My Interest in Wayfarers

The person who taught me to sail used to have an Abbott 22. Since I never saw the boat, I tracked down some information on it from the web. That lead me to the Wayfarer. I thought it was an interesting little boat, and had Abbott send me some info on it, as well as a couple others in their line. (I have recently sailed an Abbott 22 and was very impressed.)

Having done most of my sailing on Bayfields, that was the boat I had pictured myself getting to sail around the island of Newfoundland. It wasn't until hearing about Frank Dye's voyages that I realized a Wayfarer could be used to cruise in such a manner. A dinghy would also fit my budget a lot better. I could afford a Wayfarer years before even the smallest Bayfield, the 23/25.


The CL14 is the closest I've come to sailing aboard a Wayfarer. Its big sister, the CL16, is a close cousin to the Wayfarer, so I guess the 14 is a first cousin one size removed. I was out in that boat in conditions ranging from the no winds depicted on the small pond above, to reefed during a sail in about 20 knots on our harbour. Needless to say, I was very careful not to capsize that day.

Righting a capsized boat is something I'll have to practice when I get my own Wayfarer. So far I've stayed out of the water, but I was only aboard the CL14 5 times before she was sold. Two of those trips were solo, while the other 3 had at least one other person.

My favorite memory was one sunny afternoon packing a lunch and heading out on the bay myself. There was maybe a little more than 5 knots of wind. Out away from most civilization and boat traffic I hove to, and floated gently while relaxing and enjoying the snack. The wind was dropping out though, so I had to head back early. I was barely able to make headway into the marina, and avoiding the power boat traffic was difficult. I must say, I made docking at the wharf under sail look easy, according to the video someone took.

I figure it will be 2003 before I'll be able to afford to get a Wayfarer. In the meantime, I have some more to learn more about the boats, and some plans to make for the big voyages ahead.

NOTICE: The information on this site is pieced together from various sources and is not guaranteed to be accurate in any way. It was gathered for my own purposes and put here in case it can be of some use to others. The books below should help you more.

Links to Pages of Wayfarer Links

• Canadian Wayfarer Association
• US Wayfarer Association
• UK Wayfarer Association
• Wayfarer International Committee
• Mountain Wayfarer