I was only 9 years old then LMAO!

In the 1990s, I fondly remember James Baldwin's (among other people) CW mag stories on cruising on his very simple Pearson 28 footer...a story of his circumnavigation got me dreaming about getting a small, simple boat and having an adventure for a few years --why not a "quick" 3 year tradewind circumnavigation, just for the adventure and fun of it. Keep it simple and "cheap" (as compared to a long, rambling one over many years on a bigger boat...do-able if you can make money along the way, but I was intrigued, reading his articles, describing going around on a very simple boat over just a few years --i.e., fairly minimal commitment in terms of time and money, probably one's savings.

Then there were his articles on the Argentinian guy who crossed the Pacific in a dugout sailing canoe with no navigational instruments, not even a timepiece I think. And the story about Trevor Robertson, who over-wintered in the Antarctic Peninsula in his homebuilt steel Wylo gaff rigger. Extreme "cruisers", for sure --but Baldwin certainly isn't...but isn't writing for CW anymore, which might be telling.

Enter, YACHT STYLE! That's when my subscription motivation more or less stalled...:-)

Fortunately, if I want to go back in time and relive those good old days, all I have to do is visit James Baldwin's website where he has his articles archived. Funny thing, I read recently about someone who converted an 40 year old Pearson 28 --same as Baldwin's "good old boat" venerable double circumnavigator-- into a Hinckley-style "daysailor" to the tune of about $100K! LMAO! Times have changed...

If I did it again, buy a boat that is, I might just get a cheap Contessa 26, outfit it at minimal expense, and spend a few years cruising around the world. If two 40-ish Norwegians can do it on a Contessa 26 ( http://www.freewebs.com/sybika-eng/ ), surely I could for a few years on a tradewind circumnavigation...