New to forum.

[RNB]

Hello,

My name is Bob and I am new to this forum. I will be moving to the central coast of California in then next 6-8 months and would like to get back into sailing.
I sailed frequently when I was young in a 22' sailboat. When I got older I joined the Navy Reserve, but I do not think that counts as sailing, more like riding.
I was hoping that I could find people who sail the central coast (Morro Bay) and could give me some info/advise about the region. Once I make my move I will be in the market for a weekend sailing vessel, any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Bob

[Pura Vida]

Welcome aboard

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Bob,
Welcome aboard!! If you do some searches you'll find all sorts of advice on boats to buy.
Hope you enjoy this forum.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[S/V Elusive]

There is Morro Bay and Port San Luis. Both have a pretty good community of sailors. The MBYC and the SLYC are both good starting points to make contact. Friday evenings they both usually have some sort of get together. Of the two, MBYC has the more active program - Saturday or Sunday mornings might get you a rail meat spot - always a start.

More Active sailing can be had North to Monterey Bay (Monterey, Moss Landing, or Santa Cruz), and South you'll find Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Channel Islands Harbors.

Good Luck and welcome (back?) to sailing!

[John O'Donnell]

Hello all, this is my first posting -

I live in the Washington DC area and own a Jeanneau 43DS cruising sailboat berthed in Annapolis, MD. I bareboat charter the vessel out in the summer months and cruise down to Florida for the winters.

I have a second sailboat I use in the late spring to early fall to cruise the Chesapeake Bay. (yes, a fleet! - Does that make me a commodore?) It's a MacGregor 26X. It's not pretty but very functional. For my purposes, it is an ideal bay cruiser. The outboard motor provides about 15 kts speed in most conditions. It thus allows access a lot of the Bay. The shallow draft (with board up) gets access into interesting creeks and marshes. I have modified this boat extensively and would be glad to swap ideas (or horror stories) with other 26X or 43DS owners.

Hasta la bye bye for now,

Capt. John

[TaoJones]

In the latest 'Lectronic Latitude, there is the following account of sailors along that section of the coast who were in a race from San Francisco to Santa Barbara in a Santana 22:

Never Again in a Boat So Small

June 27 - Alameda

We've covered Encinal YC's Coastal Cup ad infinitum (see Friday and Monday's 'Lectronic Latitudes if you missed the coverage), but we can't pass up just one more item about last week's 277-mile race from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. File this one under the 'lessons learned' category, courtesy of Michael Andrews, who raced his Santana 22 Bonito with Kevin Clark and Tom Rankin. Back on terra firma on Monday, he sent us the following report:

"We raced Bonito hard from the time we started on Thursday morning until 20:30 on Friday night when, about nine miles offshore between Points Arguello and Conception, we stopped racing and began sailing simply to finish with the boat intact and crew safe. We had broken our spinnaker pole in a knockdown earlier in the day, which proved fortuitous in some respects because we weren't tempted to continue trying to carry a kite after. Instead, we put up the class jib - a 120% sail - and continued on with it winged-out opposite the main until 20:30, when we found ourselves in a lull and began plain sail reaching. First we headed further out to sea to find more breeze to help us manage with the large seas, and then towards, and part way down, the Santa Barbara Channel. We sailed into the protection of the Santa Barbara mountains at the earliest opportunity and then sailed in the light onshore breeze to the finish.



Bonito just outside of the Golden Gate last Thursday
Photo Latitude / Sutter
© 2007 Latitude 38 Publishing

"I have mixed feelings about our doing well in the race, in terms of placing fifth overall. Though the wind was never more than the boat or we were capable of handling, the sea state offshore that comes with up to gale force winds is beyond what a 22-ft boat is capable of being sailed safely through. Kevin, Tom and I will never sail down the coast again in a boat so small. All of my friends who told me that it was not a good idea were right. My mixed feelings about doing well stem from my desire to not inspire anyone else to sail a similar sized boat in a race down the coast. Given the opportunity, I will try vigorously to dissuade anyone from doing so."

For the record, Andrews, Clark and Rankin aren't sailing slouches. They often sail Clark's Melges 24 Smokin' and have extensive inshore and coastal experience on a variety of boats. The trio expanded their repetoire beyond sportboats when Andrews purchased his brand new Tuna several years ago. From their first discussion last year about racing the Tuna down the coast, they worked hard to prepare the boat and themselves appropriately with an eye on winning the race overall. However, with last week's big wind offshore and even bigger seas, it's an understatement to say that the race was more than they bargained for.

- latitude / ss

Again, welcome to the forum.

TaoJones

[Pblais]

Hi John,

Sounds like a nice idea for the summer Bay. Suggest you not come to the lower Bay in October though. You should bring the other boat! I'm now a Commodore too. It's not pretty owning two boats. The details are not pretty but plentiful. I hope to be over it in a reasonable amount of time.

We will be heading north on Sunday (we head south in the morning). Always best to start in the oposite direction from the ultimate destination on the first day to fool the winds. Hope to make it to Crisfield, MD for the fireworks. If you are there look for us!