Better Late Than Never

[Windstorm1]

Hello Cruisers,

Almost 15 years ago I took my one and only sailing trip on a Morgan 41' up the Indian River from Cocoa Beach to St. Augustine, Florida and back. It was a memorable trip for several reasons, but the one that stayed with me over the years was the complete feeling of freedom that sailing allowed. Halfway through the trip the halyard broke and the captain hoisted me up the main sail to restring the thing (I'm sure there's a more technical term for it), but there I was I don't know how many feet above the water, dangling on a 4" board with a nylon rope in one hand, my other arm and both legs literally wrapped around the mast. The boat was rocking back and forth and I was hanging out over the water about half the time. It was the other half that scared the #*!@ out of me. I got the job done and the captain lowered me to the deck, safe and sound. Later that evening, we anchored in the river in Daytona Beach, laughed about the day's adventure, drank wine and watched the manatee swim around the boat. It was a little slice of heaven.

Fast-forward to 14 years later and the consideration of buying my first sailboat at 50+ years old. Well, my wife thinks I'm crazy (she's never been sailing), but I find myself visiting websites in the middle of the night and looking for that boat of my very own. I live six blocks from Lake Michigan, half an hour north of Chicago, and when I go to the beach I see the boats out on the water and think, "That could be me... I could leave the office early and set sail... plan a northerly weekend... or just open a bottle of wine with my wife and watch the sun set..." Everyone I share my dream with tells me I'm crazy, that buying a boat is a money pit, and I'm aware of the hidden costs, the maintenance, docking fees, etc. I don't know what kind of boat I would buy or how big it should be, and I will certainly need an extensive refresher course on sailing.

But here I am for the very first time visiting this forum and I don't know, I'm either looking for guidance or for someone to talk me out of it. That big blue lake sure looks inviting though, and I'm starting to feel like an addict who needs a fix. What to do? What to do? Thanks for listening and any advice you might offer this suffering once upon a time sailor.

Windstorm1