PAGE 22 • SUMMER 2006 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
Title: The Biggest Boat I Could Afford and chill. There is no head, galley or electricity - cooking
Author: Lee Hughes is done over a single burner primus stove.
US Publisher: Sheridan House 2004
Format: 304 pages, paperback After purchasing his boat, sight unseen, in Ontario,
Canada, and hauling it to Florida in a rented truck, the
author finds himself on a steep learning curve. Though
W
hat happens when a middle-aged Kiwi writer, preferring to learn mostly by trial and error, Hughes
looking for a last clearly could have benefited from some ASA training!
adventure before
settling down, decides to sail If you do plan to cruise the Intra-Coastal Waterway, this
from Florida to Maine in a
book gives a very realistic description of navigation there
16-foot open sloop? Did I
- drawbridge protocol, currents and tide considerations,
mention that he starts off
and a great description of the scenery and towns along
with virtually no sailing
the way. This story is an absolute tribute to the
experience and nearly
generosity and friendliness of the boating people Hughes
penniless? Is he brave or just
meets along his journey. Without that natural bond that
plain crazy? Depending on
appears so often between strangers who share only the
luck, native Kiwi optimism
love of boats between them, Hughes’ trip would have
and the kindness of
been just plain impossible.
strangers, he finds happiness
and calamity in about equal
Roger Philips is an ASA Sailing Instructor and USCG licensed
portions, and eventually
captain. He teaches cruising skills through ASA school Orca
succeeds in transforming his
Yacht Charters in the San Juan Islands aboard his 37’ Jeanneau
fear of the sea into knowing
sloop KittyHawk, and Basic Keelboat courses at Island Sailing in
the joys of sailing. Maybe
Portland.
you, the reader, would like to tag along for the ride.
Overcoming fear is author Lee Hughes’ lifelong motivator.
As a result, he became successively an army paratrooper,
a scuba diver and a bungee jumper. Having lost a brother
to a boating accident, he has an outsized fear of open
water. The only solution is to purchase a boat - a
Wayfarer 16, as it turns out - the “biggest he could
afford” and sail up the eastern US seaboard. Keeping his
friends, relations and anxious girlfriend in New Zealand
abreast of his progress by haunting public libraries along
the way for internet connections, he broadcasts his
“Hughes Nughes” with some regularity.
This semi-autobiographical book is undeniably aimed at
the New Zealand market. Along with plenty of local
geographical and rugby references, you will find a
sprinkling of British vocabulary likely to baffle the average
American reader: can you decipher mozzie, doddle and
chuffed? Doesn’t much matter. This tale is told with
generous doses of humor and modesty, and it’s fun to
read. It celebrates the upside of cruising in a small,
retractable keel vessel. Tired of bouncing around in the
chop far from port? Just run up on the nearest sandy
beach. A sudden gust blows you, a new sailor, out of
control into the dock? No worries, the boat is so light
there is no damage. Can’t afford to pay slip fees? At 16
feet, you can hang out on the dinghy dock all night and
no one will notice. This cruise isn’t for the luxury-minded,
though. Hughes sleeps on the sole of his tiny boat under
a leaky boom tent, open at the ends to mosquitoes, rain
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