Escaping Insanity

[Freerider]

Oh ya...Black Oak, he's hilarious, post #12 maybe the funniest of all-time.

I had 7 summers as a tug captain under my belt before my 1st sailing attempt, so i had an idea what mother nature could throw at me.

The OP is at the perfect age to accomplish his mission, he's already done enough time in the Rat Race to see the light....and that's step 1. I dig it!

[LoveMyWoodie]

Here ya go take yer choice...

Powerboats: 36' Chris Craft Cavalier - Listing #: 3775

1974 Catalina 30 MkI Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

I wish I had jumped off the hamster wheel when I was yer age.....

Cheers!

No better place in Canada than Vancouver-eh?

[LoveMyWoodie]

Originally Posted by Cormorant

BlackOak's story is here:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...uda-91566.html

Good for any beginner to read. Non-beginners, too.

post #12....was great...

"Re: I Need a Ride to Bermuda
Just a quick update. I left St Marks with Fort Pierce as a destination saturday morning in my seafarer, motored and sailed a little along the way, but the sailing part was only with the jib, as I could easliy take it down if bad weather came up. Saturday day was nice an pleasant, lite winds out of the north east sea at 1 to 2 feet...nicely motoring along.

Saturday night? SHEAR TERROR...winds at 15 to 20 knots, seas 4ft - 7ft, cloudy. There I was...zero sailing experience, zero open ocean experience, old boat I knew almost nothing about, being tossed around like a ceasar salad on the waves. All I could do was sit down in the middle of the sole and get religion. This little tempest went on for about 15 hours, and moved my little boat all over the place, sideways, thissaway and thattaway, till I realized, this was my time to die, and it would be here in the open ocean...why I cried...why did i do this stupid faking idiotic thing to get in a boat and go into the ocean, all alone, out in the middle of nowhere. This all night long, and into the morning did I plead, cried, screamed, beg God for mercy. I call the coast guard on the VHS and said...will someone PLEASE help me! Where are you at...and all the normal details, vessel name, long lat, description, name, how many people on board...and all the time I just asked Where is LAND...I need LAND!! I was weak, sleep deprived, in total terror. The CG guy said, "You are 85 miles from Ft Pierce, and 35 miles from Hommasass" I asked where is hommassas, CG says...due east..u gota a compass? yes I do..he said go east. I turned the boat due east....35 miles and 17 hours later...dark again, cold north wind, seas 2 to 4 feet, clear night..as I watched the last rays of the sun sink into the west...crab pot bouys ahead for as far as I could see, i dodged them all...ah a light in the distance..I headed for the light and LAND...depth finder beeping..7 ft.....I got a 5ft draft.....beep beep beep...6ft. Dropped anchor, 10 miles due west of the hommasssa river. I went to bed, CG called me and ask my position, just as I dozed off...I said I was anchored, gave him my lats/longs...he said great, be sure you have ALL your nav lights on, I said ok and went to sleep..or tired to go to sleep...chain locker rattling, squeeks and moans from the boat, fish flopping, and every few seconds it felt like someone was yanking the front of the boat real hard. Tried to sleep, but only short cat naps maybe 5 or 10 minutes long. Thought I heard people talkin on deck...jumped up the stairs and only the wind rattling through the riggins was there. Around 5am this morning, I go to crank up the motor...batteries FLAT...nothing....short end of the story...called tow boat, an 12 hours and $1050.00 later, here i sit in Crystal River at Petes Pier tied to the dock. At least I can get a decent nights sleep.

For ALL you romantics that want to go a-sailing in ships..stay the fak on land! Cause being out there all alone being tossed around, with no place to go is the most terrfying situation you will ever imagine!!!

I am taking a week here to piddle around on the boat and practice some, and hopefully get my nerve up to go back out there. "

[Jacko]

Originally Posted by Freerider

5 years ago I was living in Whistler shred'in the mountain and living the dream.....or so i thought. I started to realized that although this was a sick life, it would get old without some sort of change.

I found a 35' boat in Oak Bay, Victoria for sale and ended up scoring it for $12k. I had never sailed a boat before, but I just jumped on it and sailed her into Squamish. There wasn't any room at the docks so i just tied her up to the pilings and rowed to shore everyday for work....it wasn't ideal, but it worked and i loved it.

Long story short, by Sept '13 I'll be quitting my job and heading to the tropics.....its going to be a wild ride no doubt.


Forget the long road, just buy a boat asap and get going.....its really not that hard.

Hi Freerider love it hope all goes well if you get to Ozzie look out for me in the far north of Queensland I will be enjoying life Cheers Jacko

[LoveMyWoodie]

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy

Desiderata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here. You'll get many opinions and life stories here. Hope you find your niche. My story was I joined the US Navy when I was 17 and knew I liked boats and the ocean ever since.
The jobs that seem to pay the best and are needed while you are hanging around marinas are diesel mechanics and electrician and for the highly technical then electronics technician. Of course everyone needs their refrigeration repaired too so that would be another skill to learn.
kind regards,