Sensible Small Boat Cruising

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Comment by Orvil Newton on May 25, 2009 at 1:38pm

Aloha e komo mai Ocean Girl. We are cruising in a Vega 27 and agree whole heartedly.

Comment by Ocean Girl on May 24, 2009 at 11:24pm

Just joined this group, love cruising small boats. I have a Cape Dory 30. My previous boats were Pacific Seacraft 25(great pocket cruiser), Ranger 23 (was built as offshore/racer), and a US Yacht 25 ( poor quality, not for offshore, but a fabulous sailor). I have about 20,000 ocean miles delivering sailboats, the largest being a 52 ft Little Harbor and the smallest a Island packet 27. I felt just as safe in the 27 footer than I did in the 52 footer. A lot of people equate the size of the vessel with the safety and I heartily disagree. To me it is good design and construction not size.
My Cape Dory has a 9 foot beam, so she doesn’t have the interior volume that other 30 footer have. she is perfect for me though and that narrow beam means she points like a demon. She needs lots of work before I can go cruising but that is part of the adventure too! Thanks for letting me join your group, I am new to this blogging/forum stuff so I hope ths was the spot to post my Introduction.
Cheers,
Erika

Comment by Richard on April 28, 2009 at 7:36pm

It's official. I was notified today that my Pensionado Visa in Panama was approved and I now have resident's status in the Republic.

Comment by sailorgirlca on April 16, 2009 at 4:39pm

Orville, thank you for providing additional information on living in HI......as you mentioned visiting is far different than living there. It certainly did provide me with a clearer perspective........

Comment by Orvil Newton on April 16, 2009 at 1:04pm

You are welcome johnny. I hope you find the videos and our logs helpful. I added another video to YouTube today and have begun posting them here in chronological order. I have only completed 15, so far, of over 50 video logs of the Pacific Crossing plus a couple of our Pacific Northwest hops. After I complete the Across the Pacific series I will start on the preparation and refit videos.

Comment by johnny on April 16, 2009 at 12:40pm

orville, thanks a lot for your response. i've since watched most if not all of of your sailing videos with a great admiration for you and your wife. i have also purchased the coastal pilot volume 2 and like you advised am finding even more info than expected. i will of course continue to ask questions in hope that i can someday find my way through some off to some great off the coast voyages. johnny

Comment by Orvil Newton on April 14, 2009 at 10:04am

Hi Johnny.

The world is a big place. It depends on where you are. Major population centers typically have strict regulations on shoreline use. Some places have free anchorages or inexpensive moorings available, other places you will have to tie up in a marina. Some places have time or seasonal restrictions. Get charts and pilot books for the area you will be in and ask local mariners.

Comment by johnny on April 14, 2009 at 9:30am

hello all, if you dont mind i would like to start with a question. i have never sailed the ocean and wondered this: 1. i pay to crane my boat in the water,2. i board the boat , ready her for sail and sail away............now......where can i stop and anchor for the night before i sail on? anywhere i feel safe? do i need someones permission? or does the ocean belong to us sailors? thanks in advance for any and all aswers. johnny

Comment by Orvil Newton on April 13, 2009 at 7:14pm

sailorgirlca, As I said, Hawaii is a nice place to visit, has wonderful weather and great sailing conditions but facts are facts. It is not a great place to live, especially for a boater. Hawaii changed over time, as most places do, for economic and political reasons and not for the better. It has been a long time since agriculture has been economically profitable in Hawaii. The change from an agrarian economic base to tourism and military plus the population growth has had a severe negative impact on quality of life in the islands. I saw the changes first hand and no amount of community involvement could have held back the hands of time. I submit that, as an occasional visitor, you could not possibly know what it is like to live and work in Hawaii.

As for my involvement in the community, I served on the US Navy Morale Welfare and Recreation's Hydrofest Board five times, the State of Hawaii Motor Vehicle Repair Board, the Governor's Task Force for Motorcycle Safety, the Hawaii March of Dimes Board and three terms as president and fifteen terms as a voting member of the Hawaii Motorcycle Dealer's Association board of directors. I met frequently with both state legislators and congressman Neil Abercrombie and Senator Dan Inouye and testified numerous times at state legislative hearings on many issues ranging from highway safety to boating and shoreline access.

I enjoyed the time I spent living and working in Honolulu but it was quite different from an extended two-week vacation. The plain fact is there are much more pleasant places to live and to visit and Hawaii is just not the place it was in 1967 when I first visited and decided to move there. Judged solely by it's climate and natural beauty, Hawaii is hard to beat but that, sailorgirlca, is only skin deep.

Comment by sailorgirlca on April 13, 2009 at 2:58pm

seems to me there is much disinformation here about visiting the Hawaiian Islands.........I have visited by plane & look forward to having the opportunity to visiting by boat!!!

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