Will The Dream Come True?

[Julie Moriarty]

The year was 1970. My dad's friend invited me on his sailboat, a 1936 Alden 44. The moment I stepped on deck, I was in love. I told myself I would one day own my own sailboat. But as time went on, with kids, a house and everything else sapping up whatever money I made, I finally conceded I will have to wait til another life.

Then my SO stepped in and helped make it happen, that is, depending on how the survey goes. The boat, a 1986 Aloha 32, has been perfectly maintained and it's got all the bells and whistles, with the exception of some older electronics. Monday is the survey. This is a picture of the boat. I still can't believe it.

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[Aaron Rosenthal]

Woo Hoo! Good on your SO.
I've never had the ambition to own a boat, although I live in one of the most sailable areas of the world. But just having a dream realized is a wonderful feeling.
What a wonderful, caring gesture.

[Frederick Skelly]

I guess a "survey" is a pre-purchase inspection?
I hope it goes well and you get the boat! That would make the move to Florida all worthwhile.
Best of luck.
Fred

[Kev Williams]

Been a boater most of my adult life, own 4 of the things right now, however, I've never owned a sailboat. Those things require a different type of person than me - which is to say, I'm an old gearhead who loves everything engines, and I lack the patience needed to be a sailboater. But whether your vessel is pushed by a propeller or the free wind, what comes along for the ride is a profound disconnect from the rest of the world that's hard to describe, almost magical. Just looking at the pic above calms my nerves

Good luck with the survey, don't forget the champagne for the maiden voyage... respect Mother Nature, enjoy the ride, feel the magic, have fun

[Nike Nihiser]

You know what they say.... "the 2 happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day they bought their boat and the day they sold their boat" Good luck, have fun

[michael langman]

Their i s nothing like being on the water in the ocean. And a sailboat puts you in a personal relationship with your surroundings. Good luck tomorrow with the inspection.

[Bob Glenn]

Good to hear today is the "first" day. Enjoy.

[Lee Schierer]

I give sailing lessons.....I hope the survey goes well.

[Tom M King]

Congratulations! I've raced everything from boards, to big boats, but other than delivering other peoples' racing boats up, and down the East coast, I've never been much of a cruiser. My BIL, and my Wife's Sister love it though.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Congratulations. There is something in me that must be on the water regularly. My grandfathers on both sides were navy men. Grandfather Schweizer was a world-class boatbuilder. Must be in the blood.

[Tom M King]

Looks like it's really well equipped already! Does it have a wheel, or a tiller? I have so much tiller time that I'm faster with a tiller than a wheel.

[Jim Becker]

Wow....not only are you likely going to live your dream, you clearly found a really nice conveyance to do it! That's a beautiful looking vessel. No worries on things like dated electronics. That kind of thing can be dealt with as money allows. In the mean time, you'll be happier than an octopus in a well stocked reef!

[Julie Moriarty]

Well, thank you all! All this good will kind of makes this a little more real.

I'm still trying to grasp actually saying, "my boat". I've been lucky enough to do a lot of sailing but it's never been on "my boat". But to be honest, I'm a bit nervous. Not the sailing part, I've cruised thousands of miles on a sailboat. It's worrying something will happen to it that makes me nervous.

Frederick - Yes, the survey is a pre-purchase inspection. When buying a boat it's Caveat Emptor in every sense of the meaning.

Kev - Since you're a gearhead, you may be surprised just how cool it is putting those mechanical skills to work tuning the sails to perfection. The principles that govern flying apply to sailing, both above and below the water. It's pretty cool.

Michael - I couldn't agree with you more! You took the words right out of my mouth.

Malcolm - I'm the same way. Something about the water that just seems right.

Tom - It's a wheel. I was "raised" on wheel steering but I have done tiller steering and it is fun! As for the wheel on this boat - it's teak. For real.

For anyone interested, here's the listing

[Tom M King]

Looks like it's about ready to go around the world!

I spent so much time in a Laser, with mainsheet in one hand, and tiller in the other, that it's natural to me. Any stalling of the rudder is slow, and I never sailed a boat with a wheel where I could feel that.

I was helping some friends sail a 50 footer from Ct. down to Annapolis. It wasn't 50 feet long, but held that rating in whatever the ocean racing classes were back then in the early '90's. We had sailed it down Long Island Sound, and motored through NYC. (another long sailing story) Anyway, as we sailed out, and turned down the coast of New Jersey, it was my time to take the tiller. This was sometime in the early Spring, and it was blowing 28 from the SW, so we were on a close reach.

We were supposed to be using delivery sails, but the guys had raised the good ones. With the wind coming off the shore, we were staying close enough to the shore for the waves to not be so big (but still big enough to be taking water on the bow at the bottom of the wave, but far enough out so the wind was steady-still in green water, and not quite far enough out to be in blue water.

I had steered for a couple of hours, and had gotten a good feel for it. Going up a wave, I do a couple of little bumps of the tiller to keep the rudder from stalling, and going down the other side, I'd do a little pull-pull. This had gotten so monotonous, and it had been a long night the night before, that I fell asleep.

The other guys said I had been steering like that for about 20 minutes before they decided to wake me up to see if I was alright. They had taken some video of me steering, and back and forth to the knot meter. After that, they always said that I was a half knot faster, in my sleep, than anyone else was awake. None of them had been Laser sailors, but always just big boat sailors.

I can't do that with a wheel.

I have some other good sailing stories too, like sailing 85 miles one day from Maui to Oahu after the Hobie 17 Worlds that year. That was my most memorable sailing day, but another long story.

If you are fearless, and weigh around 105 pounds, I'm actually looking for a crew for the Hobie 16 Worlds this year, since it's in the U.S. My Wife doesn't think she wants to go. We haven't raced much since we raced a Hobie 21 in the Prosail series back in the 1980's, but still do a fair amount of sailing.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Boat : A hole in the water, surrounded by metal, wood ,fiberglass, or concrete, into which the owner pours money. Our boat has developed an allergy to water, we can't get to go in any more. One thing to budget is NEW batteries EVERY year. AAA doesn't make calls out on the water. Wear life jackets at all times. Of the over fifty people who have drowned in local lakes in the last ten years, none were wearing a life jacket. Our rule was, unless the boat was tied up, or beached, EVERYONE had to have on a life jacket. I've had guest say they were too restrictive of movement. I would answer, yeah, but not as much as a casket.