Dreams of a bigger boat

After making the decision (jointly :) ) to cut the weekend short and head home on the Sunday, we were heading  west across Biscayne Bay. Wind was bouncing around the 25knot range, seas were only a couple of feet most of the time, yep, Biscayne Bay can get choppy, especially after 24 hours of sustained wind in one direction.

So we had the choice of motoring comfortably going NW or SW and tacking back towards Black Point Marina, or just putting up with the sloppy seas and steering to the mark. Lazily we steered to the mark, put in about a 10degree drift and steered 290, kept us on the GPS trackline without even looking at it. Always an upbeat event when we actually plan our course and it works out as planned! Totally cool.

Every now and then we would slide into a trough and get lifted up only to wallow over the top, just not paying attention to the waves. The penalty is hard push over to leeward and a sudden heel of around 25degrees.

Now, most sailors would just plant their feet firmly and let the boat lean up into the next wave and think nothing of it, but the Admiral is allergic to heeling beyond 25degrees, we typically keep the boat upright within 10degrees and it rewards us by sailing beautifully. But under, lazy, motor, we don't have the sail out to steady the boat, so the heel tends to be more dramatic. So Peggy's response to the wallow... we need a bigger boat.

That's the kind of response that lightens my day, any day!

Once back home, JD parked in the back yard, washed down, engine flushed, tanks emptied, food, clothing, bedding pulled out and finally covered in her new Tarp (You can figure out it's a project to store the boat). Well, once we were all cleaned up, out came the notebook computer and the search began. We need a bigger boat!

So, I have had dreams of a bigger boat for years. We love JD and the access to the SoFla venues that having a skinny water boat allows, but bigger is better... right? One of my favorite sites is yachtworld.com and I have the search option down pat. Peggy has it down too. So the search has started. Our new boat will have to be less than 15 years old, but not new. It has to be at least 34' LWL and have 6'+ headroom. Not a small list of boats that match those minimums, over 3,700 of them on yachtworld.com.

But when you dream of a bigger boat, you have to be prepared to dream up a different world. Where can the boat go? Deep keels place a limit on some marinas, Skinny water around the Florida keys means you have to take the boat to new places... good dreams! Bigger boat = bigger expenses! JD is pretty cheap to moor and to slip, bigger boats hurt there!

And! Bigger boats can go further on the water! Maine, Annapolis, Bahamas, Caribbean but they have to meet blue water requirements for Peggy to be a happy crew.

Casting the challenges aside just long enough to encourage solutions, think what the bigger boat can provide!

We could be in the BVI waiting for the kids to fly out and spend a week sailing around the islands. Visiting the thousands of nature spots just on the East coast alone would take a few lifetimes to explore. Building new friendships with other cruisers, facing daily challenges of reaching for a destination but already being there.

Our 'Bigger Boat' will have to show up when we are ready, but soon! :)