Hello World!

[TheGoldenFleece]

Hi All!

Growing up in a coastal town in California, the ocean was a part of my life through all my formative years. However, school and subsequently a career, brought me inland. We now call Dallas home, but a love of the sea and desire to visit all the great surf spots I saw in the magazines as a kid is still as strong as ever.

I’ve been fortunate enough to build passive income through different business ventures, and my goal is to set sail in 5-10 years with my wife a 3 daughters (ages 4, 2, and 0.5) and spend the better part of my 40’s sailing and surfing (I’m 35 currently).

My dream trip, as of now, would be to sail to Indonesia, though I expect that would be quite the undertaking, so a more short-term goal is to see everything the Caribbean has to offer, and go from there.

So I’m getting started now. 5 years comes fast, and I want to be ready. I look forward to absorbing all the knowledge that I can from everyone! Any guidance on where I should start would be great. I have zero sailing experience.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by TheGoldenFleece

Hi All!

Growing up in a coastal town in California, the ocean was a part of my life through all my formative years. However, school and subsequently a career, brought me inland. We now call Dallas home, but a love of the sea and desire to visit all the great surf spots I saw in the magazines as a kid is still as strong as ever.

I’ve been fortunate enough to build passive income through different business ventures, and my goal is to set sail in 5-10 years with my wife a 3 daughters (ages 4, 2, and 0.5) and spend the better part of my 40’s sailing and surfing (I’m 35 currently).

My dream trip, as of now, would be to sail to Indonesia, though I expect that would be quite the undertaking, so a more short-term goal is to see everything the Caribbean has to offer, and go from there.

So I’m getting started now. 5 years comes fast, and I want to be ready. I look forward to absorbing all the knowledge that I can from everyone! Any guidance on where I should start would be great. I have zero sailing experience.

Howdy and Welcome Aboard CF!

You have posted a good introduction.
You have picked an interesting user name too.
I can imagine your boat name might become: “Argonaut”

Sailing to Indonesia can be a good goal. Just make sure you go in the right season, with a crew prepared for that long voyage.

I hope you enjoy your time on the water and on the forum too.

My suggestion: Get a small sailboat now (e.g. Catalina 27 or a J105) and put it on Lake Grapevine (near Dallas). Then get as much time sailing it as possible, with the kids “growing up on the boat” so to speak. That should get them hooked on being on the water, sailing in a relatively controlled environment, and give your wife good experience too. Lake Grapevine has a nice marina that is in walking distance to a very nice public park, just in case the wife and kids want to do other things while you are on the boat.

[2big2small]

Welcome to the forum. My advice is to get you and your family into dinghy sailing. Small boats that give you immediate feedback on whether you do things right or wrong. Only when you’re all really good at that, move on to keelboats.

Or what Steady wrote. A Catalina 27 is nearly a dinghy but running expenses such as the need for a marina dock will be higher.

[TheGoldenFleece]

Originally Posted by Steadman Uhlich

My suggestion: Get a small sailboat now (e.g. Catalina 27 or a J105) and put it on Lake Grapevine (near Dallas). Then get as much time sailing it as possible, with the kids “growing up on the boat” so to speak. That should get them hooked on being on the water, sailing in a relatively controlled environment, and give your wife good experience too. Lake Grapevine has a nice marina that is in walking distance to a very nice public park, just in case the wife and kids want to do other things while you are on the boat.

Thanks! That’s pretty much what I had in mind. I’m on the north-east side of the metroplex, closer to Lake Ray Hubbard and Lake Lavon, but I was considering getting a boat on Lake Texoma, since it’s significantly bigger, and the slightly longer drive doesn’t bother me.