[C320-list] Commitment #867

[Chris Burti]

Thanks for the kind words Allan. This has been one of the most collegial forums I’ve had the privilege of participating in. 

Best Regards,
Chris Burti


> On Dec 2, 2021, at 11:00 AM, Allan Field <allanfield47 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Chris - Congrats on the sale of *Commitment*. And many thanks for
> sharing your story with us. Linda and I also are realizing that we will
> eventually be aging-out (I'll be 74 next week) of sailing and wonder what's
> next. But most of all, I want to acknowledge your commitment (no pun
> intended!) to the Association for so many years. It was a pleasure to serve
> on the Association Board with you, to always value your wisdom and input,
> and to know that what you put back in was so appreciated and always
> spot-on. Best wishes always in your sailing retirement and may "what's
> next" always "float your boat!"
> 
> Allan S. Field
> Sea Shadow - C387, #103 (formerly C320, #808)
> Columbia, MD
> 
> 
>> On Thu, Dec 2, 2021 at 9:39 AM Chris Burti <clburti at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Commitment has a new Owner, Richard Sloop. Hopefully, he will join the
>> Association. I'll continue to stay on the forum for a while as we shop for
>> a trawler.
>> 
>> For those wondering why...We loved Commitment, but last June we were
>> crossing the Pamlico Sound with a forecast of SW winds at 16 -17 kn, which
>> should have been a perfect reach to Ocracoke. Unsurprisingly, NOAA got it
>> wrong. What was surprising was how wrong.
>> 
>> By the midway point, the winds had increased to the 20-25 kn range and by
>> the time we reached the entrance channel into Ocracoke, they were steadily
>> in the thirties with gusts into the mid forties..Needless to say, it was a
>> fast and rough crossing. Preparing to go into Big Foot channel, it took all
>> my strength in the big Lewmar's low speed to winch in the genoa (something
>> I rarely do)  and we had to crab all the way up the channel to avoid being
>> blown out of it into the shoals (another sailboat coming in 9 Foot channel
>> was blown out of the channel and had to be pulled off by the USCG).
>> 
>> Our C-320's are great sailing boats and with the sails properly trimmed,
>> they can handle far more than we can. As we were heading in crab style
>> under WOT, I was thinking to myself: "This is the time a lot of less
>> experienced sailors decide it is time to sell the boat". Sure enough, as
>> soon as we were tied up at the dock and things were settling down, the
>> Admiral shocked me by saying it was time to think about it. Well, the rest
>> of the trip was great, good weather and good sailing, but the seed had been
>> planted.
>> 
>> We are in our seventies, the Admiral is petite and I came to the
>> inescapable conclusion that if i were incapacited in those conditions, she
>> could not have gotten the sails in and in those winds, the engine would
>> have been inadequate to overcome the sails, so rescue was improbable.
>> 
>> I'm not ready to limit my sailing to light wind days, a little daysailer is
>> fine for that, and I ascribe to the wisdom of Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry
>> where he observes that "A man has gotta know his limitations." The Admiral
>> is capable at the helm and can get a powerboat to safety, we are not ready
>> to give up being on the water, so ...stinkpots. here we come.
>> 
>> We've made a lot of friends, virtual and in person from this group over the
>> years and wish everyone fair winds and following seas...
>> 
>> Fair winds
>> Chris Burti
>> Farmville, NC
>>