Setting A Course

[cmac]

Hello All,

My wife and I have made the decision to follow a 3-5 year plan that will eventually land us on our own boat and sail where ever we think we would like to go AND our boat and skills can take us. We are in our late fifties and have enough monthly income available live comfortably through our retirement years. We plan to follow the ASA's schedule of progressive classes and practice, practice, practice at each level until we are comfortable with blue water cruising, and then make our purchase.

We are looking for our first boat to be a comfortable catamaran between 38 and 42 ft, but also realize that we have soooo much to learn before we can take on the responsibility of ownership and achieve that level of skill.

I'm impressed with the nature and friendliness of the people on these sailing forums and really excited about the future, especially meeting new friends and learning from the veteran sailors.

Glad to be part of the forum.

Curt & Nancy

[redbopeep]

Hello Curt and Nancy!

Welcome aboard. We hope you enjoy the Cruiserlog site Have you sailed or boated before? What drives your interest in cruising via sailboat (vs power) and cat (vs monohull)?

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans!

Fair winds,

[Lighthouse]

A hearty "welcome aboard" - good to have you here with us.

Make yourself comfortable - the drinks are on "JeanneP" this week.

We look forward to your participation on the forum and don't forget to have a look at the Cruising Wiki as well.

Fair winds!

[Silver Raven]

cmac, aka Curt & Nancy 0- G'day. I, like you two are just a 'gaffer' to this site. Name is james aka jj aka down-under geriatric, aka 'Silverraven' in this site. 70, male live in Far North Queensland Australia. Ex-pat 'Canuck', came to Auzz in '60. Love the place mate. (Auzzie slang) Been involved in sailing, yachts. cats, tri's since I was 6 in Canada. Job, hobby, sport, way of life & total passion since I was 7. You are so lucky (ha - luck, good luck, is the result of some dedicated home-work & some serious effort) to have found this web site. There are many, many +, +, people in this site of more than 12,800 people that are smarter than smart, (they just walk quietly without 'fake' or pretense) to learn from. Which does not necessarily include me. After more than 55 years in this area 'the pursuit of excellence in the sailing community' I might suggest that you do one hell of a lot of home-work. ie, READ, read, read, - practice, practice - bla - bla -bla. The pursuit of 'valuable' knowledge is a very time-consuming task) & the 'master' of your own destiny, I have observed. Read, take notes (by the thousands - - keep them in a diary in order, & cross-referenced to refer back-to them - in time of great need). Don't hang-up just yet - I've more to suggest. Read every single article in all of these pages. (which will take 1000's of hours - - BUT - - every nano-second will be well spent). Write down what you think you may/might/will need - one day. Talk to all of the smart people in this site. Keep an open mind. Never make a 'final judgment'. Ask 1000's of questions in order to gain knowledge which may/will save your life, it beats the hell out of 'being dead young' & we all are 'at heart' (gawd that's cost me a life-time of ''much pain'' to learn). If any people in these 'forums' can help they will !!! Now some helpful suggestions. Fill in your Bio, so everyone can see who you two are because that allows us all to help you more. Some Questions; Why a cat? (I'm a cat owner/sailor/designer/builder - so the ? is relevant.) Why so big? (that's like buying your first 'house on the hill - value $3 mill, 40 rooms,4 bathrooms as your first house. Are you going to live on it? full-time? Are you going to make trips 'regularly' on it? The more you define your goals, aspirations values, goals & budget, the more value our answers will be. Wishing you all the good luck a 70 yr old can wish you. Ciao, james from down under. Now all you out there, come-on HELP (assist) these new-be's - - ther almost as old as I am. Gawd - as old as I - IS a fossile !!!

[Nausikaa]

Welcome aboard Curt and Nancy!

It is nice to have the both of you here and I wish you the best of luck in putting your plans into action.

Let us know if there are any specific issues we can help with. The members of Cruiserlog are, collectively, a tremendous knowledge bank and each and every one of us is only too happy to share our knowledge with you.

In return, can we ask you to keep us posted of your progress in achieving your cruising goals?

Again, welcome.

Aye // Stephen

[Silver Raven]

Originally Posted by Lighthouse' date='25 August 2010 - 07:54 PM

A hearty "welcome aboard" - good to have you here with us.

Make yourself comfortable - the drinks are on "JeanneP" this week.

We look forward to your participation on the forum and don't forget to have a look at the Cruising Wiki as well.

Fair winds!

Thanks 'Lighthouse' I'll have several (read as many & or more) - double vodka's & coke - hi-ball glass & finely crushed ice !!! Yachties rules - - 2 ice cubes - small, 2 nips of coke & fill-up the empty glass with that 'clear fluid' thanks. OH & thanks for the drinks offer (which you didn't make) BUT - - I EXCEPT - , nice of you to be such good hosts on board 'Watermellon" You can be most assured that I will - - 'break the bank at Monte Carlo when the time comes, which I'm sure it WILL do, even if I have to sail 3/4's the way around the world to 'shout' you all a drink. Ciao, jj down-under ,><

[cmac]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

Hello Curt and Nancy!

Welcome aboard. We hope you enjoy the Cruiserlog site Have you sailed or boated before? What drives your interest in cruising via sailboat (vs power) and cat (vs monohull)?

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans!

Fair winds,

I owned a small 15 ft sail boat about 10 years ago (capsizing and learning as I went) and we also chartered a crewed 100' Gullet in Turkey (SeaFox) about 4 years ago with friends.

About a month ago, while visiting San Diego and looking at hundreds of sailboat in the bay, we thought we should look into learning to sail through professional lessons and eventually charter a boat ourselves. The more we learned about this wonderful life of sailing, the more we realized we should have started this journey years ago.

Well, with the never-to-late thoughts in our heads, we started to get serious about it since then. I've spent a lot of time reading blogs, posts, books of all types, researched the ASA's lessons and decided on a plan.

We have a lot of work in front of us to become decent, safe sailors, but we are very determined to make this work. So with good luck and determination, in 5 years (maybe sooner) we would like to buy our own boat, sail for about 10 years, then adjust back to land-based living. We also realize that things change and you have to remain flexible, but it seems like the 5 year plan is very conservative and achievable.

We have traveled to a number of overseas countries (Nancy much more than I) but we think that experiencing foreign countries through sailing will be an amazing adventure and provide for great memories that few people have achieved. Nancy is good with languages, I'm mechanically inclined, we both operate from a logic based thought process and we are creative. These are qualities that seem to fit well with cruising sailboats.

To answer your question about cat vs. mono-hull, we are both looking for safety, comfort and ease with living aboard for long periods of time. Speed and performance are not high on our needs list, but I have always been impressed with the beauty of a mono-hull. While we are not rich, we are financially comfortable and can afford the extra operating expenses that come with a catamaran.

[cmac]

Originally Posted by Silver Raven

Silver Raven,

Thank you for your advice and I completely agree. I have been reading hours upon hours, taking notes, marking up about a dozen books I bought so far, creating lists, etc., and enjoying every minute. In fact, I wish I could jump ahead a few years, but I would be missing such an important part of the journey.

I posted a little more about our history in response to the same questions you have asked, but we are planning to purchase a 38 to 42 ft cat (likely to be slightly used), and sail as much as we can. Sitting in a marina here in the States will not be part of the agenda.

We appreciate your words of encouragement,

Curt and Nancy

[Silver Raven]

'cmac' aka Curt & Nancy. The old(er) fossile from down-under here. Further to you 'quest' (not the 'B' & 'C' class cats I raced) to find the RIGHT yacht first time around. Respectfully I suggest - you may need all of that 3 to 5 years you have planned. I'm just trying to make sure you look in 'every nook-an-cranny' before you do the - part with the $'s. As well all know the rules (The buyer beware) & (purchase in haste & repent forever) I'll keep you two in mind whenever I come up with a positive, progressive comment - that is if you wish? I looked into a 'site' on 'google' search which was Leopard 42'/45' (which someone said were about the same price). & then there's the 'Barramundi 470 also in 'google' (now that's really some yacht & not to much wrong with it - but). I 'personally don't like mini keels, unnecessary draft (anything over 18" is NOT-ON), inefficient rigs, big engines, to much weight, under-performing yachts of any kind (they tend to get you into more trouble than you can safely get out of). I do like quick, efficient - very fast cruising yachts, shallow draft, radar, good light-weight dinghy, the best of the best safety-gear & a covered but open cockpit so I don't die of sun-cancer - one moment before it's my time to go (read as - some where over 100 & no I'm not joking either). Now - here I go getting into trouble again. Unlike many wise words from others - - that are VERY qualified - I differ in my opinion of the size you should start-off with. I've been sailing & racing (wash my mouth out with 'gramma's lie-sol') & I've come to some basic conclusions that I'm sure are not the norm. Hear that everybody - I don't know nor profess to know THE answers - 'gawd' at only 70 I don't even know 1/2 the blinken questions YET. However I observe; the faster, smoother, dryer, more comfortable one sails the more fun & enjoyment you get for your buck. I'd buy the bigger boat & 1/ grow into it, 2/ learn extensively to sail it, 3/ short 'shake-down' sailing adventures to begin with 4/ at first - keep the motors going - - & DO NOT be slow in using them - if the need arises, - Remember that 'engines in reverse ARE 'brakes' the only one's you've got, 5/ if you can get someone that you can learn to trust (good luck there) that truly knows what they are about - - then get them to help you learn at your speed. ((No person can teach anyone anything - that's force-feeding - & it WILL NOT SUCCEED, one must want to learn the accept only the best advise & that with great caution)) Where I'll build/buy a multi-hull that is a 'high-end' performance cruiser - a red tri was for sale in the pages from our sponsor - at the top of the 'forums' page when you sign in, (you might care to look at my 'fantasy' - just for fun) others would think that it was 1/ not a cruising yacht, 2/ not a cruising proposition or cruiser of any kind, 3/ not fun - but hard sailing (which it is not) & last but not least - that I was crazy (& that's a given - so what's the next subject). Oh and about that red 'Cruising tri' - I'm only short the last '0' & that's a big figure, eh? If you buy a conservative 26 to 35', then grow out of it in 1 to 3 years, your then caught between a 'rock & a hard place'. To old & to late to start all over again & it will then cost the national debt to change. Not conducive to 'enjoying a new life-style, me thinks! Buy RIGHT & then enjoy. I'm sure there are many of us that can assist you to learn both by advise & 'hands-on' when the time comes. You both keep 'hangin'-in-there' & keep us all posted & we'll keep trying (very) to help (if that what you call all our interference) My very best wishes, Ciao from down-under, jj We're all here to assist, for sure, for sure, jj

[cmac]

An update to my first post of last August:

Nearly a year has passed since I entered this forum with a dream of learning to sail, do it well and eventually take off into retirement.

The advice given by Silver Raven is spot on. I've spent countless hours reading everything worthwhile. Nigel Calder, Beth Leonard, David Burch, Lisa Copeland, Lin and Larry Pardey, Hal, Roth, Chapman, Kanterr, Jimmy Cornell, and on. I subscribed to a bunch of sailing magazines. Taken sailing courses through ASA such as 101, 103, 104 with 114 coming this fall. The online courses with Nauticed have been very good ways to cement in lessons learned on the water.

I've bareboat chartered several times over the last three months, attended the Miami Strictly Sail and plan on attending the Annapolis boat show. We are completing our sailing year with a crewed catamaran charter in S. Florida. My wife and I have our “eyes on the prize”, but it's only two years away now, not three.

The cruising community has been fantastic support and help in conversations at marinas and here on forums like this. Our instructors have been very supportive. Their instructions continue to ring in my ears when I am hit with a moment of uncertainty.

I've been having fun buying gear that I will need in the future. Saltwater fishing gear, handheld VHF radio, foul weather jacket, snorkel gear, chart tools and practice charts, sextant and of course the right books to go with it. I'm planning to take my ham radio test and also get my scuba certification.

I've been having the best time over the last year and if this past year is any judge, we are going to thoroughly enjoy having our own boat and easing into longer passages over the next several years.

Thanks to so many people like you who participate in forums like this and keep the dream alive. We are looking forward to spending more time on the water, meeting more cruisers; and as we did in San Diego a few weeks ago, watch our escort of five dolphins’ guide us back into the bay. Priceless!

Cheers,

Curt