In the spring of 2019 Irene and I sold our beloved Chuck Paine design, Constancy, that we commissioned in 1985. She was a wonderfully  built and designed vessel that took our family that included two daughters many wonderful miles on the waters between Maine and Bermuda.  We took a year in making the next step and  learning about voyaging under power. Reading and speaking to as many people as possible and looking at boat after boat we finally decided upon a 2015 Back Cove 41. Key features in a boat included wide decks accessible easily from cockpit and directly from helm (helmsman door), two heads to facilitate cruising with family/friends, single engine for economy, cruise speed of at least 17 knots, upper galley keeping the cook engaged in the cockpit conversation, sedan configuration such that helmsman stays out of sun and added stability and aesthetics, and prop protected with keel/skeg. The Back Cove 41 checked most of these boxes with the exception of one - the prop is in a pocket but there is no protection in form of skeg/keel. This does contribute to the efficiency of the vessel but makes it more vulnerable to prop strikes/grounding/ lobster pots . We deal with this several ways - First, eyes on the road and chart at all times, second, line cutters, third, spare prop and finally a big bower (55 pound Spade with 150 feet chain spliced on to 150 feet of line).

We took title of the boat in October of 2019 used it a few times and over the winter inside layup making a number of changes/modifications. While 2020 was a difficult year for all activities several aspects of the our new Constancy came into play in the environment we were in. First the vessel has bow and stern variable speed thrusters and make for extraordinary maneuverability - therefore docking is easily executed without assistance from dockside crew that may or may not be closely aligned with COVID protocols. Second, we did not want to make extended cruises in this environment but with a cruise speed of 23 knots (we generally run at 19-20) we were able to make regular runs from Southport, CT to Stonington, Block Island, and Cuttyhunk. These trips would be accomplished as overnights or include three/four days.