Back in December, 2000 I wrote about my new Wandering home, a Westsail 32 sailboat.

Westsail 32 Brisa hauled for bottom paint at McCotter's, Washington, North Carolina, May 2024

Westsail 32 Brisa at Anchor in Broad Creek, North Carolina, May 2024

Cartoon drawing by Rowan the Red of me sailing Brisa

Three and a half years and nine thousand nautical miles later, Brisa is for sale. The Westsail 32 for sale announcement is at Brisa.uy, where I have written in Spanish about my adventures sailing Brisa. Although most of the site is written in Spanish, the announcement is in English. Most potential buyers will read in English. I’ve placed it on Brisa.uy because the photographs reproduce there with a larger size.

I sailed Brisa for a fabulous year in the Gulf of California. It was the best sailing there, a time of discovery and adventure in some of the best parts of the world for snorkeling, hiking, sailing, enjoying community, and warming to sunshine, Mexican culture, and best of all, the Mexican food.

In my head was the idea to sail to Uruguay. That brought me down the Pacific coast of Central America to Panama and through the Panama Canal. The marina at the Caribbean entrance to the canal, Shelter Bay, was super accommodating. Brisa received a new paint job, new main sail, new bronze through-hulls, and other improvements there.

For sailing, Panama is not the Gulf of California. Nevertheless, Bocas del Toro in the rainy season and Guna Yala (aka San Blas) in the dry season are super nice to sail in.

This year we sailed from Shelter Bay to Guna Yala, Cartagena, Grand Cayman, Key West, and the ICW up to New York City and the Hudson Valley. That’s a lot of sailing and I’m about done. I’ll have a break with a trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Returning, I’ll sail the Long Island Sound and Boston before heading south to avoid the frost. That is if Brisa does not sell first.

The best part of sailing, for me, was having dolphins visit to play in the bow wake. The dolphins were frequent visitors, always playful, always feeling friendly and happy. They visited on my two day offshore Atlantic passage from Hampton, Virginia to New York City. Sweet. Always sweet.

There are many things I’ll miss. New adventures await.