Having the seamanship to rig a fothering sail or collision
mat (and having that made up ahead of time) is the way to avoid
stress. It's the stuff that happens on the sunny, light air days that
can get you...not necessarily the survival storm drama.

bull****, from a dock dweller. ignore.

Having the seamanship to rig a fothering sail or collision
mat (and having that made up ahead of time) is the way to avoid
stress. It's the stuff that happens on the sunny, light air days that
can get you...not necessarily the survival storm drama.

bull****, from a dock dweller. ignore.

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 11:53:00 -0600, "Wendy"
wrote:

Right then- would like to do some single-handing now and again, I am pretty
fit (rock climber), barring 60' seas I doubt I'd fall off, and I probably
have a year or so to find what I want.

Well, then, certain attributes suggest themselves: lines *already* led
back to the cockpit--maybe even a center cockpit, which is arguably
better for women due to the better visibility (I assume you aren't six
feet tall or better...), current autopilot thrown in or provision for
same...a windvane is a bonus, seeing as a single-handed ocean sailor
would want one...Having a year is great...as you will want to check
out a lot of boats. Read The Saga of Skip Gundlach in these archives,
as he is on a very similar mission except he needs a bigger boat
because he is the world's tallest freestanding sailor G



I have loads of experience on the water, just not much fooling around with
sails. I've all the documents rounded up to sit for the USCG 100-ton
license, I've just not gotten around to doing it.

I would suggest it then for purely insurance-related reasons, and
delivery skipper is a good way to "try before you buy", when you think
about it. As for sail changes, join a club race crew on a 35-40 foo
boat. Work the foredeck. Oh, the sails you'll see!

The transatlantic
delivery idea is a good one, but not terribly practical at this point in
time. I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand, though.

Even a Newport-BVIs-USVIs would do it...just enough to get a feel for
proper offshore weather and waves.



I am more interested in the former, obviously I'm not averse to a bit of
work, but I decidedly do not want a project. Boats are enough work as it
is.

Yes, that's true enough. But a lot of otder boats, if well-maintained,
are simple enough because they simply don't have a great deal on board
to go wrong. Fewer thru-hulls, fewer electronics. no elaborate
fridges, bidets, or air-conditioning...it all equals less to break.



I'll google up the saga. I've been doing a bit of flying and, as
problematic as the broken-down boat can be, I can't imagine the situation
would be as dire as an aviation-related failure. I can deal with stress

Well, I was thinking along the lines of "hitting a container while
asleep". Having the seamanship to rig a fothering sail or collision
mat (and having that made up ahead of time) is the way to avoid
stress. It's the stuff that happens on the sunny, light air days that
can get you...not necessarily the survival storm drama.

Good points, all of them- thanks for taking the time to write them.

My pleasure. I hope to be where Skip is and where you are
going...long-term cruising...and I follow these processes avidly.

R.

wrote in message
...
You are going to get a lot of advice here. I will withhold my valuable
(in other words, free) opinion until I know more about your plans. Are
you single-handing for instance? Are you fit? Are you able to go on a
foredeck in a storm and not fall off? Do you have lots of time or a
schedule? Fast or safe or both (that's the most expensive!)
Stuff like that.

Right then- would like to do some single-handing now and again, I am pretty
fit (rock climber), barring 60' seas I doubt I'd fall off, and I probably
have a year or so to find what I want.

You have more sailing experience than a lot of people if you've crewed
for a year. I would suggest that the best course you could take is to
offer to crew on a transatlantic delivery in return for instruction
and practical experience. In conjunction with this I would encourage
you to take some sort of professionally recognized sailing competency
certification such as the "Six Pack" from the U.S. Coast Guard or the
"Yachtmaster" courses in the UK from the Royal Yachting Association.

I have loads of experience on the water, just not much fooling around with
sails. I've all the documents rounded up to sit for the USCG 100-ton
license, I've just not gotten around to doing it. The transatlantic
delivery idea is a good one, but not terribly practical at this point in
time. I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand, though.

The good news is that there are a lot of unfashionable (narrow, dark,
overbuilt, no wet bar) old boats that are very suitable for offshore
work, can be altered cheaply and bought for a song because everyone
wants a big-arsed Beneteau to impress the yachtie crowd.

I am more interested in the former, obviously I'm not averse to a bit of
work, but I decidedly do not want a project. Boats are enough work as it
is.

Your mileage may vary. The best scenario, quite frankly, is getting
the boat of some fastidious perfectionist who died putting the latest
bulletproof roller-furling on his immaculately maintained old 36
footer, leaving a wife who hated sailing and just wants to get rid of
the thing.

One can dream

Skip Gundlach's saga on this list will inform you mightily. It's worth
it to take the time necessary to decide, because a thousand miles
offshore, there's no tow truck, is there? G

I'll google up the saga. I've been doing a bit of flying and, as
problematic as the broken-down boat can be, I can't imagine the situation
would be as dire as an aviation-related failure. I can deal with stress

Good points, all of them- thanks for taking the time to write them.

Wendy

hey eh dude, she is not qualified for a "Six-Pack" license. Not enough time.
Besides, a six pack license is as impressive to most sailors as a Crackjack
ring.

In addition, I have never personally known any sailor who took any sailing
course from anyone, though I have known quite a few sailors who *taught*
sailing courses. Sailing is the best, and cheapest, instruction there is.

Wendy, if you want to do more crewing and a bit offshore (usually no great
shakes) list yourself free on 7knots.com "crew available", save the URL and
send the URL out to anyone expressing a need for crew. It is probably the best
site there is (I have picked up a number of crew ops from there and had to turn
down a number more). Be aware that as a woman who wishes to sail you are in
short supply. Most of the women I have talked to re sailing found this to be
interesting, though of course one or two thought this terrible. I can not
speak for others, but I personally would not take a just-met woman onboard for
an extended passage if there were to be just me and her (some weird women out
there who can be hard to get along with, I assume the same is true of men from
a woman's point of view) but would not feel uncomfortable if there were several
crew onboard. A "captain" always looking for crew and with a bad rep both as a
sailor (justified, he is horse****) and as a scumbag with women is Captain
Jerry Eden, someone to stay away from (the Coast Guard contacted me regarding
various claims said "captain" may have made regarding having a Masters
License). As far as pickup crew goes, I have had only one bad crewing
experience myself, and I walked off a boat owners boat (not a delivery boat)
before it sailed (the boat sunk a few a couple weeks later, the other crew
having walked off as well, with new crew added).

Just my experience (meaning others may have had a totally different experience)
is that only and 1/2 of cruising boats (moving down the ICW) had couples
aboard, while about 25% had 2 or 3 guys aboard, presummably a guy pressed a
buddy or two into helping him move the boat (though some could have been
couples as well), and the last 25% were solo men (never saw a solo woman). The
solo men tended to have smaller boats (easier to handle, less costly to own)
and most were more than eager to say Hello to a woman, there simply weren't
enough women around. Some of the solo guys in big and fancy boats almost
seemed to be trolling in much the same way a 45 year old guy sometimes might
buy a Corvette to troll for chickies. And, like the guy in the Corvette,
seemed to sometimes get a bite.

Wendy, very good luck to you and fair winds.

"Wendy"
wrote:
I know
Westsail is a definite possibility, but what other boats should I consider
based on my plans and price range?

You are going to get a lot of advice here. I will withhold my valuable
(in other words, free) opinion until I know more about your plans. Are
you single-handing for instance? Are you fit? Are you able to go on a
foredeck in a storm and not fall off? Do you have lots of time or a
schedule? Fast or safe or both (that's the most expensive!)
Stuff like that.

I do not have a lot of sailing experience- some time on 30' Catalinas and a
Hobie Cat. I crewed on a 90' motor yacht in the Caribbean for a year and
also ran 40-50 foot dive boats out of a resort for another couple years, so
the basics of boat operations and upkeep etc are no mystery to me (I know
what I'm getting into here, and must admit that I am wondering about my
sanity

You have more sailing experience than a lot of people if you've crewed
for a year. I would suggest that the best course you could take is to
offer to crew on a transatlantic delivery in return for instruction
and practical experience. In conjunction with this I would encourage
you to take some sort of professionally recognized sailing competency
certification such as the "Six Pack" from the U.S. Coast Guard or the
"Yachtmaster" courses in the UK from the Royal Yachting Association.

Those bits of paper will make you desirable crew, which will inform
you directly as to what is desirable in an offshore cruiser. On your
off-watch, you can read the Smeetons, the Hiscocks, the Pardeys, Hal
Roth, Don Street and a few others from the last 40 years or so who did
things the hard way in ocean cruising so you don't have to. With the
exception of GPS/EPIRBs, hardly any of the "improvements" that will
make your journey a safe and pleasant one are particularly new or
involve electronics.

The good news is that there are a lot of unfashionable (narrow, dark,
overbuilt, no wet bar) old boats that are very suitable for offshore
work, can be altered cheaply and bought for a song because everyone
wants a big-arsed Beneteau to impress the yachtie crowd. There are
some excellent ocean going cruisers made today, but not at your price
point, and most of them are not the "popular" names. An example of a
"good old boat" is the Westsail 32 "Satori". You could look that up
and learn how a well-made boat can survive even a "Perfect Storm".
It's not like the movie had things, by the way.

Your mileage may vary. The best scenario, quite frankly, is getting
the boat of some fastidious perfectionist who died putting the latest
bulletproof roller-furling on his immaculately maintained old 36
footer, leaving a wife who hated sailing and just wants to get rid of
the thing.

Skip Gundlach's saga on this list will inform you mightily. It's worth
it to take the time necessary to decide, because a thousand miles
offshore, there's no tow truck, is there? G

Good luck,

R.

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
hey eh dude, she is not qualified for a "Six-Pack" license. Not enough
time.
Besides, a six pack license is as impressive to most sailors as a
Crackjack
ring.

Well, there is three and half more years of floating around in the US Navy.
I'm trying to forget that But the time counts; it and my time on the
90-footer are what qualifies me for the 100-ton ticket (unless they changed
the rules; I left the Caribbean in '96).

Wendy, very good luck to you and fair winds.

You gave very good advice; sincere thanks for taking the time to reply!

Wendy

Wendy, you have more seatime than I thought, but as I recall for a 100 ton
license you need 90 (?), 100 (?) days at sea in last year (?) or two (?) or
three (?). You also have to have it documented (notarized ?) if it is not your
boat. (I checked to see if I qualified for whatever license a bit ago [would
cost me about $500 to take six pack tests/etc, and utterly without value I
found out]. It seems I probably could legimately take the 100 ton tests
without ficitionalizing my experience, but again found that other than driving
a water taxi it didnt seem like I would gain much).

Again, Good Luck.

hey eh dude, she is not qualified for a "Six-Pack" license. Not enough
time.
Besides, a six pack license is as impressive to most sailors as a
Crackjack
ring.

Well, there is three and half more years of floating around in the US Navy.
I'm trying to forget that But the time counts; it and my time on the
90-footer are what qualifies me for the 100-ton ticket (unless they changed
the rules; I left the Caribbean in '96).

Wendy, very good luck to you and fair winds.

You gave very good advice; sincere thanks for taking the time to reply!

Wendy

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
Wendy, you have more seatime than I thought, but as I recall for a 100 ton
license you need 90 (?), 100 (?) days at sea in last year (?) or two (?)
or
three (?). You also have to have it documented (notarized ?) if it is not
your
boat. (I checked to see if I qualified for whatever license a bit ago
[would
cost me about $500 to take six pack tests/etc, and utterly without value I
found out]. It seems I probably could legimately take the 100 ton tests
without ficitionalizing my experience, but again found that other than
driving
a water taxi it didnt seem like I would gain much).

I am sure there are some currency requirements and I would not meet them
now. I don't want to do this professionally anyway- been there, done that,
and didn't care for it (see other post). The FAA has me jumping through
enough hoops as it is- no more federal licenses for me, thanks

Wendy

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
Wendy, you have more seatime than I thought, but as I recall for a 100 ton
license you need 90 (?), 100 (?) days at sea in last year (?) or two (?)
or
three (?). You also have to have it documented (notarized ?) if it is not
your
boat. (I checked to see if I qualified for whatever license a bit ago
[would
cost me about $500 to take six pack tests/etc, and utterly without value I
found out]. It seems I probably could legimately take the 100 ton tests
without ficitionalizing my experience, but again found that other than
driving
a water taxi it didnt seem like I would gain much).

I am sure there are some currency requirements and I would not meet them
now. I don't want to do this professionally anyway- been there, done that,
and didn't care for it (see other post). The FAA has me jumping through
enough hoops as it is- no more federal licenses for me, thanks

Wendy

Wendy, you have more seatime than I thought, but as I recall for a 100 ton
license you need 90 (?), 100 (?) days at sea in last year (?) or two (?) or
three (?). You also have to have it documented (notarized ?) if it is not your
boat. (I checked to see if I qualified for whatever license a bit ago [would
cost me about $500 to take six pack tests/etc, and utterly without value I
found out]. It seems I probably could legimately take the 100 ton tests
without ficitionalizing my experience, but again found that other than driving
a water taxi it didnt seem like I would gain much).

Again, Good Luck.

hey eh dude, she is not qualified for a "Six-Pack" license. Not enough
time.
Besides, a six pack license is as impressive to most sailors as a
Crackjack
ring.

Well, there is three and half more years of floating around in the US Navy.
I'm trying to forget that But the time counts; it and my time on the
90-footer are what qualifies me for the 100-ton ticket (unless they changed
the rules; I left the Caribbean in '96).

Wendy, very good luck to you and fair winds.

You gave very good advice; sincere thanks for taking the time to reply!

Wendy