what did you learn to sail on????

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JeffM

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May 25, 2004
24
Catalina 36 Lake Perry KS
After one day of sailing a friend's old leaky snark my wife and I decided this was for us. We bought a used Sunfish for $475 (a lot of money 30+ years ago). I made a car top rack from wood and suction cups to carry it, and off we went to a local lake ... with our two kids ages 5 and 10. When we fumbled the boat into the water and loaded all four of us for our first family sail, anyone with a lick of boating sense surely was thinking ... "That damn fool is getting ready to sink his whole family."

We just barely survived that first outing while finding out that a Sunfish with four people on it can plane in a storm squall. Obviously we didn't learn enough to quit after that, and all these years and six boats later (Flying Junior, Catalina 22, Ericson 27, Ericson 30+, and now a Catalina 36) we spend every good weekend, and some not so good weekends, on the water with our sailor friends.

I'm sure this is bound to start an argument, but I'm a believer that those who learn on small, wet boats become more keenly in tune with winds and sail trim. When your early mistakes land you in the water, and when you feel the boat react to small changes in trim, you keep those skills as you move on to larger more forgiving boats. Perhaps this should be a subject of another thread:)
 
Sep 25, 2008
385
Harpoon 5.2 Honolulu, HI
This might sound strange, but I can't remember. My parents have been sailing since I was four, they had a Hampton 18 at the time, then a few more sailboats over the years. I think I sort of learned by osmosis over the years, I never really had a moment where I 'figured out' how to sail. My first boat was a Snark when I was 11.
 
Jan 23, 2009
2
Hunter h26 Lake Pepin
Stolen X boat

I grew up in a small resort town with loads of opportunities bobbing on moorings on local lakes. I found an old X boat easy to take on and off its mooring, it didn't take long to figure out how to drop the center board and raise the main and fight the wind. One day when returning to the mooring I was greeted by the owner. After a complete chew out, the owner said something to the effect of "Son, if you're going to steal my boat, you have to know how to handle her". The owner gave me the gift of sailing and then the gift of trust. He allowed me to sail his boat for several years until, I grew up and joined the Army. That boat is gone and old grandpa Sheridan is long dead, but alive still is the life long gift of sail. I re-learned to sail a Yngling years later and now enjoy my h26 on Lake Pepin, a wide spot on the Mississippi. RLB
 

KMm

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Aug 20, 2010
72
In 1972 I was working as a sales manager for a retail waterbed chain in So Cal and the owner of the Co. decided to take sailing lessons. He didn't want to do it alone so ask my if I wanted to learn. He was going to take a week off and sail 8 hrs each day for a whole week at a sailing club in Newport Beach and He would pay for it and the week I was off. I stepped on to a Cat 27 the following monday and on the fourth day the instructor had us do a slow pass by the docks and said as he stepped off "You guys are naturals, take it out. We never looked back. That was the day I fell in love with Sailing, 6 weeks later I bought 1/2 interest in the Club. Now 39 years, 20+thousand blue water miles and 12 boats later, I am still learning. :dance:
 

MrUnix

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Mar 24, 2010
626
Hunter 23 Gainesville, FL
I guess growing up in South Florida has it's advantages.. like being on and around boats long before you are even out of diapers :) And while I have been sailing on and off for the better part of 40 years now, I am still learning! If the question is what boat did you first sail.. that would have to be a homemade contraption my neighbor and I built when we were in elementary school. Was an old Sears gamefisher aluminum jon boat with a homemade mast made from a fence pole and sail fashioned from a bed sheet :eek: Not having a centerboard or any ballast, it tended to be more of hoping for the right wind direction and trying to keep it from going turtle than anything else. Fortunately, our parents felt sorry for us got us an Aquacat 12' catamaran (Hobie clone) which we ravaged for years, but did get us quite a bit of experience and started us down the path of sailboat ownership.

Cheers,
Brad
 
Jan 22, 2008
1
Hunter 19_93-96 Boise ID
Learned to sail on Capitol Lake in Olympia, WA on a city owned 8 foot blunt nosed boat during the 1970's. The City provided the boats and lessons. Curriculum included swamping and recovering the boat. For a small one time fee, maybe $20, you could use the boats whenever you felt like going to the boahouse. A great introduction to sailing taught by a young instructor, the after-dinner classes were offered during the week . Since then I've owned a 14" Pintail, 19" Buccanner, 14-2 Catalina, 19' Hunter and have a Hobie trimaran on order.

A friend had a framed item on his wall, something along the lines of

"The gods don't subtract the time spent sailing from a man's life"
 
Mar 1, 2010
12
Gulfstar Sloop St. Augustine
My step-father bought a 14' Hobie Cat from Hobie Alter when I was in my early teens. We forgot to bring the boom (up from Bay Area) so I paddled it all around Crystal Bay (Incline Village, Lake Tahoe) because I was so excited!
Years later...at the "ripe ol' age of 25", I captained a bare-boat (39' sloop) for myself and friends in the BVI's. Two years later...another captain'ing adventure on a 46' Morgan from The Moorings!

Looking back...I looked so young I'm surprised they gave me the boat. Those were the days!~
 
Nov 18, 2005
73
Beneteau 323 Brookville, IN
I learned on Lightnings, Rebels and C scows at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana when I was 14. I'm now 58 and have been sailing all my life. What a great addiction!
 

miles

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Dec 7, 2010
2
Hunter 356 Marina Del Rey
We caught the sailbug in September 2009 when my wife decided to take me sailing on a Beneteau 40 for my birthday out of Marina Del Rey into the beauty of the South Bay. We decided on that day to take sailing lessons together and buy a sailboat in April 2011. Well, we joined Marina Sailing Redondo Beach in April 2010 and were certified in ASA 101 and ASA 103 in September 2010. We chartered all summer starting with a Catalina 28 (the lesson boat) and gradually made our way through the fleet. Ok, so a bit ahead of schedule but we love sailing and purchased our first sailboat, a 2002 Hunter 356 in stellar condition in December 2010. We cant wait for out first trip to Catalina, San Francisco, the Baha Ha Ha run, and the Christmas Boat Parade!

Thank you Captain Dan and Marina Sailing Redondo Beach for the lifestyle change!

Miles & Marna
 
Jan 3, 2011
1
Beneteau First 36.7 Riverton, NJ
what did you learn to sail on?

I bought a Riverton, NJ "Duster", wooden dingy, sloop rigged, flat bottom suicide machine...! Towed it to Cooper River, a nearby local sailing area and sailed up an down the river, flipping it over on every other tack! had no idea how to tame her, mainsail was huge, no idea how to tack either! I thought off-wind was the only way to make the boat move. As I would try to turn her, her sails would harden and a flippen' we would go! I tired of this quickly, no kidding, and started reading book after book on sailing. soon I was flying around the small river like a pro and smiling ear to ear all the way....!:D
 
Jan 12, 2009
11
I needed a summer escape from the city and purchased a 28ft O'day in Ct. I hired someone to help me sail it back to Shelter Island ..I now realize there was a lot he didn't know or teach me as I sailed many miles since. I continued learning as I went from other experienced sailors in addition I read as much as I could and learned navigation this was my best move learning where I was and tides. There is always something new to learn.. The boat is for sale in Maine.
 
Jun 7, 2004
350
Oday 28 East Tawas
The year I graduated from college I attended a grad party at a friends house on a local lake. His dad had a home made sailboat and I took it out for a spin on the lake. It was cat rigged with a dagger board. It was great! I quickly took to it and knew that one day I'd own a sail boat no matter what. My first and this is where I got lots of close-shore experience was a 23' boat built by clipper marine. Long since out of business but she was a lovely fast boat and I sailed her till I got my 28' O'day. I am still learning and will probably never know all there is about the art of sail.
 

zeehag

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Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
the closest thing in the poll there is to this boat i learned on-- we were essentially apprenticed with uncle phil-- hands on teaching as we went--- is closest to a one design, early days kind--lol 1903 built, only 7 or 9 of them ever built-- raced together for a short time,early in their histories, 1903- 19teens-- sounds like a one design kinda thing to me----but in her own unique fashion-- lotsa cool memories with uncle phil and eleanor and family sailing......we just didnt race at all-- just sailed and learned and had fun. work, too, but the memories are fun ones. we are trying to place the folks in this shot-- we dont know who was there and when it was taken---- last i sailed with the folks was 1967 or so-- so if i was the smartass on the bow just afore the mast, was one date, if that person on the bow was my cousin, was later..LOL...i dont remember the clothing but i remember doing something like the wave in the shot on the way out sailing one thanksgiving time and was the folks on the beach-- family-- taking pix.....was all too long ago to remember!!! my stretch with eleanor was 1955-1967. uncle phil was an awesome teacher...
 
Jun 18, 2009
4
Pearson Wanderer Kings Point Long Island
A 25 foot US Yacht. Taught myself by myself. Sat motionless for quite a while till the book reading paid off. Then just kept on every weekend for years.
 
Aug 2, 2005
1,155
Pearson 33-2 & Typhoon 18 Seneca Lake
Hello,
"Learned" to sail on a Lockley Sea Witch that was a 12 foot plastic bathtub! We (wife & I) crowded aboard with our two children. We still laugh at how we must have looked! The "fun" ended abruptly several times as I dumped us into the water. We did take that boat to some far away places though. I clearly remember soaking the family in the Chesapeake Bay near Elk Neck State Park and another time at the shore in Connecticut.
Later I took 4 days of sailing school at Havre de Grace, MD and took several Coast Guard Auxillary courses in PA. All were well worth the time and effort. Skill level has gone up!
 
Sep 26, 2010
808
Macgregor 1993 26S Houston
I was a teenager in Houston Tx. I saw the rental fleet in Clearlake many times. I thought it looked fun. One day my brother and I went there with a cooler full of brews. Asked to rent one. The guy asked if I knew how to sail. I lied.
when asked which one, I picked out the largest boat in the fleet. Don't remember the model but it was about 16 ft and had a main and a jib.
We loaded up, pointed the boat sideways to the wind, and hopped in. Crossing the water, we just played with the tiller and the sails to find out what its limitations were and before long, we knew we could go anywhere we wanted.
I was hooked.
Jim
 

`Marc

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Apr 14, 2007
4
- - Des Moines, Iowa
At the age of 9 our family lawyer took me out in his "Celebrity" it was a sloop. I quickly caught on and eventually crewed on his boat during races. The next year my Dad bought me a "Stardancer" a lateen rigged souped up sunfish. that is really where I learned how to sail. All this occurred on the 3rd largest lake in Nebraska, Sherman reservoir. Marc
 
Jun 18, 2009
4
MacGregor 25 KY
I must admit, I haven't learned to sail yet. I have a 1984 Macgregor 25 in my back yard that I am restoring. I can't wait to learn and get it in the water. Any advice from seasoned sailors will not fall on deaf ears including any advice on fixing up the boat.
Hammer
 
Sep 28, 2008
6
Oday 25 Lake Tahoe
Although my first sailing experiences were on a Hobie 16 catamaran, I learned more about the effects of wind and sail on a Manta Windjammer "Lansdale" Here in Nevada we have more dry lakes than wet ! Zipping across the Black Rock Desert at speeds over 50 mph, the learning curve is very steep. Sailing my O'day 25 has taught me the respect for sailing on water. the ever-changing gusty winds and Lake Tahoe's frigid water will forgive none. The Landsailing experience of how to quickly respond to direction of wind change has made a better sailor of me.
 

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