Hi, I'm New Here!

[ohYes]

Hi, I'm Sharon. I've been planning to get a blue water boat since I was 20, and loving being a boat owner (since 2012). My background is in racing and my (ex)in-laws cruised extensively on a Westsail, which got me hooked on cruising. I couldn't find the boat I wanted in Texas so I bought mine from Florida. She's currently in Slidell, Louisiana, just 20 minutes from the French Quarter in New Orleans. I can hardly believe I'm in Texas right now with Mardi Gras going on, but that's another story.

[HopCar]

Welcome Aboard!

[Brilliant Sea]

Hello and welcome!

I'm gonna go to Slidell and look for my joy, a song by Lucinda Williams...hehehe!

Fair winds!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Sharon.

[Patman]

Hello and welcome aboard. You'll find alot of good info crusing this site.

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard, Sharon, and Happy Mardi Gras!

[ohYes]

Thank you so much. There's a wealth of good people with the kind of knowledge that only comes from having "been there" and "done that". I was formerly an occasional lurker, looking at answers to other people's questions. I'm glad that I finally joined up!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.

[maxingout]

Welcome aboard. I had a Westsail 32 in the Caribbean and I loved it.

[ohYes]

@MaxingOut
I loved the Westsail, too. I even considered purchasing one, but they were all too far away for me. I ended up with an Allied Mistress 39' ketch (actually 38.5). She is hull #22 of 60 and the center cockpit model. She is a lot of boat but in many ways everything I've always dreamed of. I wanted to own a boat that is built to go just about anywhere my dreams take me. The interior is very roomy for an under 40' boat.

Everyone I talked to about my plans to purchase tried to discourage me. There were Oscar worthy performances. It wasn't pretty, but as usual, my driven nature rendered it futile for anyone to try and stop me.

I still see some raised eyebrows here and there. Not everyone expects a female to take on something like this, but everyone that I have met along this journey has been so generous with their time and unbelievably supportive. I truly believe that you and only you know in your heart what to you can and cannot do. If you aren't following you passion, you are wasting your life feeling unfulfilled. "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. "~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

So that's how I got here.

[o-zone]

Wow, I am a newbi as well, but have sailed for years, pocket cruisers here in Canada, all I can say is Go girl GO. Sitting here in the cold of Nova Scotia winter I know where you are comming from of time wasted and feeling unfulfiled. Cheers Mike

[Flem.S.Coyle]

Welcome aboard, Sharon. I hope the cedar trees ain't killing you this year, as they would be me, and as they did when I lived in Teggsis.

Fair winds!

[ohYes]

Thank you Mike and Flem! Yes, Flem the cedar pollen here is awful. This is when the boat being elsewhere offers a very convenient escape.

[o-zone]

Hi Sharon, I don,t know about cedar pollen, But the ice and snow have got me ready to go anywhere . You guys have made better choices about where you are in the winter months, that make more sense than wasting 6 months a year in a snow drift ! All I can say is I,m enviious. What work do you have to do on the boat , There is always work to do on the boat, and I guess you will be moving her too ? Enjoy Cheers Mike

[klmmicro]

Welcome aboard Sharon!