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While out on the water

2K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  cardiacpaul 
#1 ·
what do many of you do or where do you go...... I know this seems like a dumb question to many of you.....

I've never been on a boat before, but i am considering getting one. Figured i would rent or lease one to see if this something i will really enjoy

But for the life of me, i can not figure out what there is to do once you sail out.

Assuming you were leaving from the Annapolis/Baltimore/DC area.... what would your plans be and/or where would go.

Viper
 
#3 ·
It depends on how much time you have... many days we go out, just to go out... and be on the water. Sailing is more about being out on the boat than having a specific destination. If you're really interested in getting to a destination, you shouldn't be looking for a sailboat.

There was a recent thread on good destinations for the Chesapeake.
 
#5 · (Edited)
ViperR6 said:
what do many of you do or where do you go...... I know this seems like a dumb question to many of you.....

I've never been on a boat before, but i am considering getting one. Figured i would rent or lease one to see if this something i will really enjoy

But for the life of me, i can not figure out what there is to do once you sail out.

Assuming you were leaving from the Annapolis/Baltimore/DC area.... what would your plans be and/or where would go.

Viper
The first thing you should do is fix up your profile, include age and location.
Then you will find out how friendly and helpful sailboat owners are, I am sure you will get a few invites to go for a sail on different boats, any excuse to get out on the water. You can just here it, "honey the yard and garage needs clearing". "Sorry babe, have to take a newbie for a sail". All good :D :D
__________________
 
#8 ·
I have a small boat, and keep it on a smallish lake, so "where to go" is never an issue. When I go out for a three or four-hour daysail, being on the water and making the boat go are enough. If my crew is relatively inexperienced, I'll get on a comfortable tack, crack a beer, chat, eat a sandwich, wave at other sailors, mutter at jet skiiers, and enjoy the hell out of the day. If my crew is experienced and into it, we'll spend the day "actively" sailing: tend to sail trim, get every last fraction of a knot we can, feel and appreciate the responses from the boat, and enjoy the hell out of the day. It's all good.

If what I describe captures your fancy, Lake Anna isn't terribly far from D.C./Annapolis. Drop me a p.m. and I'll have you out some day.

Kurt
 
#9 ·
I love Lake Anna... it's huge...and at night, it glows.. ;)
 
#10 ·
before you just rent a boat... think hard about taking a boating course. In addition, I would highly recommend you go out with an experienced boater first.

I was 17 when I bought a little 15' Runabout. I had been around boats all my life, grandfather, uncles, friends, etc. So I wouldn't say it was the first time on a boat. Well, long story short...we could have been killed or worse, killed someone else. Set out for the first time as "captain" with 2 friends, we got lost, arrested, and fined. The next week I took a basic boating course with the local Power Squadron.

USPS Educational Department - Public Boating Education Programs
 
#11 ·
When we cruise we have specific destinations we'd like to get visit. If we don't get to all of them - that's OK... but we're usually going from specific place to specific place. We're not really into desolate and quiet anchorages. We'd prefer to sail to someplace that we can walk around and see the sites. For example, when we were in Maine - Booth Bay, Rockland, Camden and Monhegan Islands were all places we wanted to visit. But we love to sail, and you can't beat the price of the fuel, so we have a sailboat. But when cruising, sailing is our mode of transportation, not the reason we're out there.

On the other hand, when we're just going out for the day, we just go wherever the wind takes us and then back to our slip. In that case, we're sailing because we love it!
 
#12 ·
I'm not surprised... ;) and that explains a lot. :D Actually, if you're new to boating, a course is an excellent idea, and the USCGAux or USPS are good sources for basic courses.

T37Chef said:
before you just rent a boat... think hard about taking a boating course. In addition, I would highly recommend you go out with an experienced boater first.

I was 17 when I bought a little 15' Runabout. I had been around boats all my life, grandfather, uncles, friends, etc. So I wouldn't say it was the first time on a boat. Well, long story short...we could have been killed or worse, killed someone else. Set out for the first time as "captain" with 2 friends, we got lost, arrested, and fined. The next week I took a basic boating course with the local Power Squadron.

USPS Educational Department - Public Boating Education Programs
 
#14 ·
Viper, sailing is about the journey, not the destination.

If that sounds too new-age to you, you probably don't want to go sailing.

Sailing can be many things to many people. It is like a chess game, as you try to optimize everything you are doing. And everything on the boat is interrelated. In racing, the boat is one big "engine" and the crew are each a functioning part of the engine, who all work to make it faster. It can be as thrilling as watching grass grow...or as intense as any competition sport.

But just getting a sailboat and going out won't do much for you. Take an introductory sailing course, because books don't teach sailing any more than they teach polo or soccer. See what interests you, and ask around, you'll find other folks that have boats are willing to take you out as novice racing crew, or just for a daysail to join them and see what it is about.

Will you like it? Dunno. I can't figure out why people play golf or football either.
 
#15 ·
Viper,

This is just my opinion.

If you are the type of person who likes to be out in the woods, but hates the noise that an ATV or snowmobile makes and that you miss the sights you enjoy most by zipping along on one, you might like sailing.

If your concept of speed is relative, and you enjoy the getting there as much as the "there", you might like sailing.

If you find that just being around and on the water has a salutory effect upon you, you might like sailing.

If you find that the wind will not take you where you wish to go, or there is no wind and you are stuck at the dock, and you still either just sail "nowhere" or putz around at the dock doing a little varnishing, and, at the end of the day, you had an enjoyable day, you're probably already a sailor, or about to become one.

Some of us, you know who you are, are given to going down to the boat, even though it is raining and nasty, and just sit in the cabin reading a book. We like the feel of water under us, while rain is falling on us, and maybe even take a little unplanned nap, awakening with a refreshed mind and heart. We've got it bad and have no wish for any cure.

I hope that gives you a bit of an answer.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Well said Sailaway21... :)
 
#18 ·
Sailaway 21 said it all----My wife says it's a sickness, and I am also one of those who has no wish for a cure! Done properly, varnishing is very enjoyable, changing the oil on your diesel is fun, but going nowhere on a broad reach at six knots is the best of all. By the way, I have a book which defines sailing as going nowhere very slowly and at great expense!
 
#19 ·
When the typically brisk winds of Narragansett Bay are moving us along at hull speed, I spend my time discovering ways to move my boat even faster - that triumph I believe, is the jubilant reward most sailors savor whenever challenging the wind.

The engine may be utilized if lighter winds don't coincide with our planned perception of time and distance, or current patience level. But, if our purpose is to cleanse ourselves of the fast-paced mindset the working week forces us to obey - then we simply coast with the gentle breezes, while meditating upon the mesmerizing sounds of wind and water .
 
#21 ·
LOL... nope...wrong forum
CapnHand said:
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!

Oh, sorry, I thought this was barbarian_net.com
 
#23 ·
with no destination in mind, we putz aroound, The Cuban soaks up the sun with the newest Patterson or cromwell and a half dozen diet cokes later, we head to the dock. Unless we don't.
 
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