| “Cruising
Light” by Janet Doyle Five days and four nights on the Eastern
Yacht Club Cruise in the e33?! You’ve got to be kidding! Why was my husband
trying to turn his daysailer into a cruising boat? We didn’t have running
water. We didn’t have cooking facilities. All we had was a cooler and a head! We
made the 12 hour passage from Marblehead to Portland, ME on a beautiful Saturday
in July, taking turns steering and navigating, napping on the aft cushions, listening
to Sirius radio, and reading. Using power and sail, we moved along at between
7.5 and 8.8. I did a lot of steering and loved the way the e33 just sliced through
the water. We had a lovely lunch and arrived in Portland in time for dinner at
the Portland Yacht Club. After dinner, we listened to the Red Sox game on the
radio, snugly tucked away in our spacious and comfortable bunks. After
a breakfast of cereal and fresh fruit the next morning, we were off to our first
race! With me at the helm and Robbie doing everything else, we finished first
in our first race (no spinnakers). Upon reaching the finish line, however, the
storm clouds burst open and we found ourselves following the race committee boat
like ducks into our anchorage. After a quick chamois of the cushions that were
still on deck, we put up the cockpit awning, poured ourselves some wine to go
along with the Sunday New York Times that we had bought ealier at Handy Boat,
and looked around. We were the only people sitting outside enjoying the rain in
a dry cockpit! This pattern continued for the next few days. We had lots
of picnics. There was plenty of storage room down below. The main cabin was totally
dry. Because our boat is not equipped with a stove, the cruise was very relaxing
for me. All of the work had been done before we left home. It was actually fun
to plan meals and snacks that didn’t require any time slaving over a hot
stove down below. Robbie wanted to have a grill on the stern and perhaps
the next time we will have one! We didn’t even miss running water. Robbie
went for a swim one morning and then “showered” on the aft end of the
cockpit with a gallon jug of water! We were the smallest boat on the cruise with
the largest, most comfortable cockpit, so one night when we were at the dock,
we had a cocktail party and invited everyone. At one point we had 16 people sitting
in the cockpit! We made the trip back to Marblehead in varying degrees of
rain but it really wasn’t all that bad. I have to admit that the e33 makes
a nice, uncomplicated short- term cruising boat for a husband and wife and the
next time Robbie asks me, I will gladly go “cruising light."
"Wednesday
night PHRF racing in Marblehead" by Robbie Doyle Sailed last
night in 19 to 21 knots of TWS and large seas. The e33 sailed beautifully and
had more than ample stability with four people. We were very fast! We had a 1.5
mile weather leg and arrived at the weather mark first sailing against a Frers
36, J34, J100, and a Sabre Spirit. I'm not sure we were any faster than these
larger boats upwind but we gained greatly on each tack and went through the seas
better. It was fun to tack among the boats that were simultaneously trying to
trim overlapping genoas and moving 10 people from side to side in those conditions! We
were faster reaching and when we went downwind, the jib trimmed to the outboard
leads which easily wings itself out without a pole or anyone tending it. The boat
cruised along between 9 and 10 knots in these conditions! The race was eventually
abandoned when a class C boat rammed the committee boat so hard that the RC boat
had to go in!
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