It's time I rekindle my love for sailing and start progressing on a plan to fulfill my dreams of sailboat
ownership. I have always liked the idea of propelling oneself via the
wind, but I am from southwestern Pennsylvania and sailing isn't accessible for the most part here. My first experience in sailing was several years ago. I was in
Fort Lauderdale and wanted to go out on a sailboat for the first time to see how I would like it. I have always been a
water person. Anyway, I saw a little ad in a
hotel lobby regarding going out to sail, so I called. I knew nothing about sailing other than some reading and didn't know if I would like it. I just asked to go out and learn as much as I could. He said, sure and off we went the next day on a 40+ foot Yawl called the "Chesapeake". It was owned by Walter Cronkite at one time and the
current captain was named Ressing. Here is a picture of the yacht.
http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local...1/boat.500.jpg It was quite a long time ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Anyway, we went out on a 20+ mph
wind day and he said, if you like sailing today, you are going to like sailing. He had me do everything, but steer it in the
ICW. Can't blame him. Anyway, we went out and it was a wild ride in my eyes. We sailed as it was a
sloop, without putting up the rear sail, the mizzen? Feel free to correct me on terminology and any faults you see here. I want to learn correctly. We sailed for hours and he was a great guy. He sure made it out to be something attainable. As we keeled to a point of a bit of discomfort to myself, but obviously no discomfort to him, I asked, "is this okay?" He laughed and said, "You can't flip this boat". Not sure if that is true, but it gave me confidence at the time. We headed back and I asked if I could go out again. He smiled and said, "Sure, how about you be my first mate tomorrow and my fee will be (much less). I am taking out a few people and you can take the
helm for the day". I don't think I could have smiled any wider. That next day, it was also a 20+ mph wind day and we took out a gentleman and a few of his lady friends. We went out and after a while two of the passengers got sick. I felt bad, but had no idea what to do about such a thing. Seems, not much you can do. I was told to "fall off", so I sort of did. We went back in and I was asked to be the first mate the following day and I was thrilled. Winds where calmer and sailing was more mellow. Kind of nice in contrast and that Yawl still was running pretty fast. If I remember it was going over 10 knots, which I think was pretty good, but not sure? The
captain knew I was into all those conditions and said, you should be a sailor. I knew that is what I wanted, but timing back then wasn't good, but it will be soon and it is time to plan.
Money is there and soon, time will be on there as well.
My ideas/location:
1. I will probably be located around Venice/Sarasota, FL.
2. My goal is to learn as much as I can to be able to sail across the Atlantic at some point and hopefully world cruising on my own sailboat.
3. I am used to doing things alone and hope to have a sailboat set up very well for being singlehanded.
4. I have always gravitated to anything with fine craftsmanship. I was on an older Alden at a sailboat show down in
Annapolis and felt at home. I was told I would also like Hinckley's. Maybe there are others like that, but I am not limited to all that woodwork and am not sure if I want to constantly be working on all that or just sailing?
5. I have restored several homes and flipped them, so am very handy, if that matters.
6. I love cycling and part of me dreams of sailing somewhere and exploring via bicycle. Is it safe to leave a sailboat at a
mooring most places? Is this idea even a good one?
This is my attempt to show a little
history about myself and ultimate goals. My
budget isn't totally determined yet, but would be from $80K-$225K, I suspect. Yes, that is a wide range, but I am not opposed to restoring a worthy vessel. I have been told it is very hard to even have a larger sailboat in Venice/Sarasota
Florida, but I don't know about it much. I have a free place to stay there, so that would make a large difference in
price range/expense of living.
I am not opposed to
learning to sail more on a very small craft and building up to a larger one. Starting out on a big Yawl, might not of been the best, but it sure was great fun and created a dream.
Mrs. Rain Dog~Ocean Girl
Re: Greetings to all.
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