Need Advice for First Time Cruising

[camaraderie]

I would recommend Beth Leonard's Voyagers Handbook over the Cruising Encyclopedia but both are good books for understanding cruising full time.
Try Beth's site for some good info too...
Beth & Evans

[brady5]

Thank you I will check out this book as well.

[sander06]

Leonard's book can be partially viewed at The Voyager's Handbook: The ... - Google Book Search for free.

[brady5]

I was looking into the Tampa FL area as a launching area for our trip. Can someone shed some light on Tampa being a good area to base from for a 1st time cruiser?

My thoughts are to spend the first month getting to know the area and the boat. So we would not leave Tampa Bay during this time. Second month we would venture out further.

Are there lots of things to see and do in this bay?

[brady5]

I guess Tampa is not a very popular place since no one has commented on my previous post.

We are still considering several places. Thank you everyone for your input this far. It is very appreciated.

[xort]

Tampa could be very nice at the right time of year. There are a lot of cruising oportunities, especially south of there. Lots of shallow spots on that side of the state so your chart work & tide planning must be good

[mccary]

If you are seeking a place to start sailing that will be "easy" I might suggest The Chesapeake Bay, it is the largest estuary in the US and has over 4000 miles of shoreline for cruising. It sports 30+ rivers and countless creeks for anchorages. It has many nice family destinations. In the summer the temps can be a bit hot and late summer you will find more than enough jellyfish to discourage swimming.

As for a boat, that is a personal question. It will depend on how friendly your family is and the ages. On my first boat I did a 2 week cruise on a 22' boat (no standing headroom) with my wife and my young daughter and my in-laws! It was more than crowded and it it wasn't for the fact we didn't know how crowded we were we would have not enjoyed ourselves as much as we did. I now sail a 27' boat and subscribe to the theory: 6 for drinks, 4 for dinner and 2 for sailing is about right. Of course I have had 5 people out for an afternoon but that is different.

[brady5]

Thanks xort! I appreciate the info about Tampa. Just the kind of info I am looking for.

Chesapeake sounds tempting Joe. What is the best time of year up there? I have three kids so a good time for swimming would be important. Nice sailing blog by the way...

[baileyrace]

Brady,

Look up Emerald Coast Yachts. Click on charters and then on weekend adventure for a good article on these Pensacola cruising grounds. I have never cruised or chartered a boat, but the wife and I would like to try this if we can find the time.

Hijack: I sail twice per week as crew on a j24. I am not the driver, but another crew and I take the boat out without the skipper. We can keep it upright in 20 knots ect., so we can handle the sailing quite well. I can read charts somewhat, but would not consider myself competent. We sail the boat to the dock and rarely even get the motor out. In other words I can sail fairly well, but am ignorant about cruising. Do you folks think that a charter company would charter to someone like me? Would I need to hire a captain and for how long?

[chall03]

Bailey,
I can't speak about the situation with the specific local charter companies you are looking at, but there are people around the world chartering with alot less experience.
However, I would suggest brush up on anchoring technique, buy a book on coastal navigation and learn how to take compass bearings etc and you will be fine. It would in fact be a good way to expand your cruising experience.