What kind of sailor are you?

johnalison said:
I don’t believe that there is a pecking order in sailing.
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I could not agree more.

Fundamentally the reason we go afloat is to enjoy ourselves. What enjoying yourself looks like is as different as folk. Some people seem to like golf for example....

Within the time constraints I have, the most enjoyment I can get is through racing. When I have more time then I love being afloat on basically anything, and I'll be doing more sailing with the kids this year as well. As others have said, crossing Oceans is an itch that I might have to scratch one day, but I don't lie awake at night thinking about it.
 
flaming said:
I could not agree more.

Fundamentally the reason we go afloat is to enjoy ourselves. What enjoying yourself looks like is as different as folk. Some people seem to like golf for example....

Within the time constraints I have, the most enjoyment I can get is through racing. When I have more time then I love being afloat on basically anything, and I'll be doing more sailing with the kids this year as well. As others have said, crossing Oceans is an itch that I might have to scratch one day, but I don't lie awake at night thinking about it.
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Part of me would like to sail further, a lot further, but OH and I are quite resigned to her regime of refridgerated drugs, supplied monthly. Plus her index linked pension, which is tied to UK residency.
 
On this thread I'm happy to be a heretic and say I enjoy motorboats too. :D

Took a Sunday morning 20 knot spin on a friends Fairline 47. This morning we will go out for a blast on his speedboat.

Back to sailing on Saturday when I'm taking another friend's Beneteau 331 out to watch the start of the next leg of the mini globe.
 
capnsensible said:
On this thread I'm happy to be a heretic and say I enjoy motorboats too. :D

Took a Sunday morning 20 knot spin on a friends Fairline 47. This morning we will go out for a blast on his speedboat.

Back to sailing on Saturday when I'm taking another friend's Beneteau 331 out to watch the start of the next leg of the mini globe.
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Don’t understand the conflict people get into about motor boating and sailing.Properly kept and managed a motor craft demands almost all the skills of a sailing boat………but thereare some motor powered craft were the owners do not treat the sea and other seafarers with respect,these give motor boating a bad name
 
capnsensible said:
On this thread I'm happy to be a heretic and say I enjoy motorboats too. :D

Took a Sunday morning 20 knot spin on a friends Fairline 47. This morning we will go out for a blast on his speedboat.

Back to sailing on Saturday when I'm taking another friend's Beneteau 331 out to watch the start of the next leg of the mini globe.
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Why not?

If I did win the lottery, I'd have a hard decision whether to stick with sail or go for a mobo. In either case, I think an inside steering position would be a requirement, and, if a mobo, it wouldn't be the steam iron shape that so many have, more a trawler yacht type of thing.
 
My sailing has been something of a stop start affair from childhood until in the late 80s I started to sail with a couple of friends in their yachts ( nothing grand) that lead to a long period of chartering mainly out of SW Cornwall which over the years went from coastal sailing to crossing the Channel first to the Channel Isles then to North Brittany, Scillies, SW Ireland and the Glennans. All that gave me a taste for sailing out of sight of land in a modest way but the big change came when I was seconded to the States for a period and my boss their owned a magnificent Valiant 50 and his brother a beautiful Alden yawl of similar size. I fell in love with American yacht design. But the deciding thing was sailing in the Valiant in the Newport Bermuda race and my boss then asking me to sail it back with two other crew.
I arrived back in the UK and of course a Valiant was beyond, my means but I after a short flirtation with a Sigma 33 ended up with a Vancouver 274 which took me across Biscay and to SW Ireland and eventually the Vancouver 34. I had no regrets buying either of those.
So what kind of sailor was I? One where it could be said that the journey was more important than the destination providing the journey involved more than a day at sea. The feeling of "throwing off the lines" knowing that it would be at least 3 days before you saw land always excited, if that's the word, me and the pleasure and satisfaction arriving at a "distant" foreign port was what kept me sailing. Having said that I have done more of my fair share of coastal cruising being time poor but it wasn't enough or reason to sail, at least not for me.
 
I guess much is down to your attitude of mind.
My young creww think we go racing every week, most of them are dinghy sailors who seldom go out of sight of the club otherwise and think that helming or crewing a 31 footer puts them on a path to fame.
In my mind I'm on a cruise in company with some other racing boats and aim to preserve sails and hardware. The prize is to get back to the bar and lie about our exploits.
We all get our rewards.
 
I am the man in black.

Back to marina this afternoon with our friend Pat. Recent hip replacement so we got him aboard his Alpa to sit in the sun abd give the engine a run.

I like boats... :)
 
flaming said:
I'm going to file that one under "things I'm glad are happening but which I have absolutely zero interest in doing myself!
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Would have been a blast 20 years ago.....:(

Was talking yesterday evening to two chaps heading off for the Windies via Cabo Verdes tomorrow. Nicholson 35. That's a bit more my style these days.
 
Started out dinghy sailing in Wales before I was a teenager. Raced mainly.

Moved south as an 18 year old and started racing "big" boats mainly out of the Hamble.

College course (in the yachting industry) meant 6 months in the industry each summer so 1st one was spent in Marbella driving power boats (Sea Ray, Cigarette, Formula, Wellcraft). Basically either ski or muscle boats. Spent a month on a larger SeaRay 460 doing the Balearics and back. Raced all year round including offshore when back in the UK. Second years work experience was a broker at Deacons Boatyard on the Hamble.

Post college was a broker on the Hamble/Gosport for a year then spent over 5 years selling cruising boats for Northshore. I still raced but cut out the offshore stuff. Racing subsided but did the ARC in 1995 as had always wanted to sail one of the worlds oceans. Also helped deliver a Jongert from Monaco round to Venice.

Basically I was just happy by the water, on boats, taking boats etc.

Moved up North and did very little sailing due to work commitments and then family. Did the odd Dartmouth regatta. Missed being immersed in the boating life.

These days I tend to charter in the Med and sail with friends who have boats on the South Coast. Whilst I would race I am now more interested in a lovely port to hole up in for the night with good food, people and a pub or bar (if possible). I have no interest in doing offshore anymore whether it be racing or an ocean.

Kids have now flown the nest and have more time on my hands again. Getting to an age (almost 57) where a small(ish) sailboat on a nice large protected estuary with plenty of different anchorages and pubs is increasingly attractive.
 
Lots of different kinds of sailors here - perhaps an alternative option for E39mad

- so many different ways people enjoy a relatively sheltered stretch of estuary, mainly with trees not buildings on the horizon - Lots of places can visit in a day sail - As well as ordinary sailing -

Coastal rowing in any weather and club activities with Sonatas - both have many ladies so wife would be made welcome, Cruiser racing, dinghy racing -classics to olympic level, Foiling moths, Kitesurfing, wingfoiling, lots of children at cadet evenings and week, sailing smacks, Thames Barges, gaff dinghies, open water swimming, canoes, paddleboards with dogs, Crabbing, fishing, public trips around the harbour and to the pub up river on an electric ferry, dog walking, beach huts, beach activities, jet skis but not much water skiing now

- or just sitting with a cup of coffee looking at all the water and wildlife

- not including the ships, wind farm boats and RIB safety training to watch - and just over an hour on the train from London - just want the weather to go back to how sunny it seemed to be in the 80's
 
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capnsensible said:
On this thread I'm happy to be a heretic and say I enjoy motorboats too. :D

Took a Sunday morning 20 knot spin on a friends Fairline 47. This morning we will go out for a blast on his speedboat.

Back to sailing on Saturday when I'm taking another friend's Beneteau 331 out to watch the start of the next leg of the mini globe.
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Nothing wrong with motorboats! 😏

Despite growing up in the Peak District (about as far away from the sea as you can get) I always had a love of the sea/water and boats. Perhaps inspired by my Dad’s national service in the RN together with tales of sailing on the Broads and of my Grandad’s experience as crew on a motor yacht owned by the owner of the quarry where he was an engineer (back in the days where leisure boat ownership was the preserve of the very wealthy).

Anyway, first it was Sea Cadets and sailing GP 14s on a local reservoir with school then it was the Navy, where I came to realise that crossing oceans was, for me, to be done in ships and sailing was best done around the coast and cross channel. When funds finally permitted it was motor boats because we like inland as well as coastal and we are now on our sixth boat (seventh if we include ownership of a day sailer (Norfolk Gypsy) for season or two).

Bottom line is that I am equally happy inland, coastal and offshore (on a ship) whether the means of propulsion is an engine or the wind. Just being on or around boats is enough and I can’t imagine being without one. Perhaps oddly, the only thing I never really feel the desire to do is race around cans……perhaps a bit like not wanting to spoil a good walk by playing golf I don’t want to spoil a good sail by racing! 😏
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I started dinghy sailing at 13 yrs old, a friend had an International 14 and one Saturday we cycled to the lake, gusty wind, sailed across the lake, promptly capsized, righted and capsizing 3 times in total. I was hooked, joined the club as a junior member, very cheap, was a crew initially, collected by Skipper with a Graduate, I crewed in the morning race & helmed in the afternoon race, often winning. Crewed for the friend who had an Enterprise in various places, even the Nationals - coming 34th, first sail at sea. In my early 20's with 5 friends built a 46' Wharram catamaran, to sail around the world but never happened as the group broke up.
Eventually I had various boats ending up with my current Moody 33mk2. Mostly sailing East coast and near continent. Scilly Isles, Irish sea & west Scotland on friends boats. Also a delivery trip from French/Spanish border to East coast(got boarded by Border Force in the channel!)
 
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