Sailing

Great post, 09, particularly about the roots of sailing.

I too love sailing, have done a fair bit over the years living here on LI sound shore. Owned a couple 16' sailboats. Over time and age, less and simpler and lighter gear/hobbies have taken precedence so now i'm into ultra low tech, low maintenance , low weight paddle boards. But when I see 14' Hobie cats zipping over the water on a windy day, it makes a fella wonder ;)
 
I've got a little one-person racer that hasn't seen the water yet. Need a dry suit, and transom repair.

Water is might cold here. I was cold in the slightly heated saltwater pool, last night, where I still sink. Terribly insulated.
 
If you're good at sailing, you don't get wet. I could tip my sailfish and right it again without touching the water.
 
I'm a rookie, and the water here is frigid.

I met, before the fact, another poorly-insulated guy who didn't survive a canoe-tip in Lake Ozette, IIRC, on the Olympic Peninsula. Water is about 48-50*.

I'm nowhere close to calling my self good. I basically watched one day, and tacted the next, on a Hobie on Lake Tahoe. Luckily, I figured it out.
 
Sailing, my hubby designed and built a 57' three masted schooner...long story short I've done a LOT of sailing, several ocean crossings, lots of cruising, Tall Ships races...
I grew up going to sailing camp every summer.
Loved sailing, even the bad trips had some redeeming times when you look back on them.
 
Here is a picture, the schooner SV/RV 'Christian Venturer' taken in 1984 either just before or just after the Bermuda-Halifax Tall Ship's race...full sail only two on board :)
He built her in 1976, launched her in 1977, and we sold her in 2002. Many, many adventures and memories. She was home and business, Bobby was (is) a deep water fisherman and researcher, waterman, seaman extraordinaire.
She is 'airex' foam core fibreglass, still sailing well today.
That's Bob on the foredeck (I recognize his legs lol) and me at the helm.
 

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https://www.tetongravity.com/story/surf/video-kai-lenny-is-up-to-more-weird-hydrofoil-stuff

Follow this guy on Insta. This is the kind of sailing I want to do. I just love this so much. He does a lot with kites.

I used a kite (a big kids kite) to pull me the other day on my canoe. I learned it was not great to go directly down wind either because the kite would fall if it wasn't able to pull on the boat, so I had to zig zag down wind in order to hold the kite in the sky. I'm not sure if that's the same with a sail boat.
 
Very cool.

Is that as to say that he built it, himself, or had it built?

He co-designed it with a friend, then he built it himself...everything.
Had a friend help with the layup of the hull just because there was so much fibreglassing to do, and you have to move quick smart, pretty much everything else...single handed.
When we replaced the engine, it was just him and me, when we completely re-rigged her, new (second-hand) masts, all new standing rigging, just him and me. When we would slip and paint her, modifiy the keel, just him and me. No money to hire anyone.
 
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That's a beautiful boat! Amazing what ambition and know how can do! How did you pay for her operating? Run charters? Tree work?
 
I can't even fathom the amount of capital or time it would take to build a boat of that size, especially in airex. How long did construction take? Seriously Fiona, that is about the coolest thing ever. I've dreamed of building my own sailboat for years now, and to say i know someone that has done it successfully breathes new life into future goals lol.
 
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