How did you get your start in sailing?

[scm2]

I had my first exposure on a friend's daysailor on a lake in Ohio while I was in high school, and was instantly taken in with it. After moving to Maryland out of college and being close to the Chesapeake, I decided I just had to have a boat. Bought a daysailor and have owned it for 20 years. Now with a teenage stepson deeply involved with baseball, I'm juggling his schedule against my deep desire for something over 30'.

[fiberglass1]

Started sailing Sunfish @ age 12 or so, then a couple bigger boats that belonged to family friends and then I was fortunate enough to get a job with a guy who raced the S.O.R.C. and always needed crew. Most of the "volunteers" would do a couple races and then quit. I loved it and signed on with bigger and better boats and then started doing deliveries. Getting paid to do what I really loved and then.....hey wait a minute! Now I'm sixty something and don't sail enough..... what happened?

[KIVALO]

Grew up on a lake in Central NY & have been boating my entire life. In my teens I received formal training at Mystic Seaport culminating in 3 trip aboard the s/v BRILLIANT.

Brad
s/v KIVALO

[GeoGoddess]

Found out that my SO learned to sail in college and had owned/cruised/raced boats in various places. I'm a very adventurous, active, explorer type who also is SCUBA certified and loves warm ocean water. I asked for sailing lessons for my birthday a couple of years ago, and bareboat/advanced coastal cruising (all ASA classes) for my last birthday. We also took the navigation course, which I loved because I love map-reading and solving problems. We joined the Redondo Beach Sailing Club and for $100/year we have free use every Sunday of the dingy and keelboat fleets owned by the city. Our dream (not a goal yet because there's no dates associated with it) is to rent out the condo and go sailing someday. Until then, I'm building strength at the YMCA and hope to get on a racing crew soon so I can gain a lot of experience quickly...and have fun!

I'm a life-long learner, so sailing is perfect as there is no end to what can be learned!

[CarbonSink62]

"Military service led to sailing"

My brother bought a Herreshoff 18 (19?) and took me out a few times before I joined the US Navy. I was hooked.

On leave one summer, we rented 2 Laser/Sunfish thingies and I took the helm of one. I did poorly. There was talk of a collision at sea, but I want to assure you all we were still in the harbor. Stupid power boat thought she was safe in the covered boat house... I showed them all! By the end of the day, I did know how to sail!

Back at my duty station (Pearl Harbor, HI *yawn!* ) I took lessons so I could rent boats. I qualified for the O'Day Widgeon 13 and then more lessons to get onto the Rhodes 19 keelboats (yowza! what difference!).

I could rent an R-19 for $3 an hour and the place was on my way home! I had to stay in Pearl Harbor though. For $5/hr I could rent a newer R-19 at the Air Force base and go out on the ocean. That was a good deal.

I have dumped my poor wife into the water more times than I can count (I'll bet she could).

[MikeinLA]

Back in the early 80's a buddy & neighbor rented a 25ish foot sailboat and took me out sailing. I loved it immediately, so a different friend & I signed up with Calypso Sailing here in L.A.so we could rent boats to take out. Part of the deal was a 4 hour sailing class so we wouldn't kill ourselves right away (or wreck their boats). We rented on weekends like that for a couple years until I decided I was tired of packing up all my stuff after sailing for the day. That was 1984 and I bought a new Catalina 30. Had the boat for about a year in Marina del Rey right across from my apartment. One day, I started thinking, "Hmmm.. if I had a 36, I wouldn't need this apartment". So, I sold the 30 and bought a 36 to liveaboard. Did that for years 'til I met my future wife. We lived aboard for a year and then got married, which is approximately when my entire idyllic life went straight to hell. Long story, lost the boat, I won't bore you.

Mike

[nwsaildude]

An ex-friend bought a 60 ft race boat - helped him do some repairs on the boat then started sailing - not a good learning platform during a race - everyone too busy to answer any questions - after the race if there was a hot gal on board all the guys were putting the move on her - again not a good time to ask a question -

So I took a class on Lazers and Lazer II's then moved up to J world. Then bought my own keel boat.

[johnweb]

drove a 37' Egg Harbor in Brooklyn, sold it when I moved to Long Island and bought a 30' O'day sloop. Was never on a sailboat prior to that so I bought a book and learned how to sail on the Great South Bay in 1994. It became a love affair!

[jesselee]

Started on a homemade fence pole raft at age 10 with a friend a makeshift bedspread square sail a shovel for a tiller a tarp for a tent from Alexandria VA to the mouth of the Chesapeake down the Potomac river about 100 miles 3 months later at my grandmothers house in Edwardsville our parents wear pissed didn't get to sail again for 20 years this time got a real sailboat no formal training just natural salt I reckon

[bgeddes]

Took sailing at scout camp one summer