Greetings from Colorado

[nylandjim]

Hi Everyone,


I'm new here and mostly new to sailing. I've been boating all my life, starting with water ski boats in the lakes of Florida before moving west where I've been whitewater rafting for about 30 years. I've been contemplating retirement and what that might look like for me and I've decided it definitely means being on the water. I've come up with the wacky idea of living aboard and cruising on a sailboat. So now I'm enrolled in sailing classes, starting here in Colorado then taking live aboard classes later, and hoping to learn and experience as much as I can over the next several years before taking the plunge.



- jim

[JoeRobertJr]

Hi, Jim, and to the forum. Your plan sounds like a good one.

[Kettlewell]

Welcome! Start with a smallish older cruising sailboat you can purchase inexpensively, and "learn the ropes." Going that route you will learn more in two years than in 10 years of classes. A lot of cruising is learning how to fix stuff yourself, anchoring, stocking the boat, and navigating. Classes are mostly about the sailing part, which is really only a small part of cruising. Good luck!

[Adelie]

Welcome to CruisersForum!

[nylandjim]

Thanks Everyone, Kettlewell - thanks for the suggestion - believe it or not I think that my 30 years of rafting has prepared me for all but the navigation part of that.

[Kettlewell]

believe it or not I think that my 30 years of rafting has prepared me for all but the navigation part of that

.
Rafting is great experience, but the ins and outs of sailboat maintenance will take awhile to get used to. And, you can study navigation a lot before taking off, but it takes some time to get the "feel" for it--what I call seat of the pants navigation. Take it slow and easy and work your way up.

[A la carte]

Kettlewell's advice lines up with my experience. Like you, I spent a life on ski boats and small sailboats. I had a good grasp of navigation and weather from aviation and that was helpful but not everything transferred. The biggest difference was that in an airplane I looked to get around weather that seemed almost stationary. When making passages, it seems I am stationary and the weather is moving (hopefully around me).

I learned much faster by doing rather than the classes. Classes helped, but the doing was more necessary. Like river rafting, learning judgment and technique is the key. Set acceptable risk levels low at first while to try to survive learning judgement (LOL).

Transitioning from small watercraft to sailboats wasn't that tough. I did some bareboat charters until I bought my first "real" monohull. I lucked out and bought a great boat for my needs (a 44' catch), but I was truly lucky and ignorant. Doing it again, I think I would have purchased something smaller at first and then purchase the "dream" boat a bit later.

In any case, you're on a fun journey.