EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, we offer Part Seven of a seven-day series on boat-related vacations that leave the steering, cooking and maintenance to somebody else. For more about this series and why we did it, please see the Room 13 blog.
I was approaching the Golden Gate Bridge, heading out of San Francisco Bay and into the ocean when the first gigantic roller approached. The wave had to be 10 feet high and I angled my chartered 39-foot trawler to take it head on. Up, up, up we went—it seemed like forever—and then down, down, down.
I lost some steerage on the backside of the wave, but all was fine and I continued under the bridge, gaining confidence as the ride continued. But I soon realized my predicament: I would have to turn the boat around amid these giants, and then head back to the Bay in a mammoth following sea, which wasn’t exactly my trawler’s forte.
Still, I couldn’t complain too loudly—this was exactly why I came.
Most of us see tropical images when we think about chartering a boat: white sand, clear water, neon fish and sunsets. And that’s all out there, available from dozens of charter companies in hundreds of different locales. Yet chartering a boat can provide much more.
An intrepid captain who is willing to do a little research can use a charter to perform an extended sea trial on a vessel, try new gear, add new skills and literally test the waters someplace he or she has always wanted to cruise. My San Francisco adventure, more rental than charter, was hardly exotic, but it did fulfill several of these goals.
I grew up sailing on the Bay with my father, but I had not been back in many years and I could not recollect ever having been on the water there without him. Because I am 38, married, have two children and a boat of my own, I decided it was time to cross the Gate unsupervised.
I had other goals too. While I am no thrill seeker, I am always looking for opportunities to steer in heavy weather. I also like to stretch my navigation muscles. The chance to practice these skills can be in short supply on weekends, when my wife and I go out with our two young sons. But I knew a day on the Bay would provide.
To add one last benefit to the trip—at a cost of about $750, I had to maximize the experience—I decided I would try to charter a replica of our boat, a Mainship 40 Trawler, in order to see how she performed under heavier conditions than we usually see at home on the Chesapeake Bay.
On all of these fronts, I was not disappointed.
THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT
There are many ways to get on the water for a vacation without pulling your boat from the slip. One simple strategy is to charter or rent someone else's boat, enjoy yourself and then leave the maintenance and upkeep to them.
