This Article appeared in the June 15, 1993 issue of MESSING ABOUT BOATS (re-edited 10/2000)
CRUISING IN LITTLE CRUISER
By David & Mindy Bolduc
LITTLE CRUISER
is our 15 foot lug rigged sharpie designed and built by our friend,
Matt Layden. She is 4-1/2 feet wide and draws a mere 9 inches with
the centerboard up. There is no cockpit as this would take up
precious space on such a small boat. Instead, you stay below out of
the spray and the wind, steering and handling all the lines from
within. She is water ballasted, and her tanks can be automatically
filled whenever it rains. This is accomplished by the toe rails,
which channel water into holes in the deck that lead to the tanks
below. Our little boat even has a galley and plenty of stowage under
the floor boards for everything that is needed to go cruising.
Heavily built of exterior grade plywood, Little Cruiser can stand up
to the rigors of cruising, and she has proven to be the perfect boat
for us.
In January of 1993 "Little Cruiser" was
trailered from our home in North Carolina to Cedar Key, Florida,
where we joined up with fellow sailor and friend, Matt Layden. Matt
had just completed a year-long cruise in his modified Balboa 20,
which drew only 10 inches. During the next two weeks we enjoyed
cruising together in the shallow waters on the West coast of Florida,
and daily groundings were a common occurence. However, whenever we
got stuck a simple push was all that was needed to get us moving
again. One of the things that impressed Mindy and I the most about
this area was the abundant bird life. We had to borrow Matt's bird
guide to keep up with all the new species we saw daily. Of all the
birds seen, we thought the most unusual was the Anghinga, a close
cousin to the cormorant. This bird has an elongated snake-like neck,
and catches fish by spearing them on it's long sharp beak. Sometimes
we would see them on the riverbanks with fish skewered like a
sishkabobs.
Our daily explorations carried us up creeks and
rivers. One day we decided to sail 15 miles up the Swannee River to
visit Manatee Springs. We had been told by the locals that in the
winter time the manatees hung out there in the warm waters. Since we
had never seen a manatee before, we thought this would be a good
opportunity to see some of them. However, when we reached the pools
there were no manatees to be found, so we headed back down river to
poke our bows once more into some creeks. After spending the night in
one particularly narrow creek, we awoke the next morning to the
splashing of a large alligator who had slept nearby. We decided then
and there that there would be no swimming for us. All too soon,
though, it was time to move on, so we said our goodbyes to Matt, and
we trailered "Little Cruiser" to Everglade City to explore
the 10,000 Islands National Park.
This large park, which had
just recently been reopened after Hurricane Andrew's disasterous
visit, proved to be another ideal cruising ground for our
shallow-draft cruiser. We quickly found out that the 10,000 Islands
really should have been called the 10,000 Mangroves. We explored many
of these tortuous shallow water passages that led way back into the
Everglades, and got lost too many times to remember. Believe us when
we tell you that it's hard to tell one mangrove creek from another
since they all look the same unless you're an experienced guide. Even
though we did not see any more alligators in the park, we kept to our
ritual of not going into the water until we got to the Bahamas. Often
times, while anchored out in the mangroves, we were left high and dry
in the mud when the tide fell, and we were amazed at how many
creatures emerged from that muddy ooze. There were plenty of pinching
crabs, armies of jumping shrimps and legions of squirting clams. Of
course the bird life was just as impressive as in Cedar Key, and we
added the Great White Pelican to our list of new birds seen. Though
the Everglades had proven quite interesting, we were now anxious to
go to the Bahamas. However, before leaving we went to visit a little
boat that Matt had told us was lying on a dock in Everglade City.
Nicknamed the "Bathtub," this 8 foot sailboat had crossed
the stormy Atlantic in 1962. The boat was very small and bare, and it
made "Little Cruiser" look like a luxury yacht by
comparison. If you are willing to suffer you can cross the ocean in
just about anything.
The most challenging part of the trip,
the crossing of the Gulf Stream, was next to come, and we drove to
Miami to stay with some friends and prepare for our trip. We had read
so many horror stories about this treacherous span of ocean that we
were a bit intimidated considering the size of our boat; therefore,
to boost our morale we visited fellow sailor Hugo Vihlen, known for
his crossing of the Atlantic in a six foot sailboat called "April
Fool" in 1968. Living in nearby Homestead, Hugo invited us over
to his house after talking to him briefly on the phone for the first
time. When we got to his home we got to see not only "April
Fool", but also his latest creation, "Father's Day", a
5 foot 4 inch sailboat. This really tiny cruiser was very
sophisticated,nonetheless, in design, and it reminded us of a space
capsule. Onboard there was a GPS, a watermaker, a VHF radio and even
a SSB/Ham radio. We were really amazed at how much stuff could fit
aboard such a small boat. He told us that the following summer he
would attempt to cross the Atlantic for a new World Record. That
summer (1993) he succeeded in sailing from NewFoundland, Canada to
England). After telling us about his boats, Hugo encouraged us with
our own adventure, and he gave us sound advice on the crossing.
The
next day we launched Little Cruiser in Miami, and we sailed over to
Key Biscayne in preparation to leave from Cape Florida. On the way
down the Intracoastal Waterway towards our departure point, we were
passed by a large catamaran whose skipper hollered in jest, "When
you get a real boat, get a cat!" We enjoyed passing him at the
first low bridge. We lowered our mast, ducked under the bridge, and
waved good bye. No hour-long wait for us! There are advantages to
being small!
A day later, we left Key Biscayne in light airs,
which was a nice change from the strong Northerly winds that had been
blowing at thirty-five knots for the last few days. It wasn't long,
however, before we were met by large Atlantic swells which had been
kicked up by the storm. Though not particularly steep, the waves
appeared to be as tall as our mast, and we were swallowed up in the
troughs and completely blanketed from the wind. Therefore, we sheeted
our sails in tight, and we motor sailed the next 14 hours to reach
the Bahamas. Our landfall was Cat Cay, but we couldn't see much since
it was already nighttime. In addition, there were few lights onshore
as much of the island had been damaged by the full brunt of Hurricane
Andrew. Not wanting to risk hitting any reefs, we anchored near the
shore and rolled uneasily until daylight.
Nothing can prepare
one for the Bahamas after the bleakness of the open ocean. From the
dark magenta water of the Gulf Stream, you are welcomed to paradise
by the crystal clear turquoise waters and the fine white sandy
beaches of the Bahamas. Clearing customs was not a problem since
there was a customs officer at Cat Cay. It even proved to be a bit
comical since the portly officer that came to clear us was afraid to
inspect such a small boat. We insisted that he come onboard, but he
refused, fearing that his ample weight might tip over our diminuative
craft. So, in no time, we received our clearance papers, and we
headed off towards Bimini, our first major town in the Bahamas.
The
rest of our trip proved to be one happy adventure after the next. We
made friends wherever we went, and the weather and the winds
determined our route. The only problem we discovered was with docking
since we often times we were too small to tie up to the tall rough
pilings at the marinas. Instead we would raft up to a large yacht
that was already there; and for this, we were often refered to in
jest as that yacht's dinghy. To make matters worse, at night our
sleep was sometimes disturbed as strangers would stop by the dock and
debate loudly with each other as to whether Little Cruiser had been
sailed over from the United States or had been simply towed by
another yacht. Sometimes, we would surprise these would-be admirers
by popping our heads out of the hatch and by telling them of our
adventure.
Some of our favorite cruising
grounds in the Bahamas were the shallow less traveled areas. We
explored the mangrove creeks on the west side of Bimini known as
Bonefish Hole, where we saw giant sting rays and the occasional
shark. Another of our favorite hotspots was in the Berry Islands
where we found the most beautiful deserted beaches to picnic on. Many
new friends were made while cruising this area, and one of our
favorites was the McGregor family. They were traveling on a fantastic
37 foot proa called "Cimba," built by Lew McGregor and his
friend the designer, Russell Brown. Though spartan in comparison to
the typical forty footer, this polynesian craft was extravagant next
to our own. Over the course of the next three or four days we spent
much time together swimming, fishing and sharing meals. Combining our
food made for more variety and several interesting recipes.
Throughout our trip, we discovered that we had much in common with
most of the cruisers who had given up the hectic life ashore to enjoy
life one day at a time. It was this kind of camaraderie and the
unexpected adventures that made our trip especially worth while and
unforgettable.
Though most of the cruising was a lot of fun,
one of the scarier times we had was on a 75 nautical mile passage
between Chub Key in the Berry Islands and Bimini. Accurate weather
forecasts are harder to come by in the Bahamas, and we made a mistake
in interpreting the weather for that day's crossing. We started out
in 15 to 20 knots of wind that over the next few hours grew to at
least 40 knots. Apparently a cold front was passing over the area. In
the darkness, the boat did hull speed down wind (5 knots), and this
was with our last reef tied in! There were breaking seas and the boat
was surfing regularly. To make matter worse, the skipper became so
seasick that he couldn't steer, so his mate (and brave wife) had to
take over. Fortunately "Little Cruiser" handled the
conditions well, and it wasn't too long before we were nestled in
Bone Fish Hole once more in a foot of tranquile water. The trip had
taken 17 long hours.
In retrospect, cruising in our micro
cruiser allowed us to see many places that larger boats could not
even reach, and being a little different opened up so many doors. Two
months of cruising taught us to look forward to each new day, and the
new and unplanned events added to the excitement and fulfillment of
the trip. All in all, we found that the most important thing about
cruising was having fun doing it.