It was early March and freezing cold in Michigan. Snow lay in patches on the barren fields, and dark clouds hung just above the treetops. Ice skimmed the roadside puddles as we left Ann Arbor, bound for sunny Florida.
I was driving a minivan and towing behind me a 16ft Wayfarer dinghy, owned by the Michigan Sailing Club. This was my first trailering experience. I’ve been a keelboat sailor for 50 years, but After I sold my Westsail 32, I’ve returned to my dinghy-sailing roots.
Trailer sailing has the enormous appeal of allowing one to explore new waters that are suddenly within a day’s reach by car, rather than weeks away by boat.
My friend Jeanne, a fellow member of the Michigan Sailing Club, followed behind keeping an eye on the boat and trailer as we headed south across Ohio—it was a great comfort to have her watching out for me.
Months earlier, another friend had kindly helped us replace the trailer’s wheel bearings. We’d managed it, but it’s also a job best left to a shop with the proper tools. Then, a month before departure, one of the
