Hallo there
I have been sailing on/off for 40 years and I joined the forum back in July shortly after I quit my job and started to look for a
boat to do some serious ocean cruising - in those days I was looking for any sort of background information that would aid my choice of
boat and I must say the forum was invaluable in bringing me up to speed with the main parameters to consider. My choice was a 1996 Westerly 49 - a beautiful boat!
I sailed her along the UK south coast to Cowes (my home in the 70's) where I have hauled her out of the
water and started to get stuck into preparations for a May departure south to warmer climes. I have subsequently been a voracious reader of the Engineering and Systems fora - my
engine blew up on Day One,
mainsail jammed (furled), the
keel is well rusted, flourishing
marine life blow waterline, and my
electrical system is in need of some
tender love and care. I also find that i need to learn how all this high tech stuff works and have been down loading mauals like crazy!
I must say the forum is very well organised such that finding usable information that can be applied to a particular boats problems seems to be relatively straight forward - I appreciate that.
I am sure that as my refurbishments proceed I will continue to glean info from the forum and, maybe, I will be able to contribute when I have something meaningfull to add.
I look forward to being an active
member of the community and hope to meet some of you in the flesh one day.
Tim