What happens to all the wannabees?

[Coops]

Originally Posted by ahnutts!

i prefer pails

Who wants to have a shot at the difference between a bucket and a pail then? If you look up wiki, it declares a pail to be a "cylindrical object with an open top and a handle=bucket" So, we have a potayto/potarto thing here. The bucketeers on the one side and the pail-faces on the other. Choose your side, make your claim as to being on the right side is the way of truth and light.
I had a bucket once with a hole in the bottom and all my lists fell out.

Coops.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Chasing Summer

SAILORCHIC34 .... look for me up there in my Spencer 42 in about a year from now. Richardson Bay is where I intend on hang out while I do sea trials and get some blue water experience before I head up to Puget Sound, then down to the South Pacific.

Alas, I rarely anchor in Richardson Bay. Pretty much only for short time (hours) to run into WM or molly stone.

A bit crowded and noisy for this girls taste.

Odds are by next year this time, I'll be elsewhere, maybe heading to zee land ;-)

[vayacondios]

My husband and I started reading on this forum when we were looking to buy a boat, and found the advice and comments (most of them) invaluable. We didn't post but rather read a lot. Maybe there are some of us who are like that. Ive found that you can find just about anything on this forum.

We started reading and researching boats, and looking at boats on line, and when the time came to buy what we found for sale in used boats in Australia was very different than what was posted. We also found that looking at a boat and pics online is very different than seeing them in person. We lived in Seattle at the time, and there was mostly keel boats for sale there not a lot of catamarans so didn't see many.

We worked for 10 years on our escape plan. Careful with our income, plotting and saving, and thinking things through so that we would be prepared. My husband had never sailed before, so we started by chartering a boat in the caribbean, and then we bought a small catalina and sailed around Puget Sound. While I had done some cruising before, he was totally new. We had planned to move to Australia to live, and we made a trip there so he could see what it was like. I think we took careful steps toward our goal.

In 2009, when the economy was circling the drain, we made the decision to go for it. Our son (my stepson) had just graduated from High School, and joined the marines. We put everything up for sale, and was willing to get less, with the idea that you never know how long you are going to live, so we went for it.

We arrived in Australia and was disappointed by the boats for sale. I think it's different now with more used boats, so we ended up buying a New Fountaine Pajot Mahe. We actually... bought the boat, without ever having sailed on a catamaran. We did know what to look for though, and were really happy with out boat. We have been cruising in Australia for 3 years, have learned a lot. It's definately not for everyone. I always say it's not always easy but it's usually fun.

Right now we are in Darwin, getting ready to sail (and motor) the 1300 miles back to Cairns where we are based.
We have had some stressful times, we hit a whale last year, we have run aground, and crossed the Gulf of Carpenteria in horrific seas. We can research and learn as much as we can. We can do so much to help ourselves but we can't control everything. That's the way life is.
Someone told me that you make the most mistakes the first year. I believe that. Someone also told me you don't find the boat the boat finds you. I believe that to. We are happy sailors, love the life, and plan to keep cruising for as long as we can. But with that said, I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. I continue to learn on these forums. Really good stuff!

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

Hey I must have "wannabe" tattooed to my forehead. I returned a $70 LED bulb for my nav lights today as 2 of the LEDs weren't working when I first installed it on the day of purchase two days ago.

So I get back with the replacement bulb and guess what, the same two LEDs still are not working. Maybe he just saw the tattoo and knew it was cool to give me the same bulb back again?

Hey Shane, Just to make sure your bulbs aren't working before taking them back, Try them in a fitting you do know works,

Then take them back and tell them to try them before giving the new ones to you,

They can test them in the shop, So that way, they dont give you more dud ones,

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Hey Shane, Just to make sure your bulbs aren't working before taking them back, Try them in a fitting you do know works,

Then take them back and tell them to try them before giving the new ones to you,

They can test them in the shop, So that way, they dont give you more dud ones,

Thanks,

I took it back and they had to test every bulb on the shelf before they got one that fully worked. It looks like they got a bad batch and I was lucky there was one of the old stock left.

Unlike my insurance repairers who would not apologise for a blatant mistake, the chandlers were embarrassed about the defect in the high quality and expensive item. Hey, they did not even treat me like a wannabe!

[Coops]

Whitworths?

Coops.

[Surveyor]

Just noticed this thread, weird because I am a wannabe. I must say I only look at the classifieds and the OpenCPN forums so not surprising I guess.

I have beer can race sailing experience but not cruising experience so it can be said I had no clue when I joined, said Hi and proclaimed I want to sail around the world in my first post.

I still do not have cruising experience but I have been steadily and methodically moving in that direction. I dreamed, read, studied, dreamed some more, saved, listened to other peoples experiences and I am still doing all of those things.

I did buy a boat though. Not the boat of my dreams and not even what many seem to think should be the minimum. I am in the midst of totally refitting it and I can say with complete confidence I made the right decision for me. There will be no surprises that come with buying a "bluewater ready" dock queen.

I am no where near done with the project so my story might be seen as irrelevant. But I will return this boat to better than new condition, live on it and sail it a good long way. Mark my words!

[gjordan]

I must add some comments on this thread. I purchased my first two cruising boats from wannabees that spent lots of money and time and researching on world cruising boats ,but didnt do much sailing. The first one was 26 foot(Contessa) that came with a wind vane, storm sails 30 fathoms of chain and a 25 pound plow, Avon dinghy, Volvo diesel etc. etc. The original owner did all of his reading, but went sailing on San Francisco bay on another boat and took a knock down and gave up and sold the boat. I did 8 or 9 thousand miles on that boat before I sold it. My next boat was an owner built steel boat that a man spent years building and finally left across the Atlantis single handed. It was very well equiped. Three days out he hit bad weather and turned around and came into the first harbor he could find, tied up to the first dock he could find and told a brocker to sell it. I did about 7 thousand miles in that boat. Years of research, work and money but no actual sailing experiance led to giving up on both boats. Both boats were rock solid ocean cruising boats, but the dream and the reality didnt match. I must give credit to Rakuflames for starting and learning in baby steps. Sometimes( often times) starting out on some great ocean crossing adventure without experiance is a disaster. I must also comment to Rebel Heart , that if I have read the posts correctly, you are heading out with a 5 month pregnant wife. My wife and I did lots of short deliveries, but our first from Hawaii to the west coast was differant. My wife got sea sick for the first few days, which was very unussual for her. When we got to Calif. we learned that she was pregnant. We did another Hawaii to Calif. delivery when she was 5 monthes along and had a great trip. When the baby was 18 monthes old we did another Hawaii to Calif. delivery( with one other crew member) that was very difficult for the first 2 or 3 days as baby and mom got over sea sickness, but then everything turned into the normal windward grind and we had a good trip. Babies adapt to sailing much quicker than adults do and should not be a reason to not cruise. Good Luck to all potential Cruisers.____Grant.

[Bobnoxx99]

I just bought a cat 27 1973 and by god i will be one that sticks with it. I was lucky enough to run into a guy that knows his **** and showed me the mast was going down if i even thought about raising it, so i will be fixing it the next few weeks. gotta fix the 9.9 that came with it also. going to learn and then try for Palmyra. yeah i know bad choice but what the hell... best case i get there, worse case i disappear in the middle of the ocean. My friends back in Bama get to talk about crazy Bob who got out of that hole and live in Hawaii for ten years, bought a sailboat and sailed off into the Pacific and was never heard from again, gaining me a sort of immortality and my nephew gets laid for life talking about his "eccentric" uncle! So if there is any advice out here I will be asking to make sure my nephew does not get laid as I enjoy life. Thank you and have a nice weekend!

BOB

[carstenb]

Is the difference between a bucket and a pail that wannabes have pails and experienced sailors have buckets?

Notice the bucket faction have a social group and the pail-faces do not. Does that also mean bucketeers are more sympathetic persons?

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Coops

Who wants to have a shot at the difference between a bucket and a pail then? If you look up wiki, it declares a pail to be a "cylindrical object with an open top and a handle=bucket" So, we have a potayto/potarto thing here. The bucketeers on the one side and the pail-faces on the other. Choose your side, make your claim as to being on the right side is the way of truth and light.
I had a bucket once with a hole in the bottom and all my lists fell out.

Coops.

Clearly a pail is made out of metal. A bucket can be made out of just about anything. Don't know why I believe this to be true but I do. Too much time around farms maybe?

[Coops]

So a pail made out of plastic would be a faux-pail? Which is better than a po-fail which is just plain messy, or at the least, frustrating. So as a guidance then perhaps Bucketeers are plastic people whilst pail-faces are the men/women of steel.

Coops.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by minaret

Clearly a pail is made out of metal. A bucket can be made out of just about anything. Don't know why I believe this to be true but I do. Too much time around farms maybe?

all cat 1 offshore south african boats have to carry a metal bucket,i could never work out why,untill one trip we ran out of cooking gas in a remote part of madagasgar just before a crossing to richards bay.

having just read a book about the long range desert group who operated behind enemy lines in the north african desert during world war two i borrowed one of their sop's

a quick trip to the beach where i half filled the bucket with sand,back on the boat,added half a cup of petrol and the grill from the oven and hey presto we were able to cook reasonably safely for a week till we got back to sa.

[charliehows]

if you're not a wannabe what are ya? a don'twannabe? i been a wannabe all my life, aint given up yet. (back from a month of sailing, man its good out there...)

[Celestialsailor]

Geeez!...this thread has grown. I take a couple of days off to move my boat to the Bay area and it looks like all of you are starting a TV show as well as a mod warning...good job!