Imagine if you like, it's 1928. The day is late in May and the sun glistens in the blue Salem sky. You stop by the Hawthorne Hotel bar for a drink. There is a raucous group conversing at the bar. You step up to order and drink and they ask you, "What is most important in writing, honesty or skill?" You notice for the first time, the group consists of Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald (bear with me. This will all make sense shortly). You all drink too much and wrestle with questions of art and philosophy until Fitzgerald looks at the wall clock and says they have to get to the dock for their sailing excursion. They invite you to attend and you accept.
Your party approaches the marina on Wharf Street and you see a beautiful Friendship Sloop tied to the dock. A handsome young couple are preparing her for your trip. Eric and Amelia welcome you aboard with their comfortable, easy way. You shove off and your captain, Eric informs you they can taylor the trip to your party. They could take you on an easy cruise around the harbor with drinks and clever conversation, or they could fill the sails and heel the craft onto her side and slice through the water as if you're racing for the America's Cup, or anything in between. It's up to you.
The wind is strong and the sun is bright and of course Hemingway calls for sailing by the seat of your pants. Sure enough before very long, Captain Eric and Amelia have you and your party gliding across the water, the boat leaning hard in the strong following wind. They bring her at top speed out to Manchester by the Sea then turn for the thrilling run into the wind, back to the harbor. The crew are experts and at one point dip the port rail low enough to scoop up a big gulp of sea water that drains out of the cockpit before you travel another fifty feet. You tack back and forth all the way into Salem Harbor where your expert crew finally docks you and your literary party, still laughing and talking, back in the marina.
I tell this story because Eric and Amelia gave my wife and I just this kind of ride. Of course they asked us what we wanted the experience to be like and we told them, "Hey, worst case scenario, the boat tips and we get a little wet." Of course there was never, never a chance of us taking a dip but Eric and Amelia gave us what we asked for and more. I felt like we were in a Hemingway novel. They ran with the boat leaning all the way out to Manchester by the Sea and back again. We did, in fact get to dip the rails a couple times which was thrilling. Eric and Amelia are bright and interesting. They were wonderful people and incredible sailors. The boat is gorgeous. There were drinks if we liked. And the trip was perfect. If anyone tells you nothing is perfect, you tell them our trip with Sunset Sail Salem was perfect. Would you like to be a character in one of those incredible novels of the 1920's? Take a cruise with Eric and Amelia and you can be. read more