What brought you to sailing?

[HankD]

I'm not sure if this has been done before but I would be very interested in hearing everyone's stories as to how they got into sailing. My suspicion is that most people started sailing as kids with a parent/uncle/whatever. My story is honestly a bit of a mystery and I'll be happy to share it if anyone is interested.

[Guest LeeH]

I was brought up in the 50s in canoes and a sailing pram my dad built. One of his pals was a bigtime Snipe racer who later became a Flying Scot dealer, so we sailed with them a lot. Sailing is almost like a virus or something - it gets in your blood. Most folk just don't get it. As long as they keep their stink boats and jetskis away from me, that's okay.

[Konrad]

About 15 yrs ago, my wife and I were in Denver visiting relatives.  We were at the Museum of Natural History, and they had an IMAX theater.  We bought tickets and went in.  It was a show on the ocean or Hawaii or some such thing.  

During the film, there was about a 15 second slow-motion clip of two people double-trapped on a beach cat somewhere in clear blue water.  And suddenly, at that moment, I achieved complete clarity.  I sat there in that IMAX watching that cliip, gripping the arm rests, and all I could think was, "I must do this.."  The voice of had God spoken, and I would answer the call.  I did not choose sailing.  Sailing chose me.

Less than a month later, back home, I had purchased my first (of several) Hobie 16's, Nacra's, etc.  And the rest is history.

(How's that for drama?)  

[ChrisObee]

I started with an interest in wooden ships.  Sailing came out of that.  I decided it would be cool to learn how to sail.  So I needed a boat, now I'm building one.  You read one hornblower novel and you're hooked for life. 

[PAR]

With me it was the witness protection agency . . .

[HankD]

Hahahaha @ PAR.

When I was 17 I suddenly took an interest in sailing...I honestly can't remember why. I grew up on the water in various types of boats but no one in my family sailed and I had never so much as stepped foot into a sailboat. My interest in sailing lead me to the journal of one man that worked for NASA during the Apollo missions until they shut them down. He then wrote a word processor for his mac that Apple bought from him. After that he bought a 30ish foot sailboat and took off all around the world keeping a journal as he went. I wish I could find this journal again if anyone has any idea what I'm talking about let me know.

Ever since then I've been hooked on building boats, sailing, and generally driving my wife crazy talking about it all. I can't remember what exactly drew me in but I will say that after 100 million viewings of "The Endless Summer" and "The Endless Summer 2" I think I decided since the waves on the gulf coast are too crappy to surf most of the year I better find something else to do. I started building boats when I was 19 and I just can't seem to stop (much to my wife's dismay).

[lbrewer]

I have been in and around and building at boats most of my life but had not actually sailed till about 25 years ago.  A coworker asked me to crew for him during the Dauphin Island regatta despite the fact that I hadn't sailed before.  A week later I owned the boat we were sailing. 

[Tom Lathrop]

Konrad,

I sent you a PM.

[Bikermouse]

When I was young, I wanted to be a pilot, like the guy in "Tales of the Gold Monkey".  I was going to get a Grumman Goose and live a freelance flyer's life in the south Pacific.  Then I was diagnosed with diabetes and found out that it would be impossible to get a pilot's license.

When I was 18, I was homeless.  I worked and lived at the Fun Zone on the Balboa Peninsula, and also worked part-time cleaning the rental yachts at (I think) Newport Boat Rentals.  Spending that much time up close with the complex simplicity of sailboats, I started to fall in love with the machinery involved, but never got to do more than occasional line handling.  The owner told me that if I stayed working for him till the next summer, he'd let me crew and I could eventually earn my Captain's license.  I was homeless, young, and relatively dumb though, so I was unable to stay there that long.

Still, I was always attracted to the idea of sailing.  I think a lot of it was a personal confidence that I could do something more difficult than most could.  As someone once told me, "When you see a man sailing, you know that he knows his boat.  He knows the wind and the water.  He knows what they want to do, and he knows what he wants to do, and he knows how to find the best compromise between them to get where he wants to go.  When you see someone driving a motorboat, on the other hand, you know he's at least sober enough to find the start button."

Motor boating didn't seem like much of a challenge (all evidence of Duffy renters notwithstanding), in much the same way that I feel a lot more pride in maneuvering a motorcycle in difficult conditions than I do in cranking up the AC and the radio in a car.

Finally, just a couple of years ago, I visited the Mariner's Museum during a vacation to Virginia, and the small craft exhibit reminded me of those long-abandoned dreams of learning  to prove that I could sail.  I took some classes at the OCC School of Sailing and Seamanship, and I've been hooked since.  My wife got hooked too, and that has strengthened my marriage as an extra bonus!

Now I really enjoy the feeling that G-d has granted me these skills, and He and I have to work together to make that sailboat go where I want it to, so that's an interesting theological exercise as well.  I wonder where all of this will end up?

[JeffM]

Sailed Snark (styro) and Dad's Sunfish as pre-teen and teen, giving it up during college.  Gentle sort of mid-life crisis re-ignited interest: visited Old Mystic Seaport, joined boat club, felt limited and wanted own boat, became fascinated by Sea Pearl "low resistance sailing," scared off by price, lured by Web siren song of "you can build a better boat than you could buy," then happened upon Graham Byrnes' Core Sound.  Beatrice gave whole-hearted endorsement, bless her!  The rest is history.