Desert Sailing at it's best? Well, here's the story... "I had left Tuscon (Arizona) where I kept Wild Hare, and on the way to Lake Pleasant I had to go by our desert property to pick up some items I needed for the weekend. On the way out of my property on the way to meet Doug Kelch ( M-15 #310 ) for a sail on the lake, I met a fellow on a dirt bike coming down the narrow road just out of our place. We made eye contact, and he stopped next to me. He looked at the truck and then back at the boat and then back at me...

I suddenly had a Devilish thought and asked him "Could you tell me where the lake is around here? A buddy of mine told me of a hidden lake fed by the Central Arizona Project Canal near here, and I can't find it". He looked at me as if I were crazy, and after a brief conversation we parted. I met the same biker months later and after we established who we were, he admitted to me, he had thought I was the silliest sailer he had ever met or come across".

Botanical lesson time; While looking at the photos you'll recognize the tall cacti as the Saguaro made Internationally famous in so many Western movies. I did not know the names of the others so Tom told me the flat leaf kind is the Prickly Pear which bears a fruit that makes a great jelly (as well as food for birds & rodents) and the fuzzy looking cacti in the center photo is the Cholla Cactus (pronounced choy-ya).

"We bought our M17 - 3 berth model in Los Angeles back in 1998. I had never sailed before but did alot of research of boats in that size before I started looking for an M17. After reading several reports on how seaworthy and solid they are I could not in good conscious purchase anything but an M17. Our very first sail off the coast near Ventura, California was magic... In the Pacific Ocean in just a 17 foot sailboat with swells that were 8 to 10 foot and a light breeze... We did well and have enjoyed her ever since."

Photos and Story by Tom Woodworth