Wow! This is soooo exciting!! Just joining this forum is huge for me! I just purchased my first sailboat!! It is a 1972 Helsen 22 with a remote control A-Frame mast stepping system and a remote control power winch operated swing keel! The systems were fabricated by the previous owner and he is a member of this forum.
My interest in sailing spiked 12 years ago. My friend, his brother in law, and I decided to buy a fairly large sail boat (i cannot remember the length, but it was pretty big!), restore it, and live at sea. His brother in law had been living at sea for 10 years and was a certified master scuba diver. The 3 of us would completely renovate this boat while living abroad. The brother in law was willing to teach us how to Scuba and how to sail. Now for the sad part! We were negotiating on the price of the boat and almost reached an agreement with the owner. With an agreeable price in sight, my friend caught his wife cheating and all our plans fizzled!! It was a nasty divorce and the brother in law obviously sided with his sister. My dream fizzled and life was moving fast so I turned my attention to cars.
Well here I am again. 36 Years old, divorced (because of a cheating wife), and living in Florida. I decided to have a mid life adventure instead of a mid life crisis. I live a much simpler life now. Not much money but lots and lots of time! Then it came to me just by accident. I always look on Craigslist out of curiosity and thought about buying a ski boat. They are cheap right now! Well, I pulled up an ad on a sailboat by accident and I was surprised at how cheap they are. I never knew! I assume most non sailors never give this lifestyle a thought due to thinking that you have to spend a small fortune. I was finding 18-25ft boats anywhere from $600-$3500. After looking a few boats that did not seem sea worthy, I came upon this beauty. I fell in love immediately. A friend told me not to buy one until I find a boat that makes me say "Wow!!" This one did just that. Not just because of the fancy winch systems, which did have some influence, but it just seemed to call me! I made what I thought was a decent deal for me and a decent deal for the owner who put a lot of time, $$, and effort into this boat. Now she is sitting in my driveway waiting and smiling with anticipation for our first voyage together.
I am completely new to sailing. I have never even been on a sailboat, but that is not going to stop me. The man I purchased it from offered to take me out to show me some techniques anytime I want and he lives very close to me. I know that the protocol calls for taking lessons and what not but that is not how I am built. Call me irresponsible if you must but how did people learn to sail before lessons? I am a sponge thirsty for knowledge and I learn extremely quickly. That is one reason I am on here. I want to fully immerse myself into the lifestyle!!
Thrilled to be here!
~Just Jimmy
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