# Greetings from 1 more rookie



## Wanderin1 (Jan 13, 2012)

I have been reading the sailnet forums for nearly a year now and want to start by thanking all the people who are so willing to offer advice and help to strangers. I was thrilled to find that such a place existed but wanted to wait until I stopped dreaming and committed to cruising before I signed up here. I took an early retirement (55, minumum age) in the fall, visitied several distant friends I hadn't seen in a while, tied up a few loose ends at home and made my way down to another friend in Sarasota. I have been looking around for ten days, (most of my knowledge about sailboats comes from this website), usually accompanied by another friend who is in the boat business. I am finally close to buying something. I think perhaps the best advice I read here was something along the lines of this - start with a small boat so that with time you will come to experience and appreciate the nuances and intricacies of sailing. If you start with a big boat you'll never know. As soon as I read that I thought of golf. Someone who has played golf since childhood, and had good instruction, has a kind of grace to their swing that the rest of us envy and rarely achieve. So I am going to try hard to become a graceful sailor over the next year or 2. I hope to buy a 26' O'Day. Solid, comfortable for cruising, I believe good for solo sailing. Have only sailed small boats off and on over the years, with minimal instruction. Never seemed to have the time or $ to take it seriously. Will take the ASA 101, 103 and 104 as soon as I buy the boat, and from there I follow this long time dream. I will most definitely be looking for frequent advice soon. And no, I will not be one of those who jumps in and jumps back out after a few frustrating months. I expect very difficult periods and I really believe the only question is whether or not I will love this so much that I do it year round eventually. Damn nice feelin bein so close to finally doing it. I would imagine a few of you can relate. Chris


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## Lake Superior Sailor (Aug 23, 2011)

Welcome aboard will be looking forward to the pics of the new boat! --Dale


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## livelyppop (Jan 11, 2012)

Sounds like you and I have the same dream and are in the same boat. So to speak. I'm 56 and ready to get serious about this. Best of luck.


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## DonScribner (Jan 9, 2011)

Chris, It sounds like a plan. Make sure you sail like crazy, as often as you can. And don't let the lack of ASA 10? keep you from it. A few years ago, we bought a 25 footer and started sailing. We took a Sailing and Seamanship class through the USCGA local Power Squadron and read Sailing For Dummies (it's real), but when I hoisted my main that spring, that was my first time sailing, ever. I tend to be a just-do-it guy anyway. We've got around 1200 miles of coastal sailing behind us now and I don't regret a single minute. Well, maybe the 45 minutes is took me to push my dinghy over the clam flats in calf deep mud to get to water and back to the boat. Those I didn't like.

Fair Winds and fairer deals,

Don


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## Wanderin1 (Jan 13, 2012)

*1st sailboat advice*

I am again very close to purchasing my first sailboat, which will be used almost entirely for coastal cruising. I need to decide how long is too long. My experience is limited. This boat is the one on which I will learn how to really sail. What is holding me back is the idea that I will sail more and more over the coming years and will want a bigger boat if I start with a 27 or 28 footer. Would like to buy a great boat now and skip the selling of it in a 
year or 2 in order to buy a better one. I am not loaded at all, so I'd like to do this right. Is a 30 or 32 foot boat too big to start with? Appreciate all advice. Thanks


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