On 2008-11-24 08:27:16 -0500, " said:

I figured I would keep land in sight and hop from port to port every
evening and not even try to play in bad weather, but this is why I'm
here to learn, On a lake I'm sure I would have no trouble but I really
hope to be able to do a coastal trip.

Running down the coast's fine, but there's some mighty interesting
stuff to see and do on the ICW and it's a whole lot less demanding. At
least the first time, with a new boat of unknown qualities, I'd take it
easy until I had a better understanding of the strengths and weakness
of the boat and crew.

Friend of mine went out on a daysail with us on our previous boat, his
first time on a sailboat. A few weeks later, he purchased a 26' no-name
of dubious quality, not well maintained and on the hard for a long
time. A less-experienced (!) other friend and he took it out for a
daysail. Well, they *would* have if they hadn't gone aground in the
harbor. (to be charitable, that's not tough in Rock Hall.) The next
weekend, the two of them set off the 150 or so nm to Norfolk where the
extra crewman hitched a ride back home. Said friend eventually got to
the Keys via the ICW, stayed some months, then ran out of money and
hitched home to feed the kitty. Unluckily, he died before he could get
back to her.

Now, while it might not sound like it, this was a bright guy who well
understood there were volumes he didn't know that he didn't know.
Didn't push (much) past his capabilities, read, talked, asked
questions, listened, and learned. Seemed pretty competent upon his
return. Shame he didn't take care of the diabetes (the second of my
childhood friends to die from JD.)

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/