Third time’s a charm, right?

It all depends on the circumstances, of course, but as we get older, many of us begin to realize that aphorism comes from a grain of truth.

Consider the experience of Dwight and Laura Healey, who bought their latest boat, a Fairline Squadron 65, after six seasons in a Fairline Targa 58. Before that, they had a Fairline Targa 52 for nine seasons. Aboard these boats the Healeys have seen their three sons grow into teenagers and then young men.

If you’ve cruised the waters of southern New England and Long Island Sound, perhaps you’ve come across Wild Child, the name the Healeys have given to each of their boats. “When you go from a 52 to a 65, it’s a different experience,” Dwight says. “It’s a little more thirsty, let’s say. We still go to our same spots, though. Our favorite is Champlin’s in Block Island. We often cruise to Montauk and Newport as well, and we got out to Nantucket again this year with my parents. Those are our stomping grounds.”

Sound familiar? Loyal Power & Motoryacht readers may remember this family from their appearance in the August 2003 issue. For that feature, they invited writer George L. Petrie to come aboard and test their brand-new Fairline Targa 52 in Norwalk, Connecticut. The Healeys were first drawn to the 52 because they were ready to get out of the go-fast boats they had been cruising up until that time.

“We started with fast Cigarette boats but moved away from them because I knew with kids that would be the wrong route,” Laura says. “Then we chartered a little bit, but ultimately, we wanted to get back into our own boat. On a trip to Florida, we saw a Fairline and we loved the way it looked. So, the day we returned home we went to see Tom Caruso at Total Marine in Norwalk, who showed us the Targa 52. We loved that it was a sport cruiser and we loved the room that it had, mostly because we were going from a dayboat to a cruiser with two bathrooms. Back then, the kids were young and they were going to be with us constantly, so that space was important. We used the boat all summer, and we brought friends with us so we got to see a lot of New England, which was really an amazing adventure.”

Dwight agrees. “I used to leave that boat in Block Island and just take the ferry over to it, but I enjoyed running it. And I liked going across to Montauk.”

Families grow, and the Healey family eventually outgrew the Targa 52. So, they went back to Caruso at Total Marine to upgrade to the next level of sport cruiser, the Targa 58.