The Webb Chiles Way

One weakness is that her transom is so thin it has to be re-enforced to take a self-steering vane. I thought this to be the case and that has been confirmed by another Moore owner, who has a vane.

 

As I'm sure you know, most Moore 24s are on the West Coast. I've never seen a Moore except my own, and other owners have been very generous with advice and information via email.

 

TZ: This will be your sixth lap. What keeps taking you back?

 

WC:  The flame hasn't gone out. Both Tennyson and the Greek poet, Nikos Kazantzakis, thought Ulysses would not be content to settle down in Ithaca, and as an old man set out again. I've completed circumnavigations in four successive decades--two in the 2000s--and would like to make it five. Also I'd like to go around again in my 70s--I'll be 71 in November. And I simply like sailing oceans, settling into the pure rhythms of the monastery of the sea.

 

 

TZ: What, if anything, do you tell sailors who aspire to sail around the world?

 

WC: I treat all questions I receive seriously and with respect, but I neither encourage nor discourage. I do try to give people the benefit of my experience, while not claiming that my way of doing things is the only way. 

 

There is a lot more of Chiles' thinking, writing, poetry and photography to explore here. Spend a few hours, and then read some of his books. I doubt you'll think about life and sailing in the same way.