This spring, we had the delightful honor of building a new Scamp sailboat for Carol Brokschmidt and Sally Marks, who live in Arizona and have been dreaming of sailing and camp-cruising lesser known lakes of the desert SW. The landscape out there is so different from what we have here, we jumped at the chance to share their adventures. Follow along here on the blog as they learn the ropes, gain experience sailing the SCAMP, and launch into the small-boat sailing lifestyle aboard this capable 12-foot microcruiser!

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The Scamp Adventures of Carol and Sally: Part 1

By Carol Brokschmidt, M.D. and Sally Marks

Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “A woman is like a tea bag — you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”

While both of us agree with this adage regarding a woman’s fortitude, we also believe a fair amount of preparation can keep said woman from toppling into boiling (or freezing) water to begin with.

“I thought it would be wise for my body to not only build up strength, but to stretch and use some postures and slow movements I usually associate with yoga or tai chi,” said Carol. “Doing this might prevent injuries no matter your age.”

In this case, showing is better than telling, so here’s a short video demonstrating Carol’s strength and mobility-building routine in preparation for sailing her new Scamp.

Carol had sailing experience prior to the purchase of our SCAMP, and was familiar with the rudiments of towing (most notably with a lot of miles pulling our Airstream trailer).

However, embarking on any new activity can be daunting. Especially since some might describe us as shorter and older than the average-sailing-bear. But sailors adjust. We employ readiness, leverage and research to compensate for what we lack in stature, youth and brute strength.

We decided to chronicle our experiences so that sailing novices, particularly those who are vertically challenged and/or have limited upper body strength, could learn—and hopefully feel empowered—to sail a SCAMP.

Prior to leaving the Gig Harbor Boat Works factory with our new boat, we learned how to set up the mast and rig the balanced lug rig. This was a new experience for us since we had previously sailed a sloop rig. The crew at GHBW were wonderful at as they patiently let us make a few mistakes, and then gently corrected them—all in the comfort of their indoor shop.

Towing the SCAMP

Then it was time to tow our craft for the first time.

“It was surprisingly easy to tow the SCAMP. It’s lightweight and handled easily. Sally kept watch to make sure the boat was where it was supposed to be, because, honestly, after a couple of minutes of driving, I almost forgot I was towing it.”

Our first destination was a storage facility in Port Townsend, WA. We practiced backing up in a large parking area. For many people, backing a trailer is very different than driving forward. It’s best to practice backing your trailer in an empty parking lot. That way you can imagine the scenarios you may encounter and practice this skill before you get to the launch ramp.

Here’s a helpful hint. With one hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, turn the wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go. Learn how to make corrections in small increments to avoid jackknifing the trailer. Before unhitching the trailer, it is very handy to adjust the jack stand wheel in the direction you want to move the boat by hand after you have unhitched your SCAMP. This is surprisingly easy to do with a vessel this size.

“As a physician I’ve learned it’s best to prevent problems before they happen. In sailing and towing you need to be prepared for the unexpected, but that doesn’t mean you can’t anticipate potential obstacles and address it beforehand,” said Carol. “It seems you really have to think things through more if you cannot rely on brute strength. But maybe that should be helpful for anyone as a prevention strategy.”

Originally we were going to set sail in Arizona in one of the local lakes. We are “sun birds” and live part of the year in Arizona, then relocate to the Olympic Peninsula during the summer. Our plans changed, so our first excursion would be to set sail in the marina at Port Townsend, WA. Launching a boat in Puget Sound is trickier than launching it in an Arizona lake. Like us, you will want to familiarize yourself with tidal ranges, and be prepared to rinse off the boat and trailer after their exposure to salt water.

Know your ramp, and find a rinse station!

Next will be our maiden voyage with our SCAMP. Be sure to follow along with our adventures on the ghboats.com website to learn about our escapades, and share them with someone you know. Especially if that “someone” has harbored a desire to set sail, but lacked the confidence to make their dream a reality.

Signing off for now, here’s to “Fair Winds and Following Seas” — and the mindfulness to stay out of hot water and cold water, whenever possible.

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Want to learn more about this uniquely capable 12′ sailboat? Check out the details here.