NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: What kind of vessel?
From: David F. McCune
Date: 2006 Apr 30, 04:32 +0200
From: David F. McCune
Date: 2006 Apr 30, 04:32 +0200
Dan: She's a Rustler 31, "Ventura," a British long-keel sloop built in fiberglass in 1969 by Anstey Yachts in Poole, Dorset, England. (31'5" LOA, 9' beam, 5'6" draft, 12,800 lbs.) I sailed her from Los Angeles to Hawaii and back and now want to bring her to Sweden, where I live part-time. She's not very fast or large by today's standards, but she's an old friend and we've taken care of each other for some years now. I'm her fourth owner. I have a boat over here in Sweden, too, but we've never really "clicked," so I thought "Ventura" would like the Baltic. And anyway, I promised. On the return from Hawaii, on one of those awful moonless nights when the seas were way too big and I was way too tired and scared, I told her that if we made it through just one more night I would take her home to Poole harbor. Needless to say, we made it, so here I am, left with a lover and a promise. And then there's her name. She was named "Ventura" all those year ago by her first owners in England. She wandered everywhere. I found her in San Francisco. Through one of those odd twists, I eventually ended up living in Ventura, California, where she is now. I don't believe in, well, stuff like that. But hey, alone at sea you have to believe in something, so over the years I decided we were meant to be together. Corny, to be sure, but as any frightened sailor will tell you, corny beats dead any day of the week. David -----Original Message----- From: Navigation Mailing List [mailto:NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM]On Behalf Of Dan Allen Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 12:15 AM To: NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM Subject: What kind of vessel? On 29 Apr 2006, at 10:16 AM, David F. McCune wrote: > A sextant is not as efficient as a GPS. But then again, sailing is > not as efficient as United Airlines, either. Welcome to the group! I like your thinking here. Obviously we all gain a lot more from the study of celestial navigation than just our positions -- or otherwise we would just use GPS. I am always impressed when somebody actually crosses oceans in a small boat. My hat's off to you. You inspire the rest of us to someday do the same thing. What kind of vessel will take you to Sweden via the canal? Dan
