Greetings from a Total Newbie

[Adax]

And I mean that - total newbie. I have never set foot on a sailboat .Motorboats and ferries is my current experience .

So what moved me to be interested in sailing? Well ,when I met my partner he talked a lot about his dream of owning a boat,taking it cruising and I was enthralled by the idea, obviously knowing nothing.But the idea appealed and how! Well ,since then the idea has grown,I have done a lot of reading already and we are both selling our houses and will buy a boat and house with mooring .

So my reason for being here is a fact finding mission ,learning /appreciating as much as I can . My partner is starting his helmsman´s course tomorrow . After that it will be my turn to learn. So for now I will be lurking and absorbing osmotically hopefully.

The big idea is this : a trip to Tristan da Cunha,but not limited to that I am sure. We do know though that it is not an undertaking for tomorrow or even next year, but one to consider after many practice hours and study. So in the meantime if you permit me I will be living vicariously through you .

[rebel heart]

Welcome aboard dude. There are some smart folks on here. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask any question.

[Ike]

Welcome aboard. Study Hard. Learn all that you can before going. Good luck.

[Adax]

Thanks for the welcome Rebel Heart and Ike!

[Bash]

Welcome to the forum. Believe it or not, you're not our first "total newbie." The fact that we have such a wide range of interests, talent and experience are what makes this a worthwhile forum.

Dive in!

[Adax]

Thanks for the welcome Bash .
It is a great forum, very friendly and full of great info .
And yes I dove right in this morning both reading and posting my 0.0002 cents . ( The comma will move to the right as I learn )

[rebel heart]

See you're actually better off than a lot of us. If you make a mistake, you can chaulk it up to inexperience. These days I have to mark all my mistakes as "yes, I should have known better and probably did know better at some point."

[Adax]

Good point RH. I will remember that . Just reading your blog - good fun .

[boatman61]

Hi and welcome, good to meet you..
Just one thing that's important after your course... do something first then ask why afterwards...
Back in 95 I sent my then partner on a RYA competent crew course before we set of on an extended Med adventure from the UK... mainly for her own self confidence..
Anyway.. from that time on every time I asked her to do something it was questioned... until...
We were travelling from Soller down to Andratx on the Isle of Majorca in light winds.. she was tending the big cruising chute and had taken the line of the winch to ease handling.. as we approached Dragonera(small island of SW tip) I spotted the telltale ripples of an acceleration zone approaching fast as the wind shifted.
I told her to drop the line fast... she turned, looked at me with her big baby blues and said "WHY..??"..
2 seconds later she slammed into the coachroof as the wind hit and dragged her forward.. beaut bruise and rope burns but luckyly nothing broken.. a bit tactlessly I replied... "Thats Why..."
from then on...
I'm not saying never question.. just time it properly.. unless its something obviously moronic..

[Adax]

Haha Boatman, made me laugh,almost as if you knew me ...

Very useful advice. I told G . my partner about this and after laughing his first words were something like :" See !" We had that conversation before and I had seen the sense in that . However he knows my inquisitive nature ,so he knows that this will be a difficult one for me .

His idea is also that he will teach me after his course and I am beginning to see the sense in that too ,apart from the $ 1500 saved that could be spent on something useful for the boat .

Well and now also a provisioning question solved . One item you should have that one never thinks of - Bandaid .... .

Thanks again .

[boatman61]

ROFL.... glad I made you smile....

Another usefull 1st aid tool.... Superglue.... and not to stop conversation either

[Eleven]

I started from scratch too. Pluses were I'm a draughtsman, use to angles, bearings etc, and also a PC Pilot, working out how to approach an runway in three dimensions.
Apart from realising you need the right charts, and work out route, waypoints, currents against the tide tables and diamonds, you will need a depth gauge, the next best thing to underwater radar in FOG or clear, and a few trips with instructors on experience trips, weekends preferably. Insurance will be difficult too, well, more expensive. I'd say find and join a club, you'll find experience and common sense there in abundance. Good Luck.

[Ocean Girl]

We were all newbies once! The first time I went solo sailing I got caught in a tree (long story, but my advice is to always look up ). Many miles later I still feel like a newbie, the ocean has a way of doing that. I hope you start your classes soon and remember to have fun!
Cheers and welcome to the forum.
Erika


PS
and always listen to the captain, he/she will keep you safe.

[Adax]

Boatman : Superglue ,got it !

Eleven : thanks for the welcome and the advice. I am already nosing around in stuff and will get practical experience . Thanks for the tip on the depth gauge. Most of the boats we looked at are equipped with echo sound /sonar. Advisable to have the two ?

Ocean girl. Thanks for the welcome. And yes I will listen to the captain . That solo trip sounds interesting .I think I can imagine the story .

[Eleven]

Adax, I've often wondered, in my busy long estuary, how I'd manage if it went off.
We get a lot of big commercial stuff and ferries, when tacking across their route it is nice to be able to push into the shallows with confidence. Charts are useful, but it's hard to work out just how much water is available by doing accurate position and tide calcs all the while. Last time out we were cutting corners with less than two metres on the gauge, chart showed an even bottom and we weren't worried over much. On another corner we veered toward deepewr water just on the depth gauge, just to be sure.