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Sweet rig, John! To be honest, climbing in 90 degree weather with 80% humidity is not fun - you are very wise man.

oh yeah, I definitely echo the comments to buy a laser. I meant to say that...

Taking a look at a an Ericson 23 tomorrow. If all checks out (I did some research on specific things to look out for) I am going to pull the trigger. Best thing is the moorage is transferrable and is 1/3 the going rate at other moorages in Seatte ableit at the sacrafice of water/eclectricity.

ExcitibleBoy wrote:So, I am taking 12 months off from mountaineering/alpine climbing to recover from a serious illness.

First of all I'm sorry to hear about you having a serious illness. Hope you're recovering well.

As for sailing that's something I've always been interested in but never got in to. I'd say go for it as long as you promise all your fellow SPers that you won't try to sail around the world after a few months of practice. We'll have another thread moved to Off-route with all the debating as to whether you were old enough, if you had enough experience and whether or not your parents abused you by letting try it at such a young age.

I learned to sail through a community boating program.

We could sail all summer for $200. Best $200 I ever spent. It was all run by volunteers. You meet great people, with bbq's etc. You learn to sail, even race. Great way to pick up a date....

I would check to see if there is a program like that near where you live. Then, after you learn how to sail, you'll see which kind of boat you like. Our program has 9-10 different kinds of boats, all sizes and shapes. I bought two different boats after that. One small dingy (Cape Cod Mercury) and the other is a day sailor called the Cape Cod Sheilds. The Shields is mostly used for racing.

Learning to sail on a lake is great, because the wind will shift on you constantly. Teaches you to be alert!

Well, I did it. I bought a legendary Ericson 23 racer/crusier for dirt cheap with moorage 1/3 cheaper than any other place in the Puget Sound region. A fair amount of defered maintenance to tend to, but should prove to be hours of harmless fun.

You'll be bored with a Laser or a large monohull after a while. If you're looking for excitement, get a catamaran. Every sail is a new adventure. The wife and I on our Hobie 16. You can find really good used ones for under $1000 and there are a million parts out there for the Hobie. That little rooster tail on the second photo is because those things can HAUL ASS across the water. Too much fun....

But where do you sleep when crusining the San Juans?

Yeah. That's cool. I had a run-in with the Authorities today. Eating my lunch on somebodys island. A boat like that you could just hang out. Anchor it. Keep an eye on the weather.

Hey, Excitableboy-
Congrats on your purchase! Sounds like a sweet deal on a swee boat. That Ericson is a fine boat, and I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Wanna take me saling sometime?

Sailing is the wet version of climbing - a great sport! Tilman rocks!

Alan Ellis wrote:... If you're looking for excitement, get a catamaran. ...

I agree with this. Some high school buddies and I built a catamaran and we had a blast with it (in San Diego). Of course, if you want to go bigger ... LOL





Full disclosure: I spent a great week sailing with Scouts at Florida Sea Base.

--mark d.

Mark Doiron wrote:

Alan Ellis wrote:... If you're looking for excitement, get a catamaran. ...

I agree with this. Some high school buddies and I built a catamaran and we had a blast with it (in San Diego). Of course, if you want to go bigger ... LOL





Full disclosure: I spent a great week sailing with Scouts at Florida Sea Base.

--mark d.

Great looking boat that!

I have a 45 ft 1964 kettenburg, I love it. She is sitting pretty in Greece at the moment.