Catamaran Sailing

For quite some time now, I have been very interested in large sailing catamarans. I love the thought of exploring shallow areas, sleeping and eating onboard in comfortable accommodations, and I like the idea of being powered quietly by the wind.

I think that for a lot of us, the notion of self-sufficiency is very comforting and attractive. Sometimes it’s the concept of a few acres, off the grid, growing and raising your own food (Mary’s concept). Lately, for me, it’s the idea of being in a wind powered craft with the ability to travel the world and presumably catch your own food, moving from one idyllic spot to another as suits your fancy.

I did some “crewing” on sailboats in college, but have never captained a sailboat. I am pretty experienced with small power boats including water skiing and cruising Puget Sound with overnights at mooring buoys and marinas on our 22ft cabin cruiser.

I have been looking forward to chartering a catamaran in the tropics. To do that you must know how to sail, and it helps to have a certificate. So, I found a week-long live-aboard catamaran sailing course out of Ft Lauderdale. After some cajoling, Mary graciously agreed to not only accompany me, but also to get certified as well. This was a big step for Mary. She hasn’t had much hands-on boating or sailing experience, and wasn’t too keen on having to be tested on things she wasn’t all that excited about.

The week before our trip, south Florida was cold and rainy with strong winds. We were a little concerned, but the weather turned out great - sunny and warm with mostly light winds, and one day of moderate wind. Our instructor was perfect, a very experienced and knowledgeable guy in his mid-forties with a professional but laid-back approach.

The three of us had a 41ft Lagoon Catamaran all to ourselves for six days. We sailed from Ft Lauderdale to Key Largo stopping at Boca Chica, and Little Card Sound on the way down. Then we overnighted at Gilbert’s in Key Largo where we even got to dance and sing Karaoke. On the way back we anchored just off Key Biscayne and then sailed out into the ocean to catch the northbound current of the Gulf Stream back up to Ft Lauderdale.

We saw several large schools of man-o-war jellyfish, pods of bottlenose dolphins almost every day, some wonderfully clear blue water and a couple of great sunsets.

We did very well on our four written tests and we both got 99’s on the last one. Mary and I sailed the boat on the two-day return trip from Key Largo (that’s the practical test). The instructor spent most of the return trip below deck reading Mary’s book. He would come up every once in a while to make sure we were doing ok, and to ask Mary questions about Granny, orcas and telepathic communication.

We are now certified to bareboat charter a sailing catamaran. It was great to spend some time on the boat to explore all the nooks and crannies, and to determine the important things to look for in a boat that we might charter, like large “heads” (toilets) and ample storage and passageways. British Virgin Islands - here we come.

Mary and I also met up with one of my nephews that I hadn’t seen in probably 30+ years. We had lunch with Tim in Ft Lauderdale on our way to our sailing class. It was great to see him and find him doing so well. After the sailing course he made us some absolutely wonderful oatmeal cookies with white chocolate, dark chocolate and some great spices. He should market the things. They are better than any cookie we have ever had. Mary is still wishing we had more.