Just imagine you are
lounging in a comfortable bed while trillions of stars twinkle in the night sky
above. You are, in fact, sailing Paradox as she glides over a glassy sea. She's
being propelled by an almost imperceptible zephyr. You sip a coffee and replace
your mug on its purpose-built gimballed tray. From within the cocoon of your
immensely strong, compact ply and glass boat, you scan the horizon through 360
degrees - an easy task that can be done without moving from your bed, since you
can conveniently see all around through the toughened Perspex cabin windows.
There's no sign of life, apart from the triple loom of the lighthouse which you
observed half-an-hour before, the one that matches the waypoint programmed into
your GPS. This marvellous navigational aid is conveniently set at eye level,
being attached to the window on the port side by its vacuum sucker, and, like
the echo sounder, the light for the grid compass and the Ipaq PDA, it is
powered from the mains battery, which, during daylight is charged by an
efficient solar panel. A chart is spread on the transverse table above your
lap, and routinely every hour you mark your position as determined by the GPS.
The red LED lamp that's plugged into a cigar lighter, illuminates the chart.
There's only another 12 miles to go, but at 2 knots you'll not arrive before
daybreak. Comforted by this fact, you relax and enjoy the only audible sound, a
satisfying musical gurgling from the stem as it cleaves the water, while astern
there's a magical phosphorescent wake resembling millions of sparks showering
from a Guy Fawkes rocket. Paradox holds her course for many minutes at a time;
only now and then does your hand rest on the steering line to make the
slightest tweak to realign the luminous North pointing arrow of the compass so
that it is central to the grid.
As you look around your
boat that you so carefully built according to the wonderfully detailed drawings
of Matt Layden, you realize your deep contentment cannot be measured; no other
yacht, no matter how expensive, luxurious or prestigious could bring such joy.
When the going gets tough her overhead hatch can be pulled to, and being
watertight, the interior is kept snug and warm, while fresh air enters the cabin
through an ingenious ventilation system, i.e., a 'vent box', that also supports
the mast. Should your miniature, but rugged coastal cruiser get caught in the
ultimate storm, she most probably would survive because of her strength. Even
if she were to turn turtle (a most unlikely event, because of her well above
average ballast ratio), she would definitely right herself. Her arched deck and
the buoyancy of her cabin top would make her unstable in the inverted position.
What if somehow she became flooded? Her fixed buoyancy in the form of foam
insulation should keep her from sinking. Perhaps the feature you love most
about your treasured possession is the ease with which her sail can be hoisted,
lowered or reefed from within the cabin. There's no need to venture on deck,
even in the roughest conditions, which means you can avoid exposure and the
dangers of being outside the boat. For these reasons you admire the ingenious,
but simple system Matt devised that allows the single lug sail to be furled
around the boom. This procedure is hardly more difficult than rolling a window
blind around its roller, except you need to use two hands and have a little
practice at synchronizing the movement of the halyard and the furling line.
When there's no wind, out comes your yuloh that is stowed on the starboard side
deck, and the sail, yard and boom are lowered, before being secured on the port
side deck where they are retained by a metal loop.
While you remind
yourself of the fine characteristics of Paradox, you note that a swell has
started to make itself felt from the south west, and the masthead light is
gyrating accordingly. The wind suddenly freshens and there's a pitter-pattering
as waves slap the side of the hull. Your little ship begins to heel and her
inclinometer shows 6 degrees. You adjust the sail and secure the sheet in the
jam cleat while you make a mental calculation of your new ETA. You are thankful
that Paradox is now sailing at her average cruising speed of 3 knots, which
should mean you'll be able to find shelter by entering the creek at sunrise,
where you'll beach her on the sand just after high water. Her flat bottom and
chine runners will enable her to creep right up to the water's edge, where
she'll find the best lee behind the cliff from the freshening wind as it backs
to the south east. You'll drop your small Fisherman anchor astern as you
approach the beach and when the stem nudges the sand shortly after high water
you'll lay out your 7 kilo Danforth from the bow mooring cleats. That'll be the
conclusion of another fine sail at night, and you'll wonder why so few
yachtsmen take advantage of the generally more stable winds to be found during
the hours of darkness.
When the water ebbs,
leaving the boat high and dry on the gently sloping sand, there's a welcome
lack of movement; the sound of wavelets against the hull can be heard no more,
but there's just the faintest rustling of trees above the cliff, and through
the open hatchway you hear the soothing, rhythmical sigh of breakers as they
discharge their energy on the distant dunes. You bring out the eggs and bacon
from their plastic boxes in the food storage locker below the cabin floor and
you light the stove. Three thick rashers of bacon are first placed in the
frying pan, and when they are partially cooked, two large eggs are broken into
the pan to accompany them. As the smoke flavoured bacon sizzles, the fried eggs
assume their familiar, irregular form - a mixture of white and yellow. You
heartily gobble down your choice cereal, lubricated with fresh milk. Your
kettle is partially filled in readiness for a cup of tea and for washing up
after breakfast. To your mind there's nothing more pleasurable you could
possibly be doing. After a morning nap, you will spend the rest of the day
exploring the area, even if it means wearing waterproofs, which you never wear
when at sea, because your are protected from the elements by your cleverly
designed boat. Matt even thought about how to make it an easy task to get in or
out of the boat when she's beached by providing a permanent step attached to
the rudder stock. This step would be useful for boarding the boat after
enjoying a swim at some idyllic anchorage. The kick-up rudder can be fully
raised in the vertical position and it is unusually large, because to a degree
it acts as a keel by preventing leeway in conjunction with the boat's unique,
but efficient chine runners.
As you ponder these
attributes you also wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring, and you further
conjecture what you may be doing next weekend. Perhaps you'll take the boat on
her trailer to one of the East Coast Rivers and you may invite your grandson to
share the experience? After all, although your boat is small, there's enough
room for both of you, even over night. You know you can afford the costs of
taking the boat by road, because you are not lumbered with paying for a mooring
or hard-standing during the winter, neither do you have to fork out for having
the mast lifted by a crane when laying the boat up; indeed you can easily do
any maintenance with little expenditure, since your micro boat is so
undemanding.
You clap your hands with
glee, because you know you are the most fortunate of sailors. Your characterful
little ship has so many excellent features, and you don't pay any visitor's
fees at most marinas, if you can bear to visit them! You simply tie up to the
dinghy pontoon. You can't believe your good fortune and credit yourself with
great wisdom. You're the happiest of mariners.
Bill. 24.10.06
Note: This listing has expired.
‘Minnow’, my UK Paradox is for Sale
at Ebay.co.uk
The Ebay item number is: 161437876632.
I can be contacted by phone at 07588288060 or by email at barnacleid at
yahoo dot co dot uk.
Here are a few related Links:
Open to Offers for ‘Minnow’, My Paradox
Sailboat
Open to Offers for ‘Minnow’, My Paradox Sailboat – Part 2
Open to Offers for ‘Minnow’, My Paradox Sailboat – Part 3
‘Minnow’ Advertised for Sale on Ebay
‘Minnow’ Advertised for Sale on Ebay - Inventory
