Wanabe Singlehander

[excitereye]

Hi Sailers,, I`m a total newbie, Never sailed. I`m 45 and retire in 9 years. I`m single and have one child who will be off to college or uni soon. I`ve been thinking of what I would do in retirement. I get away a couple times a year. Thailand is my fave. I love tropical climes. I have thought to buy something in Thailand or Costa Rica when I retire. But!,Lately been thinking I`m unsure if i want to be stuck in one place.

Then I started thinking about sailing, as I followed the news of that young girl sailing on her own. It kinda inspired me to think of all the ports of call I could be visiting if I had my own sailboat. So hear I am to get all the info I can on here. First off I want to take a lesson on sailing and have seen a few places online to go. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. One I seen was in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A week liveaboard taking classes ASA 101,102,103 I think. I have 1 week vacation time the last week of October and 3 weeks the last week of December. I`m wondering if anyone knows of good courses and places to take one? Or needs an extra hand on their boat?

I`m also curious about the type of boat I should be seeking. I`m a long way off of purchasing one. But! I`d like to get as much info as possible until that time. I really like those Cabo Rico boats, the Beneteau`s, Catalina`s. Any helpful thoughts on this would be great. I want something in the 35-40 foot range. Good for singlehanded. Nice to meet you all.

[excitereye]

Hmmmm tuff crowd,, guess I gotta find my own info.

[smackdaddy]

Hey excite - welcome to SN dude. Personally I'm not a big fan of single-handing. I like the idea of having someone besides my shoe to talk to for weeks on end.

Seriously though, in my opinion, SHing is like solo rock climbing. The risks go way up...but the reward? I don't know.

Why are you sold on it?

[excitereye]

Hi Moonie & Smack,
Thanks for the replies. Yes! I guess I was abit vague in my post,, Oops,, I live in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, just east of Toronto. LOL, yes, I never looked at it that way, ie kind and size of boat like looking for a car is right. I should be asking more about the quality needed for blue water and good boats for this? I want something really safe out there. As for single handing, what poses most real problems? Is it getting around in close quarters?, or are there issues being out to sea alone?

As for being sold on single handing, I guess the life I lead now is kinda similar, I live alone, except for when my son is here. I don`t plan on being married anytime soon and imagine I wont be when I`m done my job. But ya never know eh! My job has also made me tailer made for this lifestyle, I hear alot about staying awake and such is one of the main problems of being alone out there. I`m a conductor/locomotive engineer at CN rail. Sleep deprivation is my lifestyle lol. I`m that annoying guy at 3 a.m. going by your house blowing the crossing on a 10-12 hour marathon trip. I`m used to no sleep.

Eventually everyone needs a good sleep. How is it possible and the best way to have one out there in the blue water? This does concern me. What do most people do? Do they bring all the sails down and just bob in the water? Lots of your lights on and have a great radar? I guess my fears out there would be falling overboard, ie should make it a rule to be allways lifelined to the boat, solves that? My other fear is anchoring,, say I make it to that beautiful place, I fear going ashore and coming back to seeing my boat being dismantled on rocks or a reef. I have to learn so much. Thanks for listening. and thanks so much for any ideas and help you`s may have for me.

[CapTim]

I think you've got the right idea.. find a couple of classes. And I'm betting that a week or two in the BVI in the middle of december might be a heck of a way to take them... maybe not the most cost-effective, but it'll certainly be a nice break from winter, eh?

Certainly there are a few good ideas around here, and a good book or ten never hurt.. but dude! You are right on Lake Ontario, and maybe 200 miles from Erie? You've got a ton of sailing resources right out your back door, my friend!

Here's a few.. I don't know them from Bob, but a quick internet search spit them out:

Lake Joseph Yacht Club
Toronto (416) 222-5477 Ontario

Lake of Bays Sailing Club
Oshawa (416) 922-7875
mailto:schaal@sympatico.ca Ontario

Lake Ontario Hunter Sailing Association
Kanata (416) 323-9030 Ontario

Lake Ontario Racing Council Toronto Ontario

Lakeshore Yacht Club
Toronto (416) 255-9259 Ontario

I would be flat out amazed if you couldn't go sailing every weekend just by getting involved with one or two of those. Find the bigger ones, preferably with a 'crew wanted' section. You'll be surprised how many boats don't leave the slip due to want of crew.

There are thousands of opinions on which boat is best, what safety gear is mandatory as opposed to important as opposed to useful as opposed to silly, where to go, how to learn, what to say.. and you'll muddle through them and then add to them, just like the rest of us.

But for now.. make a new friend and go sailing! Can't beat it with a stick.

[killarney_sailor]

Since you are in Oshawa you might want to contact the Whitby Yacht Club. They have keel boat courses, although you might already have the equivalent. You should be able to find someone to crew for for races - Wednesday evening and some weekend races.

[excitereye]

Hi CapTim and Killarney,
Thanks for the info,, I`m gonna check out some of them. I`ll try Whitby and Oshawa. I didn`t know people would just let you on their boat? But if they want some help and I need to learn so, I`ll see if I can meet someone.
Wow Killarny, Nice boat,, I briefly looked at the blog you mentioned. I`ll read everything eventually and will most certainly have some questions. Is that Ok? You`s are living the dream it looks like. Very cool. Hope to talk with you`s more. Thanks for the help.