Hello from St. Augustine, Florida

[oceansoul63]

Hi guys. Just joined. Lifetime boater, though a cruising novice. I recently purchased a 1972 Bristol 34 sloop that I am in the process of outfitting for the cruising life. I hope to sail to the Caribbean next year, and, eventually, across the Atlantic to Europe.

I'll try not to ask too many dumb questions, but I will be seeking much advice.

Cheers,

Doug

[skipmac]

Hi Doug,

Welcome to cruisersforum. To use an old cliche, there are no dumb questions with one exception. Be sure to search old posts and threads before asking. If you do you might find your quesions already answered. If you don't search and ask an oft repeated question you will possibly hear from some of the sharper wits on the forum.

Seriously this forum is a great source of information. I've been sailing for 35 years and I have picked up more good information and advise on this forum in the last year than 10 years of hanging out at the dockside bar.

Are you going to base out of St Augustine? I'm in Gainesville and am looking for a place to keep a boat in this part of FL.

[oceansoul63]

Thanks, skipmac.

Well, I moved to St. Augustine two years ago to find a boat. I guess you could say that I am, for now, based in St. Augustine. Insomuch as I suppose I need to be based somewhere.

It's a great place to keep a boat. So yeah, I'd definitely advise you to check it out, if you haven't already. If you need any help over here, let me know.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Doug,
Welcome aboard! I love dumb questions because then I get to give stupid answers. Something I can handle.
Just kidding. We've all been new to sailing at one time or another and sometimes the only way to learn is to ask a question. I'll never consider it dumb to ask a question.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[oceansoul63]

Thanks, SkiprJohn. I appreciate your kind words. I'm not really new to sailing per se.

As I said, I've been a boater all of my life (got my first little skiff when I was about 8). But most of my experience has been with power boats. I had a few daysailers growing up, and then later had an Oday 20 pocket cruiser (a great little boat). But my sailing experience has largely been self-taught and intuitive. Meaning I might not know the "proper" way to do everything, but I get there, eventually.

But to become a fulltime cruising sailor, such as I am working on now, there are a lot of things I have to learn, naturally.

So, I very much look forward to tapping into the wisdom of the members of this forum.