Sleep-overs on my O'Day 222, Trinkka
I sleep over on Trinkka,my O'Day 222 about every Tuesday and Wednesday of each week with my First Mate Penelope Pitbull. We prefer anchoring in a favorite cove out on the bay, or the River where we do most of our boating. The boat is small, but I find that it's very comfortable for a man and his dog. All our meals are cooked on an alcohol stove with a round stovetop grill, or in my 1950s stove-top Stanley Oven-ette, that I picked up in a yard sale. If you don't have an oven, this is the next best thing to it. It really surprises me that marine manufacturers haven't revived this neat little oven, and put it in their catalogs. I think that they would sell. It's not uncommon for me to bake a freshly caught Blue fish with fries, or corn muffins in the morning. I usually lay a poly tarp over the boom, and tie it off to the life lines, as well as the mast and end of boom. This makes the whole inside of the cabin cooler. All showers are taken inside the cockpit, with the bag hanging on the boom. We tow a 9 foot kayak with us everywhere we go, and Penny loves to ride in it to shore for beach combing, and investigating every nook and cranny. My wife and I trailer-sailed for 8 years, and sailed to Martha's Vineyard and Cuttyhunk and the Elizabeth Islands. I've also sailed her to Block Island. In all the years that we sailed, we never bought a mooring. We always anchored and sometimes we set out two anchors, Bahama moored. Some of my fellow yacht club members worry about being on a hook, but I just tell them that the more you anchor, the more you gain confidence in your ability to anchor securly, and get a good night's sleep.
However, we're looking forward to our next open weekend to do it all over again. -Cheers