Does this ever happen to anyone else? A few weeks ago, my wife and I were going to do a long planned sailing trip from CT to Boston and back. This was a going to be a major achievement because while she's a great day sailor, she generally considers an overnight on the boat to be like a bad version of camping. In the end, she didn't sail a single mile with me. Instead, she was the best shore side support team that I could ever ask for!
Day 1: Plan was to sail with a buddy to Block Island and stay overnight. He would leave Block on the ferry the next morning and I would sail solo to Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard where I would meet my wife, who would then join me on the boat for the rest of the trip. Buddy backs out at last minute (for a good reason, a broken foot). I decide to skip Block and go direct to MV.
Day 2: I sailed from CT to Martha's Vineyard myself (0300 departure to catch the tide at the Race) while my wife took the ferry to MV from RI as planned later in the day. She ended up getting there way before me, so she took a last minute room at a B&B to have a base of operations while I was still out in Vineyard Sound getting bounced around. I pick up a mooring at 9PM, go ashore and we grab a quick dinner. We stay overnight at the B&B.
Day 3: We do the typical sightseeing / beach-combing stuff - after the beach, we decide to keep the B&B room for another night. I have to admit that I was all for that decision! Another nice dinner and back to the inn. She hasn't set foot on the boat yet.
Day 4: Weather forecast was ugly (and accurate) for this day. She decided that bashing to windward from Edgartown to Mattapoisett (our next stop) didn't sound like fun, so she took the ferry back to RI, picked up her car and drove to Mattapoisett while I sailed there. I had a good time, but she definitely wouldn't have liked it. We stay overnight shore side with family in Mattapoisett.
Day 5: Weather is still not great. We're supposed to leave early to catch the current through the canal and sail to Provincetown, but as the wine bottles were drained the prior night, our sailing trip turned into a car trip out to Provincetown. We made another last minute reservation ($$$ - yikes!) at a B&B for that night. We drove there in the pouring rain and enjoyed the sights despite the weather. We both agreed that we would have been soaked if we had sailed there. Another nice night in a B&B rather than the boat.
Day 6: The plan was to sail / motor from Mattapoisett to Boston. It was a beautiful day, but there wasn't much wind. We drove back to Mattapoisett from Provincetown that morning. On the way she convinces me that it would be a pain in the neck to retrieve our car from Mattapoisett if we leave it behind there. She's right about that. She'll drive to Boston and that way, she'll be able to spend more time with our (adult) kids and their significant others, who all live in the Boston area. When I get to Boston (the next day), we'll have a nice BBQ with the whole family at the marina. I had to admit to myself that it was nice having access to the car during the past day so I could make a side trips to a grocery store, laundry and West Marine. She waves goodbye to me as I once again set out solo for Boston around noon. She still hasn't been on the boat.
Day 7: There was a lot of motoring to get to Boston. I arrive at the marina (Constitution Marina in Charlestown) in the wee hours of the morning and grab some sleep. In the afternoon, I took a few family members out to one of the harbor islands, but my wife didn't come along - she had to go shopping to get ready for the BBQ. We had a nice time with everyone at dinner, but now we have to solve the logistics problem of the car again! If she accompanies me on the return trip from Boston, we'll have to return to Boston to pick up the car somehow. Solution - she will drive home in 2 1/2 hours rather than spend 2 1/2 days on the boat. By now, I'm beginning to see a pattern. She leaves that night and I'm solo again.
Day 8, 9, 10: On day 8, I did a little sightseeing in Boston (there are 294 painful steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument!). I left the next morning for home, stopping overnight in Mattapoisett and arriving back in Old Saybrook the next evening. My wife greeted me on the dock with a big smile and said it was the best sailing trip that she had ever been on! I guess I'm really a fair weather sailor because I liked it too!
Day 1: Plan was to sail with a buddy to Block Island and stay overnight. He would leave Block on the ferry the next morning and I would sail solo to Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard where I would meet my wife, who would then join me on the boat for the rest of the trip. Buddy backs out at last minute (for a good reason, a broken foot). I decide to skip Block and go direct to MV.
Day 2: I sailed from CT to Martha's Vineyard myself (0300 departure to catch the tide at the Race) while my wife took the ferry to MV from RI as planned later in the day. She ended up getting there way before me, so she took a last minute room at a B&B to have a base of operations while I was still out in Vineyard Sound getting bounced around. I pick up a mooring at 9PM, go ashore and we grab a quick dinner. We stay overnight at the B&B.
Day 3: We do the typical sightseeing / beach-combing stuff - after the beach, we decide to keep the B&B room for another night. I have to admit that I was all for that decision! Another nice dinner and back to the inn. She hasn't set foot on the boat yet.
Day 4: Weather forecast was ugly (and accurate) for this day. She decided that bashing to windward from Edgartown to Mattapoisett (our next stop) didn't sound like fun, so she took the ferry back to RI, picked up her car and drove to Mattapoisett while I sailed there. I had a good time, but she definitely wouldn't have liked it. We stay overnight shore side with family in Mattapoisett.
Day 5: Weather is still not great. We're supposed to leave early to catch the current through the canal and sail to Provincetown, but as the wine bottles were drained the prior night, our sailing trip turned into a car trip out to Provincetown. We made another last minute reservation ($$$ - yikes!) at a B&B for that night. We drove there in the pouring rain and enjoyed the sights despite the weather. We both agreed that we would have been soaked if we had sailed there. Another nice night in a B&B rather than the boat.
Day 6: The plan was to sail / motor from Mattapoisett to Boston. It was a beautiful day, but there wasn't much wind. We drove back to Mattapoisett from Provincetown that morning. On the way she convinces me that it would be a pain in the neck to retrieve our car from Mattapoisett if we leave it behind there. She's right about that. She'll drive to Boston and that way, she'll be able to spend more time with our (adult) kids and their significant others, who all live in the Boston area. When I get to Boston (the next day), we'll have a nice BBQ with the whole family at the marina. I had to admit to myself that it was nice having access to the car during the past day so I could make a side trips to a grocery store, laundry and West Marine. She waves goodbye to me as I once again set out solo for Boston around noon. She still hasn't been on the boat.
Day 7: There was a lot of motoring to get to Boston. I arrive at the marina (Constitution Marina in Charlestown) in the wee hours of the morning and grab some sleep. In the afternoon, I took a few family members out to one of the harbor islands, but my wife didn't come along - she had to go shopping to get ready for the BBQ. We had a nice time with everyone at dinner, but now we have to solve the logistics problem of the car again! If she accompanies me on the return trip from Boston, we'll have to return to Boston to pick up the car somehow. Solution - she will drive home in 2 1/2 hours rather than spend 2 1/2 days on the boat. By now, I'm beginning to see a pattern. She leaves that night and I'm solo again.
Day 8, 9, 10: On day 8, I did a little sightseeing in Boston (there are 294 painful steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument!). I left the next morning for home, stopping overnight in Mattapoisett and arriving back in Old Saybrook the next evening. My wife greeted me on the dock with a big smile and said it was the best sailing trip that she had ever been on! I guess I'm really a fair weather sailor because I liked it too!