Quote:
Originally Posted by tevake
My impressions were that the Mac Gregors are on the cheep end production type boats, No sailing time on them, just looking them over. Don't seem to have the lines of a good sailing boat.
The plan to sail up the coast is quite ambitious for a first offshore sail. Up wind, challenging points to round, plenty fog, long areas of rough coast line with few safe harbors. Look into a cruising guide for details.
Not meaning to be a splash of cold water, just real.
Cheers Richard
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Couldn't agree more. There is a reason you see "oversized load" sailing craft on I-5. The sail journey you dream of is pretty hazardous offshore sailing. During the summer, the prevailing winds are northerly, meaning you'll be tacking & beating most of the way. Your rigging will be under heavy strain much of the time.
Friend Stan Mott was a liveaboard yachtie for years. First the Mediterranean, then crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean. He once admitted that during my dinghy sailing years, going after work & on Sundays, I spent more hours actually sailing than he did on his large ketch. Most years, he spent in a marina, working on art projects, with sails only when he wanted to change locations.
Crossing the Atlantic, basically following the same route Columbus took, is a much easier sail than the length of the Pacific coast, South to North. Ask people who have done both.
(edit) McGregors...more motor boat with sails than the other way around. My old 15' Chrysler Mutineer has literally sailed circles around one of those slow tubs while the McGregor was on a "fast reach".
The first time you feel your centerboard dinghy pop up on a plane, you get hooked!
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