Sea Savvy

A Maiden Voyage In The Twilight Zone.

- Tom Neale

You may not believe the following, but it’s what happened as well as I can remember. It’s like a venture into The Twilight Zone from the annals of boating.

A guy buys a boat, sight unseen. He’s in California; the boat is in Florida. (I’ve omitted and skewed names and places out of kindness, I suppose.) The dream boat is around 30 feet long. It’s one of those brands that people talk about. They say it’s so flimsy it’ll sink if it hits a jellyfish. But the guy sees it as his key to island living and high-seas adventure. Which he gets. Somewhat.

He flies over to the East Coast, where his dream awaits, tugging at her mooring, or so the saying goes. She is tugging at those moorings, probably, because her previous owner didn’t have enough money to dock her.

The guy goes to the local ship’s chandlery. You know, the one that sells everything nautical for cheaper and has plenty of experts to tell you what you need. He befriends one of those experts and fits out the boat to “go cruising.” After paying the bills and having a few beers with his new friends, with whom he shares a few stories about his great experience and the exploits to come, he “sets sail.” Without insurance. Saving money. Again.