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New to SailNet and Sailing

963 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  cnw1995 
#1 ·
After years of interest, I finally took sailing lessons this summer. Since then, each week, I have been fortunate to rent a Catalina Capri 14.2 from our city marina to get out for a hour or so. Only a few more weeks of that until they close for the year. . .

I'm looking forward to browsing SailNet until they open again next May!

Doug Murphy
 
#2 ·
Hi Doug,

Welcome to SailNet! I'm sure you'll find that it's a great resource to help 'keep in touch' year-round and especially while the winter winds are blowing (soon to be for those of us up North). Both the historical threads as well as current discussions are a rich and plentiful source of sailing knowledge, good advice and more than a couple of laughs along the way too!

I notice you're from Crystal Lake. I'm originally from the Chicago area and did some sailing early on out on Lake Michigan. It's a great opportunity that you have with access to a city marina and especially if you can take time on a regular basis to take full advantage of it! Congrats on getting out on the water - we've always found it to be an interesting (and ultimately rewarding) experience and hope you do as well.

Fair winds,

Bill
 
#3 ·
Thanks very much Bill! I'm very fortunate the marina offers an already-rigged Capri so I can get out on this little lake and back in an hour or so. I need all the time on the water I can continue to figure things out.

I grew up in Stamford, Connecticut.

Doug
 
#4 ·
Capri 14.2 was one of my old boats (lots in rental fleets too)... great little boat that has all the grown up toys. Warning, the Capri line grows on you.
I owned a Capri 14.2, Capri 22, and Capri 25... all great boats in their own right.

Now I own an S2 7.9, which is a fun boat, and has it's own lovable characteristics. I guess what I'm saying is enjoy the ride, and the 2ft itus.
 
#6 ·
You're doing it exactly right. You may graduate up to bigger boats, but...
There are far too many who start out with Bigboatitus. Fifty years ago, it was Jag E-Types. It's a Middle Age Crazy thing. Instead of getting a mucky Spridget or Spitfire, learning the basics at abandoned Airfields, and then working their way into the Sport, they just get out the checkbook, and buy a new Jag.
And next year, an Aston Martin, or maybe even a Ferrari 4-Cam.
How quickly these Cars ended up on the Used Market, and how cheap...

There are people here that will recommend expensive Sailing Classes, from one of the Diploma Mills that cater to the Charter trade. There are people here that recommend that you start out Big, and in a couple of years, go Bigger. (One cannot have a big enough "Navigation Station", with all the Electronics that West Marine can sell you.)

Put many of these people on a Sunfish or Hobie for the first time, and in a couple of minutes, they will very quickly learn the meaning of the word "Wet".
They won't like "Wet". They will want to go below, mix up a Margarita, and change their underwear. But they can't, not on a Sunfish.

Catalina Capris are fine Boats. You may end up being a Catalina Guy, like with generations before, people were Ford or Mercedes guys. Or you may find that a West Wight Potter fits you just right.
I know one guy who has stuck with his Star for decades. He did OK in the Olympics, in his time. (He never had any interest in Margaritas.) I know another guy who did _very_ well in the Olympics, in Rowing. He preferred Windsurfers in his later years. He tried to teach me about Windsurfing, but I learned the meaning of the word "Wet" in a few seconds, and I understood then why he wore a "Wetsuit". Not for me.

You may go through a lot of Boats, or you may find Rightboatitus early on. I have my Right Boat right now; I've had a bigger Boat before. Maybe I talk about her too much...

¬erindipity

(Whatever you end up doing, don't succumb to Wifeboatitus, the bait of Yacht Salesmen worldwide. Even if you aren't married.)
 
#7 ·
Thank you, erindipity. I love your analogies! I was fortunate to take a month's worth of lessons from our local park district that ended up as one-on-ones with a good teacher. I started out with, of all things, a Boy Scout booklet for their small boat sailing merit badge - which was wonderful. And I greatly enjoyed reading a gigantic Annapolis Book of Seamanship which was like drinking from a fire hose. I managed not to capsize anything until I was by myself, and then knew what to do (except the daggerboard slid neatly into the hull as I reached for it). For the time being, renting this Catalina will be my joy - because it's only $8 an hour and comes already rigged. I hope to go out again as soon as they open in an hour if the weather holds.
 
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