and in the "So you don't think a Newport 28 is the right boat" department...

Over the years I've crossed the US of A coast to coast in/on a variety of vehicles...

• Once on a bicycle
  
• Four times in VW bugs
• Three times in a VW van
• Once in a 1953 International Travelall
• Twice in a Rover TC2000
• Twice in a Ford pickup
• twice in a Porsche 911

I'll go on record and say that the very best coast to coast experience was when I rode a bike from Oregon to Virginia. It was simple, I had the time to appreciate the scenery, and met a lot of awesome people in the process. 

Most of the other trips were just getting from one place to another and, truth be told, all of the internal combustion powered vehicles were pretty much the same. When all the pros and cons were weighed, the cars, trucks, and van were surprisingly equal. That said, my 63 VW van had the edge on comfort but also had the greatest hassle factor where law enforcement was concerned. So, like I said, it all evens out.

I mention this here simply because there is so much focus on having the perfect boat and, if you're not going to cruise till you find the perfect boat, you'll never get to doing because there ain't any such thing.

Back when Robin Knox Johnson wanted to become the first person to sail around the world he chose a design based on the the works of Colin Archer. As much as I admire the Colin Archer designs they would be last on my list for any kind of race and, as long as I'm throwing shade, who in their right mind would bring a ketch to a race of any kind? Kind of like entering a cross country race with my beloved 1953 International Travelall. But it was the boat Knox Johnson had so that was what he did it with. Wrong boat/wrong rig but he still won the race.

Back in 1976, when I rode my bike cross country, I had planned to ride a custom built Bob Jackson touring bike which I'd paid, for me at least, a shit ton of money for. The Jackson wound up being held up by customs for some reason or other so I pedaled off on my lowly Peugeot P10. Obviously not the bespoke touring machine of my dreams but it did get the job done and carried me over 5000 miles.

Anyway, something to think about.