How Young, plus small story....

[bigd14]

Toddbrsd- Don't feel bad, you're not alone! I'm a relative newbie too. I'm 42. I spent summers sailing on a friends dads Cal 27 on the Columbia River in middle school and a couple trips to the San Juans. My wife had an O'day Mariner when she was growing up and sailed a Sunfish in her local lake in Michigan. Neither of us sailed again until about 4 years ago, when my wife decided one day that we were going to buy a sailboat. So we did. We got a sweet little Ranger 22, which we sailed up until about a year ago when we sold her. We bought the e27 two years ago because we wanted a little more room to overnight with the kids. We sold the Ranger 22 last year because we didn't want two boats, and we had planned to have the Ericson in the water this spring, but of course it took much longer to restore than anticipated (like a year longer!). So I have been on this forum for a couple years, but have yet to sail the boat! Our summer was not a complete sailing loss, though, we took a week long bare boat class in the San Juans.

Launch will be next spring for sure!

Doug

 

[rwthomas1]

One of the first pictures of me is holding on for dear life to the mast of my Fathers beach cat at age 2 or so. My first sailing lessons were at age 7 on the island of Barbados where I grew up. Most people are familiar with "summer camp"? Well, we had "sailing camp" Did that every summer until I moved to the US as the age of 13. Didn't touch a boat again until '03 when my Wife wanted to learn to sail and signed up for classes. I did too, as a refresher and we got the bug bad. Had a Catalina 22 for one year and then got the E38 in '05. And here we are. I'm 41 years old now.

RT

 

[Glyn Judson]

I'm so busted!

Jeff, I thought by being cagey and flying under the RADAR that you and everyone else would miss that little detail. Glyn

 

[dt222]

57 Years old. Learned to sail while a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy (dingies, 297' barque (Eagle), 44 Luders yawl). Family all power boaters going back 2 generations. First boat- Tartan '27, sold that (no mooring), name came up on the mooring list (after 12 years), and purchased my E'27.

Don

 

[Rowan]

Age: 40

I grew up in the desert (New Mexico) so not a lot of water around. I had never been on a sailboat until we bought our 14' O'Day Javelin this past January. We took her to the lake the next day only to find the lake was closed for the winter so we found an empty lot and stepped the mast and figured out how to rig her. The empty lot was next to the local commuter rail line, we must have looked pretty silly sitting in a sailboat with the sails up on dry land.

The next week we took her to Nehalem Bay. The wind was very light but we were able to sail her a bit, after about 30 minutes the wind completely died and the tide was going out and carrying us away from the dock. We managed to get to shore where I put on my galoshes and towed her back to the dock. Not the best sailing but I was hooked! We continued to sail the Javelin that winter and early spring and we learned a ton. We didn't plan to buy a big boat for another year but in March we came across our E31 at a price we couldn't pass up. We sold the Javelin and have been sailing our Ericson since June and having a great time

 

[C Masone]

I grew up here in Port Jefferson NY in the 1950's and 60's

Dad always had power, 32' Colonial, but at 12 I thought there was something to these guys sailing around the harbor, so I went to the Setauket yacht Club where they tossed me in a pram and haven't looked back.

At that time I got my own pram (not an opti) and started to really learn how to fix things. Bought a 19' Highlander at 13 and sailed it every day.

Since then have owned many boats, sailed countless boats from Hobie's to Schooners and all in between. Have sailed most ports from Long Island Sound to Northeast Harbor Maine. Also bare boat in the BVI. Have a bunch of trophies in my office all earned on my 77 C&C 29.

Then the perfect storm of conditions came together to create the Great Recession we are in now and I picked up my E32-3, Perfect Storm, from eBay.

Oh, I'm only 56

 

[Commotion]

Age and experience (of lack thereof)

I am 54, learned to sail in a sabot that I helped a classmate build when we were 14. His father was a carpenter and had woodworking tools and machinery in his back yard. We are friends since 6th grade. A year later, he sold the sabot and bought a Lido 14... spend a lot of time sailing that around. Day trips from Marina Del Rey to Redondo and back. He also bought a Hobbie 16' and we sailed that a lot. Then he sold both of those and bought a Columbia 22' a couple of other boats along the way. He now has a 33' wood boat and is a boat carpenter by trade.

As early teenagers, we used to dream about owning an Ericson 35...
I got away from sailing after my late 20's. While I've sailed a lot, this is the first sailboat I've ever personally owned. Just trying to realize the dream. There are photos of Commotion under community photos if anyone is interested. She has been "on the hard" since I have owned her and I hope to put her back into the water in the next 30 days. It has been a lot of work and money. I am looking forward to taking my 11 y.o. daughter and 15 y.o. son coastal cruising. They are looking forward to it too.

 

[HughHarv]

across the bay of Cadiz

I'm 48, been in love with boats and water sports since I was a tyke. didn't take my first sailing lesson till 1984. My work station was on the side of the hill near Rota Harbor overlooking the Rota Navy Yacht Club. One day, I vowed not to leave there without at least trying to sail. Joined the club, signed up for sailing lessons, met some sailors in a little club regatta. Next thing I know I'm invited to go sailing on a Cal 22. We sailed that boat across the bay of Cadiz one day with some more experienced club members and had an absolute blast. I decided sailing was for me. After exiting the Navy, my first boat was a Buccaneer 19, later a Santana 20 and finally an Ericson 39. Still working on the 39 but hoping to launch her next spring.

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Hey Paul,

Not sure where you can find a print. I ripped this from a web site. like this one:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/...lidenumber=Z9ksyxqowJ0=&slideshow#slide_image

It's a painting by famed make up artist Rick Baker.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Baker_(makeup_artist)

Okay Jeff, where can I get the Popeye. Got the perfect spot to hang it on my bulkhead. Gotta have it.

--Paul
E29 "Bear"

 

[Jeff Asbury]

What, the 66.002?

Jeff, I thought by being cagey and flying under the RADAR that you and everyone else would miss that little detail. Glyn

 

[windjunkee]

My dad took me out with him on a friend's Cal when I was 9 or 10 and I loved it. I windsurfed starting in my early 20's (1981-1982) and bought a Nacra 5.2 in 1984 which I sailed regularly on San Francisco Bay. In 1987, I was in Lahaina, Maui and met up with a charter boat skipper who told me the ways to pick up as crew on cruising boats. I moved to San Diego in late July, 1987 (29 years old) and within 2 weeks had picked up a spot on a 38 foot Island Trader ketch headed for Tahiti. I was with the boat for 14 months, flying back from Suva, Fiji in 1988 to get on with life.
I had never been out of sight of land when I first set foot on board and lied about my offshore experience to get the job.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

 

[agraziano23]

I'm 50. I started sailing in '87 for no apparent reason other than I had just broken up with a girlfriend and that seemed the right thing to do with the "wedding money" so I bought a Hunter23 and an Alfa Romeo Spider.
I sold them both in '93, big mistake, when my twin sons were born (different girl). But that seemed the reasonable thing to do at the time. Flash forward to last year, bought 'new in 76' E27 to add to a 'new in 87' Alfa Spider. This would be a happy ending instead of the horrible deja-vue that it turned out to be. Slipped cervical disc just after taking delivery of the boat puts pressure of the nerves affecting my right arm, so.. now both boat and car are for sale.
Hopefully surgery next month will help recoup some of the strength to my right arm.

 

[Jeff Asbury]

I am sorry to hear about your misfortune agraziano23. I hope your surgery is successful. I must say you have great taste in boats and cars though. I used to own a 1979 Alpha Spider. I was too young and broke to keep up the payments though. Gawd I loved that car. Sorry to hear you will have to sacrifice both your car and boat.

Prayers for a speedy recovery.

 

[John Cyr]

Wow! what an awesome thread! The broad base of experience reflected here just underlines and emphasizes the magic that is sailing and the overall maritime experience.
I am not sure I want to admit to all this but here goes: My parents were not sailors per se but I was blessed with two (relatively) well off uncles who were. My childhood summers were spent on the Michigan shore of Lake Huron where my cousin (the closest version of a big brother) had a pram. Starting at about the age of 5 he would anchor me about 100 yds off the beach with a clorox bottle filled with concrete and 75 yds of light line and bet me that I would get beached right quick (I think he just wanted me out of his hair) I quickly learned to increase the length of my tether when no one was looking and then to ship it all together. This was a blast and went really well until I sailed out of sight down the beach (prob to show off for a REALLY cute girl who stayed a ways down, I still remember her!) and my Aunt collared my cousin as to my whereabouts and he had no clue. As one might expect, both he and I were grounded for the rest of the summer and man was he pissed at me.
Over the years both his father and my other uncle stepped up through larger and larger sailboats which I got to clean (5 foot itis is not new) My other uncle was a very competitive racer on the Great Lakes circuit (Port Huron and Chicago to Macinac and trans Superior races among others) and he went through a string of race boats culminating in a custom C&C Two tonner which I still remember like yesterday.
Moored right next to my Uncle's C&C for several of those years was a brand new and very intimidating Ericson 46 named Shadow. With her menacingly dark blue hull, flush deck and "gasp" coffee grinder (pedestal winch) she was as exotic as it could get for a teenager in those parts at that time. I got to clean that boat too! (and sail, when they were short) In the its a small world category, that same Ericson 46 is now named Aiki and is owned by Guy Stevens, one of this sites moderators and contributors.
Through my college years I raced in both the Detroit area Lightning fleet and also for a summer on a 22 Square meter out of Chicago Yacht Club. (sort of between a 6 and 8 meter) I did not ever join the sailing club at MSU however. It was expensive, I was broke, and having grown up on the Great Lakes, I turned my nose up at their home sailing venue Lake Lansing, which was (to me) much more of a pond than a lake. In retrospect that was a huge mistake which I regret to this day, as that collegiate competitive experience would have served me well in later years.
After graduation I joined the Navy to pursue another dream and following AOCS and Flight School, was lucky enough to be posted in San Diego, which was (and is) heaven (to me anyway) I didn't sail much then as i was focused on learning to fly off ships and stay alive. Following my first sea tour I was ordered back to the gulf coast as a Search and Rescue Pilot and instructor. I found my little E25 Asylum in Appalachicola FL and kept her in Pensacola. I took delivery in the summer of 85 the day before a hurricane slammed us (I have forgotten which one, there have been so many since) I got back to the yard where she was getting a bottom job to find carnage everywhere and my little sweetheart just sitting there unplussed, but rather annoyed at all the mess around her. the 2 boats next to her had been knocked off of their cradles and the shop/warehouse directly behind her had been destroyed. I found one small gelcoat chip. Talk about great Karma! and she has never let me down.
I sailed and raced the gulf coast from Fl to La for several years on her and others until ordered back to San Diego for another sea tour. This time with Asylum trailering faithfully behind me. During this period, SDYC had the America's Cup and it was a GREAT time to be a sailor in San Diego! I sailed and partied my ass off.
After returning from Desert Storm I left active duty (the first time) and jumped into the Socal racing scene with both feet. I had the good fortune of being the main trimmer on a very competive Schock 35 crew (a huge class in the early 90s in Socal) when I cought the eye of a very good sailmaker (think olympic gold medalist in Finns.) I sailed with him quite a few times but I never actually worked for him. Unfortunately, a year or so later I was calling tactics on a NY36 in Newport Beach when I was involved in back to back protests. We won both protests but I was recognised from my previous association by a very poor loser, accused of being a pro and asked for my MIR (Maritime Industry Rep) letter (a sorta shady way that sailmakers could get around the rules) Needless to say I didnt have one and protested vehemently, to little avail. I was very inpolitely "asked" to leave their club.
While all this transpired I had mistakenly moved my little sweetheart to a mooring where she was looted while I was out of town. Returning home to find this I was thoroughly disgusted with the entire scene. I hauled her out of the water in 1994. With the exception of some classic sailing I did on an awesome Fife schooner during and after those years, I have not sailed competitvely since.
Two years ago I woke up from my self induced anal/cranial inversion and realized my little sweethart did not deserve the neglect I had inflicted on her and began down the long road to bring her back. The restoration continues.
For those that are still following this diatribe I am sorry I rambled on so long.
John, I am 53

 

[CSMcKillip]

Keep the stories going, its a great thread to learn a little bit about the others on the fourm, and you can start to associate thread replies with the different fourm members.

 

[Earwax]

Waterlogged

My name is Dave, 43, and until recently, did all of my sailing on other people's boats. My folks were too keen on buying into this "luxury."

I grew up in and on the water. I started competitive swimming at 5 and swam competitively through my high school years. I still make it to the pool to slog through the water every so often. My best friend in high school was also a swimmer. So, this is where I tie swimming to sailing. (there will be more tie-ins later in this story)

His family also also had sailboats!

They started with a Sunfish and then traded that for a Laser. Then they bought a Force 5. The two of us would race all over Topsail Sound, NC when we went to vacation there every summer. When we were finally old enough to drive, we'd hitch up the boat trailer (boats were stacked on a double-deck trailer) and head over to Annapolis to launch at Sandy Point Park and race around the bay. We'd have to swim the boats out more often than not since the channel out of the park was narrow and the bridge blocked the wind too much.

One day my bud and I were cruising the neighborhood and saw an old wooden Mirror that was being neglected. http://www.pbase.com/earwax/image/18701106.jpg The owner said it used to belong to the Governor General of Antigua and could never part with it. She parted with it. We took the Mirror back to the boatyard (his parent's back yard) and worked on it through the spring and summer until we went back to Topsail. The first launching, we put a hole in the bottom. Jumped out of the boat and tied ropes around our waste and swam it back to the boatyard (the house's backyard). Some quick fiberglass repair patching and we relaunched. This time the rigging fell just about knockin our dumb heads in. Once again, we swam the boat back to the boatyard and fixed the rigging. While we were swimming back, someone on the canal threw us beers for our efforts...swimming and drinking (there's no law yet). So, third time's a charm, we sailed that little Mirror quite a bit in between Laser/Force 5 sailing.

Then out with the Laser and Force 5 and in with the Hobie 16 complete with racing sails and trapezes. We sailed the hades out of that Hobie. We'd practice flying a hull and worked on our capsizing drills. We definitely had to swim the Hobie in/out of the boat launches. Those things don't tack worth a darn. They still own the Hobie and it is nice to get back out on it when I make it down to Topsail. They've also purchased another Sunfish.

Very shortly after joining the Navy, I happened across my old High School administrator who needed help ferrying his C&C 35 up to Annapolis for the Solomons Island Invitational. That got me hooked on big boat sailing. Since the he was short-handed, he asked me to stay on for the race. I jumped on the opportunity and crewed for him in races for about 4 years.

During my Navy years, the ship I was on, The Mighty Battlecruiser USS Yorktown (CG 48) owned 3 Lasers that were kept at the Norfolk Naval Base marina. That allowed me to sail for free and anywhere I wanted around the Ches Bay area. We brought the 3 Lasers on our Med cruise also...only 2 of us on board used them.

After the Navy, I ran into an old friend that had recently purchased a Tartan 34, Aria that had some extensive racing upgrades. I crewed for him for a few years. Then, he notified me of a Ranger 26 that was being offered for free from the Norfolk Naval Base marina. I jumped on that, bought a $300 6hp Evinrude and "sailed" it to her new home and boatyard. At 38, my first sailboat! The photos are here...
http://www.pbase.com/earwax/tango_charlie
Then, my friend with the Tartan also bought a Cal 39, Glory Days. What a nice boat! And shortly after that, I was looking to buy a new boat that I could take the future Admiral cruising on. The Ranger 26 was a cool boat, but you couldn't stand up in it. I wanted something a bit more Admiral freindly. So, after looking at 5 million boats, I found my new mistress, Invictus. EI31, #28. I've noticed lately that my sailing friends tend to want to go out on Invictus quite a bit.... she is a nice boat and sails like a dream! Photos here.... http://www.pbase.com/earwax/invictus

 

[Bob Brigham]

Great thread. My family were Quaker whalers from New Bedford...my grandparents, aunts, and uncles all lived on the water in Padanaram...several worked for Marshall Marine building cat boats, or Concordia building the big yachts. I remember walking down to the Concordia yard in the early 1960s and wondering what I had to do to get one of those boats! Grew up on the water with big dreams. I am now 50, and just bought our third boat...a 1988 Ericson 28. Sailed mostly on Long Island Sound, in Buzzards Bay, and now near our home on the Hudson River. Spent a year in Ireland where we sailed off of Kinsale...looking forward to learning from more experienced Ericson owners.