Badger
Member
In the first year of owning their first 32 ft sloop everyone in the family was pleased and at the end of season yacht club christmas bash glasses were held high as were hopes for the following year. In the second season progress is still good but about halway through the season the crew start to lament the fact that the boat doesn't have a fridge, that not having a seperate owners aft cabin is a bit of a pain and wouldn't it be nice if we had wheel steering so we could have a proper autopilot instead of that bicycle pump attatched to the tiller. The skipper being nothing but participative in style listens patiently but suggests maybe we should all concentrate on becoming better sailors first but his plea falls on deaf ears. Six months pass and after a foggy trip back from Cherbourg there are mutterings about Radar and below deck autopilots.
The following season 32 footer is sold and a 35 footer is purchased. The new boat has every conceivable navigation aid and creature comfort fitted including DGPS, Radar, Chartplotter, DSC Radio, Eberspacher, Fridge, Stereo/ CD, etc etc. The boat is late in arriving and most of the season is missed. The following season the skipper is keen to get the most out of his new investment paticulary as he now is working ten times the hours with double the pressure at work to pay for it all but is often so tired and stressed out that he does not have the energy to go sailing. In the meantime the crew have become teenagers and no longer want to go sailing anymore because they will miss out on their new social lives which involve going shopping and going to parties / disco's for which the former first mate of the vessel is required to provide a taxi service.
As the screen fades to the credits, yet another vessel joins the twilight world of yachts that never leaves the marina and end up on the brokers for sale list.
When I was younger all I ever dreamed of was owning a second hand Twister and pottering about on it but somewhere along the way my dream got corrupted. Who was is who said your dream boat is not the one you dream about but the one that takes you sailing.
The following season 32 footer is sold and a 35 footer is purchased. The new boat has every conceivable navigation aid and creature comfort fitted including DGPS, Radar, Chartplotter, DSC Radio, Eberspacher, Fridge, Stereo/ CD, etc etc. The boat is late in arriving and most of the season is missed. The following season the skipper is keen to get the most out of his new investment paticulary as he now is working ten times the hours with double the pressure at work to pay for it all but is often so tired and stressed out that he does not have the energy to go sailing. In the meantime the crew have become teenagers and no longer want to go sailing anymore because they will miss out on their new social lives which involve going shopping and going to parties / disco's for which the former first mate of the vessel is required to provide a taxi service.
As the screen fades to the credits, yet another vessel joins the twilight world of yachts that never leaves the marina and end up on the brokers for sale list.
When I was younger all I ever dreamed of was owning a second hand Twister and pottering about on it but somewhere along the way my dream got corrupted. Who was is who said your dream boat is not the one you dream about but the one that takes you sailing.
