The dark side - The pull is strong

As I said before, with sailing you have two options. Sailing round the world, where there really is no other option, but no idea when you'll get there.

Or sailing a dinghy which is good fun, but only round in circles.

James set off Friday evening, once he cleared the lock the engine was switched off and the sails raised. He sailed round to Porth Wen and dropped the anchor for the night then sailed back Saturday arriving back around 9am. Now, I don't call that getting nowhere, he could easily have carried on and circumnavigated the Island to arrive back Saturday evening.
 
Were you thinking of going as big as Providence then??

You don't necessarily need a huge yacht to make progress. I know that Sea Rush isn't built for speed (but then, neither am I) but she can easily make PW (from either direction) in a day trip - if I work the tides right. And that's part of the fun - working with, rather than agin, the tides will double your progress around Anglesey.

BTW I wasn't having a pop at you earlier H, I was simply trying to make the point that MF suits you & Debs down to the ground - she (er, that's MF I mean) does EXACTLY what you want. There is no way that any sailing boat would offer what MF offers. However, there are things that a raggie offers that MF could never do - it's just that you don't want or value those "benefits". That's what I meant by you "don't get it".
 
You don't necessarily need a huge yacht to make progress. I know that Sea Rush isn't built for speed (but then, neither am I) but she can easily make PW (from either direction) in a day trip - if I work the tides right. And that's part of the fun - working with, rather than agin, the tides will double your progress around Anglesey.

Would I be right in thinking Searush is around 34'?
 
I meant the boat, not the legend :rolleyes:

:D The boat is a 1973 31' Pentland ketch designed by Laurent Giles. But don't tell Dick Dock, I told him it was under 30' :rolleyes: It also has a small bowsprit that takes her up to about 32' loa. Her beam is just under 10', later boats will be beamier and generally have more accomodation below. One thing about an older design is that the freeboard is lower than on modern designs. I could probably (with a determined effort) get back on board from an MoB situation. On a more recent design I doubt I could even reach the toe rail from the water so couldn't even hold on waitng for help . . .

She is plenty big enough for me (& SWMBO) but when we take my son & G-daughter (or daughter & the 8yo twins) it would be better described as adequate.

Longer boats tend to travel faster & have an easier motion in a sea way, but costs - moorings, storage, a/foul, cost of fittings etc etc all tend to escalate. Against that, the accom tends to be much bigger & the sail & anchor handling kit has to be bigger & more powerful. Single (or short) handing isn't a problem provided you are set up for it & take your time to think things thro.
 
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Philliz,
This sounds as if it is getting serious.

Think carefully before making your choice, try a charter first, sail with a friend. Perhaps even make a list of what you like about your current boating experience & check if any new boat will fulfill them all. There is always a risk with boats that you are buying a dream but then hate the reality - an expensive scenario.
 
From the responses so far it appears I'm wrong in thinking a move form mobo to raggie is a good idea. However, I can't help but think that the responses maybe a little biased as, after all, it's on the mobo forum rather than scuttlebutt.

You may all be right, I'm willing to accept that, but if you are, why are there more raggies about than mobos?

Come on Searush, get some of the raggies to put their twopenneth in!

There isn't a right or wrong answer. There seem to be two factors influencing migration in either direction. Some older sail folk migrate to mobo's for space, comfort ease of use. On the other hand some mobo folk migrate to sail to save on fuel.

If you have time then the long passages needed for sail are not a problem fro cruising families, but if time is limited as it is for many a mobo opens more passage windows. That's why many weekend sailers just either race or day boat in their local area.

I completely understand where Deleted User is coming from. There can be a little bit of "the grass is always greener on the other side of the hedge" in us all.

Having done both, I'm happy moboing for living space and comfort. Then again we anchor out more than we moor in, and often plod along at tickover displacement speeds taking in the nice days where the scenery and weather permit. Having said that, if I was ever caught out again in anything between F6-F8, I'd rather be in a sail yacht anyday, ok wet, and clipped on in the cockpit but not seasick to the gills in a wallowing mobo that has had to slow to match the sea. But most leisure boaters are time limited to short cruising rather than bluewater sailing, so unlikely ever to voluntarily encounter such weather.

I find the mess of rope, wire and stays a pain in the neck on typical coffin cabin yachts. There are some nice wheel house designs which in truth are "motor sailors", and have a nice traditional look too.
 
Philliz,
This sounds as if it is getting serious.
.

Nah, He aint well at the Mo I reckon;)
Lookin at the World through rose tinted forsale jibbers, or whatever yer calls em:rolleyes:
Shrouds of belaying pins will descend and the tiller of sensibility will steer a corse to sanity, that's my dead reckoning:D
 
Philliz,
This sounds as if it is getting serious..

It is definitely a serious consideration for in a few years time as I said in the OP.

Think carefully before making your choice, try a charter first, sail with a friend. Perhaps even make a list of what you like about your current boating experience & check if any new boat will fulfill them all. There is always a risk with boats that you are buying a dream but then hate the reality - an expensive scenario.

Don't worry, we always do loads of homework before making a decision
 
:D The boat is a 1973 31' Pentland ketch designed by Laurent Giles. But don't tell Dick Dock, I told him it was under 30' .

Mum's the word ;)

Longer boats tend to travel faster & have an easier motion in a sea way, but costs - moorings, storage, a/foul, cost of fittings etc etc all tend to escalate. Against that, the accom tends to be much bigger & the sail & anchor handling kit has to be bigger & more powerful. Single (or short) handing isn't a problem provided you are set up for it & take your time to think things thro.

I learnt a bit about the longer the displacment boat, the faster it is, theory at the weekend. I know costs are higher but I reckon the fuel savings would more than cover them. See, I'm not overly bothered about being able to do a long passage every weekend, so long as I can do a few over the year. IMHO there are plenty of interesting destinations in our cruising area which are eaily reachable on a Friday/Saturday for an overnighter then back on Sunday. As we've become more confident and capable we're more at ease now on the water, so we're relaxing and enjoying the journey as much, and often more, than the arrival.
 
Nah, He aint well at the Mo I reckon;)
Lookin at the World through rose tinted forsale jibbers, or whatever yer calls em:rolleyes:
Shrouds of belaying pins will descend and the tiller of sensibility will steer a corse to sanity, that's my dead reckoning:D

I'm alright, it's all the others I tell yer :)

Dunner tell anybody, but I've even looked at Scuttlebutt a few times this last week :o
 
Nah, He aint well at the Mo I reckon;)
Lookin at the World through rose tinted forsale jibbers, or whatever yer calls em:rolleyes:
Shrouds of belaying pins will descend and the tiller of sensibility will steer a corse to sanity, that's my dead reckoning:D

I saw Phill yesterday and and he looked quite sane. But then, the mad always do.
 
As was said somewhere way up above, it's a mindset thing. I've owned sailboats but never had the time to fit me into their rhythm. I was always thinking: "Got to be back by... Oh dear, wind's in the wrong direction. I'd best turn the engine on."

Mobo's are much better suited to making your boating pastime fit in with the rest of your life.

If I had an indefinite amount of time (or, at least, if I wasn't bothered about when or even whether I got there) I would sail and, again as others have said, enjoy working the wind and tides. I might well do it on a catamaran, though.
 
Look Out, there goes one now!

Mcgregor.jpg


It lives in Red Dwarf if you want to go & see it.
 
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