What happens to all the wannabees?

[CPseudonym]

I can care less how i'm labeled. Newbie, wannabe, whatever?

Got the boat bug over a year ago. Started out thinking powerboat, trawler style, wound up with a sailboat.

I ain't planning no world voyages, short term I'll be happy to get the sails raised, filled with wind will be a bonus. Next boat may have a cabin sized for someone bigger than a hobit but for the time being I just wanna learn to sail. I ASSUME one can learn that skill here.

One step at a time.

[sarafina]

Nope, only place to learn that skill is out on the water. What you can learn here is all the stuff you need to get out there safely ; -)

And I'm a wannabe today... I wannabe done with the varnish job on the cabin top.

Ugh. I hate varnishing....

[Geoduck]

I'm more of a "has been" than a "wannabe" or "newbe" as I've been doing this for more than 40 yrs - you'd think I'd learn by now - take my boat as an example about "wannabe's" - some people just have bad luck right off the getgo do to there inexperience. The people who owned Eastwind before I got her went out and busted the mizzen mast one day, got traumatized and abandoned the boat - I bought her at an auction 2 yrs later for a song and I didnt have to dance either. I fixed the mizzen, cleaned her up and went sailing. A year later, I went out and blew up the main mast but I didnt get traumatized - I just built a new mast and kept on trucking. I'm not going anyplace in perticular - I just sail around in the NW and AK and call it good for the time being - I've had enough rough weather to last me a lifetime but I still have the urge to go to the pacific islands - maybe to Bankok where the boat was built 72 years ago - maybe.
Like the man said -" life is a dream, live it"
Thank God for "wannabees"

[Mr B]

Wannabee is some one who has a dream, some put it into action, some dont, For what ever reason,

Most Wannabee's at least try.

Poser, The only way I can describe that is in the following.

A person buys a motor bike and all the matching gear and accessorys,
Rides it to the local coffee shop or pub and back home again, But only on bright sunny days,
They do not ride the bike any where else,

But stand around in all their matching gear and brag about their great motor bike exploits to all and sundry who will listen to them,

Being called a Poser, is offensive and derogatory,

Being called a Wanabee is not,

I will help a Wannabee, I wont help a Poser, I deride a Poser with full Gusto,

[In Training]

Thank you for this thread. Puts things in perspective. I need to kick some serious ass to make this happen, sooner rather than later or we will end up one of those people that never makes it happen.

Glad all of you are here.

[dgasmd]

I am a wannabe, and I have no hesitation in admitting it. Lots of helpful people in this site with sound advice, but there is also a large group of grumpy old people set in their ways trying to shove down your throat "their way = only way" of doing something. Could easily be very discouraging and incredibly annoying, if anything, having to read 17 posts of crap for every helpful one. Then, you have large groups of people that feel obligated to tell you how wrong you are for doing things one way or not knowing any better because they simply can't relate to the idea of something they don't understand in the first place. And finally, you have the inevitable fact that every thread that gets started here takes between 3-7 posts (yes, I pulled that number out of my arz) to go on a tangent about some minutia someone posted as a reply or because their reading comprehension is lacking. Not to mention they don't bother to answer what is asked but what they feel like because they did not even read the question in the first place. For those reasons alone I find it very hard to take the time to come back and relate stories, outcomes, what I learned, etc.

OK, I was trying to fit in by being the groupy old guy even though I am neither LOL.........

[greercrawley]

Perhaps it just takes some wannabees a longer "wanna" before they "be". After months of procrastination, I completed my ASA 101 (Basic Keelboat) certification yesterday. Next up, Coastal Navigation. I shall BE someday.

A dream only becomes unreachable when it is given up.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by In Training

Thank you for this thread. Puts things in perspective. I need to kick some serious ass to make this happen, sooner rather than later or we will end up one of those people that never makes it happen.

Glad all of you are here.

perspective is a wonderful thing to have! especially when making rational decisions,one thing that many of the old salts on the forum forget is the massive learning curve involved with owning a boat!

stuff that we class as common sense is an alien language to many new to the world of boats,i used to cringe when i frist went sailing nearly 30 years ago,being told i was not yet "human",crewing on an old wooden boat with a very experinced captain of the old school!

in retrospect he was 100% right,you learn to walk differently,eat differently,sleep in short bursts,pee in a bucket,all your senses are assulted on your first ocean passage ,every thing has to be conserved,every action has a reaction,ones spacial and physical awareness are challenged to the point of brakedown......
death is something that is all too real on an old leaky boat,not everbodys cup of tea!

i'm still not human,but i like to think i'm getting there

[David_Old_Jersey]

I have no problem with the term Wannabee, but can see why folks could feel uncomfortable with the tag. In my own case I am definately not a Wannabee, not because I grew up around boats or because I have travelled a little bit on them (nowhere near many others though!) - but because I have no great desire to be "out there" cruising on a boat. I might do that. but I might not. I guess that means I am a "Maybeer" .

I think Newbie is a bit internet specific, and kinda gets mixed up with being new as a Forum Member . Some think that 5,000 posts means something. Others know better .

Personally I am not very keen on tagging folks - but nontheless as a general description sometimes useful to do so. even if only from laziness .

[Vasco]

24 years ago we were sitting in our club with the usual chit chat about "going south". It seems 90% of Lake Ontario sailors intend to head south someday. We all agreed we would go in the fall. Three couples, the other two had just retired, we were in our forties and still working. We all had boats that could make the trip. Come September guess who left, yes, just my wife and I. We still cruise every winter now. Fewer surprises but still enough to keep the adrenaline flowing once in a while. That's what keeps you young.

[gathhill]

Originally Posted by s/vfootloose

Anyone remember the guy that left California in a beat up suv with all his stuff and was coming to Fl. to buy a boat and be happy. He was posting 4 or 5 times a day crying the blues. Blew his car up, got busted for weed in Texas, finally made it to Fl. Then disappeared. A great soap opera will it lasted.

I thought he ended up around the Tampa area. For some reason I thought he got banned ? Actually looked forward to the posts...haha. Great entertainment !

[rgscpat]

For some wannabees, they learn and do enough to make their dreams more attainable and realistic. Maybe they find out that longer ocean passages are uncomfortable or that the kind of boat they'd want (for whatever reason) is too expensive or hard for them to maintain, or that land ties are too important to give up long term. Or they realize they need more skills, more money, and more of a plan for their dream and just aren't willing to compromise and go now with what they have now. So they decide instead to focus on day sails, local cruises, an annual charter vacation, or some other limited-time frame experiences.

Learning and knowing one's limitations and acting within them isn't necessarily a bad thing. For some, a cruise may be a "try it out" or even intended as a one-time experience, and not a commitment to a long-term life change.

We're somewhere in between ... we are owned by boats, have done the training, do day sailing and micro-cruising, racing, occasional charters, and want to explore more places, but I know we're never likely to do anything like a circumnavigation. Short-term adventures are what are in our future. But that still leaves plenty of room for excitement and discovery.

[gathhill]

Originally Posted by zeehag

.......

bergavoy--mr i gotta get a magic boat to change my life--he has a s2 for sale in marathon--was ditched from sm for being obnoxious and downer, came back here under name sailinman, and was ditched for ...... and his saga continues as he broke both wrists somehow and cannot do anything but type and gripe. his tale is a sad one....of own doing, unfortunately. one cannot run from self.

Sorry , zeehag had the info two pages back...

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Originally Posted by In Training

Thank you for this thread. Puts things in perspective. I need to kick some serious ass to make this happen, sooner rather than later or we will end up one of those people that never makes it happen.

Glad all of you are here.

Nice thing about this forum are all the interesting people. We're just one big support group of sorts with no real agenda except to do what you like doing and help the next guy (or gal) that comes along.

best of luck to you.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Rhapsody-NS27

Nice thing about this forum are all the interesting people. We're just one big support group of sorts with no real agenda except to do what you like doing and help the next guy (or gal) that comes along.

best of luck to you.

nicely summed up thanks for posting