jage north

Hi Jage,

Not problem at all---I know the feeling, really! I work at a computer all day long and fully realize what a distraction it can be especially with the all the sailing related stuff I do.

While I've been racing for the past 12 years or so I still have my foot firmly planted on both sides of the fence. I've had the C&C110 now for 3 full summers and do both on it. I take the boys and friends out for Wednesday night beer can racing (breaks up the week very nicely) and will race on a friends boat on the weekend while trying to squeeze in cruising. Have to do that since I run the Cruising Fleet at the yacht club ;-) I wear too many hats sometimes and plan on lightening that load in the near future but it's a lot of fun helping others gain confidence in their sailing skills. IN a couple of weeks I'm holding a single hand sailing seminar spanning everything from crossing Lake Michigan and night sailing to doing blue water trips. Should have a great turnout from what I've been hearing.

The images a pbase.com were shout by a photographer that was photographing the entire regatta. The owner of Halloween flew to the states last summer and did the Chicago-Mac Race with us---thus the invite ;-) Gotta love the the sailing community!

The Grand Canyon images are from the second trip I made there and would go back in a heart beat. It's such an extraordinary place: the scenery and the hiking are just great. I had a hard time concentrating on the hike part because I wanted to keep looking around at the changing landscape, lighting, and weather. I'm not sure how old your daughter is but there is a little known program where you can sign up to explore the canyon with any number of scientists and researchers. For instance if you're interested in geology, you can go with a geologist, help him/her with their research and rap[ell down the canyon walls. Or maybe you're into studying wolves, etc. I've always thought the rafting trip is a bucket list trip.

More...

Darn limits on characters . . .

You see the thing about skiing is that you may just need a little more practice ;-) but I can see the conflict especially if you're living in warmer climates where the sailing season is longer. In my case I had an advantage since my mom started me when I was 4 and I've never looked back. Sailing came a bit later in life and became a great compliment to my winter addiction. Or maybe it's my Scandinavian heritage.

I'm a believer in longer is faster and safer so I lean towards the 40 something size. At first it feels like a lot of boat but properly rigged is easily handled. Bob Perry and Steve Dashew are big influences in that area. I've cruised and raced my 36ft boat by myself and aside from setting it up for solo, anticipation is the next important element, leaving a bit more time to do things and planning out your moves. One thing I've also learned is that a big boat isn't necessarily a maintenance headache---it's the systems that are, so keeping them simple and not loading up on things you can live without is the key. A manageable sail plan can be the hardest thing to work out but in general the less stuff to fix and buy parts for, more time you can enjoy what you're doing. One big issue are the electrical systems on American boats brought to Europe. It might be better to buy on in Europe to avoid the issue all together. I once looked into doing it the other way and it was more trouble tan it was worth.

Anyway, there are a lot of Endeavour 42s out there being cruised by a couple. Not that I'm a proponent of the E42 but it's an example. A J-Boat isn't what I'd like to cruise in either and agree on the construction. They are a tad expensive really more for coastal work. Passport, Gulfstar, and if you look Hylas can represent good values (ie: under $130k) and would be where I would start my research. Sceptre, Valiant, Tayana are great but a bit pricey. A deck salon if it's well designed and laid out for cruising.

To the dream!