Aloha from Maui!

[TheMedia]

Aloha everyone!

It's nice to meet all of you. I'm new (obviously) to writing in this forum, but over the past few years I've been lurking quite a bit. I'm a 29 year old male living on the beautiful island of Maui. I've been here for about 5 years now, and I absolutely love it here. I'm also very new to sailing. Actually, not just new--in fact, I've never sailed before in my life, even though I owned a 22' sailboat for about four months. But that's something I'm planning to change!

A few years back I accidentally bought a 22' sailboat through eBay that was located in King Harbor in Redondo Beach, CA. Nobody had bid on it, it was one of those charity auctions, and it was still at $20. I didn't think there was any kind of chance it would sell for $20, but it did--to me! Having never sailed before in my life, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to live in the LA area while learning to sail my boat. It was already in a marina, so I just transferred the slip to my name and moved onto my boat. Technically I didn't live on board--there was a policy that you could only spend 14 nights a month on board your boat if you didn't have an 'on-board' slip. So I spent 14 nights a month on my boat, and the rest of the month I'd go van camping--usually at the nearby national parks. It was some of the most fun I've ever had in my life.

Sadly, I never did get to sail it. I tried to find someone who wanted to teach me to sail, but I found out all the rigging was old and would need to be replaced, and I didn't quite have the money. So I pretty much just enjoyed living there while I experienced LA, dreaming about taking my boat out.

Luckily, now, I'm in a much better financial situation, and although I know Hawaii isn't particularly boat friendly, I'm looking forward to getting a boat I can actually use at some point--and preferably have here. But first things first! I'm really looking forward to learning how to sail, so I plan on taking lessons before I buy anything this time.

I just wanted to introduce myself to all of you and tell you my amusing, brief-ownership boat story. I look forward to getting to know you all better as I begin my journey down the sailing path. I've greatly enjoyed reading all your stories, and hope to contribute my own in the near-ish future. One of the things on my bucket list (of which there are MANY) is to sail around the world. I hope I get to achieve this dream some day!

A hui ho!

[SS Little-Devil]

Cool. Welcome to CF!

[Waterway Guide]

Aloha and welcome!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
It's good to have you posting here and great that you want to join the sailing community. Lahaina used to be one of my favorite places to visit while cruising the islands. I haven't been back there in many years but have sailed past from time to time while doing yacht deliveries and crewing for other folks.
I hope you can find a good instructor. Lahaina Yacht Club is a good place to start searching in you're in that area. Otherwise check the directory for sailing schools and take a basic sailing class.
kind regards,