- This Week August 29, 1990; ‘Page M23

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Amora ere retnerntce
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Continued from Page 22

purchased half-way through the
voyage. Melissa had no
electronic navigational equip-
ment: a compass and sextant
provided all necessary guidance.

“Electronic equipment has a
tendency to break down, Hap-
good says. “And when you're out

¥ on the ocean, you want to be
reasonably confident of your
gear.”

He wanted to be confident, too,
_that he’d reach the various
@points of his destination: when
@ winds died and Melissa couldn't
sail under her own power, a
diesel engine was turned on.

> “When we were in passage, we
7 were heading from point A to B
and the idea was to get there as
quickly as possible,” Hapgood
says. “A motor might offend the
purists but the longer you’re on
the ocean, the more you're at
risk.”

Avoiding risk is a must for
anyone who decides sailing the
high seas is more appealing
than tromping city streets.
Common sense offers the most
protection, Hapgood says, and
he and his family gave wide
berth to the coastal waters of
areas such as El Salvador,
Columbia, and Grenada. While
on passage, they also posted 24-
hour watches; each adult paired
off with a daughter. During good
weather, a four-hour shift was
split between one couple — on
rough seas, both people stood
watch until the other half of the
we family relieved them four hours

water.

Knowing the capabilities of
each family member is, obvious-
essential for a family living on
= sea. But Hapgood stresses
nat children do not complicate
- a seafaring lifestyle and, in fact,
benefit from it.

“I don’t know if we could have
left it much later,” he admits.
“Julie was 11 when we left and
14 when we returned — I'm not
sure you could say to a 14 year
old ‘well, let's go sail around the
world. Spend some time with
mom and dad.’ But we did it at
the right time, and the kids were
very positive about the whole
thing. They learned a lot, and
they were enthusiastic about

Photo by CHUCK RUSSELL

knowledge. In fact, they were
apprehensive about returning to
aregular school system. . . they
really pushed for us to go onto
Australia instead of back to
Canada.”

Despite the children’s wander-
lust, however, the Hapgoods,
having sailed 26,000 miles from
Whitby, Ontario, to the Carib-
bean, across the North Atlantic,
through France's canal system,
across the Mediterranean, and
up the coasts of Central and
North America, eventually
docked in Victoria, B.C.

‘If people decide that’s what
they want to do, there aren’t

DANGER AND BEAUTY are
both commontothe world of
boating. But whether a sailor
climbs a 103-foot mizzen (as
Mark Neumann did when the
replica ship,Bounty, visited
last week) or a fleet par-
ticipates in the boat festival's

-sailpast, there’s sure to be

graceful charm.

really any rules to follow,’ Hap-
good now says. “We'd always
heard you should take dry food
— but if water goes bad, or your
tank springs a leak, you have a
pile of powder. Much of our food
had heavy liquid: tins of
tomatoes and that sort of thing.
That's what we felt comfortable
with, that’s what we did.”

“You can do all the reading and
theorizing you want to do. But
once you're out there, you find
out what works best for you.”

At the Maritime Museum, Sep-
tember 2, Bill Hapgood gives a
slide presentation of his family's
nautical adventures.

‘DANAE’
PART OF B.C’S MARINE HISTORY—
1930 40 FT. CLASSIC

DESIGNED BY L.S. GEARY AND BUILT
BY VANCOUVER SHIPYARDS.
COMPLETE REFIT AND REPOWER BY 1979.

Double diagonal cedar plank on oak frames. Beautiful-
ly finished in Honduras mahogany. Ford indusirial diesel.
Dickinson stove, CB, VHF, Paper Sounder, radar and
autopilot. Vessel shows extremely well. Featured in
many of the Wesicoast magazines. Meticulous owner.
has maintained this yacht to the highest standards.
(Priced well under surveyed value.) ASKING $89,900.

For Further Information Call Owner’s Agent

TERRY FORSYTH,
656-1166

BETTER BY THE CARLOA

ROUND TRIP includes 8 passengers and driver.

$135"

Never has “the more the merner” meant more.
Or for that matter, less. Take your car or van

to Seattle and pay only $135 for up to 9 -
adults. That’s less than $15 a person.

For reservations call your travel agent or

Stena Line at 388-7397 in Victoma. And
remember, if you're going to Seattle. two’s
company but 9 is downnght economical.

is ¥
Stena Line

Perfect Little Summer Vacations

——_

*Based on current exchange rate
- subject to change.