Hey all,
Let me preface this by saying I have never sailed anything anywhere ever.
I'm 24 years old and am currently taking 2 years off before entering into
medical school. Im interested in sailing and would love to start teaching myself to sail. I'd like to learn as much as I can with the end goal being me sailing from
Texas around the northern part of the
Caribbean (Cuba
Bahamas Puerto Rico). I know its a long way away and might take more than 2 years but I want to get started.
Now don't get mad haha. I know its not something I will do tomorrow and I know its very easy for an inexperienced person to get into some real trouble really fast, but I have to start somewhere and this is my first step.
So Im wondering the following.. these are very general questions just to get an overall idea of what Im embarking on.
What Type-
I'm wanting to learn to sail so Im obviously decided on a sailboat over a motorboat. After that I know there are catamarans and
monohull (kind of like a typical sailboat). What would you kind people recommend for what Im wanting to do?
The Size of the Boat-
The next question is what size. What Im wanting to do is the most minimalistic (ya its not a word) sailing. A
boat I can take to my local big lake and learn as much as I can but that I can also eventually take into the gulf. From what I've read the size of the
boat needed mainly depends on what you want to bring with you. I don't need a bathroom,
shower, kitchen etc. This summer I road a 1975 550cc motorcycle from Dallas through
Mexico for 2 weeks and camped the entire way, that type of minimalism. Im more concerned with what size is needed for
safety.
I was planning on staying close to the coast down
Florida and then "island hopping" for my long term goal. What sizes would you all recommend?
Engine Size-
Most of the sailboats I've seen on my local lake have small outboards around 10hp. For sailing in the gulf do you need something bigger? What size?
Thanks for all of those who can give me some
advice. I'm wanting to learn to sail and I know I have big pipe dreams. Right now Im just trying to figure out what type of boat to buy. Depending on your recommendations I'll be able to decide if my end goal could even be a reality in a few years. If not then I'll just try to find something small to learn on while I save my
money.