustomed to being the captain, crewing might be a challenge. For me, the difficulty came in having to do the housekeeping someone else’s way. Overall, crewing was an incredibly rich experience. I met many different people and spent a week picking the brains of real cruisers. I experienced what it feels like to make an ocean passage and to live aboard a large boat. I’ve collected enough facts and sensations to make my cruising dreams tangible. Though it didn’t provide the R and R, pampering, or tourist appeal you’d normally expect from a vacation, I’d jump at the chance to do it again. – U.S. Power Squadron’s on-line newsletter, Compass BOATS FOR SALE Now Under New Ownership 60’ 1998 SKIPPERLINER MY - MERCS, FB, AIR, GEN, 1 OWNER, GREAT LIVEABOAR . . . . . . . . . . $ 159,900 44’ 2000 CRUISERS 4450 - CATS, BOW THRUSTER, VERY CLEAN BOAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 329,000 43’ 2003 CRUISERS 4370 - CATS, LOADED WITH OPTIONS, VERY CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 339,000 42’ 2001 SEA RAY 420 AFT - MERCS, FB, AIR, GEN, BOW THRUSTER, VERY CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . $ 299,000 42’ 1977 GIBSON STAND - CHRY, FB, AIR, PORTABLE GEN. UPDATED INTERIOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 17,900 41’ 1983 CHRIS CRAFT COMMDR - T/350’S, FB, AIR, GEN, RADAR, MANY UPDATES . . . . . . . . . . $ 109,900 41’ 1988 SEA RAY 415 ACMY - CATS, FB, AIR, GEN, MANY UPDATES, VERY CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . $ 119,900 39’ 1994 CARVER CPMY - CUMNS., FB, AIR, GEN, RADAR, GPS, CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 149,900 38’ 1979 CHRIS CRAFT CORITH. - CRUSD., FB, AIR, GEN, DUAL HELM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 45,000 38’ 1982 CHRIS CRAFT CORITH., FB, AIR, GEN, BIMINI, UPDATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 59,900 38’ 1987 BAYLINER 3870MY - HINO’S, FB, AIR, GEN, ELECTRONICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 79,000 37’ 1973 BOATEL TRDWIND - S/318, AIR, NEW WINDOWS, NEW PAINT, CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 16,900 36’ 2004 CARVER SPT. SEDN - VOLVO, FB, AIR, GEN, WARRANTY, SUPER CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 189,000 36’ 1974 GIBSON STND. - S/MERC, AIR, CLEAN, NICELY DECORATED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 10,000 36’ 1984 GIBSON STND. - VOLVO, FB, BIMINI, LOW HOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 26,400 36’ 1984 TROJAN TRI-CBN - CRUSD., FB, AIR, GEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 47,500 36’ 1986 CARVER AFT-CBN - MERCS, FB, ENCLOSURE, AIR, GEN, DUAL HELM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 69,500 34’ 2001 SEA RAY SUNDANC. - MERCS, AIR, GEN, STORED UNDERCOVER, CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . $ 139,900 34’ 2007 CRUISERS 340 - VOLVO, AIR, GEN, WINDLASS, STEREO, LIKE NEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 199,900 34’ 1987 SEA RAY EXPESS - MERCS, STORED UNDERCOVER, CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 43,500 33’ 1978 CARVER VOYAGER - CRUSD., FB, AIR, GEN, CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 27,900 32’ 1985 BAYLINER 3270 - T/225, FB, GEN, AIR, BIMINI, SPOTLESS ENGINE RM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 24,700 30’ 2001 MONTEREY 298-S - MERCS, TRL, BIMINI, WET BAR, BLUE HULL, CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 44,900 28’ 1987 CARVER RIVIERA - MERCS, HARDTOP, NEW CANVAS, VERY CLEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 29,900 27’ 1988 CARVER SANTEGO - MERCS, FB, ENCLOSURE, AIR, GPS, STORED INSIDE . . . . . . . . . $ 14,900 27’ 1988 CELEBRITY CROWN - S/MERC, MANY UPDATES, NEW CANVAS, NEW ENGINE . . . . . . . $ 15,949 27’ 1990 BAYLINER CIERRA - FORD, TRL, MANY UPDATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 17,500 26’ 2001 RINKER FLOTILLA - MERC, TRL, LOTS OF STORAGE, CANVAS, SPOTLESS . . . . . . . . $ 29,900 26’ 1987 SEA RAY 265 SEDAN - MERC, TRL, FB, BRAVO II, MANY UPDATES, CLEAN . . . . . . . . $ 19,900 24’ 2003 GODFREY PONTOON - 135HP I/O, FULL CANVAS, LIFTING STRAKES, EXC CONDITION $ 19,900 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– It’s one thing to read about having someone on watch 24 hours a day. It’s quite another to actually be on watch by yourself on the open ocean in the middle of the night… www.midstatesyachts.com 563-556-0402 • Fax 563-556-1043 Kyle Volkens, Broker 880 Locust St., Suite 125 Dubuque, IA 52001 email: kyle@midstatesyachts.com http://www.scuttlebutt.com http://www.midstatesyachts.com http://www.treasureislandcasino.com http://www.treasureislandcasino.com
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