Another Hylas H48 Arrives in the US – We asked the new owner about his plans:
It takes a special kind of person to be able to take control of their destiny in a way that involves sailing around the world in the pursuit of adventure and the perfect wave.
The new owner of the most recent Hylas 48 to reach the US shores was at the Annapolis boat show celebrating with the Hylas team. This was the first time we had been able to get together since the pandemic began and our first meeting at the same show two years earlier. There was a lot of catching up to do! In fact on the very day we sat down to a celebratory dinner “SV Sweet Reach” was being unloaded from a freighter in Fort Lauderdale under the watchful eye of the Hylas Program and Service Director – Christian Pschorr. Over a couple of celebratory drinks we asked Wayne Warrington, the new owner, about the journey that brought him to this point and what “loose plans” might be in his future. Here’s what he had to say.
“I grew up sailing and surfing and love everything about the ocean. New Jersey necessarily makes you a travelling surfer because of how crappy the surf is! College took me to USC where I did a “semester at sea” on the SS Universe. Ports of call included Venezuela, Brazil, Cape Town SA, Mombasa Kenya, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan. My fascination with travel off the beaten path was lit. At the time my guidance counselor advised that I would never get into medical school! So I joined the Peace Corps and surfed a bit in El Salvador and Costa Rica and did a lot of diving in the Bay Islands listening to Jimmy Buffett.
I returned to the States and, paying little heed to my counselor, went to Med School and got a job in Hawaii!
The North Shore is the mecca of surfing but it is still too damn crowded. I landed a camp doctor position at an island resort in Fiji named Tavarua. It has two of the best wave breaks in the world. But even there the top spots would get overrun. Luckily this is where I was shown how to just set sail to another spot and escape the crowds.
In 2015 I bought a 1963 Islander 32 for $7000 because it came with a slip in Haleiwa (North shore Oahu). What was supposed to be a 3-4 month lipstick and paint job turned into a 2 years labor of love. I dumped way too much money and time in her but what I learned about sailboat construction and sailing was priceless.
I knew I was going to go cruising in search of many of the perfect surf spots that only cruisers can get to. In 2019, I helped a friend sail to Fanning Atoll which is part of the line islands about 1200 nm directly south of the Hawaiian chain. Many thought I was crazy, but after 8 days and 8 hours we arrived through the only key hole (about 20 feet wide) just before sunset, an hour from slack tide fighting a 5 knot current. I looked to starboard to see the most perfect left hand wave with not another surfer around for 1000 miles!! My friend and I surfed that wave for 7 straight days all by ourselves. Mind blown!!
I came back to Hawaii to fight the crowds and the traffic, fully burnt out on Emergency Medicine, and made plans to visit Annapolis for my first boat show ever. That’s when I met Hylas. I didnt go there with the intention of buying a new boat at all. I really didnt think I could ever afford one, especially not a Hylas. I was really going there to look at some previously loved yachts. I kinda realized that if I was gonna make this my home for a few years it better be comfy. My dad used to say when we were young that if he couldn’t have it at least as good on vacation as he did at home then we probably should not travel. Since the aft cabin on the Hylas 48 is about the same size as my bedroom on land and a helluva lot nicer then I’m sure I have my dad’s blessing.
The plan is to circumnavigate and re-trace some of my steps from when I was on Semester at Sea. To get to all those empty reef breaks and surf them before I’m too old and/or fat. At this point, I’d like to get through the Panama canal this spring and hit the Tuamotus/ Marqueses by early summer (their winter). From there I’d eventually like to go back to Fiji. I told the GM of Tavarua to build me a mooring ball right in the channel of my fav surf break aptly named Restaurants! My friend is still down there now, surfing with his girlfriend who’s half his age, and they are keeping the beers chilled:)
Besides the warm water surf spots I would also like to explore the higher latitudes eventually. Once back in the western hemisphere I would like to head up the east coast, see friends and family in NJ. I also have a close friend from St Johns Newfoundland. So I think a rounding of the N Atlantic high is also in order.
Now my new yacht has arrived I know life will always be an adventure 🙂 “
