A Hello from Durham, NC

[jbuhrmann]

Hey y'all. I'm a dinghy sailor on the local lakes around Durham, NC (Jordan, Falls, Kerr, etc) trying to convince my 2 young girls how much fun sailing can be. My dad taught me to sail when I was a kid on an old German folding boat called a Klepper - basically sailing a canoe. I sailed some in college years ago and finally just bought my first boat in October 2012 - a 1983 Spindrift Day Sailer 1. I love sailing, camping, & astronomy, so I dream of combining all three of these hobbies into a sleep aboard boat. In the mean time, making do with day sailing and tent camping.

See you on the water!

-John

[boatman61]

Hi John..
Welcome to CF...

[cheoah]

Welcome John, I'm anchored out here on the NC coast for my summer cruise, I live and farm up in the WNC mountains though.

Having raised a couple of kids, I have some experience with kids and sailing. Don't know what your kids are like, but if you carefully plan cruises for them, you'll have them hooked. Little stuff like their favorite foods, planning some stops in with real showers, wifi for their devices, and other treats will entice reluctant crew. My 14 yo gets seasick and in general is not too comfortable with my little 14,000 lb boat sailing on its ear. My 18 year old daughter served as my autopilot when I was learning to sail 6-8 years ago. She's all about adventure and was always laughing and thriving when the wife and boy were vomiting.

Lots of happy family memories. Being on a small boat will bring you together to eat family meals, play cards, scrabble, and other games, and of course you can go out to cape lookout etc and anchor and see a gazillion stars. I once sailed up to the Chesapeake and planned several days for the kids at Busch gardens and the water park. I got to sail around hatteras up to the bay, and they got to ride roller coasters and water slides. That's a great "sailing" memory for them. For me too. You should see the stars out there, and the bioluminescence in the Gulf Stream. Wow.

My teenage son just did an outward bound trip through school. Even though he has never really loved sailing, he was amazed at how much his sailing experience gave him an advantage in the wilderness. Said he thought about sailing many times over the course of the trip. I've never tried to force it on him, but over time it becomes part of their foundation that they draw on regardless of what they do.

Check out the local power squadron for courses that will give you a good foundation in piloting/navigation. Judging by the number poor guys hard aground I see, it's worth knowing how to get around without all the electronics.

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by jbuhrmann

Hey y'all. I'm a dinghy sailor on the local lakes around Durham, NC (Jordan, Falls, Kerr, etc) trying to convince my 2 young girls how much fun sailing can be. My dad taught me to sail when I was a kid on an old German folding boat called a Klepper - basically sailing a canoe. I sailed some in college years ago and finally just bought my first boat in October 2012 - a 1983 Spindrift Day Sailer 1. I love sailing, camping, & astronomy, so I dream of combining all three of these hobbies into a sleep aboard boat. In the mean time, making do with day sailing and tent camping.

See you on the water!

-John

Oh, and you're getting similar experiences with a day sailor and tent camping. Good stuff!

[Sailtexas]

Welcome to the forum jbuhrmann!

The advice given here by Cheoah is as good as it gets here on CF in my limited experience.
Having kids myself I wish I'd gotten his advice about ten years ago!

Best wishes on the future!

[jbuhrmann]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice. My girls are just 6 and 3. I've been canoe camping with our eldest several times already and our youngest might be about ready for some camping soon. We're doing a day trip to Falls Lake tomorrow with extended family which should be great. Winds predicted for 10-15mph - sounds like good sailing.

Cheoah, where do you keep your Crealock in NC? We're thinking of taking the Day Sailer with us to the beach in August. We stay out on Emerald Isle and are thinking of running out of Beaufort Inlet and around Shackleford to see if we can spot the wild horses. Maybe we'll even do an overnight camp on the island.

[ShaunJ]

Camping, canoeing and sailing sounds like fun. I am sure the kids will love it. That's how we started and still going thirty some years later.

[djmarchand]

You might want to look into the sailing schools in Oriental. Bow to Stern has one for kids from 7 to 16 and an adult program as well. Oriental's School of Sailing has one for adults.

David

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by jbuhrmann

Thanks for the welcome and the advice. My girls are just 6 and 3. I've been canoe camping with our eldest several times already and our youngest might be about ready for some camping soon. We're doing a day trip to Falls Lake tomorrow with extended family which should be great. Winds predicted for 10-15mph - sounds like good sailing.

Cheoah, where do you keep your Crealock in NC? We're thinking of taking the Day Sailer with us to the beach in August. We stay out on Emerald Isle and are thinking of running out of Beaufort Inlet and around Shackleford to see if we can spot the wild horses. Maybe we'll even do an overnight camp on the island.

Hi there, my boat is in the Neuse river area, not far from oriental. The trip out to cape lookout is a very nice sail in the right conditions. Even though it is a short trip in the ocean, the inlet can be rough for a small boat when tide is against the wind so take care to plan. Does your boat have a motor? You may also be able to access it via the back way by harkers island. Cape lookout would be an awesome place to sail around in a small boat, preferably on a weekday.

Shackleford is close by and accessible from cape lookout, and I do see people camping on shore quite a bit. I don't really go to shackleford though, I usually just spend all my time on the bight where people also camp. Oriental could also be a nice visit for you sometime, you could sail out in the river. I'm at a loss to offer ideas for camping, since we camp on the boat.

Your girls are still little, and therefore much of your attention will naturally go to caring for them. Can you fit the whole family on the boat? Maybe you're just sailing with the 6 yo now. I'm not familiar with your boat so again I'm at a loss as to its capability or rather what makes sense to do with the little girls. Beaufort inlet is something I'd be reluctant to do in a small daysailer. Some of the big boat wakes are enough to swamp a small boat when the inlet is lively. You can sail on the inside around Beaufort and Morehead though, with more protection and can access shackleford there as well, although I never have. Just remember tidal currents will have a lot of influence on your boat. I was headed out Beaufort inlet Friday and making 7.5 knots under reefed main alone. Long story. At any rate, you won't go anywhere fast against the current. Grab an adult mate and throw on some lifejackets and take basic kit including VHF for your first trip out Beaufort inlet.

Might consider a trip to the mountains sometime. Lake santeetlah would be a blast, with campsites on islands or around the lake. Would be a ton of fun for the family. I took my kids canoe camping there when they were little. Lots of other lake sailing to be had, and overall will be the most fun for the family I'd think.

If you get good at sailing your little boat, you will have great sailing skills if you move up to a bigger boat.

Hope your sailing trip went well today-

[jbuhrmann]

Originally Posted by cheoah

Hi there, my boat is in the Neuse river area, not far from oriental. The trip out to cape lookout is a very nice sail in the right conditions. Even though it is a short trip in the ocean, the inlet can be rough for a small boat when tide is against the wind so take care to plan. Does your boat have a motor? You may also be able to access it via the back way by harkers island. Cape lookout would be an awesome place to sail around in a small boat, preferably on a weekday.

Thanks for the info. I generally sail with a small electric backup motor, but for the beach I'll probably borrow a small gas engine. First time out we'll probably just leave the kids with the grandparents and just go out with the wife and myself. If things look rough going out of Beaufort we'll skip across to the backside of Shackleford and sail in the protected waters over toward Cape Lookout. Seems to be very shallow from the charts I've seen, but the Day Sailer sails pretty well with centerboard half up and rudder half up, so we should be able to make it through some pretty shallow areas. Definitely need to get the emergency kit put together. Don't have flares or VHF yet.

[cheoah]

You've got the right idea. Just get your basic kit together and shove off in good weather. I've never done it that way, but could be the perfect daysail, really. Either route. Fun day with the wife, with some sun protection and a cooler with good eats and cold, refreshing drinks. Here's a pic from an hour ago at the bight.

[jbuhrmann]

Ah, gorgeous. I'm jealous now. Does the current run as strong through the Bight as it does through Beaufort Inlet?

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here. I taught my daughter to sail when she was 8 and she would sail the boat's dinghy to and from shore ferrying passengers when she was small. Always fun to see them grow.
I remember helping my friend put together a Klepper with a sailing kit. That was an experience. I never sailed it but he did and enjoyed it.
kind regards,

[cheoah]

Originally Posted by jbuhrmann

Ah, gorgeous. I'm jealous now. Does the current run as strong through the Bight as it does through Beaufort Inlet?

Not that I've ever encountered. The inlet is Barden inlet, and by the time it comes out of the bight, there doesn't seem to be enough restriction or energy to cause problems. I have been in and out of the bight dozens of times, starting and ending passages there at all times of day, night and various tidal stage. While sailing back the other day, I thought about being in a small open dinghy and it sounded unappealing for that days conditions, even though the wind wasn't really hitting the 20 knot mark.

If you go the short outside route I'd wait for 10 knots and time the current as always. The back route and sounds are your best bet for starters.

Cheers, and sorry to have missed your post.