Does it really matter which damn sailboat you pick to go down the west coast?

[exMaggieDrum]

I believe that I was very unfair to the Bumfuzzles in a post many, many pages ago. I have tremendous respect for what they have done, and continue to do. And their blog is certainly entertaining and well written.

I was certainly influenced by another young couple we sailed with in Mexico. They were proudly the youngest to go with a somewhat modest, but well-founded, boat. They continually bragged about how they made it on pennies a day in the smallest boat, etc. They constantly, I mean constantly, bummed others for everything you can even imagine for their boat. Turned out one of them was the son of a very wealthy yachtsman who was a member of the San Diego YC, where this young couple who were so poor, kept their boat after they got back. I have some emotional baggage from previous encounters like these two over the years. That is my personal problem and has nothing to do with the Bumfuzzles. I respect them and wish them well.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Originally Posted by exMaggieDrum

I believe that I was very unfair to the Bumfuzzles in a post many, many pages ago. I have tremendous respect for what they have done, and continue to do. And their blog is certainly entertaining and well written.

I was certainly influenced by another young couple we sailed with in Mexico. They were proudly the youngest to go with a somewhat modest, but well-founded, boat. They continually bragged about how they made it on pennies a day in the smallest boat, etc. They constantly, I mean constantly, bummed others for everything you can even imagine for their boat. Turned out one of them was the son of a very wealthy yachtsman who was a member of the San Diego YC, where this young couple who were so poor, kept their boat after they got back. I have some emotional baggage from previous encounters like these two over the years. That is my personal problem and has nothing to do with the Bumfuzzles. I respect them and wish them well.

It's frustrating when people are constantly bumming off others. Sorry you experienced/saw that and too bad you didn't take the time to tell the young folks they needed to "give back" in some other way -- climb an old geezer's mast for him to check the rig, etc. When you're young there's a lot one can trade in gratitude for needed things that are out of your budget.

I'm responding to your post because maybe you wouldn't have the emotional baggage if you realized that maybe things aren't quite as you think they are. Maybe they are, but hey--things may not be as you think. Iin San Diego it's cheaper to keep your boat at a yacht club than in a marina. The slip rates are lower, lagging behind the marinas by quite a bit even though the port authority tries to force the YC's there to make certain capital improvement so they'll have to charge more (and the port will get more rent from the YC's since they get a % of the revenues). Other thing is that when you're young the up front initiation fee of a YC is cheap because they're always looking for younger members. Finally, their particular old man may or may not be wealthy but a lot of people who are members of YC's are pretty ordinary-both in terms of wealth and social status in their town. So, you might not really need to feel bad about any of it. We were in SD for a couple years (2006-2009) and come and go from there now and I'm just passing along what I saw then and hear/see now. If someone is going to keep a boat there in a slip instead of a mooring, the YC route is going to be cheapest overall and is weighted towards making it a great deal for those young folks. So see--maybe there's nothing to have any baggage about after all

[exMaggieDrum]

Originally Posted by Schooner Chandlery

It's frustrating when people are constantly bumming off others. Sorry you experienced/saw that and too bad you didn't take the time to tell the young folks they needed to "give back" in some other way -- climb an old geezer's mast for him to check the rig, etc. When you're young there's a lot one can trade in gratitude for needed things that are out of your budget.

I'm responding to your post because maybe you wouldn't have the emotional baggage if you realized that maybe things aren't quite as you think they are. Maybe they are, but hey--things may not be as you think. Iin San Diego it's cheaper to keep your boat at a yacht club than in a marina. The slip rates are lower, lagging behind the marinas by quite a bit even though the port authority tries to force the YC's there to make certain capital improvement so they'll have to charge more (and the port will get more rent from the YC's since they get a % of the revenues). Other thing is that when you're young the up front initiation fee of a YC is cheap because they're always looking for younger members. Finally, their particular old man may or may not be wealthy but a lot of people who are members of YC's are pretty ordinary-both in terms of wealth and social status in their town. So, you might not really need to feel bad about any of it. We were in SD for a couple years (2006-2009) and come and go from there now and I'm just passing along what I saw then and hear/see now. If someone is going to keep a boat there in a slip instead of a mooring, the YC route is going to be cheapest overall and is weighted towards making it a great deal for those young folks. So see--maybe there's nothing to have any baggage about after all

Hey Schooner, I appreciate what you are saying. Baggage can get tiring to carry around. But some of it is just the experiences you have that shape your view of the world, and some of the people in it. There is lots more to this story to what I put in it but I don't see a need to drag all that out here. This couple were given so many chances...... My feelings developed over a couple of years with many interactions and with discussions with many other cruisers. I'm probably the harshest at times. Your comments are good and noted. There were some issues with the SDYC as well. They are not a cheap YC by any measure, and there were other factors leading up to what I said. I do not bring this kind of crap out very often. We've met many other cruisers who were challenging. Many of those are still friends and always will be. I am sure that I am on some people's list in that way. But I tried to make amends with the BF's. I'll leave it at that. Thanks for your note.