Background:
We began dabbling in life afloat in the summer of 1991, a year remembered by many as one of the wettest and coldest on record. We discovered Red Witch quite by accident while inquiring about chartering a trawler on Georgian Bay and the moment Deb saw her, she was smitten. Never mind that neither of us knew anything about power boats of any kind; never mind that she was 33' long. She was for sale, her bright work gleamed, and there was room to dance on her aft deck. As we continued our journey north for a weekend at a friend's cottage, arrangements having been made to sea trial the boat on the return trip, an otherwise dreary day suddenly came alive and began to sparkle. Best of all, the sparkle lingers in rain and shine.
Red Witch is a 1968 Chris Craft Cavalier, of lapstrake construction driven by twin 327 GM motors. She slept six in her cabin until Jim reconfigured her in such a way that she now sleeps only four inside and another two on the aft deck (when necessary). Despite all this space, Jim believes (and Deb concurs) that all boats, regardless of size, are built for two. And as much as we like the idea of inviting guests aboard for a weekend now and then, we've rarely done so simply because she's our sanctuary - a place where we unwind, where schemes and dreams are conceived, and where our land-weary spirits are replenished.
Before she became ours, Red Witch voyaged to the north channel on Georgian Bay almost every summer, traversed Lake Ontario and explored the Finger Lake regions in New York state, dabbled along the Trent Canal system, and meandered up the Rideau Canal. The old girl has certainly been around! We've been more conservative in our wanderings however distant shores are beckoning and we're preparing for some serious gunk holing in distant ports in the summer of 2001.
What's in a name?
Deb fell in love with the vessel but she wasn't exactly enamoured with her name. "I love to wear red and I had visions of Jim and I having an animated discussion about this or that and people whispering 'no wonder they call that boat the Red Witch!' But when Deb revealed her re-naming plans to the then-owner, he handed her a well-worn copy of Garland Roark's, The Wake of the Red Witch, and suggested that we refrain from our re-naming plans until one or both of us had read the book.
Some of you may recall that
John Wayne starred in the movie version of The Wake of the Red Witch more
years ago then most of us care to remember. It was a gruesome film that
finds our hero wrestling with a killer octopus while trying to salvage
gold from a vessel that had been deliberately skuttled in the south seas.
The book is no less grisly and we both endured it for no other reason
than to derive clues that might deter us from proceeding with our plans
to rename our vessel. By the time we'd completed Roark's tale, the name,
Red Witch, had grown on us and we abandoned all ideas of re-naming her.
It would be several years before Deb determined what clues the book held
in this regard but we're not going to share them just yet. If you think
you know, drop us a note at debra@changingcourse.ca.
Update - August 2005:
Our glorious old gal cruised
off with new owners in August 2005. Deb will be writing about this passage
in our lives in the December 2005 issue of Women Aboard.