What Is Your Sailing CV / Resume ?

[nautical62]

Reached my mid 30s and felt long kayak and canoe trips were getting to be a bit hard so upgraded to something a little easier, more comfortable and much, much more expensive. That was almost 15 years ago now.

[tartansail]

My Dad grew up sailing. At 87, he still goes out on his 1961 O'Day Daysailer several times a week during the summer. We were on small boats for as long as I can remember. I helped him build a Sailfish kit (Sunfish without the "cockpit") in 1957. Occasionally he would charter a cruising boat for a week of sailing south of Cape Cod with the family. I crewed for a few of his friends including a great trip from the Gaspé Peninsula to the Bras d'Or Lakes when I was 15.

I moved down in size and became a windsurfing fanatic when I lived in San Francisco for several years. One of my best sailing memories is sailing out in the Molokai Channel on a stock Windsurfer and having a pod of Humpback Whales start breaching and playing a quarter of a mile away.

Children and a wife who had terrible motion sickness took me away from sailing for a while, but divorce and a new love who, conveniently, owned a Bristol 27, brought me back over ten years ago. We bought a Tartan 34 a couple of years later. Since then we've combined sailing in New England with charters in the Carib and, for me, a couple of deliveries from New England to the Caribbean. We're getting closer to retirement and bought our retirement home this Fall -- a 1989 Tartan 40. Unfortunately, we still haven't sailed her and won't until May. We're looking forward to more time aboard and trips to warmer climates when we can.

[capnorv]

My wife got some old movies developed, There I was 3-4 years old on my aunt and uncles schooner. In the mid 60's my parents gave me a 61/2' rowboat for my birthday (it was our dinghy), spent the first couple summers rowing around the San Juans, and enveying the Sea Scouts on their sailboat. Divorce, mom died. stayed on lakes in Eastern Washington. Went in Coast Guard and got a 13' Melon Marine Guppy.got married, wife hated it 20 years, divorce. Right after divorce my dad calls me and tells me to come over. We head out in the valley and he starts talking about how I used to really like sailing, we get to this place and there was a 22', he helps me finance it and I'm on my way(1996). My current wife and I spent 2003-2008 living our dream. Ended up with grandchildren, regrouping and getting ready to do it again if the adoption ever goes through (31/3 years so far), figure we now are going to have crew. Lifes an adventure.

[MSN-Travelers]

Learned to sail around 11 or 12. Didn't set foot on a sailboat again until I was 52. Started with a trailer sailor and moved up to our current boat last year.

Planning extended cruising on the Great Lakes for `12 & `13 and then heading to ????

[SariTimur]

I bought my first boat out of the Sears catalog when I was 11 and sailed it in summer until I went to college. Then other than one charter gave up sailing for power boats (I worked offshore) until I was 29 when i bought Sari Timur. Been sailing erver since. Do not hope to give it up for a long while either.

Cheers

Mark

[boatman61]

Learnt to sail in the Royal Navy (60's) where we used 27ftMontague whalers and 32ft Cutters.... open boats with oars as auxillary power.
After leaving the Navy I did no sailing till I bought a abandoned wooden 24ftr for therapy in 1985... after 18mths work it was launched and I've been sailing ever since...

[otherthan]

just got my first sailboat last fall...I am 46 and been on a sailboat for the first time last summer...I havent sailed myself yet.
now that I own a good boat and sold most of my belongings in preperation of voyaging...I can almost touch my dream, this is a 25 year old dream...and as its getting near I am starting to be afraid that something will happen befor I have time to sail away??? This whait is killing me...I watch the days getting longer and feel that spring is just aronde the corner...I am ready and everything is favorable but yet anxiety is cruely possesing me...I find myself daydreaming about the little refits I want to make...looking at photos of my boat befor bedtime is a must...never in my life such a passion befor...what is it with sailboats??

I think its a deseas that just a few peoples can catch...only true lovers of nature are plaged...or blessed???

my opologies I downloaded a few extra wine bottles tonight
cheers!

[chadlaroche]

never sailed a day in my life.... enjoyed motor boats and the water and wanted to cruise the Carib. Knew I couldn't afford the fuel of anything but a sailboat and have enjoyed the peacefulness ever since

[SabreKai]

I learned to sail in a folding Kayak from Germany. Canvas and vinyl 2 seater with a foot operated rudder, a unstayed mast about 8 feet high, with a gaff main and a small jib about the size of two tea towels. There was a fitting to rig leeboards on her, and this is how I learned to sail. That was back in the end 60s and early 70s Til I went off to college, met women, learned about beer etc.

In 77 I bought an old 16 foot cedar runabout which was on the bottom at Frenchman's bay east of Toronto, and rebuilt it into a junk rigged sailboat. Not very successful but it did move. That ended up being ate by the snowplow that winter. Opps.

Finally I decided I wanted to live aboard and in April of 79 I bought my first Grampian. I had a friend of mine help me rig her, set up the rig and then we went out a couple of times so I could figure out the intricacies. Finally I went out alone one Wendesday, motored out about 5 miles into Lake Ontario and pitched the spark plugs overboard. By the time I got back in, it was Sunday and I sailed up to the slip. I spent 5 days going back and forth between Port Credit, and Toronto Island until I could do it properly and without any kerfuffle. About that time I met Terri, and we spent most of that summer and the next pretty much living aboard. I was a live aboard for 18 months, Terri, being a tad younger wasn't allowed to stay over much but we did end up going off for 3 weeks the second summer.

It ended up that we parted ways, and it messed me up pretty badly. I ended up walking away from my boat, moved ashore and spent the next 2 years boatless. After a while I ended up buying a wooden cutter, 1944 vintage, built of cedar on Oak framing. The engine was history, and she had more rot than anything I've ever seen. She ended up a dead loss, but as a learning experience, she was invaluable. I then moved on to an HO-28 a steel kit boat built around Hamilton Ontario for a while. This is where I decided that steel was the way to go. She had fallen off a trailer while moving at 60mph down the road, and while banged up and dented, was till sound. I worked on her for a few years, trying to get her set up as a going concern, but loss of job and other financial issues forced me to sell her off.

My next boat was again the trusty Grampian. I played around with that one for 6 years, going to school again at the same time. In 2000 I joined the Lakeshore Yacht club, where I saw Espina for the first time. After 5 years of dickering,(2005) I ended up with her, and sold the Grampian to a fellow near Brighton Ontario for what I had paid for her. Espie was in fair shape but the coach roof was in bad shape, and deteriorating fast. But she was a sweet boat to sail. The only problem was a lack of bunks big enough for my size. In Harbor was no problem, the settees joined together to form a queen sized bunk atwartship but underway it was sleep on the cabin sole time.

About this time I got a wild hair up my backside and with my brother in tow flew out to PEI, rented a car and drove to Souris on the east end of the island to look at a Douglas 31. I'd always had a liking for them, and found one listed for cheap. No wonder, it was a wreck. 36hrs, and a $1000 later I was back in Toronto where my brother took me to see a friend of his who lived aboard in Port Credit. Turned out his wife worked for a broker, and we talked will my brother and her husband chatted. Told her of the trip to PEI, and she asked what sort of boat I was looking for. Turned out she had a listing for a Roberts Offshore 38. Based on her description, "Its weird", I had to go have a look. Of course Weird is difficult to pin down. The boat looked OK, surveyed OK, so I bought it. Weird I figured out later. This boat was put together to fit a slim guy about 5' 6". I'm large and 6' 2". Ergonomically this boat is a mess. Nothing fits, once you try it on for size. So, as she said, it's weird. I'll be looking at gutting the main cabin and reworking it so it fits my size.

Sadly, I got a surveyor who would be better qualified to pick up garbage, and his survey missed a goodly amount of problems. However, this is the one I have, and the one I am going to stay with. Time will tell, the engine is coming out this summer and the main cabin refit will happen as well. I will miss the 2011 season but should be ready to rock come 2012. If all goes as planned, 2012 is my retirement year, and I'll be heading down the St Lawrence and across to Germany. I promised on my mothers grave that I would sail the Atlantic so its time to fulfill that vow.


Sabre

[Adax]

This is fascinating reading. Thanks to all of you who responded so far.

[lorrie]

Originally Posted by sww914

I started sailing at 18 in Lazers. At 30 I caught the cat bug and sailed Nacras in crazy conditions a LOT. During that time I started sailing everything possible all the time. I was one of the guys hanging around the waterfront always good to go no matter how bad it was, no wind or blowing 40, I didn't care. I got into auto racing for a few years and stopped sailing, I can't afford too many expensive hobbies. I started sailing again about 3 years ago and I'm more cautious at 45 than I was at 30 but I've retained most of my skills.
Now I have a full keel 40' cruiser, kind of the opposite of a beach cat, but I haven't sailed her yet.
Sailing is maybe the best way in the world to spend your time.

Wait a minute, what are you saying haven't sailed her yet? What is the hold up Mr?

[AnchorageGuy]

My first boat was a wooden sailing skiff on the Chesapeake when I was ten years old. Worked on my families fishing and crabbing boats on the Chesapeake for another six years until I had my first fiberglass runabout with 25 HP engine. Owned various power boats until 1980 in Southern California when I bought my first sailboat and taught myself to sail. I sailed from San Francisco to Southern California and the Channel Islands to Cabo San Lucas and the southern Sea Of Cortez. Brought the sailboat back to the east coast on a truck and sailed the Chesapeake and after owning a few different boats, sailed the US east coast from New Jersey to Key West round trip about a dozen times. Sailed the Bahamas a number of times, Turks and Caicos to Hispaniola, the entire south coast of Cuba, US and British Virgins, Western Caribbean to Honduras including the Rio Dulce, and the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast from Houston to the Florida Keys. That would be about 50 years now and it has been a fabulous life and quite a few miles under the keel. We are not done yet, since with the new trawler we are outfitting, we plan to restart in the near future and do inland lakes and rivers including the great loop. I guess we still have a few more good years in us. Chuck

[Charlie]

first sail was on a lake in the sierra foothills. I think I was 12. Dad and I hadn't left the dock when I capsized her. four years later I went sailing with my uncle once. Then when I turned 17 Dad bought a boat. I was hooked. a year later I had my own boat and started racing on other peoples boats. I raced five days a week for three years and then started doing distance races Mexico, Transpac, and then went cruising thru the South Pacific to Oz. since then I have bought my own boat and went sailing from Canada to Mexico aand back to San Diego. Now planning the next adventure.

[SteveA]

Sailed dinghys as a kid - then on ships for years and years and recently got into cruising yachts - first a Bavaria 38 (time share basis) based in Greece (same idea as maytrix) and now in and around Hong Kong with a blue water boat under major refurb (whilst in use).

[GeoPowers]

Fun thread!

While I grew up on the water, sailing wasn't a part of my life until 10 years ago. But that's okay because I'm a young sprout compared to some of you! Grew up on Stumpknockers, runabouts, and canoes in Northeast NC. Then college, then Navy as a ship driver. After my duty I bought a beat-up Cal 20. Great fun! Then bought our current home, our Bene 393 back in 2009. It has been a blast so far, and we haven't looked back.

I guess if I wanted to sound all bragging-big-time and all I would say I'm a golden shellback, have crossed the Pacific x3, North Atlantic x1 (sucked), Indian x2, Med, Arabian Gulf, Panama and Suez Canals, and lots more of just "time one the blue water"...but that wouldn't be real applicable to this forum since while I was a bridge watch-stander (and some engineering off. of the watch) it wasn't on a sailboat and certainly not for pleasure! My wife is still in the Navy, 11 years now. First as a bridge watch-stander, and now as a meteorology/oceanography officer. She's done Everett-Ecuador, and is now on deployment in the Arabian Gulf, on a "big boy". She's also sailed down the east coast on a tall ship or two, where she was a galley cook x2. It is always nice to have a weather expert and chef onboard!

SO, on a sailboat, we have done mostly coastal waters, but have done a good job of hitting almost all the spots within 4-5 days of our home port...which is actually a lot of spots! We venture out as much as possible, almost every free weekend. Unfortunately, Jody's deployment has of course put a damper on us cruising together! But, We've had great fun so far, and can't wait to start cruising the East Coast in a few months.

Frank