Takin the Leap... FINALLY!

[Sing Free]

Hi all,
First post to this forum.
We are hopefully going to take possession of our future live a board later this week. An Islander Freeport 41'. We're buying the boat in San Diego and cruising it up to our home port in Channel Islands Harbor. Wife retires in December but we should be living on board by November. We're planning on doing the Ha Ha 10/2016 then to points unknown and if things go as planned across the pacific in about another 2 years. We've been sailors but not cruisers, yet. We are super excited to be this close to heading out for the journey of our lives.
We would love to hear from other Freeport owners, cruisers or any tips on sailing the southern part of Ca.

[klmmicro]

Main piece of advice sailing SoCal waters...have fun and avoid the submarines! Sailing down here is a lot of fun year round as the waters are protected from most of the harsher swell that can hit the outer islands. Lots of traffic out on the water when the fish are biting.

My cruising is limited to shots up to Dana Point and down to San Diego on my 36' Catalina. Love it down here!

Congrats on your choice and here's to a great future on the high seas!

[Tayana42]

Sing Free, I'm sure you will have many happy days on the water. Southern California is a great cruising ground. Do keep a careful eye on the weather every time you go out and be aware conditions can change.

What is your sailing experience so far? Have you and your wife taken any classes? Learn, read, practice, improve.

The people at Channel Islands Yacht Club have been very nice to us each time we were there. They may be a good resource for you.


S/V B'Shert

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Sing Free.

[Sing Free]

Thanks for the greetings
My wife & I celebrated our 20th anniversary by taking ASA 101,103 & 104. That was 16 years ago but we've chartered a few times since. About 4 years ago I got a really good deal on a small 28' cabin cruiser and my wife said I thought we were going to get a sail boat? A week later I bought a 25' Coronado sloop which was a lot of fun but way too small. We sailed it for 6 months then sold it as 2 slip fees were a bit much. Tripled my money on the sailboat and recently sold the cabin cruiser for 5X cost. Now we have been boatless for a few weeks and we're going stir crazy.
We are doing a sea trial, survey and haul out on Monday so hopefully we will finally have our new boat (new to us) soon. Bringing her up from SD ought to give us a great opportunity to get to know her. At this point my only concern is her overall length, 46' with bowsprit and 52' with dink on davits. Slip fees will be more than anticipated, such a big boat for such a small hole in the water (32'6" LWL).

[Tayana42]

So what are you buying? Formosa 41?


S/V B'Shert

[Sing Free]

It's a 1977 Islander Freeport 41' that's been totally refit over the last year. Actually we did look at a couple of 41' Formosa's that were in great shape but the cabin lay-out didn't work for us. Also looked at a couple CT's, Morgan Out Island and a 43' Gulfstar MKII CC. If something happens where this current deal falls through then we will probably go with the Gulfstar.

[Tayana42]

Best of luck with your purchase and with your sailing life.


S/V B'Shert

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy and Welcome Aboard CF Sing Free.

I have read your intro post above, and all of the following comments posted by others.

I think I looked at that IF41 online some last year. Nice boat. I think the aft master stateroom looks very inviting for light and comfort.

Since you are new to this forum, let me mention a few things you might miss but that could help you more enjoy your time here:

There are also some "social groups" within the forum that are more focused on special interests.

Here are a couple you might find interesting:

Cruisers & Sailing Forums - All Groups

Pacific Coast Sailors Group (74 members)
Cruisers & Sailing Forums - Pacific Coast Sailors

WIKI
Take a look at the Cruising WIKI that is found via the tab up on the top menu bar of the forum. It has a LOT of information in it you might find fun, interesting, or helpful.
____________

Looking for Quick Answers?

This is the best and fastest method I have found to the answers I seek here.
Since you are relatively new to the forum, here is my favorite friendly forum search tip: Look at the green menu bar on the forum pages for the drop down "Search" menu. Click on that to drop down a list of search functions. From that drop down menu select the GOOGLE CUSTOM search feature (the second box down) and then enter several different descriptive terms for your topic of interest. That will do a Custom google search of ONLY this site and it is likely to find answers to your questions or results for you. Note: this is VERY different from using the regular forum search box or field (which I never use because of poor search results). Also note, this is NOT found if you use the CF app. It IS found if you use a web browser such as Safari, etc.

Bon Voyage!