We bought a boat! Then, we bought another one. Very unorthodox, right?
So, we have two thirty-six foot sailboats and zero sailing experience. Not bad for sailing newbies! We’ve gotten over the first hurdle (buying a boat) twice. Our first sailboat, a ketch-rigged Allied Princess needs bottom paint, a motor, and a new stuffing box. It has been on the hard since last year, and because of our hectic schedules, we have put planning our first sailing trip on the back-burner.
A month ago, we acquired another sailboat, a sloop-rigged Islander 36. Fortunately for us, her motor was an easy fix and she’s had a bottom job recently, but she needs to be moved from her present location in a couple of weeks. Although we are newbies, the pressure is on to learn all we can about sailing before we bring her down to Florida from Maryland, which means reading those sailing books I bought when we thought the Allied would be our home this summer.
Now, planning for our first trip (sailing down the East Coast of the United States) and picking out the most vital sailing information is of primary importance. Knowing we are balancing self-preservation with throwing caution to the wind, we are working towards being as prepared as possible in the time we have left. So, for right now, we have stopped watching the videos of people sailing the world having fun in exotic places in favor of a sailing 101 blitz of how-to books and videos.
My Process for Remembering Anything
First, I read a chapter of a sailing book, understanding only 50–80% of it; then, I use YouTube videos to fill in the holes. I have spent the majority of my time reading Sailing for Dummies, Get Real Get Gone, and The New Complete Sailing Manual, in addition to a selection of new and archived Good Old Boat magazines.
Here are the Amazon links to the sailing books I purchased through their site. These books have been the backbone to my self-study.