GUNKHOLING WITH THE OLDIES

Article By Richard Frye

You can have just as much fun in an older seasoned boat as you can a brand spanking new boat while gunkholing in just about any body of water. In fact it can be more fun when you don't have the worry of scratching the pristine paint job or getting her cockpit full of mud! At the landing I once said to a fellow sailing buddy, "Hey! Me and the little lady are going to do some gunkholing in an old boat. You want to do it too!"

I was actually inviting him on the trip and he said the he would really like that and he would be taking an aging O'Day daysailer that he'd been restoring! Suddenly a response from somebody standing there at the waters edge with a cute little dog wearing a pink bandana around its neck loudly blated out in a strong but very proper voice!, "You are going to do what Sir? You oughta be ashamed of yourself even thinking of something like that at your age! What's wrong with you...you pervert!" "Yep!" I answered directly at her with a mischeiveous grin and a wink, and see'n that I already had her attention in a most profound way! Yes!.... it was a middle aged woman that I got that blasting from! Right off, it was very clear to me that she didn't know a thing about sailing, cruising, kayaking or boating of any kind!

She was visiting from out in the country somebody said! "Yes mam!" I politely stated in a smooth even voice directed right at her! I said it again, "YES mam!.... We are gonna do it in the gunkhole, YOU wanna join in?" and I let out a whoopla like a Rebel yell! "Yeah boy!...The more the merrier!", I ended with that, as she quickly turned red and stomped off dragging her poor little dog across the concrete as it squatted and was trying to pee! I have to admit, and with a slight smile that it did sound somewhat on the nasty side! Don't you think? Some of the guys were standing around chuckling, trying to act busy, and shaking their heads! Others were rolling on the concrete landing laughing, and some almost crying! Many of these old salts knew how I was and still that way to this day! Others didn't say anything, but acted non-chalant, going about their business of rigging their boats, piddling around and trying to show the world that they didn't hear a thing! Yessir...we were go to do some gunholing and I was going to do it with an older one at that! AND...I made sure she heard that too!

Now we have to get things straight! Gunkholing is a term that arrived from being in places with your boat where there is a lot of gunk, mud and goo! Streams branching off a bay, a cozy little cove, rivers you've never been in, or a secluded beachh that is away from high boat traffic. Maybe escape from the crowded marinas, the rush of everyday life all offer an good excuses to search out places for gunkholing. Like camping on a stretch of turf and when the tide has gone out you are stuck in some black gooey muck, mud...or gunk as some call it. But the entire definition might also be described as going from one place to another or meandering around from place to place with a boat of some kind. A sailboat perhaps and seems to be the most common mode of transportation, a kayak is good too, or it could be a homemade shanty boat or even a high dollar yacht for taking you to a wonderful isolated setting where no living soul abounds.

The purpose is so you can enjoy a serene anchorage while camping and watching a beautiful sunset. I need to warn you now that many of these place will haunt you and becon for your return. AND...you will simply have to go! Some of these new found places will become favorites and will always be nice for a return visit or to show to a friend that is getting into one of the greatest things on earth! Exploring of this nature has been around for a very long time...it just has different names! Or, you might want to catch some fish for the grill, have a glass of rum...you know...like a Capt. Morgan on the rocks or with a splash of something else, and...with one of those little brightly colored paper umbrellas stuck in amongst the ice ...that is if you have any ice! This is for the sailor that loves dropping the hook or anchor in a different place during the late afternoon every day while cruising about. To see the sights, and listen to the birds and wildlife as the sun disappears below the horizon can only be described by being there. Next, you might marvel at a solid black sky dotted with zillions of stars that sparkle like diamonds on black velvet. This is what dreams are made of for the gunholing sailor whether they are male or female.

It can be done from just about any type of watercraft so there is no excuse to put it off any longer. I have a friend that used an older 12 foot Hobie Cat for cruising and camping on the weekends, and he packed everything in dry bags, as things do and quite often get wet from hull spray on a fast moving catamaran. He tent camped but I have known him to erect a makeshift shelter on the old catamaran. I wish I still had the long lost picture of that set up! You ask, "Why did he use a catamaran instead of a nifty little pocket cruiser?" The answer to that is simple. That's all the had at the time! Strange looking, but it worked just fine. I even seen him trolling with a tiny sail and the results were eye popping when I got to see the big stripers and other nice fish he caught while moving his boat with a very small homemade sail.

So..get your boat rigged up, grab the stores you will need for whatever amount of time you have and get going! A six pack and a can of Spam, is enough for some folks as long as they have a loaf of bread or some saltine crackers! One of my sailing buddies has been awarded with the unique name of Peter Pan! Why....that's practically all he has on a trip, peanut butter and bread! Oh well...whatever socks the old knocker, and to each his own! Personally I like a good meal after sailing throughout most of a day, but I still enjoy dining on foods that require little as far as preparation goes! Now is the time for you to think of foods that don't need refrigeration, or take a long time to cook. When you cook you will need a campfire or a stove. Be with all seriousness, your menu for healthy meals should bet wisely chosen. Don't eat junk food an entire weekend or longer! That means more gear that is sometimes necessary. Backpacking stoves work nicely if protected from the wind and you need fuel...more gear that has to be stored safely, and I've found a small trench fire to be very efficient on a beach if fires are allowed. Life is way too short to miss out on events like this!

So lets git it done...and do it in the gunkhole! Yes ...we did it! That was fun, but.... I have to mention too that you can't do it again, 'cause once it's done, it's done!.... but you can do something similar! So it's time to regroup, get more supplies and head out again! Now, you will read about a one of the many but enjoyable gunkholing trip that holds fond memories...but all gunkholing trips will have memories of some kind. Over the years most are good but like anything, there are some that are not so good, but all are a priceless experience.

Now let's discuss the oldies...not the songs, but sailboats that are 20 to 50 years old. It is these old boat that will take us into the wonderful world of Gunkholing! This is from the journal of my Sea Mistress, a boat I bought in 1968 and she was a 21 foot Venture, my very first large sailboat but not my first gunkholing trip. That was done with an old plywood boat called a Sailfish! I'll get into the smaller boats later on in this series of articles.

The pictures are of one of the two Weekenders I built. The first picture is when I was cruising along the souther coast and beached the boat on a shell bank. The tide was going out and the oyster shells cut up the paint job on the bottom really good, and even a couple of places went through the fiberglass and into the wood. Had a lot of repair work to do. Sailing along in 6 foot roller breaking 6 seconds apart showed me how seaworthy the little Weekender is. The hull is basically shaped like a dory hull similar to what the fishermen of long ago used when going away from the mother ship to se their lines.