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#61
6 February 2012, 13:46
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#62
6 February 2012, 13:56
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There's one right outside the gate here on Coronado that does, too, but it's run by MWR and I'm trying to figure out if they allow Contractors or not. Probably not...they'd rather go broke and lonely and shut down than allow dirty old contractors...
__________________
Hey homo, its me -- Andy/SOTB
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#63
6 February 2012, 14:39
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As suspected contractors (unless retired from a service) aren't allowed MWR facilities.
Shame, Fiddler's Cove is a great marina and it always looks empty as all hell. Guess they don't want my money to get lessons so I'll give it to some company that doesn't go to support the troops.
__________________
Hey homo, its me -- Andy/SOTB
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#64
6 February 2012, 14:44
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Quote:
That sucks Kid...I learned to sail there, and had a great tijme, especially when I nearly drowned the 06's wife. True story.
__________________
...the sea's in my veins...my tradition remains..." Mother Mother Ocean, I have heard your call..." Fair Winds and Following Seas SOTB & Cass
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#65
6 February 2012, 15:31
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My father and I sailed around on an Island Packet... nothing more than 2 days outside of the site of land though. I spent a really cool summer crewing on a booze cruise catamaran that sailed drunk rich people from island to island down in the BVI.
My experience is that the Catamaran was much faster and more stable than our Island packet. The Island packet would get like 6 - 8 knots in buzzards bay. The catamaran did 16 knots I believe. Being out on the water is both a lot of fun... and can get really boring. There isn't much to see out there once the novelty wears off. I nearly gave myself cancer with the amount of sun I got. The catamaran had this webbed area between the hulls - when the waves were really high you could hang on right there and ride it like a roller coaster - of course the water would come up through every time you hit a wave. Best bet to find a friend with a boat and try to go sailing with them a bit. If nothing else you can get your 'sea legs' .... I mean maybe other people have iron stomachs - but I had to get sick a few times before I could be happy down below while the boat was pitching and rolling. Most people turn green right away if its their first time on a boat in a storm below decks. All sorts of things can and will go wrong. You'll probably survive though! - Local
__________________
Whispering...
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#66
6 February 2012, 21:26
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An interesting read is A Speck On The Sea by William H. Longyard. It's about transoceanic crossings in small craft.
Ben Carlin and his bride Elinore did an Atlantic crossing in a GP-A (Amphib Jeep) named "Half-Safe." She didn't stick around for the Med, Indian & Pacific legs, but he & Rosie pulled through. Good luck on your voyage...
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#67
7 February 2012, 14:17
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Too bad i don't have the money. This dude did the research, the planning, everything set, then he bowed out:
http://adventuresofgreg.com/blog/201...n-is-for-sale/ http://adventuresofgreg.com/blog/201...tion-canceled/ So the record for first trans pacific crossing to Hawaii by human power alone is still up for grabs...
__________________
Hey homo, its me -- Andy/SOTB
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#68
9 February 2012, 23:39
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My buddy and I bought a sailboat down in Dana Point Harbor right after we graduated high school. It was a 22ft Columbia - decent shape except for the shrouds. Got it for $1,050 cash on the spot. That thing was a beast, and had a surprisingly comfy cabin (slept 4).
My buddy had sailed a little when he was younger, but we both really didn't know much about it, so we took a basic sailing class at the community college. 3 hours classroom (chart reading, basic nav, etc) and 3 hours in the little Sabots. I'd say it was a pretty informative class, but I'll echo what's been said here -- just getting out there and doing it is the best way to learn. We had to take down the mast and make our own shrouds in order to get it back into sailing shape. We were only able to do this because we had the help of a former Ranger who was all into boats and knew what he was doing. Once we got it up and running we would take that thing out day and night, multiple times a day. Even did some night dives off it (had Harbor Patrol sneak up on us and light us up one night because they thought we were poaching). Two 18 year olds with a sailboat in California = lots of girls and good times. Anyways, I digress (damn those were good times). We ended up selling the boat when we transferred to University, but I still get that bug to go sailing. Good luck with your plans, that sounds like a badass goal and something very few will ever do. My buddy and a couple friends sailed our boat to Catalina and back -- that could be good for practice runs I suppose. Please update the thread with your progress, I'm interested in seeing how it goes. I'll leave with a few pics.
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#69
20 February 2012, 10:25
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Instead of sailing - do it the manly man's way: Row!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/us...=MYWAY&ei=5065 -just a thought
__________________
"The nice thing about Twitter, in the old days when I got attacked it would take me years to get even with somebody, now when I’m attacked I can do it instantaneously, and it has a lot of power. You see some genius statements on Twitter. You see some statements coming out which are Ernest Hemingway times two." - The Trumpmeister
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#70
20 February 2012, 10:44
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Quote:
 ). I always wanted to move up to a 30.Quote:
I just got back from a six month cruise on a 42 Catalina I bought with my savings after retiring 6c from the federal government. I took sailing lessons at 14 at Boy Scout camp and have been sailing every since. My boats have included: two Hobie 16 cats 25 Cape Dory 25D 25 Cal 32 Islander 42 Catalina All I would say to getting ready to go offshore is to sail as much as you can, in less than perfect conditions. Learning to double or triple reef a mainsail is a lot more fun when not done for the first time in a blow offshore. And, volunteering to crew in small boat races, as DH suggested, is a great idea. My yacht club held Flying Scott races every Thursday night and anybody who showed up, club member or not, who didn't look like a serial killer, could have got a ride. Lots of offshore racers need crew, and you can work up to that pretty fast. Everybody doesn't have to be an expert on a racing boat, as long as somebody is. :) I used to take my Cape Dory out in 30 knots of wind, just to learn what to do. It paid off. You may not hit any bad weather. The best way to deal with bad weather on a sailboat is to not be in it. You need to become an amateur weatherman and consider getting something like XM Weather. My favorite saying is, "Bad weather doesn't kill you. Schedules kill you." What's the hurry? The worst we were in on our last trip was 20 knots on the beam and 15 to 20 foot beam seas when crossing the Tounge of the Ocean from Chub Cay to Nassau. There was a long distance from peak to peak and I thought it was kind of fun, but my wife was beyond terror. I was more upset when we went through the eastern entrance to Nassau, and found the waves had shook gunk loose from the diesel tank and the diesel only ran for five minutes before shutting down. Dropping anchor fifty feet from a stone breakwater while I tore the fuel line fittings apart after finding a filter change didn't fix the problem, was a lot more stressful for me than the waves. Sailing is like everything else. Training is nice, but experience is golden, when the shit hits the fan. And, I think you can find what you are looking for at the price you want, especially on the west coast right now. The main thing you want to work right is the sail propulsion system. That means good (standing) rigging,number one (have a professional inspect it), good sails, number two (and you can get great ones used from places like Bacons), and good running rigging number three. If the engine cranks and runs for thirty minutes without overheating, that is about as good a test as you can give one. Plus, solo means a good self steering system. You can use a wind vane, but I like autopilots and solar panels to keep the batteries charged. Next throw in a bottom job, even though you can get by on scraping, and putting on new zincs, for a while if the weather is right where you are. You can rent a life raft, and an EPIRB, for your trip, but I wouldn't go far offshore without one. I don't mind having a boat sink out from under me so much as knowing I was going to die because no one else knew it. I envy you. If I was a west coaster, Hawaii would be on my list. We will be heading back out as soon as our savings are up for it again. Start reading Cruising World, Lattitudes and Attitudes, and Good Old Boat. There are other magazines but those fit what you are thinking of doing. Knowledge is good. You are not proposing to do something that is undobable. I wish I had taken pictures of more of the people I saw cruising on a really small boat and a really small budget. There are a lot of them out there and they are doing fine and seeing the same sunset that guys in 150 foot yachts are seeing. 
__________________
"Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." - last words of Pancho Villa (1877-1923) Last edited by Group9; 20 February 2012 at 11:14.
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#71
20 February 2012, 11:18
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KidA, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship is available (used hard cover) from B&N for 2 bucks. That should appeal to your thrifty self
As an aside, WTF would you do with yourself if you were unable to be on SOCnet for two months during the crossing? 
__________________
. "To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee, for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee" Melville / Captain Ahab
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#72
20 February 2012, 11:19
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Oh, and don't worry about being called crazy. I retired from a six figure, recession proof, federal job, because I just decided it was time to go do what I had been wanting to do since I was 14. Friends, family, co-workers, were all united in being horrified.
It may have been crazy, but I sure enjoyed it. And, that was western entrance, not eastern entrance, to Nassau Harbor, for those who have done it and were trying to make sense of that.
__________________
"Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." - last words of Pancho Villa (1877-1923) Last edited by Group9; 20 February 2012 at 11:24.
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#73
20 February 2012, 11:30
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Quote:
__________________
"Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." - last words of Pancho Villa (1877-1923)
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#74
20 February 2012, 12:39
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KidA, Orange Coast Community College (OCC) has sailing classes. They might offer a weekend only course. Also might want to look at Saddleback CC
__________________
Come on boys, you got to do it right, pray to the moon in the middle of the night
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#75
20 February 2012, 12:58
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#76
20 February 2012, 17:10
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Quote:
 Group9 - thanks for that. The Cape Dory 25D is listed in "Twenty Small Sailboats to take you anywhere" as a high rec with the only weakness as being engine accessibility. I'm going to check out community colleges and other avenues soon. So far I have picked up the aforementioned Twenty Sailboats, Singlehanded Sailing 2d Edition, How To Sail Around the World (Roth) and Modern Seamanship (Dodds) to add to the collection I have already had and have been picking through over the past few years.
__________________
Hey homo, its me -- Andy/SOTB
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#77
20 February 2012, 17:31
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A lot of good advice here, but no one has mentioned. . .
As a former CO of a SBU (no sailboats, just some 50+ Mk V's and RIBS) and a 28 footer of my own: 1. For every hour of sailing = 4 hours of maintenance. 2. A boat is defined a hole in the water in which you throw money. 3. The two happiest days in your boating life will be? (Ask a boat owner for the answer). 4. You can't compromise on safety. Old Team guy rule: "One is none and two is one" when it comes to equipment. If you have one of a critical piece of gear, it will break, therefore if you have two, you have one. And in the news today courtesy of some dumb asses: CLEARWATER — The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two men and a teenager from a capsized catamaran off Cedar Key early Monday after more than 11 hours in the water. No injuries have been reported. The unidentified boaters, ages 53, 40 and 16, were spotted clutching to the hull of the 16-foot fiberglass vessel at 4:30 a.m. about 2 miles southeast of Atsena Otie Key, according to the Coast Guard. The boat is believed to have capsized about 5 p.m. The Coast Guard in St. Petersburg received a 911 call at 7 p.m. Sunday from a concerned family member after the boaters failed to come home as scheduled. They men left from Cedar Key and planned to sail around Atsena Otie Key, about a mile off shore. It was unclear when the boat capsized. There was a small-craft advisory throughout the day Sunday, with winds of about 20 knots and gusts of up to 30 knots. Seas were 2 to 3 feet. The boat had no motor, lights, electronics or emergency equipment. A Coast Guard rescue helicopter, rescuers from Levy County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission searched for seven hours before the boaters were found. They were spotted from the Coast Guard's HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, clutching to the capsized hull, after seven hours of searching. A rescue swimmer was lowered, and the boaters were plucked from the vessel. "This case could have turned out differently," said Coast Guard search and rescue coordinator Richard Hutchinson in a statement. "These mariners are lucky to be alive."
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#78
20 February 2012, 17:32
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Group9 brings up an excellent point.
One 'must have' skill for a bluewater sailor is the ability to tear down and rebuild an engine with limited tools and duct tape. I can't speak for the others, but I used my engine mainly to avoid heavy weather and to navigate tight marinas. (Otherwise, sails did just fine.) Having an engine crap out on a night run just as a nor' easter is setting in can increase the pucker factor exponentially. If you can tear down a scooter, you can fix a boat engine.
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#79
20 February 2012, 17:37
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Quote:
__________________
All Hail the Helmet! SGT A/1/75 86-89 Ranger Class 13-87 "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my children will have peace." - Thomas Paine
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#80
20 February 2012, 19:23
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Cool, glad there's so many sailing experts here. I got hooked while stationed in Hawaii many years ago and am one of those slugs that has enjoyed just being crew without ever owning a boat. Many military/ex-military folks owned sailboats in Hawaii, including a number of folks in my squadron, so the opportunities to sail were endless. It was fun doing the three-day holiday weekend sail around some of the islands. But it was because of all the crewing that I saw just how much work owning the boat was (crew always pitched in with mx but not as much as the owner) and always found it was much easier to find friends who own boats.
KidA, in the FWIW category, my suggestion would be much like what others have said: look around and find someone else to sail with first. Living here near the Chesapeake Bay affords the same endless opportunities to sail and once you kinda get into the sailing community- at least so I found - it is easy to find lots of folks to sail with. In fact I wound up on a sailing race team a few years ago (even though I'm not that great at it) and would highly recommend your looking into a race team at some point as well. I've been caught in bad weather while sailing, but some of the sticky situations we've been caught in while racing gave me some of the biggest thrills I've ever had in the outdoors. During one race, the storm came out of nowhere, our mailsail broke, we're bobbing so far into the water wondering how we're going to not get thrown into the drink and trying to find which crewmember crazy enough to climb up the mast to unjam the sail, was really fricken scary and really fricken fun. It's one of those outlier experiences that I still get mileage out of thinking about it. Highly recommend you go with your desire to sail. I don't know what it is about sailing, but it attracts the most down-to-earth, unpretentious, fun-loving people.
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