Boat owners, check in here.

[LateFan]

Pretty sweet.

What job do you get? Is there another topsail that goes between the masts?

[BlackbirdM3]

Pretty sweet.

What job do you get? Is there another topsail that goes between the masts?

Not sure what job I'll have. I don't think they have a fisherman sail, but I could be wrong. Mayan was supposed to be heading down to L.A. on the 11th but something came up and that isn't happening now. I'll likely be a grinder somewhere. I'll be sure to shoot as many pics as I can.

Will

[UNHCLL]

Dad's

Past


Present



Also a 15' Whaler - starboard steer with new Merc 50.

[McGyver]

Looks like I'll be crewing aboard the Schooner Mayan in this year's Master Mariners race on SF bay. The Master Mariners race is one of oldest sailboat races in the US.

That's awesome!

I will likely be moving to the Bay Area in the coming months and really want to get into sailing there, hopefully check out a few boats and try to buy something cheap in the 25-30 foot range.

[BlackbirdM3]

That's awesome!

I will likely be moving to the Bay Area in the coming months and really want to get into sailing there, hopefully check out a few boats and try to buy something cheap in the 25-30 foot range.

Nice. I'm only on the very fringe of the SF sailing scene. I'm trying to find my way further in however. Sailing on the bay can be rough... These shots are from the Schooner race, east of Angel Island.





(note, the horizon sill isn't level in this shot.)




If you can sail the bay, you can sail just about anywhere.

Will

[LateFan]

I had two friends from here go to SF Bay to sail in the Laser Masters Worlds, because they were held in the US that year. They are both very good sailors, way way better than me. It's a week long event.

They were shocked. Huge winds. Giant waves. No rest. Parts on the boat breaking. Half the field was wearing rock climbing helmets to keep from getting knocked out by a wild boom, or when getting thrown in a crash. There were broken limbs and knee injuries.

One day they were waiting to go out and warm up for their race. It was already blowing 25, which is sort of the upper limit for most Laser sailors. The officials held the start back by an hour or two, "so the breeze could fill in." Jeezus.







I think this is 2008 North Americans


They came home with a real respect for SF Bay.

[BlackbirdM3]

During the Schooner race the winds were 8-35 kts... At one point we set a new speed record board Martha, 11.5 kts. That was between Pier 39 and Alcatraz. We had the main reefed, and were considering pull the reef out and running full sail. As we beat our way back upwind east of Angel Island, we had too much sail. We doused the fisherman and continued the rest of the race without it. It was pretty crazy that we were poking along at 8 kts thinking we were going to need more sail, a half hr later we are dropping sail because we have too much.

I don't know that I'd want to sail a Laser out on the main part of the bay. Perhaps of Sausalito or Tiburon, but not on the main part of the bay.

Will

[LateFan]

It was off St Francis west of Alcatraz I think.

[george graves]

So, I've been reading up a lot - trying to read all the forums, when I can squeeze in the time (kinda busy at the moment)...

thehulltruth.com has some great posts, so does cruisersforum.com, sailnet.com and of course youtube. Lots of learning to be had there. Like how to pick up a mooring ball in a tight harbor like Catalina. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJmDUDvz5pQ - I've had to watch that video 2-3 times now. Not sure why.

Current plans are to wait until this fall to buy a boat - Now that the weather is nice, I noticed prices for a used under 30 ft sailboat have almost doubled since I started looking this winter. There's still some deals to be had - but not nearly as much as in the cooler months.

In the mean time - I want to start checking out some local Marinas. I've noticed that not only does their price vary widely, but some seem to have more of a "DIY" spirit to them, and others, not so much. Obviously, I'm an e30 guy, and have been wrenching on things on thinng since I was old enough to hold a wrench.

So I'd love some advice on questions to ask when picking a marina and what to look for. Any advice?

[McGyver]

Nice. I'm only on the very fringe of the SF sailing scene. I'm trying to find my way further in however. Sailing on the bay can be rough... These shots are from the Schooner race, east of Angel Island.

If you can sail the bay, you can sail just about anywhere.

They were shocked. Huge winds. Giant waves. No rest. Parts on the boat breaking. Half the field was wearing rock climbing helmets to keep from getting knocked out by a wild boom, or when getting thrown in a crash. There were broken limbs and knee injuries.

They came home with a real respect for SF Bay.

During the Schooner race the winds were 8-35 kts...

Well that's intimidating, but I guess there will also be calmer days to learn and practice.

For now I am most excited about being so close to so many boats. I'm currently about an hour from the Chesapeake Bay, so it's not easy to drive out there to poke around boats for sale or to join a sailing club.

[LateFan]

In the mean time - I want to start checking out some local Marinas. I've noticed that not only does their price vary widely, but some seem to have more of a "DIY" spirit to them, and others, not so much.

I don't know much about how marina leases work or what to ask. I always liked the gritty hidden places just east of Gasworks park, or under the University Bridge near UW, or along Westlake, or Fremont to Ballard (which is where I lived) - but I have no idea if those are really expensive? You see grimy, dirt-covered boats that haven't moved in years down there.

I know Shilshole (which is City-owned) had a waiting list several years out. Is it more to be on salt water vs the lake? I guess it depends on where you want to get to - head out across the Sound, or sail around Lake Washington. You could go way up to Edmonds or Mukilteo and see if those are any cheaper. Drive time vs sail time.

As house prices have gone through the roof there, has that translated to boat prices too?

[george graves]

Seattle Sailing Club will allow you to rent their 27' C&C's.

I put off looking into sailing clubs (Puget Sounds and Seattle Sailing Club) - assuming it would cost $$$.

They want you to have your ASA 101/103 certificate(that I don't mind getting) but for less then a slip fee at a marina, you have access to a lot of boats for cheap, so....I'm wonder what the catch is!?!?!

[Gerta]

I put off looking into sailing clubs (Puget Sounds and Seattle Sailing Club) - assuming it would cost $$$.

They want you to have your ASA 101/103 certificate(that I don't mind getting) but for less then a slip fee at a marina, you have access to a lot of boats for cheap, so....I'm wonder what the catch is!?!?!

I think the fees are a couple hundred a month. Worth it if you don't have a boat and just want to learn. If you have a boat, then it still may make sense. I don't think that there is a catch. Most people will join CYC if they already know how to sail, but again there is no requirement to do either.

[Gerta]

I don't know much about how marina leases work or what to ask. I always liked the gritty hidden places just east of Gasworks park, or under the University Bridge near UW, or along Westlake, or Fremont to Ballard (which is where I lived) - but I have no idea if those are really expensive? You see grimy, dirt-covered boats that haven't moved in years down there.

I know Shilshole (which is City-owned) had a waiting list several years out. Is it more to be on salt water vs the lake? I guess it depends on where you want to get to - head out across the Sound, or sail around Lake Washington. You could go way up to Edmonds or Mukilteo and see if those are any cheaper. Drive time vs sail time.

As house prices have gone through the roof there, has that translated to boat prices too?

I think boats are a cyclical price ... like 4x4 prices in the winter. As buying heats up in the spring, so do the prices. We bought our boat in Canada, so the dollar exchange rate worked out really favorable.

It seems like all the marina are relatively in the same range and the prices really depend on size of boat. I'm in Edmonds - and it's about 300/mo for my 27 foot boat. I know a guy with a 50' boat in Shilshole that pays 800 or so. Like you said, if you want to drive a ways out, you can find a better deal. For me, if the boat isn't close I wont use it enough.

[BlackbirdM3]

Looks like I'll be crewing aboard the Schooner Mayan in this year's Master Mariners race on SF bay. The Master Mariners race is one of oldest sailboat races in the US.

Here is Mayan taken from the deck of Schooner Martha last year.





Will

Wow! What an awesome day for a sailboat race. On the same note, WTF were people doing out there? Early in the race while rounding the first marker, a Marconi rigged schooner rammed the backstay of a smaller sloop breaking the mast off the sloop and the bowsprit off the schooner. We were well behind the accident, but saw the aftermath of it. Later with 1 marker to go we were approaching on starboard tack when another schooner hit the buoy not once, not twice but three times, causing the boat behind it (also on port tack) to not notice the heavy 60 foot schooner barrelling along with the right of way. Bright Star got themselves untangled from the buoy, we were screaming at the Ketch Pegasus to bear away (they were clear of the buoy but didn't tack and decided to cross us... Hole E Sh!T !!!!!. We tacked away to starboard to avoid a collision with Pegasus and fouled our mainsail boom in the backstay (we couldn't get the main trimmed fast enough) so we did a 360 to get that cleaned up, only to foul the jib in the forestay requiring another 360. Once we got underway again we had a straight run to the finish line on the east side of Treasure Island. We caught and passed Pagasus, and could see the other two boats in our class just ahead. the last mile of the race turned into a drag race for the line. We won by a bowsprit. 2 seconds covered first through 3rd place in the class for the finish.

It was a good day on the bay for us. We sailed well and the boat was fantastic. I'll post pics when I get some done.

Will