The Big Out There Preparing for Long Range Cruising by Cindy Wallach
T
here are as many ways to sail away as there are boats to sail on. Racers circle buoys, weekenders tuck into gunkholes up and down the Bay, snowbirds trek back and forth along the Eastern Seaboard following the sun, and long-term cruisers point away from here to the big out there ready for anything. The Leonard family is readying for a sailing sabbatical that will have them exploring over the next year. Tracy Leonard is familiar to SpinSheet readers as she is a regular contributor (see page 45). She cast off from Annapolis in July along with her husband Greg and their two children Hannes and Anna. They plan on taking their Stevens 47 Hurrah up north to Maine for the summer and then making their way south along the East Coast to the Bahamas for the winter before returning home to the Chesapeake again next year.
The Leonards have already finished months of downsizing in their suburban Maryland home. “We lean more toward pack rat I guess,” admits Tracy with a grin. “We’ve been in the house more than 10 years, and it’s hard to part with things, especially baby clothes and things with memories like that.” They managed to move most of their belongings either onto the boat or stuffed into one room of the house for storage. A friend will be house sitting while they are off sailing for the year, and then they will have the house to come home to at the end of their travels. Greg and Tracy say they like being in the Chesapeake while planning their cruise because around here nobody thinks they’re crazy when they share their plans. “We want to sail south until we don’t need shoes,” says Greg. “People
##The Leonard family on Hurrah.
dive. As an injured marine corps vet himself, Cameron understands the therapeutic power of the ocean. His military training is coming in handy in preparing to cast off as well.
We want to sail south until we don’t need shoes… People around here understand that. Greg has done lots of racing in his day, including offshore races, and says preparing to cruise has been similar to preparing for a long race. “We have a big list full of lists,” says Greg.
##Cameron Albin’s military training serves him well as he meticulously plans his trip.
50 August 2013 SpinSheet
around here understand that. Folks here have either done it themselves, or are planning to, or know someone else who’s been cruising. It’s been all positive when we talk about our plans,” Tracy adds. Cameron Albin is another who is taking in the local knowledge from others who have been in his shoes. “You can take the advice or leave it, but there are a lot of people here who have lots of cruising knowledge to draw from,” says Cameron. “I came from southern California where you’re either out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or in a little bay. Here on the Chesapeake, I am able to practice rules of the road, anchoring, and sailing in fickle winds.” Cameron is getting ready for longterm cruising throughout the Caribbean and beyond. There is no house to keep his stuff in or return to if things go badly, no car to hop in upon returning back to town; in fact, he may not even return this way at all. He wants to travel the Caribbean with his dog Daisy and also help the Deptherapy Foundation which teaches injured war vets how to SCUBA
“Planning is my thing. Planning my routes, picking out places to anchor and repair if necessary, planning for redundancy onboard the boat; that’s my training,” says Cameron. Right now he is recovering from rotator cuff surgery in his left shoulder, so boat prep is limited to smaller jobs he can check off his lists while keeping his arm in a sling. “Things like the joker valve on the head, trouble-shooting the shower pump, and also studying charts and requirements for clearing my dog in and out of various Caribbean ports.” He’s also planning his medical kit and making a list of radio nets for the various places he hopes to cruise. Cameron may pick up crew along the way, but he’s mostly singlehanding, so his top priority is making sure he and his Hunter 376 are a strong team. For sailors seeking long term lifestyle changes or extended vacations, there is no shortage of dreaming and planning happening each summer and fall. The most important step is just having the courage to untie the docklines and go. spinsheet.com