Important steps

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Sailor Sailor

Yeah, buy a fun little keelboat to practice on. There is a listing for a Catalina 27 with an inboard diesel at Grab Bay Sailboats in Mayo, MD, for $6,500. There is also a O'Day 272 for not much more. There is a J/24 with trailer in Annapolis on Craigslist for $4,000.

You could buy a little boat, have fun learning, and spend less money than you would on the set of ASA courses. When you are ready to buy the IP, sell your small boat and step into your bigger boat.

By the way, I saw the Delmarva course for $3,300! Seriously?? WTF?

^^^^^^
^^This...... Some of the best sailors I have met are self taught and some of the worst were course driven...although they always know how to screw around with electronics and make life horrible for everyone else. Please don't ask me how I know!

[Papasail]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

Where are you planning on keeping a boat in Maine? I keep looking and other than some outrageous (compared to Texas) rates I've not found any place that can park my 42' Tayana. Mooring spots seem to have years long waiting lists. I did find a spot that might be able to haul and store for the winter but no dockage or moorings available.



Where in Maine are you if you don't mind me asking. I'm in Scarborough. At least until I head back to Texas for more boat yoga.



I got a lot out of the 101 through 105 ASA courses which I took on LI. NY back in the 80s' even after having been boating for years. The Admiral got more out of it than I did but it never hurts to learn small stuff from other people on other boats. Other than the hit to the wallet, it was worth it to me.



I would look into RYA Yachtmaster as an eventual goal if heading to Europe. What Boatman61 said. I hope to do it just because. and because I've heard the ASA certificates are not held in high regard in Europe. Maybe in the next couple of years and may do the course over in the UK if they'll have me.



Signing up as crew is a good way to get experience. Crap shoot as to if the owner is a (fill in) or not.

Hi there, Scarborough!

I’m in Belfast, by way of Unity…
the deal on moorings is that you buy the whole kit & kaboodle: granite stones, gear, & chain from a previous owner…. a nice harbor master is maintaining a list, which they aren’t paid for in the least. I haven’t bit that bullet yet, but go back & forth…. after you purchase, the yearly fee is ?$85 for 25 feet, then a dollar for every foot thereafter…. so you’d be at $107 yearly.
Slips are running $200/mo. *Ahem! The rest of the world is prohibitively expensive. The initial costs are $10,000 to $15,000 for the kit-kaboodle, depending on how your deal goes down. You have chain/ gear replacement costs about every 5 years, since you own it. They put new owners at the mouth of the bay, and treadmill you closer, over time, as new buyers are placed at the mouth of the bay, and older owners gradually move toward the docks (a very long process, but it ensures that crazy money doesn’t inflate primo spots… EVERYONE gets put on the treadmill).

There is some question that anything over 35’ wouldn’t just drag the 1800lb. granite blocks across the bay in a storm. Also, it is (not) helpful (though likely practical) that
>no boats<
stay moored over the winter.
They are on the hard…

This is why I haven’t just jumped all over a mooring, good as it (could) be.

I have a 22’ Chrysler that would fit quite well on a mooring…. but it’s lake ready (NOT) ocean ready.

All of this flies in the face of prices going up soon, I imagine: Hamilton Marine has set up shop in Belfast, and new slips have been constructed…. “progress” is well on it’s way.

[Scubaseas]

Pretty much the same here in Southern Maine but Scarborough doesn't have much in the way of harbors. There's an 18 year wait for spots. I kept my 32' boat on the Saco river which was fairly cheap but the 42' Tayana is way too heavy for a 1800lb granite block. It's 30000 # before the beer, cigars and other cruising essentials. Portland Harbor has a one to two year wait list for you supply it all moorings but they have little in the way of parking for cars or dinghies. Can be a lumpy harbor at times too depending on where you are. I won't have the new to me 42' boat in Maine until maybe next year but as wonderful as Maine is cruising in the summah, it can be expensive to own a boat here.

[Papasail]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

Pretty much the same here in Southern Maine but Scarborough doesn't have much in the way of harbors. There's an 18 year wait for spots. I kept my 32' boat on the Saco river which was fairly cheap but the 42' Tayana is way too heavy for a 1800lb granite block. It's 30000 # before the beer, cigars and other cruising essentials. Portland Harbor has a one to two year wait list for you supply it all moorings but they have little in the way of parking for cars or dinghies. Can be a lumpy harbor at times too depending on where you are. I won't have the new to me 42' boat in Maine until maybe next year but as wonderful as Maine is cruising in the summah, it can be expensive to own a boat here.

I think it’s expensive to own a boat anywhere, now…. I’m hearing $700 per month slip fees as an average, and in the spendy spots of the U.S. $1600 per month. Who can do that? That’s (part) of why I came to Maine from Arkansas… the other part was climate change. I thought it would be 5 years before the impacts started showing up, but I’m already seeing it in Maine, and reading about unprecedented changes in Greenland. Wild times!!! My goal is to go caribbeans, and quickly! I’m concerned for a few things:

1. For the last (12) years spent looking into boats/ prices/ maintenance, etc., it’s made me realize that once you buy a boat, the taxi meter gets turned on, and never stops until you’ve sold it…. it’s always extracting a price.

2. Maryland Sailing School said sailing to the caribbeans this fall on my own would be a really big deal. As far as life goes, NOT my first rodeo, and I have done some lake sailing in my Chrysler 22’ boat. I don’t know if they’re right, or full of it. Generally, I single-handed on the lake, so I recognize the magnitude of what I’m asking from myself. Am I totally unrealistic?

3. I’ve been trying to figure out “the seasonal flow” of sailing from Maine to the Caribbeans… I’m not sure when you should normally leave from Maine…. I get hurricane season/ June: which is either return and go on the hard, or stay in Grenada…. any ideas would be helpful.
*Clearly, I can’t beat all the way to Miami… especially in a 38’ Island Packet. But I know the winds flip-flop, I just don’t know when.

[Sailor Sailor]

Originally Posted by Papasail

...

2. Maryland Sailing School said sailing to the caribbeans this fall on my own would be a really big deal. As far as life goes, NOT my first rodeo, and I have done some lake sailing in my Chrysler 22’ boat. I don’t know if they’re right, or full of it. Generally, I single-handed on the lake, so I recognize the magnitude of what I’m asking from myself. Am I totally unrealistic?

Yes, you are being totally unrealistic. It is virtually impossible to sail to the Caribbean without some ASA Certificates hanging on a wall in your house. Further, I always take advice from people who will make money off me taking their advice. Even though hundreds of people go down the ICW to Florida, then sail to the Bahamas, then sometimes head east into the Caribbean, it is statistically improbable. It is even more impossible to sail to Bermuda and take Route I65 due south. Your Island Packet 35 will simultaneously explode, catch on fire, and sink within minutes. Open up your wallet and fast!

Keep paying the school thousands of dollars so they can teach you what you need to know...

[SY Harmony]

Originally Posted by Papasail

2. Maryland Sailing School said sailing to the caribbeans this fall on my own would be a really big deal. As far as life goes, NOT my first rodeo, and I have done some lake sailing in my Chrysler 22’ boat. I don’t know if they’re right, or full of it. Generally, I single-handed on the lake, so I recognize the magnitude of what I’m asking from myself. Am I totally unrealistic?

If you were to go Maine-Bermuda-USVI as your first trip in a new to you 38. It would be a big deal.

If you took a few months to daysail with or without a hired capt. In local waters, while getting use to the differences between the 22 and 38. Hint, it’s a big difference in handling and responsiveness. Then, no, it’s bot a big deal.
Optionally, if you did the ICW down to the OBX, then out to I65. It would be no big deal. Because you’d have time acclimating to the 38 on your own.

The schools are good for people who lack any experience or confidence.

Originally Posted by Sailor Sailor

Yes, you are being totally unrealistic. It is virtually impossible to sail to the Caribbean without some ASA Certificates hanging on a wall in your house. Further, I always take advice from people who will make money off me taking their advice. Even though hundreds of people go down the ICW to Florida, then sail to the Bahamas, then sometimes head east into the Caribbean, it is statistically improbable. It is even more impossible to sail to Bermuda and take Route I65 due south. Your Island Packet 35 will simultaneously explode, catch on fire, and sink within minutes. Open up your wallet and fast!

Keep paying the school thousands of dollars so they can teach you what you need to know...

Beautiful!

[Scubaseas]

Originally Posted by Papasail

I think it’s expensive to own a boat anywhere, now…. I’m hearing $700 per month slip fees as an average, and in the spendy spots of the U.S. $1600 per month. Who can do that? That’s (part) of why I came to Maine from Arkansas… the other part was climate change. I thought it would be 5 years before the impacts started showing up, but I’m already seeing it in Maine, and reading about unprecedented changes in Greenland. Wild times!!! My goal is to go caribbeans, and quickly! I’m concerned for a few things:

1. For the last (12) years spent looking into boats/ prices/ maintenance, etc., it’s made me realize that once you buy a boat, the taxi meter gets turned on, and never stops until you’ve sold it…. it’s always extracting a price.

2. Maryland Sailing School said sailing to the caribbeans this fall on my own would be a really big deal. As far as life goes, NOT my first rodeo, and I have done some lake sailing in my Chrysler 22’ boat. I don’t know if they’re right, or full of it. Generally, I single-handed on the lake, so I recognize the magnitude of what I’m asking from myself. Am I totally unrealistic?

3. I’ve been trying to figure out “the seasonal flow” of sailing from Maine to the Caribbeans… I’m not sure when you should normally leave from Maine…. I get hurricane season/ June: which is either return and go on the hard, or stay in Grenada…. any ideas would be helpful.
*Clearly, I can’t beat all the way to Miami… especially in a 38’ Island Packet. But I know the winds flip-flop, I just don’t know when.

1. Ain't the half of it. Break Out Another Thousand. The cartoon of the guy driving 4 hours, tossing a bucket full of cash into the water and driving 4 hours back home comes to mind. Wait until you have to hire someone to do ...anything.

2.Really big deal for whom? Them or you? Depends on your comfort level I suppose. Take the band-aid off quick or slow. Sailing the Islands is not rocket science. Seems everyone with a youtube channel can do it. The boat maybe a lot tougher than you are. Do read, do go out and sail. You will dread the storm until it comes. Then meh, not so much anymore. If you keep an eye on the weather, practice reasonably good seamanship you'll be fine. Experience makes a fine teacher. Go get some.

3. You could but why would you? You can do the ICW stopping every night if you choose. Go out as weather permits. Leave Maine? How much do you like sailing in 36*F weather? Unlikely you can do a broad reach or run the whole trip. You leave when the weather permits decent passage. You can stop and smell the roses along the way. Maybe do a fall or late spring in the Chesapeake or summer if you like hot and muggy. A lot of people leave Maine October/early November and head South. There are a lot of ways to do it. Read Van Sandt's "A Gentleman's Guide for Passages South" for one perspective and if you don't mind motoring a lot.

The best advice I could give you is don't sail to a schedule. Go when you best can. There will be some days in cold, wet wind and lumpy seas. There will be some passages that are challenging. I am not suggesting buying a boat then directly jumping offshore to Grenada. You could I suppose. But stay someplace local. Get to know the boat and you. Fix what is broken or will soon be. Maryland Sailing School can teach you some of what you may need but most of it will be up to you to do.

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by Papasail

What do you think is reasonable in terms of ASA courses, and what other courses would you add, if any?

Find or make a friend with someone with a boat like you desire. Don't be shy. Walk the docks. Get the word out. Check out the USPS and CGAux. Ask. Expect to be sluffed off most of the time, but you will eventually find someone who needs a sailing buddy. Maybe his/her wife/husband/other has lost interest. Maybe he/she wants to share his/her experience. Whatever. Time on the water counts, experience counts, mess-ups count. You will also learn about different kinds of boats in different degrees of shabbyness and be better prepared to evaluate any boat you buy.

Read everything you can get your hands on. Books are the best. Publishers and editors eliminate much of the chaff that fills You Tube and Forums although You Tube and Forums are interesting and fun. Magazines are influenced by advertisers; it's hard to walk away from money. But, they are current and advertise the latest goodies.

[Papasail]

Originally Posted by Sailor Sailor

Yes, you are being totally unrealistic. It is virtually impossible to sail to the Caribbean without some ASA Certificates hanging on a wall in your house. Further, I always take advice from people who will make money off me taking their advice. Even though hundreds of people go down the ICW to Florida, then sail to the Bahamas, then sometimes head east into the Caribbean, it is statistically improbable. It is even more impossible to sail to Bermuda and take Route I65 due south. Your Island Packet 35 will simultaneously explode, catch on fire, and sink within minutes. Open up your wallet and fast!



Keep paying the school thousands of dollars so they can teach you what you need to know...

Having not ever done anything of the like, hillarious though your post may be (I did laugh out loud), caution and prudence win the day.
Afterall, the Beatles did write a song about Dear Prudence…

[Boots and Socks]

Island Packets are bomb proof boats and will take you anywhere you might want to go, but it is not the only boat that will do so. I would definitely look at a few other boats and try to crew on them. Hans Christian, Tayana, Sparkman & Stephan, West Sail, are all good solid boats to look at. All solid boats. Sailboatdata.com is also a really good resource for those of us that like numbers

[Moosemiester]

Met a couple in a lock on the loop who took a two week sailing class and sailed across the Atlantic. Their story is on my YouTube channel. I thought they were nuts but…

Alan & Darina
“The Adventures of Yorksie and Me”