photo #1322916

We used to live on a boat like this, 38' with a 20' beam. When we got it, it had a knotmeter in it that went to 30 knots. We got it as a trade from a guy who'd been transferred inland with his company, and boy did we celebrate. It had a single cylinder BMW diesel, and we kept our microwave and motor from our old boat, a new Nissan 8 hp. we put on the dinghy that came with this one. Long story short, the first time we raised the sails, we thought it must be a club, because the Genoa sail was 140%. As we gathered speed, it kind of "shook it's tail", then started making a whining noise. Figuring something was wrong, we off winded and checked around. No problems. We came around again, then it started again. We just waited a second then our world completely changed as we saw the needle on the knotmeter going past 20 ! This was supposed to be a sailboat, not an aircraft ! After we adjusted sail and tweaked it, it settled down right around 24 knots, making a singing noise in our wake. Then we saw the dolphins racing us off both the bow and stern! Truly a once in a lifetime sight. We learned many tricks with that boat. It had a drop keel that could lift itself or drop on its own, and when you had a stern wind, it would come up on it's own. We were coming around the Gulf Intracoastal waterway from the Mississippi heading west, and it was around 2:00 pm when we entered Matagorda bay days later. The channel was going to take until well after dark to reach Palacios, and after studying the charts, we decided to take a hypotenuse course and get there faster, since there was a minimum of three feet of water and we only drew 18" when we were on the plane. Winds were perfect for the wing and wing , so off we went. We trimmed sails and settled in right around 26 knots. Talk about the ultimate freedom ! We called ahead to the marina, and reserved the fuel dock for the night, as nobody ever has slips wide enough for that size beam. It's just something you get used to. We watched boats behind us playing around, some dropping sails, some just dancing around. We had left our radio tuned to channel 68 instead of 16 to keep in touch with the marina if need be. We always used to monitor 16, but this was a rare deviation from it. After tying up at the fuel dock in front of a large crowd, we figured out something was up. After asking around, we got the full story. Seems a LOT of people were out sailing that day, and figured if they followed us, they'd discover a new channel back to the marina. Unfortunately, their draughts were well over three feet, resulting in groundings galore which is why their sails were dropping. Channel 16 was buzzing with calls to Towboat US and Seatow, and anybody else who could come and get them free in such shallow waters. Until well after midnight, they came straggling in one at a time, and if looks could kill, I wouldn't be here. Some came over just to see what we were. I tell this true story to make a point. What works for some doesn't necessarily work for others. They ASSUMED I was a regular sailboat, and rather than do due diligence by checking their charts versus their drafts, they "followed the leader" blindly because if it worked for me, it would surely work for THEM. We ALL know that's not the case normally, but still have the tendency to forget when the pandemonium occurs all around us. Do WHAT you can, with WHAT you've got, WHERE you are. Anything else might get you into trouble ! ARRRGGGHHH !