Article by Howard Rice
Jeff manhandled Diva’s short, rather delicate tiller as she heeled and sped up. Her bow wave flashed in the bright sun as we worked to weather, west up the Chester River on Maryland’s eastern shore. Being the Diva she is she occasionally drenched both skipper and crew in spite of the small shallow water waves. Ahead and to the south our two companions aboard the Mouse were but a speck. With a mainsheet issue not solvable at the dock, we couldn’t sail Diva to her full potential in reefed configuration, but she was still fast.
“Ches’s boat is fast,” Jeff quietly stated from the helm as we surged forward. Given our inability to trim efficiently, I began to call shift-driven tacks. Both crews had agreed to sail upwind. My job was to coach sailing skills, analyze boat setup, evaluate sails and hopefully have a good time doing so. On this day I was aboard the Norseboat and we had a fresh building breeze. Jeff her owner was all in for some weather work in the best of classrooms—at the helm of his own boat.
With each tack we made our way west and south. After an approximate mile and a half opposite tack separation we finally closed with Mouse and crossed tacks within a boat length of each other. Crews on both boats beamed. It’s nice to be on starboard when crossing another boat. No one I know was racing that day…well maybe just a little.
Instead of point to point cruising with the need to make and break camp each day, we took a different approach. Out like a spider from a single base camp. This made for maximum sailing time, offered a variety of sailing venues, comfort, less stress, and greater ease of everything. The Bayshore Campground near Rock Hall made for a great base. We set out with boats in tow each day and returned to our campsite for long evening talks about life and boats.
I flew in from Michigan. Steve Zutter came up from Virginia, sadly without his beloved Peep Hen due to a close encounter with his garage (repairs underway). Chesley Sugg drove up from North Carolina with his Montgomery 15 Mouse. Jeff McDonald pulled his Norseboat 17.5 (which we re-christened Diva) from New Hampshire. We had four days together to do what we wanted. Paramount to the group by consensus was going over the two boats together with the aim of assessing boat setup, gear, sails, spars, rig tune, etc. Coaching and boat handling floated high up the list of things to be accomplished, so we sailed and then we sailed some more.
My three new friends, all competent sailors, came with very open minds and a strong desire to push comfort levels, given I would be on hand to coach and assist if needed. This made for smooth days based on our agreement to a “let’s push the challenges and thus confidence up a notch” strategy, which meant sailing in windy conditions, sailing engineless when appropriate, and in general trying new things.
Our “out like a spider” strategy was a perfect way for getting four time-strapped strangers together with one purpose: sail training while small-boat adventuring and exploring. Ah youth, we quickly reverted back to teenage mindsets and had a time of it. After four days we reluctantly walked away as brothers in the wind promising to meet and sail again.
Our moments together over the course of four days were an amazing blend of open exchange of meaningful information, slapstick fun, teamwork, respect and thoughtfulness. I believe it was a growing and at times spiritual experience for all of us. This small group experience was quite different for me and I believe a great model for other sailors to aspire to. Using the small-group micro-cruise approach is a good way to go if you would like to sail in company and if time is an issue. A single base camp, two to five boats daysailing off of trailers makes for a variety-based fun brand of cruising.
Here are a few thoughts about this particular type of micro-cruising, which I assume many of you out there might already participate in.
1. Allow for four sailing days if possible. This offers time to unwind into the cruising mindset and also have a chance at a wider wind range.
2. Try to keep the fleet small. Two to five boats may be an ideal number. There are many places where tight maneuvering while exploring creeks, launching at small marinas, sailing tight marsh channels and stopping at tiny beaches means fewer boats can all sail in and stop together.
3. Boats should be able to be rigged and launched within 30 minutes of parking at the launch ramp, this accomplished as a team.
4. Boats should be inspected before sailing begins and the inspection done by all members of the group. This is a great time for sharing ideas, solving rigging issues, and is a key element in the overall safety equation based on the familiarization with everyone else’s boat and what they have on board.
5. Boats should be of similar shallow draft and therefore able to land at the same places with ease. Makes for easy stops, lunches, land explorations, etc.
6. Boats should be self contained and set up for self-rescue. What-if scenarios, rescues, and assists, should be discussed beforehand.
7. Each boat should have a VHF radio aboard and each skipper should know how to operate it. A radio check should be conducted before setting out each day. An agreed upon “go to” talk channel should be decided on beforehand.
8. If reefing is in the discussion then perhaps all boats in the fleet should reef. There are exceptions to this rule but it’s a good one to follow to achieve parity.
9. If sailing as a fleet, then a rotating lead boat and a sweep (designated back of the fleet) boat might be a consideration. The sweep boat actually leads by radio and the lead boat makes way to the agreed upon destination if there is one.
10. A shuttle car can be staged and longer point-to-point destinations sailed.
11. Skippers and crew should consider swapping boats during the cruise.
12. Consider a base camp with amenities like showers and Wi-Fi if weather info and staying in contact are important to you. I prefer wilderness camps but found the commercial Bayshore Campground to be an excellent match for our needs.
The trailersailer or cartop boats we love are perfect for small fleet out-like-a-spider cruising. If time is tight then a weekend sailing with others may be an answer to not sailing at all or sailing alone while trying to learn or stretch your comfort level. I plan to do much more of this style of cruising as it certainly rivals going solo point-to-point. To my friends Steve, Chesley and Jeff—see you out there!•SCA•
First appeared in issue #89.
This is how we ran the Small Reach Regatta on the Maine Coast for fifteen years. Numbers how ever did grow to become a major event. A very big spider.
This is an interesting model, I used to attend a dual-sport motorcycle rally with a similar agenda. Camped in a trail-rich environment, the organizers created maps people could follow solo or in self-selected groups and roughly rated by level of difficulty. I also spent a very enjoyable week in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area paddling out of a base camp, very nice to not have striking and setting up camp on the agenda each day.