Hi, everyone!
I shared an introductory post some time ago on the forum, I think back in January of earlier this year — time has flown by! Aside from that, I've been pretty much a lurker on the forum and have enjoyed reading about others' sailing adventures, as well as learning from your sailing questions/advice given — I need all of the help and advice I can get! Though not a complete stranger to sailing, up until earlier this year, fifteen years had passed without a sailboat in my life. That is a long time and that means I have much to re-learn!
You might recall that I had mentioned, in my introductory post, that I purchased a 2021 Com-pac Legacy — well, after the boat arrived (on April 11th, 2021), here in the Midwest from G. Winters Sailing in New Jersey, I finally just splashed SV Sunflower (Sunny!) almost two weeks ago, in mid-July! It was a difficult springtime and early summer, and I encountered lots of obstacles which prevented me from launching Sunny earlier in the season.
It has been a long time coming getting back on the water, specifically in a sailboat, and I'm just over-the-moon excited!!! I have to say, though, that I am also anxious because, well, it has been so long since I last sailed! I would garner sailing is not quite akin to riding a bike — ;-) — meaning that, after 15 years of not riding a bike, you can most likely hop back on a bike and have no issues riding one.. but, with sailing, hmmmmm... it begs the question, am I right?! :-D There are definitely aspects of sailing that feel like 'muscle memory' to me in a sense of the word, but I know that I definitely have to work with a learning curve getting back into the groove — most especially, for reasons of safety. I don't want to overlook anything.
For the sake of chronicling my reunion with sailing aboard my new Com-pac Legacy, I started a sailing blog. I think it will be great for me to look back upon the follies I've made and the adventures I will have had! Who knows, perhaps it might even serve to help others, too, along their own sailing journey.
It is such a very special homecoming for me to have Sunny afloat in the lake that I grew up sailing on some 45+ years ago — so many wonderful memories of sailing on this particular lake and to now be a grown adult with a sailboat of my own there — I cannot even express the tremendous joy that fills my heart and soul! A hearty thanks from a heart full of gratitude to the incredible folks at Com-pac who created the Legacy (as well as all of the other awesome boats that they manufacture) — you have enabled me to make my sailing dreams come true!
Happy sails, everyone!
~ Chelle aka 'Seachelle' Hoch and SV Sunflower (Sunny)
Sail Away With Chelle
https://sailawaywithchelle.wordpress.com/
Happy day with your new boat!
Welcome Chelle! it comes back quickly. We sailed for a decade then life moved us away from sailing. It was 25 years before we returned to it.
Thank you so much, Renae and Mas, for your warm welcomes! It's wonderful to be a part of this forum! Just had my first sail, two days ago, aboard my Com-pac Legacy — WOW! It had been, I think, 2004, since I had last sailed before two days ago, too! I am very impressed with my Legacy — what an incredible little sailboat! Just smitten to pieces with her! In case you might be interested, I wrote about my first sailing experience with my Legacy on my blog: https://sailawaywithchelle.wordpress.com/2021/08/09/sunnys-first-sail/
More to follow, soon, on my next adventure!
Happy sailing, everyone, and thanks so much, again, for welcoming me here!
~ Chelle aka Seachelle and SV Sunny
Welcome Chelle of the sea!
Your blog is fun, refreshing, interesting and I felt like I was on the maiden voyage with you and your husband! The mark of a good writer is she takes the reader along for the ride!
There is something about sailing that touches the soul deeply and we all feel it; we all can't quite find the words to describe it! It is as it should be.
Enjoy the next sail and again, welcome!
Bob23 and Koinoina, a 1985 23 in NJ
Hi, Bob23! Thank you so much for your lovely comments and I am tickled you read the blog post! Heartfelt thanks for checking it out! :) I grew up sailing at the lake where I am with my Legacy, so it's really such a wonderful homecoming to be there after having been away from the lake 30 years! I have so many fond memories of sailing on the lake from when I was a little girl up into early adulthood on my father's sailboats — we had three — our first sailboat was a Venture 22 (now called Mac Gregors, I believe), then after a year or two, my dad bought a Swedish boat designed by Peter Norlin called an Accent 26 — we called her Valhalla — and she is really the boat that stole my heart growing up. By the time I left for college, my dad then bought an Ericson 28, but I didn't get a lot of sail time on her as I was out of state in school, barring summers, but I was working a lot, so didn't get to the lake as often. That all being said, having my Legacy, 'Sunflower' (Sunny), is really something special for me — I feel so blessed! Thanks so much, again, for your kind comments and reading about my first sail with Sunny! Happy Sails!!! :)