SIGHTINGS the cruising life is their reward
winter boat shows Is there a new boat in your New Year? Or maybe a new-to-you boat? If you already have a boat, you doubtless need gear for your vessel, yourself and your crew. Maybe you just want some toys to enhance your time on the water. Or perhaps you're seeking to improve your nautical knowledge base. If any of the above rings true, you're in luck, as January is boat-show season, all up and down the West Coast. A boat-show pilgrimage of sorts is entirely possible. Looking at the offerings chronologically, the itinerary skips around a bit geographically. It starts in Oregon, Jan-
GREG O'TOOLE
After spending four years, countless hours of labor and buckets full of money on their dream boat, Dogfish, Marga Pretorius, 29, and Greg O'Toole, 37, have some words of advice for other wide-eyed, would-be cruisers: "Do not buy a project boat! If you can't afford your dream boat, equipped with all the gear you want on it, then downsize to whatever you can afford." Fortunately, they both had the skills, stamina and can-do spirit to see the refit of their 1977 Peterson 44 through to completion, and last month they headed out the Golden Gate in pursuit of new adventures far from the mainstream. "Our plan is to have no plan," says Greg, alluding to the potential for spontaneity that is a much-
covetted attraction of cruising. However we did manage to squeeze out of him that a two-year Pacific loop has been discussed, from Mexico west through the South Pacific Islands to New Zealand, then back home again — possibly via Alaska. But both Greg and Marga have been around the sailing scene long enough to know that most cruising plans aren't worth the paper they're written on. Although neither of them come from sailing families, they have both always been comfortable around the water, and both claim to have been smitten by fantasies of ocean voyaging long before they were proficient sailors. During her college years, Marga got a job at Berkeley's OCSC, and eventually started taking lessons there. With that foundation, she got on the crew of the schooner Seaward, and later segued into working as a freelance boatwright — skills that were invaluable when it came time to tackle the refit of Dogfish. Today, Greg still marvels at the fact that he lived in the Bay Area for eight years after moving out from Boston — driving across its bridges almost daily — before he actually got out on the water. But once he did, his rock-climbing hobby was relegated to the back burner, as he began crewing with a friend on a J/105 and other boats. "I loved racing," he says, "but cruising was always my dream." How they eventually acquired Dogfish is a long story, but you can imagine what kind of shape she was in when we tell you that the harbormaster where she was berthed told them, "I'll give you three days to get her out of here." (No working engine, no rudder, no insurance ...) Once they finally got out on the open ocean last month, it all felt so good they blew by their first planned stop at Half Moon Bay and sailed nonstop to remote San Miguel Island. After overnighting and a successful stint of spearfishing there, they set sail for Santa Barbara just before dawn, hoisted their asymmetrical chute and "sailed straight into the sunrise." We wish this capable pair the best of luck, and hope they'll keep in touch, wherever their adventures take them. — andy Page 50 •
Latitude 38
• January, 2017
LATITUDE / JOHN
A surprise from Mother Nature on the way to Santa Barbara.
