Landless Gull
I angle the bow chuck three points to the weather and re-sink the centerboard, intentionally leaving out the brass pin. I do this to let the centerboard bounce off the shoals that echo outward from the Narrows mouth like intermittent sound waves. Most boats Gypsy’s size won’t let you skirt the shallows because they draft too deep, but the hull of a working Chatham cat boat was built for skimming across sandbars in pursuit of a school of bluefish. The boats were originally designed to hunt the bays and inlets and yet be seaworthy enough to ply the open ocean. There’s nothing fancy about her and most day sailors stay away due to her costly and time-consuming upkeep. And they’re always stubbing their toes on her ribbed hull.
My toes have become impervious to her insults, thoug
