A couple of weeks ago my neighbor across the street dry-docked a couple of lido class dinghies in his driveway. Since then I've been obsessing about acquiring a boat. After learning about a simple construction method called stitch and glue I've even been considering building one. There may even be the possibility of building one with some kids at school. Given the current state of the economy, there are also lots of people selling boats for very cheap, so I could always just buy one.
The downside is that the boating around here is terrible. I can drive 45 minutes to Newport harbor for harbor cruising in a small boat, but if that was a valid option I would just join the UCI sailing club, which I was part of while at UCI. But just like we didn't drive up to Rimrock Lake for an hour or two of sailing except on rare occasion, I'm not willing to drive an hour and half round trip for an hour or two of sailing. Dana point harbor is too small to be cruised in, and most dinghies just don't handle swell and chop very well. I could get a larger boat, but then I have to deal with the $300+ slip fee each month, and the sailing is still pretty lame. There are no coves or anchorages to explore. The options are basically to go out and sail back and forth for a while along the coast, or take a weekend trip to Catalina. That's it. Sure, Rimrock sailing was pretty repetitive, but the wind was great, and we had the land at the boat club to run around on, so it was more like an outdoor adventure. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the lake as much if every time the recreation involved driving to the lake, sailing up and down the lake for a couple of hours, and then driving home.
The good news is that my neighbor has offered to take me out sailing, and this was before he knew I was familiar with Lidos, and I also found a guy on Craig's List who was looking for people to crew for him so he didn't have to single hand the boat. He tries to get out a couple of times a week, so I'm tentatively set up to go out with him on Wednesday.
3 comments:
The simple solution to your quandary? DC! The Chesapeake bay is a mere 25 miles away with some of the best sailing in the nation. While slip fees are still fairly high, the sailing is supposed to be fantastic. Now if I could just convince Leigh...
The other option is harbor sailing, of which there is quite a bit around here on the Potomac.
Oh Fun!!! Sometime I want to sail on the river. I'm trying to find a place to charter a boat.
The Chesapeake has been on my radar for years. It's why I think there is a good chance of me ending up back east.
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