How did you get bitten?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by sublime22761

I'm bitten by the bug. I'm wondering how everyone else got bitten. I've yet to make my wants a reality but working on it at my speed. Pleased to hear from all the members.

I wanted to quit working early and I wanted to travel. While it turns out I like boating/sailing, in hindsight I maybe didn't think it through enough

[BandB]

Wifey B: Hubby bit me. I'd only been on a boat once before, a pontoon boat when young, but loved it. However, he came with boat and love of water and apparently highly contagious because from the first time I went on his boat with him, I was addicted.

[redhead]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Born and raised inland and until after college the only boat I had ever been on was a 14' Sears jonboat. Never even saw the ocean until I was a teenager.

The first time we hoisted sails and turned off the engine I was addicted. When I saw the clear turquoise water in the islands that just sealed the deal. Life has never been the same since.

I am always astounded at the common experiences total strangers can have that lead them to the same place.

Born and raised inland - check. Jonboat - check. First saw the ocean at 12.

Years later - in Puerto Rico. On a catamaran called the Spread Eagle, a day charter to Mustang Island. The moment the engine went off and the boat continued moving I fell in love.

[Peregrine1983]

My grandfather was a sailor and a racer, but my dad always thought boats were totally impractical - "way too much work". So, I'm a "son of a son" as the song goes...

I distinctly remember asking my mom to buy me boating magazines when I was very young. I'm sure she thought them an odd thing for an 8 year old to want.

I'd just flip to the back pages and dream as I would read the sailboat listings over and over. The prices seemed astronomical to me at that time. I promised myself one day I'd have my own.

[nautical62]

For me cruising grew out of my past canoe and kayaking expedition experiences. It offered a way to be out there longer, to go to places not easily explored by canoe and to do so in more luxury. While cruising was my main focus for over 15 years, I've never viewed it as the only way to experience adventure travel, and have again shifted focus.

[Dwayne Lister]

Made the 'mistake' of going along to the school sailing club in my early teens - Learned to sail laser, tasar and fireball to national level. Learned to build and maintain such vessels, learned to cruise on a little 26ft Snapdragon. Since then I have never been really happy apart from on a boat.

Have probably spent more on boats than I have on real estate over the years.
For my sins I currently own 3 vessels.

Once in your blood, it never really leaves!!

Dwayne

[BandB]

Originally Posted by BandB

Wifey B: Hubby bit me.

Since I was credited with biting her, here's mine. The answer is I don't know. I know we went to lakes and my father and uncle both had small fishing boats and then, when I was around 12 I told my father we needed something faster to waterski. We went boat shopping and ended up with a 17' Searay which he put in my name so if clients asked to use it he could say it was mine or some such story. Ultimately we used it a few times as family but 95% I used it and he kept using his fishing boat which a couple of years later he upgraded.

Being on the water, having that boat, were where I found myself happy. Sometimes with my cousin. Years later with a neighbor. Often alone. There was a feeling of freedom. Partly just it was not home. I spent all possible time on it. As I aged and started work, I found out one thing and that was it didn't matter what was going on that if I was boating, wind in my face, it's as if it blew all other thoughts out of my head for that time. In some ways, boating was the only time I was really a kid. I'm still a child at heart when it comes to boating.

I love boats, all types. All sizes, most speeds. I love our kayaks and paddleboards, our RIB's. At one time it was my place of escape then my wife and my special place. Today, it's where we gather with our friends/family, those so special to us. So many special moments while cruising. Then occasionally just the two of us still escape.

When people ask why I like being on the water so much, why I'll cruise the country by water when it would be faster and cheaper by land, I just say it's something you feel. If you have to ask, then no way I can explain it.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by SailingFan

Then on to a Chris Craft Scorpion, and thumbed rides on boats of other sorts along the way.

Will move up again one day, maybe to a 40 footer.

Had a Chris Craft Stinger, loved that boat!

Good rule of thumb, always trade up!

[CharlzO]

My dad had a Mac 25 when we were little, and took us out a few times. But then had to sell it. Every now and then I would think "I miss doing that" but would only be thinking it. 5 years ago my brother traded a couple jetskis for his O'day 23 and I went out on it one weekend with him, and decided yep, that's what I remember, I need to get back into this. Not looking back again.

[toddster8]

It's weird...
As a kid, I worked on the farm, 7 days a week. We certainly didn't have any money or time for boats, or much of any other recreation. Although I always did love everything about swimming and diving. I don't remember even thinking about boating, beyond the canoes at scout camp, which couldn't have been more than a few hours in total.
And yet... when I cleaned out Mom's house a few years ago, I ended up with a box of stuff from my old room. There was a picture of a sailboat hanging on the wall. There were no less than four model sailboats on the shelf - that's what I brought back as souvenirs from each of the trips I took as a teen. At the time, it didn't seem like a pattern.
This seems to have been festering for a long time...

[markpierce]

My father needed me to be first mate and foredeck sail-handler on his 30-foot sloop racing in the SF Bay in the 1960s.

[Ishmael]

Signed-up for Community Boating on the Charles River in Boston when I was 10 (1977). Joined a sailing club on Boston Harbor when I got older, and crewed on a delivery from the Bahamas to Boston in the 90's. Owned a 1978 O'Day 27' and sailed up and down the southeast coast of MA and the islands (Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Cuttyhunk) for a few years before selling it and beginning the "life of quiet desperation" - marriage, mortgage, mayhem (kids) etc.. Hoping to get back into it someday before I die

[sailorboy1]

some of you are just so Zen

[robwilk37]

picked up robin lee grahams "dove" when i was 11. read, re-read... i think a dozen times or so. done.

[proparapi]

High School dropout at 18. Broken heart at 20. No options small town in the desert. Loved the ocean. Stumbled upon a sailing documentary that planted the seed. Joined the Navy and got assigned to the Marines. Never did pursue sailing until now -- semi retired at 53. Found a Hobie 14 for sale cheaper. Negotiated for it cheaper -- half price. Crewed at the yacht club a few times. The feeling of movement without effort and little noise is a mystery to those that have never experienced it! It brings me peace.