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From: Peter Ogilvie (no email)
Date: Sun Mar 19 2006 - 23:55:40 EST
If you don't already have a sailing dinghy, use the money you'd spend on private sailing lessons and buy one. Sail the heck out of it. You'll teach yourself most everything you'll need to know about sailing. You'll also have a great way to get around anchorages and go exploring without the noise and pollution of an outboard motor.
When the weather gets exuberant, go sailing. The nastier the better, within reason. This will let you know what you have to do when things get really bouncy. Get very familiar with your boat in challenging conditions, both light air and heavy. Practice using using every sail in your inventory and changing up and down so you get the routines down pat. Do as many overnight and short cruises to the Islands as you can and make at least two trips that last longer than two weeks. Sail out to sea for a couple of days and then sail back. Will give you real experience with what mod's. may be needed for long offshore passages. Treat these as you would long distance cruises and live off what you will have to live off without daily access to a super market. We loved the Channel Islands especially in the middle of winter when no one else was about, btw. Really felt like when we were cruising and the exploring was great. Ever been within spitting distance of an Elephant seal??
Classes and courses are fine but they are no substitute for hands on experience. Read as many cruising stories and seamanship books as you can find and then experiment with the knowledge. Your class room experience won't be wasted but it is no substitute for really experiencing it.
Aloha
Peter O.
"L. Sharon Bradshaw" <> wrote:
Posted 18 March 2006 02:45 PM
Hi Folks,
I have recently joined this list and am very new to sailing. In the next 6-8
months we will be cruising. Opened return date. The boat is a 1987 Hans
Christian 33T. Currently, we are in San Diego, CA.
Rick, my husband, is managing the upgrade/retrofit side of the project. He
had a captainšs license until a few years ago. It lapse because he was
unable to put in the sea time hours. He will reactive his license ASAP.
I'm responsible for preparing myself for cruising. Mentally I'm ready; I've
always been attracted to adventure. However, I've lived the life of a tech
writer.
Below is what I've done so far and what I plan to do. If you were in my
position, what additional skills/knowledge would be the most helpful during
this time of preparation?
So Far:
Have a technical Ham license
Completed basic boating & sailing course (Coast Guard sponsored course)
Enrolled in basic/advance navigation course (Coast Guard sponsor)
Physical therapy 3x week (to build strength, especially in shoulders)
Have a stainless steel pressure cooker (6 qt)
Read a million books/articles on cruising
To Do:
Complete Celestial navigation course
Upgrade Ham license to General
Take private sailing lessons
Take sailing lessons with Rick
Practice handling the boat near the marina & outside the harbor
Relearn basic knot tying
Learn how to bake bread in the pressure cooker
What have I over-looked?
Thanks!
Sharon
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