My travels are increasingly being defined by abrupt left turns - you´ll forgive me if I even go so far as to call this one a jibe - but that suits me just fine. It feels good to be on a boat again, especially a boat such as this. Indeed, having spent so much of my time of late in water, it is nice for once simply to be on it. The boat, Astor, is itself incredible. 86ft (26m) long, but only 13 across (4m), she is a woodened-hulled schooner from 1923 that just cuts through the water. She was designed for racing and, according to Richard and Lani, even though her displacement is 63 tons she can go over 30 knots - and when she does, watch out: it can take her up to two miles to come to a full stop. It is, needless to say, the biggest boat I´ve ever sailed on and damned intimidating. Fortunately for me, her owners, the aforementioned Richard and Lani, are anything but. California retirees in their 60s who have been slowly sailing Astor around select parts of the world for the last eight years - they are warm, friendly and inviting. They, like the boat itself, are better than I could have ever hoped for.
As if all of this were not enough, however, get this: the first night´s menu was the absolute freshest lobster you have ever seen.
I could get used to this!
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