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sailing - does anyone do it?

onewebfoot

onewebfoot

Mar 12, 2006
495
1
SF Bay Area, CA
#1
I've never sailed on a large sailboat before - til this evening. never knew or hung with people who had the money and/or focus and/or priorities. never lived near them before. so tonight was a new experience. we raced 20 other vessels in San Francisco Bay this evening on a 42-footer.

3 hours, and I never thought about work or social crises once. "captain" is one of my gurus (experts) at work. I knew nobody else, but everyone was happy and encouraging. one other newbie on the boat tonight.

cockpit was a bit crowded when we started, so captain told me to ride mid-ships instead of the back, and to jump across to the other side, across multiple ropes, everytime we tacked (changed direction). "Oh hey - watch out for those blue ropes. you'll lose fingers if you get them caught in those." with that as my only orientation...

25-30 knot winds. vessel sometimes tilted well over 45 degrees. i'm thinking the whole time - is this real? we won. changed my attitude on everything. i lost a shoe in meantime. but no fingers.

so who sails or boats regularly? i can already see the burdens of owning such a vessel, but I'll support those who do. it seems anyone with a larger sailboat is on a constant quest to recruit crew members. that's how I got out there tonight myself. check it out. visit a sailing or yacht club - and see how long it takes you to get invited. one of the people i'd never met before invited me to sail with him on another 42-footer this weekend. i said, "sure." otherwise, it's every wednesday night, from now on, it seems. so who does it now?
 
#3
Not anymore, but was an avid sailor as a teenager. Started out with my own Sabot class, graduated to Penguins, then raced the 110 class (loved hanging out on the trapeze) and a few times in the Dragon class Owned my own 18 foot day cruiser when I was about 15-16 (dad had it built for me). Served as crew on a 46-foot ketch a number of times. Yup... did my fair share of sailing, but that was long ago.
 
#4
Grew up on Long Island Sound. Sailed and raced most of the small dinghy classes, and crewed on 30+ footers fairly often. Moved to the mountains, forgot about it. Eventually my brother turned me on to windsurfing, which I still do avidly here in the Gorge and occasionally on Maui. My bro sells big multihulls now, and once in a while I get to sail with him. This pic is of his old charter cat, a 48 foot Privilege. That's me jibing the sailboard, in pretty light wind by my standards. Location is Mayreau, in the Grenadine Islands.:cool:

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BTW, the Bay Area is a great place for windsurfing and/or kiteboarding. There's a local race night for big sailboats here too, and I've been invited out a few times, but so far I haven't followed through on that. I think I'd enjoy something smaller and zippier like a 49er a bit more given the constraints of the Columbia River, but it's pretty cool to just drive up to a really windy spot (30-40 knots is perfect), pull your windsurfing gear out of the back of the van, and rig up and go...

I did compete in windsurfing for a few years, mostly in 100 meter speed sailing and also lots of radar gun ("highest instantaneous speed") events. Lots of big wipeouts in that game, oh man! My top result was a bit over 42 mph average for 100 meters.
 
#6
Passinwind said:
BTW, the Bay Area is a great place for windsurfing and/or kiteboarding. ... I think I'd enjoy something smaller and zippier like a 49er ... it's pretty cool to just drive up to a really windy spot, pull your gear out of the back of the van, and rig up and go...
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You have really nailed something that impressed me tonight. 3 different sized catamarans (small) zipping around all the bigger vessels like a Porsche through mini-vans. two teens in wetsuits capsized way out there, we left them way behind (they didn't look worried in slightest), and 5 minutes later, they are zipping by us again...

windsurfing and kiteboarding ... you are another to mention those to me this evening.

your pic and everyone's collective stories are quite encouraging.

Edit: that rope thing kind of freaked me out....as a bass student and professional computer keyboardist
 
#7
onewebfoot said:
You have really nailed something that impressed me tonight. 3 different sized catamarans (small) zipping around all the bigger vessels like a Porsche through mini-vans. two teens in wetsuits capsized way out there, we left them way behind (they didn't look worried in slightest), and 5 minutes later, they are zipping by us again...
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Sure, but can they make blender drinks on a Hobie 18 or a Tornado? Big boats have a lot of appeal too, especially on a place like the Bay. It sounds like you have a nice opportunity to sample a variety of boats, and best of all, without having to bear the expense of ownership. That's a cool place to be.

that rope thing kind of freaked me out....as a bass student and professional computer keyboardist

Any human who gets too comfortable with being on or in the water is just asking for it IMHO. I'm sure you've already experienced the unique awareness that needs to balance the relaxation factor. That never gets old, at least in my experience. I kind of envy you for seeing it through such obviously unjaded eyes though. Have fun!
 
#9
my family started on a catalina 22, and now my parents have a catalina 320. We've always been on lakes in the midwest, and now my parents are moving to the west coast and bringing it with them. We've chartered a few boats in different spots like the keys, lake superior, and the washington sound area.
After college, my brother bought his own sailboat and now lives on it on the east coast. It's pretty funny, you wouldn't think you could get much sailing experience in the midwest.
 
#11
Please note, Tzadik - I'm nowhere near being a millionaire, and I would not want to own one of these behemoth boats if I was (maintenance and upkeep a large burden). But it was not hard to get invited by a millionaire owner who wanted to train more people to help him operate the vessel so HE could get out more often... :)
 
#13
tzadik said:
dreamy sigh....


i L O V E sailing. I lieterally dream about it all the time. Too bad you have to be a millionare to do it.
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Not really true. Maybe to own the boat. Most people that race larger boats ALWAYS need crewmembers. Our boat raced best with 11 people onboard. About 6 to operate the boat the others for weight!! Find a marina with racers and introduce yourself!! They also need crew to transport them, etc.
 
#15
Yeah, good idea. I've actaully been "railmeat" several times, and it's always cool. I don't mean to be materialistic - heck, if I owned a giant amazing boat, it would be anti-climactic anyway. I don't have time etc. But I still drool over them and envision more frequent excursions....solo excursions...etc...
 
#17
One other thing to consider is a multi hull. People buy them and after their first good WRECK, never use them again. You can usually find them CHEAP. Brands like Hobie and Prindle are easy to find parts and performance gear for. They are easy to tow and lauch. And.............they are FUN!! If you learn to handle a 19-21 foot multi hull, everything else will be easy. IMHO, everyone should spend a season or two sailing one!!!
 
#18
slugworth said:
Huntington Harbor is nice, I launch my fishing boat out of there almost every weekend during the summer. The harbor is full of Halibut too. I once saw a guy get a 50lb-er under the PCH bridge.
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Yeah we fish sometimes, but mostly after we're underway and we've reported to our area. I've seen guys haul in fat halibuts exactly where you're talking about. The bottom is all silty there. Perfect environment for them.
 
#19
I go sailing with a buddy of mine whenever I can. It's great!

He likes to refer to it as "Hours of complete boredom interspersed with moments of extreme terror". There are times I can't get the song "Edmund Fitzgerald" out of my head!
 
#20
to resurrect an ongoing (and very positive) theme for me (personally), I decided to join a yacht club in Bay Area. After two outings and three events with this crowd, I know I like the people. location of this one club is great for me. plus - on positive side, it's the only activity I have now (sailing) that gets me completely off work issues. but then again, perhaps I should practice bass and shooting more also. :-)

My dentist yesterday morning (that long ago) lectured me on the value of learning large vessel sailing in bay area. he said I'm ready for nearly anywhere in world if I master the Bay in a larger sailing vessel. my original "captain" concurs. :-) sailed from oakland to the golden gate bridge (and under it) 9 days ago or so. incredible.

Notes - the transition from winter to summer, in marine gear stores, makes room for great deals on sailing apparel (bibs, aka foulies).

But to blend this thread with another very active thread on TB, can we extend the value of (um) armed protection of one's vessel to blue water yachting? (visions of Roy Scheider in "Jaws" now - he preferred a revolver - grins)...
 

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