Is This a Good Place to Start

[GZgunner]

Ok so I am looking to start my sailing instruction, as stated in my previous post and I am now convinced to look for a boat on my current coast ( Pacific).

Is this a good place to start, is this what I should be starting on?

Marina Sailing Club | Sailing Courses=

they offer courses up and down California etc. Also in that price is $345 for marina membership , do we need that ??

if this isnt where I should start can somebody please recommend a place to start our sailing instruction. We (my GF and I) want to get start by the end of this month.
We are hell bent on getting out of this ratrace asap.

After we gain our sailing certs and are comfortable we are buying the boat and gonna start along the coast with weekend sails , maybe a week at a time. Til we are comfortable going further and maybe to Mexico.

I really appreciate the advicefrom my last post please keep it coming.

Also thanks to some of you we are highly considering a Cat but I dont know doesnt seem like a sailboat to me. But hey wtf do I know......

Thanks

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by GZgunner

Is this a good place to start, is this what I should be starting on?

Marina Sailing Club | Sailing Courses=

they offer courses up and down California etc. Also in that price is $345 for marina membership , do we need that ??

They are fine, as far as I know, gunner. If you haven't done so already, get your hands on a recent issue of Latitude 38, the NoCal sailing rag. It is truly one of the best sailing newspapers in the world.

if this isnt where I should start can somebody please recommend a place to start our sailing instruction. We (my GF and I) want to get start by the end of this month.

Look in Latitude 38 for other sailing schools. You're bound to have other options in such a hotbed of sailing activity.

We are hell bent on getting out of this ratrace asap.

I can understand your plight, but I'd advise not rushing into anything, especially buying a vessel, because you're frustrated with your present situation.

After we gain our sailing certs and are comfortable we are buying the boat and gonna start along the coast with weekend sails , maybe a week at a time. Til we are comfortable going further and maybe to Mexico.

This is a sensible plan, gunner, as the best way to become a good sailor is to sail often, and in all conditions. Once you become comfortable extending your coastal cruising, you will already be way ahead of a lot of "sailors" who seldom leave the dock and would never even consider going out the Gate.

Also thanks to some of you we are highly considering a Cat but I dont know doesnt seem like a sailboat to me. But hey wtf do I know......

If you want to read a well-done website about the adventures of a young couple who circumnavigated on a 35' catamaran with virtually no experience, check out bumfuzzle.com, click on "adventure chronicles" and scroll to the bottom of the next page. Start with the first log in October 2003 and you can then "sail along" with them as they undertake a four-year circumnavigation.

Besides the enjoyment of taking this virtual cruise, you'll be positively inspired and learn quite a bit about the types of challenges you can expect to encounter.

Latitude 38, mentioned above, sponsors an event each October they call the Baja HaHa, in which a whole fleet of west coast vessels gather in San Diego, then sail down to Cabo.

Many sailors use the event as the start of their extended cruising, continuing on down the west coast of Mexico to enjoy the sailing season (winter) in tropical Mexico. Many then jump off to the Marquesas, making their first passage en route to the South Pacific islands, New Zealand and Australia.

TaoJones

[S/V Elusive]

GZ - two things
1) Take a moment or two and fill in some information in your profile - most important, in your case, would be location (or location you will be sailing).
2) On the link - Seems like a pretty good deal, although what does Marina Membership entitle you to? Discount rentals? or ???

[Ex-Calif]

You don't say where you are but my brother joined a club in San Diego. They only had Catalina's (24's?) but they were a lot cheaper than the one you are looking at.

Basically, you put in a deposit and you "must" burn up the deposit in rentals over the course of one year. If I recall it was like $600 and the boats were in the neighborhood of $100 per day.

OTOH the place you are looking at seems to have a nice variety of boats.