A little over two years ago we got a new to us boat, Gazelle, a 1989 Wauquiez Centurion 47. Quite a change from our Crealock 37 SilentSun. I was very apprehensive about the change, SS was my dream boat and I just assumed I would have it for life, but after just 15 years we sold it. The new boat is great for living aboard and sails like dream, the best sailing boat I have ever owned! Not one system worked when we bought Gazelle so we now know the boat really well since we did all the repairs and upgrades ourselves. The one thing that I always had to have was a boat I could single hand, and I was worried that the new boat would be beyond my capabilities, so I spent the last two years sailing it all over San Fran and the Delta convincing myself that I could indeed sail the boat by my self.

The last three months we have been slowly working our way down the west coast with a winter in MX as our goal. I think at this point I have either turned in to a complete pansy or just gotten old because the boat has been a real handful offshore. We did not have any really bad weather, some square waves and 25 knts was the worst, and just gybing the boat had me exhausted. How do the Open 60 guys do what they do? I have done some tweaking with the running rigging and changed some of my techniques and so I am getting better and in better shape too. So do any of you have some advice for me? We are in Oxnard for the month having a blast in SoCal.

Rob