New to sailing

bexaminer · #1 12-30-2009

I've been interested in sailing for a long time and just never had the time to pursue it. Recently I decided the only way to begin was to start. So I went down to one of the marinas here in San Diego and picked up some reading material. I purchased "Basic Keelboat", "Sailing Fundamentals", "Cruising Fundamentals", "The Complete Sailor" and lastly "Good Boatkeeping". I've looked into a sailing class and discovered that "Basic Keelboat" is the requred reading for that first class. So I'm off to a good start. I"m really excited about it.

My hope is that since I'm so interested in this that I pick it up quick. I know that there is a lot to becoming a good sailor but I'm willing to put the time and effort into it. I'm especially interested in learning more about living onboard a sailboat. First things first though right. At any rate I feel fortunate to have found this site and I appreciate the fact that the people seem to be so open to helping other people. I know that I will have questions, a lot of questions.

So I"m looking forward to learning from my class as well as from some of you.

smackdaddy · #2 12-30-2009

Hey bex, welcome to SN dude. This is a great place to learn just about anything you want to know about sailing. Lots of salts around here.

You'll like the place.

canadianseamonkey · #3 12-30-2009

Welcome bex. You'll enjoy reading those books even more when you're having a drink on your boat watching the sunset. You'll love Sailnet....great people and great info. Looking forward to your posts.

OziDude · #4 12-30-2009

Welcome to SailNet bex. I'm sure you will get a lot out of this site, I have.

The forums are a wealth of information and there are so many experienced members willing to share their knowledge.

Enjoy your time here

Ozi

sailtimeci · #5 12-30-2009

Ahoy Bex!
The best part of it all is you can get going on training any time of the year you like in San Diego. Many of your new brethren have to sit out half a year or travel to warmer climates to get their fix!

CaptainForce · #6 12-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by bexaminer

......I know that there is a lot to becoming a good sailor but I'm willing to put the time and effort into it. I'm especially interested in learning more about living onboard a sailboat........

It's likely old advice to you by now, but I'll mention it in case you haven't heard. The best and fastest way to become a good sailor is on a little boat. An 8 to 12 foot boat will give you instant feedback to all your actions and allow you to develop a feel for sailing that would come much slower in a boat that is of a size to live aboard. Living aboard skills are traits of discipline, independance and self-reliance, unless you have lots of extra money. I bet you have one or the other, if not both! 'take care and joy, aythya crew

bexaminer · #7 12-30-2009

I want to say thanks to all of you for your very receptive greeting. I'm sure that like you, I will enjoy and appreciate this venue and all of the helpful advice provided by the participants. I'm absoutely certain that I will have a ton of questions to ask.
After reading many of the responses concerning the idea of living onboard I did a lot of cutting and pasting. I"m going to start saving all the good information I get. One thing that I thought might be helpful to me personally would be to log my daily routines or activities now. That way over time I can see what's important to me and then note the things that I think I will require for myself. Now this may seem like I'm putting the cart before the horse since I'm only now beginning to learn about sailing, but I feel pretty strongly about this and I think the exercise will provide me with a wealth of information on things I could easily overlook.

At any rate I wanted to thank all of you for your nice responses and support. I'm really excited about this. Oh, and thanks Captain Force for your advice concerning learning to sail on a smaller boat first. It makes sense to me. The one problem I see with this is that the sailing schools here in San Diego that I have contacted all use about a 22' boat to teach on. Some larger, but none smaller. I imagine I could look on a bulletin board or something but since this is new to me I thought I should make sure that I learn from an entity that provides some sort of certification. So the bottom line is that I don't think I will be able to learn on a small craft like you suggested. I do see your point though and it makes sense to me. I'll look further to see if I haven't overlooked one of the schools that does have a smaller boat though.

Thanks again everyone.

CaptainForce · #8 12-30-2009

Not a problem! A 22' boat will be ten times as responsive as a 40' boat.