# Snowbird Sailing



## Mitch Vine (Sep 7, 2018)

Hi Everyone. I did a lot of sailing in my youth. Now I am retiring and researching being a snowbird on the Florida gulf coast. We thinking of getting a pocket cruiser or a large dinghy, also get a condo near a sailboat friendly bay. My wife wants an friendly social scene on land. Hopefully we can find the best of both worlds.


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

I thought snowbirds did Maine Florida, Florida Maine!


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## Mitch Vine (Sep 7, 2018)

We are the Toronto Florida species.


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## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

You may need a larger boat for that trip!


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## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

Are you going to trailer it back and forth? I did that last winter(Ottawa) and plan to do it again in anothther year. I trailered my beach cat down behind my minivan. It wasnt too bad, blew out a trailer tire on the way back up in South Carolina. Next time I go I might try and go with something car toppable.

Florida is an awesome spot for beach cat sailing. The Gulf of Mexico seems to be warmer in the middle of winter than Lake Ontario ever gets. You don't have to get a hot rod if you arent into speed. Some of them are pretty comfy.

This one has bench seating and a payload of 6 people or 1000 lbs.
https://www.hobie.com/sail/getaway/

However, I do also like the pocket cruiser option, but I would chose something pretty light for trailering all that way.


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## Mitch Vine (Sep 7, 2018)

Well I wasn't thinking about trailering before! I was thinking I would leave the boat in Florida. But trailering would solve the problem of what to do for storage when we aren't there.


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## Mitch Vine (Sep 7, 2018)

Are there any boat sharing clubs on the gulf coast. Toronto used to have a club that shared a large number of Albacore dinghys among it's members?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

When we retire, we plan to snowbird as well. Generically, New England in the summer, Caribbean in the winter. 

Recently, my wife said she would prefer we owned two boats for it, one at each end. I never loved her more than in that moment. Then, we both sobered up and realized it's an awful idea.


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

Minnewaska said:


> Recently, my wife said she would prefer we owned two boats for it, one at each end. I never loved her more than in that moment. Then, we both sobered up and realized it's an awful idea.


Sounds like a great idea to me. They don't both have to be 50 footers.

I want a boat in Sea of Cortez and one in BC.


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## contrarian (Sep 14, 2011)

Three words.....
Sarasota Sailing Squadren
Should cover all you're looking for


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