Hola! We Gotta Start Somewhere!

[Unklebuk]

Hi all!

I'll apologize now for the length of the post....

The wife and I have been browsing around here a bit, and will stick around to see what we can take with us as we move forward. We've both always had a really active travel bug. This has taken us many places, but about a year ago we packed up house, literally, and then sold the house. We considered moving to Costa Rica, tried a long, live-like-you're-a-local trip and it didn't really fit us. While there, we figured if we could move to CR, we could move anywhere, so now living across the bay from Cadiz, Spain in Rota. This wasn't such a jump as I spent 20 years in the US Navy, doing 2 tours here in Rota, so knew the area/culture pretty well.

Long story short....TOO LATE....we're still stuck to a house. We walk the dogs down to the marina everyday and admire the boats sitting there. We've considered the idea of cruising the world on our own (that active little travel bug) in the past, but never pulled the trigger. Now, we're back at it again as we both love being near the ocean. Me, having spent many, very boring days at sea, know it's not day-in/out excitement, but also know that there's so much to see around the world that we'll never be able to make it to otherwise. So, why not!?

Although in the Navy for 20 years, my job had nothing to do with sailing knowledge, be it navigation, engine maintenance, or anything else....except for some firefighting and damage control practice during drills. I'll be good with comms and radar, since that's what I worked around for a good part of my career. Otherwise, we're both starting from scratch. We're signing up for a week of sailing classes locally, then considering some outings as crew to get a better feel, followed or incorporating some lenghtier and more intense RYA certification courses in the area or over in Gibraltar.

Who knows where we'll end up, but will be mostly lurking the forums here to see what I can skim from the surface. Our initial plans are to spend the next few years saving and learning, then somewhere along the way we hope to buy our own boat to move on to. Now, if we could figure out how to get a 1600cc motorcycle on/off a boat regularly while traveling....

Cheers to all, and apologies for the lengthy post.....

Michael

[Navegante1105]

Welcome to the forum. Although,I live in the Canary Islands, I usally sail in the Balearics. Maybe we can meet one day.If You have the opportunity to sail one day on the Balearics, You will enjoy. I have some pictures in my profile;You can enjoy them.
Regards, Agustin.

[Cheechako]

welcome!

[Celestialsailor]

Welcome to the forum. I enjoy having both house and a sailboat to escape on.

[Unklebuk]

Thanks for the welcomes.

[The Garbone]

Welcome to the forum..

I was/am in much the same boat at you with my six years in the Navy. It does help more than your would think.

As for the Motorbike, I went small with A 500cc Royal Enfield. A real poorly build pos but fun to ride and now, after 4 years or so, I know how to rebuild engines. A good thing. Looked into motorcycles and boats and basically it is a no-go unless you look into a 150cc rice bike have a catamaran. Better to just get a folding bike.

[boatman61]

Hola... Como estas...
If I could make a suggestion... after you've done your basic course's take a ride on that 1600cc bike of yours to Santander/Bilbao and take the ferry to the UK and do a live aboard RYA Coastal Skippers course... the Gib schools all very good but easy peasy...
The challenges you'll face in the English Channel with navigation in serious tides and variable weather will serve you well and set you up for most conditions around the world...
As for the bike on the boat... a friend of mine kept 2 Harleys on his 17metre Jongert... the transom (garage door) lowered hydraulically onto the pontoon and he'd ride them of... the stunned expressions on other cruisers faces always cracked me up...
Oh... Bien Vindo CF...

[Unklebuk]

Boatman,

Thanks for the info on the RYA in England. The wife's from Liverpool, so she'd go for that. We've got a year or 2 to burn while getting our feet wet and learning what we can, slow and steady, so we'll definitely keep it on the back burner for later on. We're both more interested in useful than easy. As I can hop on a flight from the base here for as a retiree to head back stateside, we can consider ASA courses as well. I'll leave it at that since this specific forum is for meet/greet, but do appreciate any and all advice (or opinions, whichever comes about).

The transom sounds interesting, but the bike was a retirement gift to myself, so doubt I'd want to subject it to the sea. We may just store it while out, even if it's long term. I've taken excellent care of it, and want to keep it for many years to come without having to fight off corrosion the ocean would inflict.....to many days spent busting rust onboard ships, so know the toll it can take in a very short time.

@Garbone.....We rented a 125cc dirt bike for a month in Costa Rica as our only transportation while staying in Samara. It was fun, but only for the quick local trip. Even the 5k ride to the gas station was pushing the limits.....keeping in mind I'm 6'1" and 240 lbs. Though, I've seen entire families and their groceries on a single moped here around Rota.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Unklebuk

(...) know that there's so much to see around the world that we'll never be able to make it to otherwise. (...)

I think, quite contrary: you can see more for less if you skip this boat ownership part.

From the boat, one mostly can see water, water and then more water. Basically, water there is very similar to water here. I think most people travel to see things on land and this is much better done by plane / ship / train and car.

Cadiz Bay is a great place to start sailing with good conditions throughout a large portion of the year and plenty of interesting places to go and visit between Faro and Gibraltar. It should not take more than a year before you can sail on your own provided you have the time to devote.

Welcome.

b.

[Unklebuk]

We've visited many places on the motorcycle, and I've been riding for 20+ years, but visiting these places wouldn't have been as enjoyable without the ride getting there! Looking forward to similar adventures sailing.

As for the bay here, always a good wind from one direction or another.

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I think, quite contrary: you can see more for less if you skip this boat ownership part.

From the boat, one mostly can see water, water and then more water. Basically, water there is very similar to water here. I think most people travel to see things on land and this is much better done by plane / ship / train and car.

b.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Thanks for your service. I've always found the journey just as interesting as the destination if not more so.