Go Simple, Go Small, Go Now

One of the catchiest phrases ever applied to sailing might be Lin and Larry Pardey’s “Go Simple, Go Small, Go Now”. It became their mantra, and was etched into sailing lore in their books from Crusing in Serafyn to Self Sufficient Sailor. Many others have since extolled the virtues of simply getting out there and making your adventure happen now – without waiting for the bank account or the free time to come to you. They urge taking a small and manageable boat now – not a behemoth that always seems financially just out of reach, or even worse – perhaps just out of control.

Since those days many boats have appeared on the market designed to deliver the “true spirit” of cruising (whatever that is, to whoever is buying). And in fact there’s now a whole division of boats of a retro-style design aiming to deliver a nostalgic tug to help inspire you to part with you hard earned cash and spend it on a boat with “authentic values”. But while the logic is sound, shipyards that are traded publicly don’t make their shareholders happy by building you something small and manageable.

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