It isn't nearly as interesting as it sounds. I have a knack for spin :-)Are you kidding?
bcooke wrote:
Actually, I was thinking of the cruising I did with up to 13 other people on a 30 foot boat but telling that story would be a blatant hijack of this thread, which as you all know I never do. Last year's three month cruise was my version of excessive consumption.
-Britton
Actually, you have to post that story somewhere and tell us where it is, that has to be heard!!!!
Really though, as some on the forum know, I spent a season sailing with Outward Bound in Maine and the Chesapeake. 'OB' uses 30 foot open boats which share design characteristics of whale and life boats - slow, extremely rugged, boats,ketch rigged with a simple sprit rig. Excellently designed boats for a group of novices to command on their own after about a week or so of training. Generally the boats go out for 1-3 weeks with 12 students and 2 instructors. Re-supply is about every week or ten days. Sleeping is accomplished by spreading out the 8 or so oars lengthwise across the thwarts with rubber mats from gunwale to gunwale which the students sleep on. It is a bit uncomfortable but it is part of the whole 'high stress' part of the curriculum and after a few days and near total exhaustion anything becomes possible. The lucky instructors sleep in the stern on the cockpit benches. The boat is generally tarped every night although most instructors carry a waterproof lining for their sleeping bags so they can sleep under the stars (and because the tarp is a hassle to assemble). Food is mostly grains and other non-perishables-no refrigeration needed. Most everything can be eaten with a bowl and spoon which is about the extent of the cutlery onboard. Generally, the crew remains onboard for 3 days to a week at a time, depending on the goal. Some courses are quite local and involve a lot of rock climbing and other shore based activities, other courses travel from mid coast Maine to the Canadian border and back which with the strong tides and often unfavorable weather requires the boat to be on the move around the clock or at least whenever there is a favorable tide. Toilet facilities for many years were located just off the edges of the gunwales. With current environmental laws a bucket is lashed in front of the mast. Between the mast, sails, and other stowed gear a surprising amount of privacy is obtained but there is never any real doubt as to what is happening up forward. At sunrise every morning -no exceptions- everyone jumps over the side for a very quick wake-up dip which has the added benefit of keeping the body odor to a minimum. There is definitely body odor on a three week cruise with no showers but as long as everyone is at about the same level of smell, it isn't too bad. We generally wouldn't hug or kiss after the first week or so...
A big part of the curriculum is dealing with other people in tight quarters in a high stress situation. The boats are admirably suited to accomplishing this. Between courses instructors have been known to take a boat out with maybe three or four people on board which makes for a pretty okay trip. Using the foredeck and stern benches means no one is sleeping on the oars and being better organized and with a reduced itenerary we got a lot more sleep which makes for a rather pleasant cruise.
Yeah, I know, it sounds awful. But really it wasn't too bad. All the elements of a fun cruise were there. We were warm, dry, well fed. We sailed along the coast of Maine all summer slept out under the stars, got to torture students and made enough money to buy a burger and beer at the end of the course and maybe a bus ticket home. It was a pretty good life :-)
I know I will get yelled at if I say anything but I keep looking at plans for a 18-20 foot row/sail boat that can be camp sailed along the coast. I should work all the more on my first love but I am so tempted to just loft out those plans... and maybe fashion a few frames, and maybe lay a few planks and maybe...
-Britton
