Sailing again, finally, after 15 years!

[Seachelle]

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/

[Renae]

Happy day with your new boat!

[Mas]

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.

[Seachelle]

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

[Bob23]

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

[Seachelle]

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!!!