How old were you when you first began sailing? Were you brought up sailing as a kid or did the bug bite you later in life? Perhaps you converted to sailing from other types of boating, whether by power or paddle. Share with us how you got into sailing then vote in the Quick Quiz on the home page. (Discussion topic and quiz by Trevor MacLachlan)
- Status
I was 16, a sophomore in high school
A friend found a 19 foot mahogany daysailer in someone's yard in Pensacola, Florida. The lady wanted $100 if we would haul the boat away. With a 4-foot draft, and 900 pounds of lead in the keel, this was not an easy thing for a couple of teenagers. We managed to borrow a flatbed truck with a boom and block-and-tackle, and hauled the beauty home. Then we spent several months of after-school and weekend hours preparing "Getaway" for her launch. Since we were high-school kids, it was all done on the cheap, but we had a friend whose father owned a boatyard, and another friend whose father owned a marine supply store, so we got good materials and good advice. When we finally launched her, I thought she was beautiful, and it was a plus to have a boat, so that we could take girls "yachting". We had many wonderful days sailing on Mobile Bay. With 4-foot draft, we ran aground often, but usually it was on an oyster bed that would provide a rewarding snack for the captain and crew. I've been hooked ever since.
A friend found a 19 foot mahogany daysailer in someone's yard in Pensacola, Florida. The lady wanted $100 if we would haul the boat away. With a 4-foot draft, and 900 pounds of lead in the keel, this was not an easy thing for a couple of teenagers. We managed to borrow a flatbed truck with a boom and block-and-tackle, and hauled the beauty home. Then we spent several months of after-school and weekend hours preparing "Getaway" for her launch. Since we were high-school kids, it was all done on the cheap, but we had a friend whose father owned a boatyard, and another friend whose father owned a marine supply store, so we got good materials and good advice. When we finally launched her, I thought she was beautiful, and it was a plus to have a boat, so that we could take girls "yachting". We had many wonderful days sailing on Mobile Bay. With 4-foot draft, we ran aground often, but usually it was on an oyster bed that would provide a rewarding snack for the captain and crew. I've been hooked ever since.
lifelong boater
My parents were powerboaters: I have vivid memories of launching our 19 ft. mahogany Chris-Craft in the back bay at Newport in So. Cal. That boat was wrecked in a highway accident and we had no boat for a couple of years, but my parents soon acquired a Larson 16 that I learned to water ski behind. When I got drafted in 1968, the Army gave us a battery of tests and offered me a chance to avoid infantry duty in Nam. I didn't want to carry a rifle in the jungle and opted for Marine Engineering training. I served on an Army tugboat in Thailand for two years. After the service, my parents had acquired a Wellcraft 21, which we used to go to the River (that would be the Colorado River) and to Catalina Island. Friends of theirs had a Chris-Craft 41. I wanted my own boat and was looking at a 19 ft. Sea-Ray when the first energy crisis hit. Gas was scarce, so a power boat was out, but the wind was free. I took a sailing class then bought a pretty little wooden Windmill 16. Learning to sail on that racing boat was like learning to drive in a Ferrari, but it taught me a lot. The wife went once or twice, then opted out, until we decided to get a Catalina 22. I'll never forget my first trip to Avalon on my own command. We kept that boat for a few years, then the kids wanted in on the fun so we found a nice clean Catalina 30 that we enjoyed for about five years. Then one day, knowing we wanted to cruise someday, we went to look at a Beneteau 40. My wife loved it and we made an offer. Low and behold, after a little negotiating, we came to an agreement. That was ten years ago and we still own it. There's been a few sailing dinks scattered in there, too. I couldn't imagine being without a boat. (or a motorcycle either, for that matter). I'm starting to rethink that whole cruising thing and am beginning to lean toward just flying to the good parts, chartering, and flying home afterwards.
My parents were powerboaters: I have vivid memories of launching our 19 ft. mahogany Chris-Craft in the back bay at Newport in So. Cal. That boat was wrecked in a highway accident and we had no boat for a couple of years, but my parents soon acquired a Larson 16 that I learned to water ski behind. When I got drafted in 1968, the Army gave us a battery of tests and offered me a chance to avoid infantry duty in Nam. I didn't want to carry a rifle in the jungle and opted for Marine Engineering training. I served on an Army tugboat in Thailand for two years. After the service, my parents had acquired a Wellcraft 21, which we used to go to the River (that would be the Colorado River) and to Catalina Island. Friends of theirs had a Chris-Craft 41. I wanted my own boat and was looking at a 19 ft. Sea-Ray when the first energy crisis hit. Gas was scarce, so a power boat was out, but the wind was free. I took a sailing class then bought a pretty little wooden Windmill 16. Learning to sail on that racing boat was like learning to drive in a Ferrari, but it taught me a lot. The wife went once or twice, then opted out, until we decided to get a Catalina 22. I'll never forget my first trip to Avalon on my own command. We kept that boat for a few years, then the kids wanted in on the fun so we found a nice clean Catalina 30 that we enjoyed for about five years. Then one day, knowing we wanted to cruise someday, we went to look at a Beneteau 40. My wife loved it and we made an offer. Low and behold, after a little negotiating, we came to an agreement. That was ten years ago and we still own it. There's been a few sailing dinks scattered in there, too. I couldn't imagine being without a boat. (or a motorcycle either, for that matter). I'm starting to rethink that whole cruising thing and am beginning to lean toward just flying to the good parts, chartering, and flying home afterwards.
Swallows and Amazons for ever!
I was about 12 when I first read Swallows and Amazons, the first in a series by Arthur Ransome. A story about a family of four (upper-middle class, home from boarding-school for the hols!) children sailing on a large lake in the Lake District in the North of England. Adventures, imaginary foes, learning to sail on a dinghy called Swallow. The Amazons were 2 girls, pretend pirates. Childhood adventures in a safe time. My boat is called Swallow and more than one sailor passing by has yelled out: "Swallows and Amazons forever", obviously having read the books. However, I didn't learn to sail, myself, until my mid-thirties when I inherited a Sea Scout troop (always go to committee meetings!) and as one must practice what one preaches I readily took a sailing course on Lasers, with my 14 year-old son, and it has been a joy, a challenge and a continual learning experience ever since. And I still read the books! Barry
I was about 12 when I first read Swallows and Amazons, the first in a series by Arthur Ransome. A story about a family of four (upper-middle class, home from boarding-school for the hols!) children sailing on a large lake in the Lake District in the North of England. Adventures, imaginary foes, learning to sail on a dinghy called Swallow. The Amazons were 2 girls, pretend pirates. Childhood adventures in a safe time. My boat is called Swallow and more than one sailor passing by has yelled out: "Swallows and Amazons forever", obviously having read the books. However, I didn't learn to sail, myself, until my mid-thirties when I inherited a Sea Scout troop (always go to committee meetings!) and as one must practice what one preaches I readily took a sailing course on Lasers, with my 14 year-old son, and it has been a joy, a challenge and a continual learning experience ever since. And I still read the books! Barry
Young
Long Beach (CA) Parks and Recreation had a youth sailing program. I was eight when I learned to sail. My family wasn't into boating, so all my access was though the city and scouting. Alamitos bay had a local class boat called a Naples Sabot. It was cat rigged with a lee board on one side only. It came in 6 or 8 feet. A very poor performer, but a real kick for young kids.
Long Beach (CA) Parks and Recreation had a youth sailing program. I was eight when I learned to sail. My family wasn't into boating, so all my access was though the city and scouting. Alamitos bay had a local class boat called a Naples Sabot. It was cat rigged with a lee board on one side only. It came in 6 or 8 feet. A very poor performer, but a real kick for young kids.
Health Requirement
Sailing came to our lives some 24 years back. The workaholic lifestyle had taken its toll when I became paralyzed from the waist down in 1978. Massage, swimming, and Christ's intervention brought me back to functionality. Took sailing lessons from the local YMCA in 1981 and bought the first craft, a Hobbie 16 in 1983. Currently sailing a Hunter 336 that we have owned for 10 years. Sailing taught me to slow down and enjoy God's creation.
Sailing came to our lives some 24 years back. The workaholic lifestyle had taken its toll when I became paralyzed from the waist down in 1978. Massage, swimming, and Christ's intervention brought me back to functionality. Took sailing lessons from the local YMCA in 1981 and bought the first craft, a Hobbie 16 in 1983. Currently sailing a Hunter 336 that we have owned for 10 years. Sailing taught me to slow down and enjoy God's creation.
Started...
Began sailing with my family at the ripe old age of two or three in a Town Class day sailor. By the time I was eight I was single handing my Dyer dinghy as long as a parent was on the beach watching. At ten I got my first "lobster boat" and began hauling traps solo. By age twelve I graduated from a sport license to commercial and was the youngest commercial lobsterman in NH. I was also regularly sailing my Laser (hull #12) to places like the Isles of Shoals or Newburyport just for the fun of it. I sailed my first Bermuda race on a friends boat, as part of the crew, at 12 and had a blast. At thirteen we were caught in a nasty storm during another Bermuda race and were knocked down, like Mike Tyson's ex wife, four times on a 50+ foot Bud Macintosh designed wooden schooner. I spent the better part of a day and a half bailing and pumping because I was the only one who could be below decks without hurling my guts out.... Unfortunately now I can't get the sea out of my blood. Perhaps, it was just always in there, because my great, great, great grand father was actually Sir Francis Drake. Once in the blood it's harder to kick than drugs....
Began sailing with my family at the ripe old age of two or three in a Town Class day sailor. By the time I was eight I was single handing my Dyer dinghy as long as a parent was on the beach watching. At ten I got my first "lobster boat" and began hauling traps solo. By age twelve I graduated from a sport license to commercial and was the youngest commercial lobsterman in NH. I was also regularly sailing my Laser (hull #12) to places like the Isles of Shoals or Newburyport just for the fun of it. I sailed my first Bermuda race on a friends boat, as part of the crew, at 12 and had a blast. At thirteen we were caught in a nasty storm during another Bermuda race and were knocked down, like Mike Tyson's ex wife, four times on a 50+ foot Bud Macintosh designed wooden schooner. I spent the better part of a day and a half bailing and pumping because I was the only one who could be below decks without hurling my guts out.... Unfortunately now I can't get the sea out of my blood. Perhaps, it was just always in there, because my great, great, great grand father was actually Sir Francis Drake. Once in the blood it's harder to kick than drugs....
6 years old...
When I was 6, my dad built 2 small gaff-rigged plywood sailboats for me and my older brother. I think he got the plans from Popular Mechanics or some other magazine. Mom sewed the sails out of red canvas, and the mast was a 2x4 that slid down a shaft near the bow. I remember watching as dad mixed the resourcenal glue up and struggled to bend the plywood around the curve of the bow. When he was finished, he painted the boats blue, and we launched them at my grandmother's house down on the coast in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. On our first sail, dad had us race each other. When the wind died with both of us just yards from the finish, I discovered that working the rudder would make the boat move. I won the race under angry accusations of cheating from my brother. I discovered years later that I had, in fact, cheated. But the win felt good, nonetheless. Early one Sunday morning, I got up at the crack of dawn, and headed out - I remember being in awe at the realization that our little bayou was connected to the back bay; that the back bay was connected to the Gulf; and that the Gulf was connected to the ocean and the world. I was determined to go as far as I could. Later at breakfast, mom noticed that I was gone. When it was discovered that one of the two boats was also gone, the search party was dispatched. When they caught up with me, I was out in the middle of the back bay, headed for the railway bridge that would have lead out to the Mississippi sound. That put an end to my circumnavigation, but I've been hooked on sailing ever since.
When I was 6, my dad built 2 small gaff-rigged plywood sailboats for me and my older brother. I think he got the plans from Popular Mechanics or some other magazine. Mom sewed the sails out of red canvas, and the mast was a 2x4 that slid down a shaft near the bow. I remember watching as dad mixed the resourcenal glue up and struggled to bend the plywood around the curve of the bow. When he was finished, he painted the boats blue, and we launched them at my grandmother's house down on the coast in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. On our first sail, dad had us race each other. When the wind died with both of us just yards from the finish, I discovered that working the rudder would make the boat move. I won the race under angry accusations of cheating from my brother. I discovered years later that I had, in fact, cheated. But the win felt good, nonetheless. Early one Sunday morning, I got up at the crack of dawn, and headed out - I remember being in awe at the realization that our little bayou was connected to the back bay; that the back bay was connected to the Gulf; and that the Gulf was connected to the ocean and the world. I was determined to go as far as I could. Later at breakfast, mom noticed that I was gone. When it was discovered that one of the two boats was also gone, the search party was dispatched. When they caught up with me, I was out in the middle of the back bay, headed for the railway bridge that would have lead out to the Mississippi sound. That put an end to my circumnavigation, but I've been hooked on sailing ever since.
i started at 5
i went out for my first time with my grandparents at 5 we sailed about 45 days on lake erie on a brand new hunter 37 we sailed evary year for longer and longer trips at about 12 i bought a snark and sailed it evary chance i got in the little lakes of orange co ca and progressing to ocean sailing and lake isabella while still spending summers sailing lake erie with my grandparents i sailed my snark till it fell apart and was no longer repairable i got my next boat at 21 a neptune 16 with a little cabin i ended up living on it for a short time in half moon bay sailing when i could about 23 moved up to a columbia 26 based in la harbor i lived aboard for a few years then moved i found a cheap coronado 25 in san fransico loved the boat but couldent keep her when i again needed a place to live i bought another coronado 25 and still live on her out on a mooring bay 1/4 offshore and after 4 years in this spot im still loving it but would like to get a trailor for her to get to the good stuff faster and would be nice to sail on lake tahoo and the other lake and delta waterways
i went out for my first time with my grandparents at 5 we sailed about 45 days on lake erie on a brand new hunter 37 we sailed evary year for longer and longer trips at about 12 i bought a snark and sailed it evary chance i got in the little lakes of orange co ca and progressing to ocean sailing and lake isabella while still spending summers sailing lake erie with my grandparents i sailed my snark till it fell apart and was no longer repairable i got my next boat at 21 a neptune 16 with a little cabin i ended up living on it for a short time in half moon bay sailing when i could about 23 moved up to a columbia 26 based in la harbor i lived aboard for a few years then moved i found a cheap coronado 25 in san fransico loved the boat but couldent keep her when i again needed a place to live i bought another coronado 25 and still live on her out on a mooring bay 1/4 offshore and after 4 years in this spot im still loving it but would like to get a trailor for her to get to the good stuff faster and would be nice to sail on lake tahoo and the other lake and delta waterways
Back then
I was a sophmore in high school when a friend invited me out with him and his dad on a Star. I loved it! Then - my father-in-law found an Interlake for sale at work and caught the sailing bug abount twenty-five years ago. I was with him when he picked it up and brought it home - and we both fell in love with sailing. Here I am now - with a 30 footer and still in love! Bill on STARGAZER
I was a sophmore in high school when a friend invited me out with him and his dad on a Star. I loved it! Then - my father-in-law found an Interlake for sale at work and caught the sailing bug abount twenty-five years ago. I was with him when he picked it up and brought it home - and we both fell in love with sailing. Here I am now - with a 30 footer and still in love! Bill on STARGAZER
Old Man!!
I was about 50 when the bug hit me. My wife and I were wandering around Pier 39 in San Francisco one bright sunny Sayurday afternoon when we decided to take a walk over to where the boats were docked. We were looking at all the sail boats when all of a sudden, here was this guy (I swear he wayed 350 pounds) with no shirt on and a cocktail in his hand sitting in the cockpit of his boat. I laughed and told the wife that I could live like that, and that was that. Three months later I was takeing sailing lessons and two years later we bought our Catalina 38, Lucky Star..
I was about 50 when the bug hit me. My wife and I were wandering around Pier 39 in San Francisco one bright sunny Sayurday afternoon when we decided to take a walk over to where the boats were docked. We were looking at all the sail boats when all of a sudden, here was this guy (I swear he wayed 350 pounds) with no shirt on and a cocktail in his hand sitting in the cockpit of his boat. I laughed and told the wife that I could live like that, and that was that. Three months later I was takeing sailing lessons and two years later we bought our Catalina 38, Lucky Star..
1970
I informed my wife pf this dream 2 yrs prior to our marriage. It took Prostate cancer to fulfill my dream.
I informed my wife pf this dream 2 yrs prior to our marriage. It took Prostate cancer to fulfill my dream.
Finally living my Dream
I was 22 when I took a sailing course through the YMCA on a 26' Thunderbird and promised myself that some day I would have a similar sized sailboat. A few years later my brother and I would spend several summers on a 15' VentureCat and I passed my sailing skills onto him. It would take me 28 years to get my 26' sailboat but in the end I did get a Macgregor 26M in 2003 when I reached 50.
I was 22 when I took a sailing course through the YMCA on a 26' Thunderbird and promised myself that some day I would have a similar sized sailboat. A few years later my brother and I would spend several summers on a 15' VentureCat and I passed my sailing skills onto him. It would take me 28 years to get my 26' sailboat but in the end I did get a Macgregor 26M in 2003 when I reached 50.
Convert
I'm a convert. I began my boating career with my dad in a 12 foot plywood boat he made in our garage powered by a 5 hp Johnson. As I got older he was good enough to go bigger and at one time the larges outboard motor on our lake (30 hp Johnson, about 1955) on a 16 foot run-a-bout. (Note: My two buddies and I sank the 12 foot boat water-skiing with now a 10 hp Johnson, this was the same boat I learned to water-ski behind.) My first powerboat I owned was a 165 hp 19 foot I/O Century. The sailing bug came out the first time I sailed with my brother-in-law in his sunfish on Long Island Sound in about 1967. He kept his sunfish behind the couch in his apartment in Hartford, Conn. and the sail under his bed. Him, his wife, my wife and I sailed about 2 miles off-shore one day on long Island Sound and we made a big hit with the other boaters out there when they saw four adults on a tiny sunfish. I came home (Michigan) and bought a 14 foot Hobie, raced it on an inland lake one summer before I bought a 16 foot Hobie which I raced for 12 years. In the same 12 year span I chartered sailboats (26 feet to 32 feet) in Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan with my wife and first two kids, between about 1968 and 1988. Then because of some bad times I didn't charter again until 1995 and that was an Oday 27 in San Diego Bay with my wife and four kids for one day. The next time my wife and I chartered was in 2005. First a Catalina 38 and then a Catalina 30. Both times in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan. We bought our 1997 Catalina 34 MKII in 2005 at a boat show. My wife says she loves our boat more than I do, but I doubt it.
I'm a convert. I began my boating career with my dad in a 12 foot plywood boat he made in our garage powered by a 5 hp Johnson. As I got older he was good enough to go bigger and at one time the larges outboard motor on our lake (30 hp Johnson, about 1955) on a 16 foot run-a-bout. (Note: My two buddies and I sank the 12 foot boat water-skiing with now a 10 hp Johnson, this was the same boat I learned to water-ski behind.) My first powerboat I owned was a 165 hp 19 foot I/O Century. The sailing bug came out the first time I sailed with my brother-in-law in his sunfish on Long Island Sound in about 1967. He kept his sunfish behind the couch in his apartment in Hartford, Conn. and the sail under his bed. Him, his wife, my wife and I sailed about 2 miles off-shore one day on long Island Sound and we made a big hit with the other boaters out there when they saw four adults on a tiny sunfish. I came home (Michigan) and bought a 14 foot Hobie, raced it on an inland lake one summer before I bought a 16 foot Hobie which I raced for 12 years. In the same 12 year span I chartered sailboats (26 feet to 32 feet) in Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan with my wife and first two kids, between about 1968 and 1988. Then because of some bad times I didn't charter again until 1995 and that was an Oday 27 in San Diego Bay with my wife and four kids for one day. The next time my wife and I chartered was in 2005. First a Catalina 38 and then a Catalina 30. Both times in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan. We bought our 1997 Catalina 34 MKII in 2005 at a boat show. My wife says she loves our boat more than I do, but I doubt it.
I have been messing about in boats
ever since I was big enough to push a lawn mower to earn a couple of bucks for renting a wooden row boat so I could go fishing. It took another 30 years of wishing before I had a boat I could call mine. It was a canoe. I rigged it with outriggers and a leeboard and a sprit sail. Nancy hated it I loved it. We compromised and bought a 30 foot Islander.
ever since I was big enough to push a lawn mower to earn a couple of bucks for renting a wooden row boat so I could go fishing. It took another 30 years of wishing before I had a boat I could call mine. It was a canoe. I rigged it with outriggers and a leeboard and a sprit sail. Nancy hated it I loved it. We compromised and bought a 30 foot Islander.
Herman Melville
When I was a kid, I read the South Sea adventure stories of Herman Melville ("Typee" and "Omoo"). These were based on his life as a sailor, and I always thought of sailing as a really romantic thing, although growing up in New York City didn't exactly offer me the chance to try it out. When I was in my early 20s, I worked at a summer camp up in Maine and learned to sail little sailing dinghies. Later, my (then) wife and I moved out to the SF Bay area. I always dreamed about sailing, and sometimes when things weren't going well in my life I'd wander around at Jack London Square and look at the sailboats. I'd seize on the biggest one I could find that had a "for sale" sign on it and stand there and dream. But I always knew that getting a sailboat was a pure fantasy, no more possible than flapping my arms and flying. The time (no less the money) required just didn't fit into my life. I always thought about that saying my father had quoted to me: "The two happiest days of my life were the day I bought my sailboat and the day I sold it." Then a couple of years back there were some radical changes in my life and one day I woke up and thought, "hey, you know what? I could get a boat." So my wife and I went out looking for boats. I had about two months to go before I reached 60, and I was determined to get it before that birthday. I made it by one week - a Catalina 30 and the best birthday present I ever got myself! We were lucky to have a couple of friends who are experienced sailors and who helped us a lot. After a year, we got a good deal on a newer Catalina 36 and sold the 30. Now, I'm trying to convince my wife to take a longer trip on her. That will happen, but it takes time. Meanwhile, I'm living my dream and reading as much as I can about sailing.
When I was a kid, I read the South Sea adventure stories of Herman Melville ("Typee" and "Omoo"). These were based on his life as a sailor, and I always thought of sailing as a really romantic thing, although growing up in New York City didn't exactly offer me the chance to try it out. When I was in my early 20s, I worked at a summer camp up in Maine and learned to sail little sailing dinghies. Later, my (then) wife and I moved out to the SF Bay area. I always dreamed about sailing, and sometimes when things weren't going well in my life I'd wander around at Jack London Square and look at the sailboats. I'd seize on the biggest one I could find that had a "for sale" sign on it and stand there and dream. But I always knew that getting a sailboat was a pure fantasy, no more possible than flapping my arms and flying. The time (no less the money) required just didn't fit into my life. I always thought about that saying my father had quoted to me: "The two happiest days of my life were the day I bought my sailboat and the day I sold it." Then a couple of years back there were some radical changes in my life and one day I woke up and thought, "hey, you know what? I could get a boat." So my wife and I went out looking for boats. I had about two months to go before I reached 60, and I was determined to get it before that birthday. I made it by one week - a Catalina 30 and the best birthday present I ever got myself! We were lucky to have a couple of friends who are experienced sailors and who helped us a lot. After a year, we got a good deal on a newer Catalina 36 and sold the 30. Now, I'm trying to convince my wife to take a longer trip on her. That will happen, but it takes time. Meanwhile, I'm living my dream and reading as much as I can about sailing.
Magic Summer
I was 9 and spending the summer at a our family's ramshackle cabin on one of the 10,000 lakes here in Minnesota. I was familiar with boats used for fishing and water skiing. One day my neighbor next door asked if I would like to help him sail his scow. My neighbor, John, was in college and like I said I was 9 so the thought of being able to hang out and 'help' a college-kid was so cool I jumped at the chance. We took the 20' footer out almost every day and John 'showed me the ropes' and he even let me man the tiller once in awhile. My usual job was running the jib. This experience gave me a love for sailing that has not left and continues to grow today. After many years with trailerable swing keel boats we finally moved up to a fixed keel boat moored in Duluth Harbor on Lake Superior. My next goal is to circumnavigate that big Lake and then who knows?
I was 9 and spending the summer at a our family's ramshackle cabin on one of the 10,000 lakes here in Minnesota. I was familiar with boats used for fishing and water skiing. One day my neighbor next door asked if I would like to help him sail his scow. My neighbor, John, was in college and like I said I was 9 so the thought of being able to hang out and 'help' a college-kid was so cool I jumped at the chance. We took the 20' footer out almost every day and John 'showed me the ropes' and he even let me man the tiller once in awhile. My usual job was running the jib. This experience gave me a love for sailing that has not left and continues to grow today. After many years with trailerable swing keel boats we finally moved up to a fixed keel boat moored in Duluth Harbor on Lake Superior. My next goal is to circumnavigate that big Lake and then who knows?
Converted Just After College
I grew up cruising the San Juan and Gulf Islands on a small Norseman cabin cruiser. Always loved being on the water. When I graduated from college, my girlfriend's mom's boyfriend (got that?) had a mid sized Bayliner with a sailing dinging moored at Edmonds marina on Puget Spound. I started dinking (pun intented) around sailing it just outside the breakwater. Read every how-to-sail book the library had. Then I found a 15 ft. Dolphin sloop rig in the classified ads. It was perfect for single handing, was stable, and could also be rowed. My father-in-law had a place on Lake Washington, so I kept it there, and sailed almost every afternoon after work. I also sailed Lasers and Hobiecats on many occassions. I also sailed everyboat they had at the Wooden Boat Works on Lake Union. Marriage and jobs took me away from the water for about a decade. Then one year when attending a medical conference in Coronado, I rented a Capri 18 for a few hours. The bug hit again, hard. They had a couple of Catalina 25s, so I asked if I could take one out. The attendant asked my about my sailing experience, and he laughed, saying a 25 would feel like an aircraft carrier to me. He was right...I was amazed at how easy it was to sail, and how slowly things developed on the water compared to a small dinghy. Joined a club immediately afterword, and started sailing bigger and bigger boats. I had to test out to get diesel certified, so I hired out an instructor for eight hours on the water, and passed the US Sailing tests on basic keel boat, basic cruising, and coastal nagivation. My wife and I chartered Catalinas, Hunters, Beneteaus, J boats to see what we liked, and eventually bought a Hunter 30, because it was the most boat for the price, was easy to sail, and the Admiral liked the huge rear quarters. . . Been pretty avid weekend cruisers for about ten years now...
I grew up cruising the San Juan and Gulf Islands on a small Norseman cabin cruiser. Always loved being on the water. When I graduated from college, my girlfriend's mom's boyfriend (got that?) had a mid sized Bayliner with a sailing dinging moored at Edmonds marina on Puget Spound. I started dinking (pun intented) around sailing it just outside the breakwater. Read every how-to-sail book the library had. Then I found a 15 ft. Dolphin sloop rig in the classified ads. It was perfect for single handing, was stable, and could also be rowed. My father-in-law had a place on Lake Washington, so I kept it there, and sailed almost every afternoon after work. I also sailed Lasers and Hobiecats on many occassions. I also sailed everyboat they had at the Wooden Boat Works on Lake Union. Marriage and jobs took me away from the water for about a decade. Then one year when attending a medical conference in Coronado, I rented a Capri 18 for a few hours. The bug hit again, hard. They had a couple of Catalina 25s, so I asked if I could take one out. The attendant asked my about my sailing experience, and he laughed, saying a 25 would feel like an aircraft carrier to me. He was right...I was amazed at how easy it was to sail, and how slowly things developed on the water compared to a small dinghy. Joined a club immediately afterword, and started sailing bigger and bigger boats. I had to test out to get diesel certified, so I hired out an instructor for eight hours on the water, and passed the US Sailing tests on basic keel boat, basic cruising, and coastal nagivation. My wife and I chartered Catalinas, Hunters, Beneteaus, J boats to see what we liked, and eventually bought a Hunter 30, because it was the most boat for the price, was easy to sail, and the Admiral liked the huge rear quarters. . . Been pretty avid weekend cruisers for about ten years now...
I started...
...messing about in boats when I was around 12 years old. A large inner tube caused me to be bitten by the boating bug and I moved up to an old iron boiler tank cut in half lengthwise that I found in the marsh near our local marine railway. Then I started building my own wooden boats, scows and bateaux fashioned after the work-boats in my area. I poled and sculled these boats around. No one in my town ever rowed a boat; we either poled, sculled, or strapped a "confound engine" off the transom. I was about 30 years old when the sailboating bug bit me. I was given a Snark that had conveyed with a house a friend bought. I capsized it a lot in a nearby cove and have been hooked on sailing ever since -- I love a challenge. Soon after, I bought an Optimist Pram and taught myself to sail, or rather, learned how not to capsize. Next, I built a double-ended "Teal" designed by Phil Bolger. After that I built a double-ended "Smith Island Crabbing Skiff" drawn by Howard I Chapelle. Then I built a sailing scow, drawn by Mr. Chapelle. By 36 years of age, I was building a 24 ft. cruising boat (for the cruising bug had found me by now), built along the lines of "Messenger," a skipjack, drawn by Mr. Chapelle. I was about to build a Steve Redmond "Elver" when I had a near-fatal brush with death that put me out of commission for a number of years. And now, after a lot of prayer, physical therapy, and sheer stubborn determination, I'm happy to report that I'm back at the helm. I recently bought a 1976, DaySailer 2 that is in tip-top shape. She just needed some cosmetics and all I had to do was to paint her faded blue topsides in a forest green... her slightly scuffed decks and trunk top with in a buff color, and the remaining vertical surfaces in white... slap a coat of anti-foul on her bottom... and then launch her. I've been camp-cruising in her for about two years now. The plans for "Elver" are still on a dust-covered shelf somewhere in my shop. Now that I'm in my late 50's my eye keeps roving to one of the larger O'Days... btw: I proudly call myself "Rag Waver" because I'm the only wind sailor in an area that has a total "Stink-Pot" mentality.
...messing about in boats when I was around 12 years old. A large inner tube caused me to be bitten by the boating bug and I moved up to an old iron boiler tank cut in half lengthwise that I found in the marsh near our local marine railway. Then I started building my own wooden boats, scows and bateaux fashioned after the work-boats in my area. I poled and sculled these boats around. No one in my town ever rowed a boat; we either poled, sculled, or strapped a "confound engine" off the transom. I was about 30 years old when the sailboating bug bit me. I was given a Snark that had conveyed with a house a friend bought. I capsized it a lot in a nearby cove and have been hooked on sailing ever since -- I love a challenge. Soon after, I bought an Optimist Pram and taught myself to sail, or rather, learned how not to capsize. Next, I built a double-ended "Teal" designed by Phil Bolger. After that I built a double-ended "Smith Island Crabbing Skiff" drawn by Howard I Chapelle. Then I built a sailing scow, drawn by Mr. Chapelle. By 36 years of age, I was building a 24 ft. cruising boat (for the cruising bug had found me by now), built along the lines of "Messenger," a skipjack, drawn by Mr. Chapelle. I was about to build a Steve Redmond "Elver" when I had a near-fatal brush with death that put me out of commission for a number of years. And now, after a lot of prayer, physical therapy, and sheer stubborn determination, I'm happy to report that I'm back at the helm. I recently bought a 1976, DaySailer 2 that is in tip-top shape. She just needed some cosmetics and all I had to do was to paint her faded blue topsides in a forest green... her slightly scuffed decks and trunk top with in a buff color, and the remaining vertical surfaces in white... slap a coat of anti-foul on her bottom... and then launch her. I've been camp-cruising in her for about two years now. The plans for "Elver" are still on a dust-covered shelf somewhere in my shop. Now that I'm in my late 50's my eye keeps roving to one of the larger O'Days... btw: I proudly call myself "Rag Waver" because I'm the only wind sailor in an area that has a total "Stink-Pot" mentality.
I think my first sail must have been on a Sunfish
sometime in mid to late Elementary school on a friends family Sunfish and I loved it. Since then I have been on Snipes, Lightnings, Prindles, Hobies, various windsurfers, and a variety of keeled craft up to 32' feet. I love to look at the sea when on a ferry, boat of any kind or out the window when on any aircraft. I enjoy watching severe storms from land however. I have also been on a number of power boats and while I enjoy being out on the water in one there is nothing as exciting to me as having a sailboat well tuned and plowing ahead on her course with no motor rumbling. The forces of the wind and water only acting on my boat. I learned to read the surface of the water and identify gusts or cat-paws and gauge wave heights (which I am still bad at) by watching the sea state. People who windsurf do not like to wipe out nor do sailors like to broach. I am still learning from the elements and my experiences while wishing I was out there and doing that.
sometime in mid to late Elementary school on a friends family Sunfish and I loved it. Since then I have been on Snipes, Lightnings, Prindles, Hobies, various windsurfers, and a variety of keeled craft up to 32' feet. I love to look at the sea when on a ferry, boat of any kind or out the window when on any aircraft. I enjoy watching severe storms from land however. I have also been on a number of power boats and while I enjoy being out on the water in one there is nothing as exciting to me as having a sailboat well tuned and plowing ahead on her course with no motor rumbling. The forces of the wind and water only acting on my boat. I learned to read the surface of the water and identify gusts or cat-paws and gauge wave heights (which I am still bad at) by watching the sea state. People who windsurf do not like to wipe out nor do sailors like to broach. I am still learning from the elements and my experiences while wishing I was out there and doing that.
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