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CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2019
THE CRUISE OF THE MAGIC
a hollow from the stem to an extreme hourglass
transom. And a 12ft 6in (3.8m) beam allows her to
sail on her feet, while providing the living space and
storage for our family of five to live aboard.
Loaded with sail on a sparred length of 52ft (15.8m),
her jib, fore-staysail and foresail are overlapping, giving
powerful slots. With her easily driven hull, sails are
often flown reefed or just two at a time. The going is
easy with small sails and we often sail on and off anchor,
a boat-handling feat made easier with the split rig. Weeks
go by without using the engine.
Children pitch in when raising and lowering sails. Little
fingers make quick work of hundreds of canvas sail-cover
clips. Salting the decks with a canvas bucket on a hot day
preserves the planking, cools the cabin and is fun. Grinding
a winch, with or without a line, is surprisingly popular.
In the Bahamas, we let the wind determine our course
and sail plan every day. In north-easterly trades we would
steadily broad reach south with foresail and jib. In south-
easterlies we would just anchor for a few days, exploring
the bright surprises behind each little coral head, or ride
jib and jigger (jib and main), beam reaching north in the
protected, corduroy-etched waters of the Banks.
Life below on Magic is what teaches us most. Living
openly, we sleep within sight of each other but during the
day, chart and salon tables are covered with charts, paper,
coloured pencils and field guides on sea and marsh life.
There are important chores, too. The girls help drain
the icebox into a gallon jug each morning then hand it
above to fill the sun showers, leaving them to be heated
throughout the day. These are lowered into the forepeak
at night allowing a warm rinse for someone huddled in
the small bathtub. Hot kettle water is added on demand.
Manual systems above deck are mimicked below. A
saltwater foot pump takes care of all our cleaning needs.
Solar panels are only really needed for the autopilot, and
each crew member has a small inflatable solar lamp for
Above: A tidy
little schooner
with tight bilges
inspired by
George Steers
and Lyle Hess,
Magic carries tall,
overlapping sails
to keep sailing
in light winds
Below: The family
entertaining local
Bahamians and
cruisers in
Magic’s salon
reading which is wedged under the dodger during the
day to charge. These practices of energy and resource
conservation, along with our ban on single-serving
food items to keep waste down, have become habit
aboard our rudimentary but thoughtful boat.
ELEMENTS OF FUN
Magic’s manual systems have never been a hardship.
Only one thing can go wrong with the shower regime:
you run out of ice to drain. There’s nothing of note to
fail mechanically, while the usual hot-water heater, water
pump and associated yards of plumbing and wiring are
in constant battle with batteries and the salty air and
water. Fixing even the smallest part of such a system
can stop a family vacation in its tracks.
More importantly, this process adds purpose and
reward. Mary Poppins had it right (cheesy as this may
seem), regarding finding the fun in jobs: “Find the fun
and, snap! The job’s a game!” Losing drops of water as
MAGIC
LOD
40ft (12.2m)
BEAM
12ft 6in (3.8m)
DRAUGHT
6ft (1.8m)
SAIL AREA
1,000 sq ft (93m
2
)