Most people don't realize how much motoring is done when 'coastal cruising'. It's a different animal from your local day sailing experience.

Offshore cruising is again different. When you have a week to get to your destination motoring doesn't make any difference, you might as well sail. If you're only going 200 miles before landfall it's run the engine if the wind doesn't cooperate.

and it doesn't cooperate all the time. No, some of the time.,, No, most of the time. Ah, screw it,,,, motoring, sailing or motorsailing,, it's all about having fun and experience on the water.

One of my favorite scenes on a movie was in 'little Big Man' at the end, Chief Dan George went to the top of a hill, said goodby to the world, thanked the gods that created all things, asked the gods to take him and layed down to die. It started to rain filling up his eye sockets. He sat back up in the rain, disappointed and said the words, "Sometimes the magic works, Sometimes it doesn't". He then got up and walked down the hill to get dinner.

loved that line! Use it all the time in relationship to sailing. "Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't".