Noob from the PNW.

[P.N. Westy]

Howdy.

Not a fan of these posts, but I suppose it has to be done.

My dislike for forum intros is the reason why it's taken 6 months to do it. Noob from Oregon - the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.

Sailing experience - sailed when I was a kid (43 or something now) on vacations and at summer camps, etc. - lasers, sunfish, and even a bit of windsurfing. As a swimmer - I wanted to be on or near the water as often as possible, but growing up in western PA, that's not always possible.

Long story short - my wife and I are contemplating cashing out of the house a bit early for early retirement, and selling it all to sail and travel full time - old enough to do it, but young enough to do it for a while, if you follow. I have done a charter or two with a friend, and have started racing every week on the Columbia River just north of Portland, Oregon. Trying to learn all I can.

This spring, my wife and I are taking the SAS classes for bareboat certs, so we can charter boats of different sizes for vacations, and build a bit of a portfolio so we can charter lots of boats, both mono and cats, and see what we like and if it's something we want to do.

Anyway - we have at least 10 years to learn, so there is a lot of time to learn and do. I am (and have been) in the manic phase of reading everything I can get a hold of, watching travel and refit channels on youtube, etc. Terminology, boat construction, equipment, safety stuff, weather, navigation, etc., etc., etc. Sucking it up like a sponge.

That's probably good enough.

Cheers from Oregon,
Shawn

[Cavalier]

Hi Shawn,



Welcome to CruiserForums!

[tkeithlu]

Welcome, Shawn. Is there a question therein?

[Stu Jackson]

Welcome.

I just moved to Vancouver Island, bringing our boat up after 35 years sailing out of San Francisco.

Good luck to you and yours.

[i3.friend]

I will be getting out for sunday races this summer

[StuM]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Welcome, Shawn. Is there a question therein?

Doubt it, this is posted in "Meets and Greets", as suggested for noobs in the forum "Rules"

[P.N. Westy]

Originally Posted by i3.friend

I will be getting out for sunday races this summer

I'm on a Merit 25, doing the SOS races out of Tomahawk Marina with a green skipper. We're always last, but I'm learning a lot.

Before the holidays I was able to sneak on an older Beneateau....

[evm1024]

Originally Posted by P.N. Westy

I'm on a Merit 25, doing the SOS races out of Tomahawk Marina with a green skipper. We're always last, but I'm learning a lot.

Before the holidays I was able to sneak on an older Beneateau....

Ah, thanks. My boat is in that picture.... Tied to the dock in the lower right of the photo.

Just another day on the Columbia.

Oh, By the way. Don't sell your experience short. sailing on a big river like the Columbia (with its currents, wing dams, traffic etc) scares the crap out of some. And then there is crossing the Columbia Bar.

[pdxsailordiver]

Welcome.
I moved my Cascade 42 from PDX to Olympia. I'm always looking for crew to go out and play.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[i3.friend]

Originally Posted by pdxsailordiver

Welcome.
I moved my Cascade 42 from PDX to Olympia. I'm always looking for crew to go out and play.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I would be interested also

[P.N. Westy]

Originally Posted by pdxsailordiver

Welcome.
I moved my Cascade 42 from PDX to Olympia. I'm always looking for crew to go out and play.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Very cool. Our classes are out of San Juan Sailing in Bellingham, and will all be done in mid-May. Doing them all in a week, and hoping to tack on a catamaran class the last weekend.

[P.N. Westy]

Originally Posted by evm1024

Ah, thanks. My boat is in that picture.... Tied to the dock in the lower right of the photo.

Just another day on the Columbia.

Oh, By the way. Don't sell your experience short. sailing on a big river like the Columbia (with its currents, wing dams, traffic etc) scares the crap out of some. And then there is crossing the Columbia Bar.

It's a process - we all have to start somewhere. Having a couple friends in the Seattle area that sail/race - I didn't think the PDX river scene would be very robust. It's smaller, but seems to be active and friendly.

[Amapola]

Greetings and welcome from SW Florida!