Greetings from S. California!

[AVSkipper]

Hi All,
I am new to the forum and a relatively new sailor. I learned on a Sunfish as a boy and loved it, but the sailing bug bit me this year for good. I've joined a sailing club locally, I've done a handful of charters on my own, and I've crewed for other skippers to gain as much knowledge and experience as I can.

I love the whole experience. I am qualified to 30 feet now and I'll get up to 32s after a few more times out. I treat the boats in the club fleet as if they were my own. I know these boats are owned by folks who love sailing and I leave every boat cleaner and tidier than I found it. This appears to be a great forum to accompany a great sport.

Cheers,

Matt (AVSkipper)

[Pblais]

My wife and I satrted with a sail club. We think it was the best thing we ever did. Using other boats and being with folks that know you are learning makes the whole thing a lot cheaper and more fun. I think at the time we thought the club was a lot of money, but it was a lot less than we pay now given our slip now is almost free.

[AVSkipper]

Hi Paul. Thanks for the reply. The sailing club gives me the choice of different sizes and makes, which is good. I'm in no hurry to buy at this point. I just want to sail, get the experience, and enjoy it. I've skippered Catalina 30s and a Newport 30. This particular Newport is fairly weathered, but she sails just fine and I've got a bit of a soft spot for her. I've crewed on Catalina 320s, Hunter 33s and 38s, a Catalina 34, and a Catalina 42. I really enjoyed the Catalina 320 recently because the owner had her so nicely equipped and she sailed great once we got some wind (that can be an issue here in S. CA).

I'm looking forward to reading, learning, and eventually contributing here.

Matt

[Pblais]

I'm in no hurry to buy at this point. I just want to sail, get the experience, and enjoy it.

Sounds like some good thinking to me. It is supposed to be fun!

[swagman]

Welcome Matt,
Great to have you aboard.
JOHN

[AVSkipper]

Thanks, John. I appreciate the welcome!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Matt,
Welcome aboard!! You've found a club very much like the one we have here at Na Hoa Holomoku of Hawaii Yacht Club and it is a great way to get sailing experience without all the headaches of boat maintenance. Great you found our forum too. At any rate our annual membership fees are very low so we attract as many new folks without a big expense and we have fun.
Hope to see you on the water!
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[AVSkipper]

Hi SkiprJohn, thanks for the welcome. The club that I joined is called Aventura and the site is here if you want to check it out: Aventura Sailing Association

The boats are 30-43 footers. I've done their basic course and coastal navigation. I'm signed up for intermediate starting in January '08. I've done a few charters, crewed for other skippers a fair amount, and made some great new friends in the process.

Your club in Hawaii looks like great fun!

Matt

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Matt,
Your club looks good too with goodly sized boats. Great place to sail. Pretty affordable as well but you can't beat our annual membership price of $50 with no initiation fee. Of course, our largest boats are 26 foot International Folkboats. I used to sail quite a bit in San Diego Bay out of a Navy club on the strand South of Coronado. Great place to sail.
JohnL

[AVSkipper]

Hey JohnL - the only club I know of that had member dues as reasonable as yours is one called Convair in San Diego. My friend's dad is an instructor there. Their start up fee is a little higher, but it includes instruction and some boat rental time, I believe. This is a nice place to sail. I'm a little further up the coast in Dana Point. I would love to sail in Hawaii one of these days!

Matt

[Saildoggie]

Welcome!
I was an Aventura member for a few years.
They also put on killer paries, and if I was single, I would hit them all!

The instruction s good, but they want things done THEIR way, I had a few rounds with the instructors, as I had already sailed for 30 years before joining.

Like The main halyard is always on WHAT side??
The PO'ed me by not letting me charter to Catalina with my family, we have been there over 30 times on our old Santana 27, Cricket.

With 10 BVI and Abacos charters under my belt, I only race locally now, no more chartering.

Send me a PM, maybe we can split a day sail and have some fun!!

[Ex-Calif]

Matt - Welcome aboard and thanks for the link to Aventura. I sent it to my brother still living in SoCal. he currently is a member of a club in San Diego but it's a bit of a hike for him coming from Yorba Linda.

I am also curoius about non-member rentals. I get through SoCal about 4 times a year and would love the ability ot rent a boat somewhere convenient. It looks like the requirements are no too daunting once you convince them you can sail.

Any ideas on this?

[bananabender]

Hi from the other side of the Pacific ... my boating activities are centered around the Whitsunday Islands and nearby coast and reefs, now in relative comfort in a 40 ft steel Roberts displacement cruiser. Looking forward to retirement before too long and more water time, feel free to contact me if you're passing this way or thinking about it, surely one of the world's great boating spots.

Cheers,
Bananabender. (Wow - a smiley with TWO bananas!)

[AVSkipper]

Saildoggie, thanks for the welcome. Aventura is great for newbie skippers like me. It's a great way to learn. That said, I know it can be frustrating for experienced skippers. One guy I met through the club has over 30 plus years sailing and he doesn't like the fact they won't let him single hand, for example. Others have found it a bit regimented, but manageable. I've got a full boat the next two times I'm scheduled out, but I predict some waning enthusiasm from a couple crew members as it cools down. I'll PM you because I'm sure I'll need some extra hands soon!

Dan, Aventura does allow non-member rentals. If you go to their site, there's a link to non-member charters and it gives you a price list, too. If you call them, they can explain the requirements. You may want to talk to the fleet manager (I can't remember his name at the moment). This club might be great for your brother. I like the relatively big fleet because you can almost always get a boat when you want one.

Bananabender, thanks for the warm welcome. I really would love to see and sail around Australia and the Whitsunday Islands. It's on my list!