Oh boy am I new

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Hello all,
I have spent some time looking around the other posts and this seems like a pretty cool group of folks.
Well Here's my deal:
I was raised in California and I love the ocean more than anything, somewhere along the way my parents got the idea that they wanted to move inland. It has been my dream ever since to get back to the ocean and onto a boat. I have kept this goal on the back burner for the better part of a decade now so that I wouldn't get to distracted from school but now I'm about to graduate and it is time to start planning.
I need all of your help. I have so many questions.

What books should I read?
What's the best way to learn to sail?
Will any of you teach me to sail?
What kind of boat should I get?
How much money do I need before I start buying stuff?
What is the average life expectancy for over zealous idiots in boats?

Pretty much I want to know every thing you all think I should know before I go sailing into the sunset.

I was thinking about starting a thread where every one could post the things they wish they had done when they got started, but I don't think that this is the right category for that.

To get things started I have a really specific question that has been plaguing me for the past few days. I have heard several people say that 40' is the limit for two people to handle in a full time world cruising situation. Why is this? I'm not doubting the experianced cruising comunity but I can't seem to find a real specific reason that 41' is too big. I won't lie, that 70+ foot baltic with a ball room on it looks nice, I'm asking for horror stories to scare me out of doing something stupid.

Thank you all for reading,
Dread Pirate Roberts

[CaptainK]

Welcome aboard, Dread Pirate Roberts.

You're aboard the best forum on the net. And I wanted to greet ya!!

Welcome!!!

Were did you use to live at? And where do you generally live at now? Are you still living in California?

Cause I used to live out there. I'm living in Pheonix, Arizona right now. Plan on moving back out there this late summer!!!

First, welcome aboard.
Second, you will find detailed discussion on all of those question here.
Third, great idea! Post it in sailing forum.
And finally there is a thread "Why do occasional sailors by large?" This will address pros and cons of a big boat.

[Quarter Moon]

Okay...because you call yourself the Dread Pirate Roberts I can't resist answering...
Keep in mind that the original D.P. Roberts had a full crew! The bigger the boat, the bigger the sails, the bigger the sails the tougher it is to play with them. The bigger the boat, the bigger the anchor...a 30 pound anchor feels like it weighs 200 pounds in a good swell with a bright breeze when you find yourself dragging over to that beautiful cliff you anchored under the night before when the wind was safely blowing from off shore and the seas were flat as a pasture pond.
Just kidding...........(not)!
I had a heck of a time breaking into the sailing world. Try signing up at a yacht club as race crew. That did it for me...the infamous Rum Races in San Diego harbor. And take classes with the Coast Guard Auxiliary to learn the very basics...sounds yukky, but it will help...and you will meet people with boats, who are fine to people to meet under any circumstances. Spring for the big bucks and take a local sailing class...the greatest benefit is, once again, meeting people like yourself who are dreaming the same dream.
But, in truth, it's your dream. Don't let anyone tell you anything that doesn't fit in with that. If you buy it, you will learn.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

First of all,
The origional Dread Pirate Roberts single handed his boat all the way to the cliffs of insanity and caught up with Vincini and his crew while "using the same wind they are using". But that's neither here nor there.
Second of all, thanks for all the great advice I'll definately check into the Coast gaurd Auxiliary thing. I read somewhere that crewing on racing boats doesn't often result in learning but instead just doing what the captain yells at you. I'll probably do it any way It sounds like fun, and getting yelled at it something I have great deal of experience with.
I will also check out the two posts mentioned earlier, but just in your humble opinions, what do you think is the biggest boat that could handle a pacific crossing with a PG-13 amount of profanity from the captain?
Oh and lastly I have posted the afore mentioned thread so please give us all the wisdom of your blunders.

Thanks agian,
Dread Pirate Roberts

P.S. I am kinda bummed out that no one offered to teach me to sail yet. I don't eat much and I don't smell THAT bad.

[Weyalan]

Welcome aboard. Browse the forums' back pages and the answers to most of your questions will be found. Not that there are any definitive answers, mind you. For example, if you have enough money to spend on your boat, and are competent, then there really is no limit to how big a boat can be handled by 2 people. With electric halyard and sheet winches, loads of fancy electronics, bow thrusters, autopilots, etc, it is really a question of how big you want. I have a friend who has a swan 65' with all the gear on it - he and his wife can handle it just fine. For the rest of us poor souls who cannot necessarily afford million dollar+ boats, who have to raise and lower sails, trim and reef, steer and dock all "handraulically", a smaller boat makes batter sense. I hav a 40' boat, with no electric winches or fancy gizmos. I would love a bigger boat, but 40' is quite big enough for myself and my princess to handle in a 30knot+ blow.

[Quarter Moon]

I've known a few single handers in my time and they had all been to the cliffs of insanity and still carried the scars.....the above line says it all! As to what size of boat you might sail needing only PG language......sigh.....I know of no such vessel, large or small. I think that 42' is as big as I'd ever want to go...but...then again, if I had the big bucks and could afford the extra $30,000 to make it a single hand rig, I can' t say I wouldn't do it. I did sail extensively on a 46 foot catamaran and she was great...quite a handful...and the size was a problem with some of the great anchorages we found...and forget marina space......unless you are loaded! Cruising is mostly about finding new places to explore and finding the time and money to do it...There must be a formula for cost of upkeep per foot. The bigger the boat the more upkeep and when things go wrong there's more to mend. Don't take my word for it....but, check out some smaller boats in your hunt just for the hell of it. I think you'll be surprised. And, as an avid lover of multihulls, I must admit that if it's living space that most attracts you a monohull usually has the most advantages. And they are cheaper....(there is a reason for that)! Nothing like a floating sundeck on a lazy sea or secluded anchorage...

D.P., I would be happy to have you aboard for a sail, but it is an awful long trip from "You'd laugh if I told you" to not so sunny California. (By the way, I know where that is, but I ain't tellin

[Pblais]

Size of boats is a difficult subject.

Jerry Spiess soloed the North Atlantic (Virgina Beach to Falmouth) in a 10 ft boat back in 1979 called Yankee Girl. Two years later he went from Long Beach to Sydney Austrailia. So it would appear you need at minimum a 10 ft boat to sail the pacific.

http://admin.kstptv5.com/admin/creat...iew=1&sto=7676

(check out the video clip)

In 1983 The new record for the Atlantic was set in a boat 5 ft - 4in. Someone tried but did not make in a boat 3ft - 11in in 1998.

It's also not uncommon to hear of solo sailors handling 50 ft and larger vessles.

What is possible is not often desirable nor affordable. There lies the challenge. The one requirement is you have to have a boat. After that it would be great if you knew how to sail it. Better yet, if you could sail it well.

The conventional rule is it has to be large enough to carry you any crew and all your crap.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Kai,
I would be honored to sail with you but you are right, It is a long way to california. I actually live in Colorado. I have summer classes this year but if the offer still stands next year then you're on. I'd love to learn and I don't mind hard work, and if the occasion called for it I feel confident that I could be the bilge pump that your signature mentions.

To every one else I would like to say thanks for the insight there is far more involved in choosing a boat size that I knew. Maybe the best way would be for me to pick out a few that I like and then run them by you guys so that you can tell me what's wrong with them.
I don't think I want to go any bigger than 40' and soloing the north Atlantic in a boat that's 5" shorter than I am doesn't sound like much fun either. So at least I now have a range to work in.

Thanks for the help all,
Dread Pirate Roberts

[CaptainK]

You're also welcome to come sailing with me D.P.!!

There are alot of party spots out where my boat will be homeported this summer.

And they really have fun around that area!! :cubalibre

And I'm closer to you!!

If you know where Stockton is. It's inland. But the major rivers run out into the Pacific ocean. That way you could get used to the motion, before hitting the ocean!! Just something to think about!!!

[Charlie]

DP & Kai Nui:

Stocketon is fun. Done the Stockton South Tower Race and the Delta Ditch Run. Both were fun. What a nice group of people at the Stockton Sailing Club. I don't party much anymore but they sure like to.

Charlie

Look me up when you get to Stockton.

[CaptainK]

Yeah Charlie.

I'll give you a shout, when I arrive!!

Charlie, the Delta Ditch, last I heard is still a happening event.
D.P. no problem. Welcome anytime.
I like small boats, but I could not get into anything where the head is in the galley That is where I draw the line.

[CaptainK]

Actually Kai.

Charlie made a mistake on typing your name. Instead of typing mine. He confirmed it in a PM to me.

I'm all there to go to the "South Tower Race"!!

I love power boats!!!