Deeper Water

[Bewildered]

I am moving my Eclipse to a slip in San Diego, CA soon.  Even with a draft of 18" the thin waters around Vero Beach, FL are just too shallow for sailing without constant fear of running aground.  Too bad since I purchased and installed a sailboat support system on my backyard boat lift.  I was a sailboat captain in the San Diego area for many years and miss the huge, active sailing scene and amenities San Diego has to offer.  As well as the ample  water depths of the SD Bay and the Pacific.  The boat lift support system is for sale and can be seen in the photos.

[passagesfromtheheart]

Hi, Bewildered!

One of my goals is to get out to San Diego to check out the sailing scene there -- I hear, as you have said, it's fantastic! It can be kind of tough-going for sailors in my area -- not many of us in these parts -- not at all as it used to be back in the 70s and 80s when I grew up sailing here and there were TONS of sailboats. Makes me very sad, the current state of affairs in that light, if I'm being fully honest.

I've been trying to figure out how to lift my Legacy (safely) up off her trailer so that I can work on the underside of the hull. I am looking into these 'trailer lifts' to lift the boat, so yesterday, I called my local "boat store" -- noted on their website as the "premier full-service boat store" in my area -- to see if they might carry something as such. As soon as I mentioned the word "sailboat" -- the service rep's reply was "Oh, sailboat? Ummm, yeah, sorry, I can't help with you that." He further said, "You should try calling someone who sells sailboats." To which I thought...hmmmm...and who might that be in this day and age in these parts? The answer is no one.

The above said, I'd love to get out to (be a part of!) a sailing community IRL one day -- it would be fantastic! On that note, this forum serves as my sailing community and for this, I am tremendously thankful!

Hope the move out west is smooth sailin' -- how soon are you planning on the transition?

[Bewildered]

Chelle,

There was certainly lots more sailboats on the water in the 70s and 80s than we are seeing today. This is especially true on inland sailing venues.  There are certain areas of our country where sailing is still very popular: San Diego is one of them.  Look at any marina here and you will see many sailboats of all types and sizes.  Also, you can go up and down Shelter Island Drive and find virtually any sailboat service you can imagine.  Add to that a remarkable, mild, bug-free climate with abundant sunshine. Prevailing west by northwest winds that are typically between 8 and 15 knots are fairly routine. I am not moving to San Diego as this has been my primary home for the last 16 years working as a sailboat captain and sailing instructor etc.on different boats for various companies. Unfortunately, our choice of a second home in Vero Beach, while a lovely little community, is not a good place to sail. I bought the Eclipse here and restored it over the last year. I look forward to getting it to SD and sailing the heck out of it! I attached two photos of San Diego Bay sailing sights. The sailboat was one I operated for a local company circa 2016. The other is iconic Point Loma with the lighthouse barely discernible on top of the hill.

/Users/michalto/Desktop/IMG_0755.JPG

[crazycarl]

Sailing is big here in Oriental, NC. It's the "Sailing Capital of North Carolina". There are over 3,000 sailboats registered in a town of 900. Sailors as far away as Raleigh berth their boats here. Drive over the bridge into New Bern and you'll see mostly sailboats at the marinas. Great sailing waters is why I retired here.

[Bewildered]

I hope to visit Oriental someday.  It sounds like a lovely place.  Anywhere with that many sailboats has got to have lots going for it.