I had a great sailing buddy who said "you can judge a sailor by his ability
to fix what breaks and not die".
You REALLY get an understanding of that when you get stuck in a storm and
something breaks.....
It adds a new level of terror that i probably shouldn't have experienced so
many times in my short life : )

36hours in an extremely short handed (just me and one other person) 30ft
boat with too much sail stuck up in a squawl with a broken motor and the
lights going out (Batteries died some time after the motor did...)......
What a great way to spend your youth!

It's similar to having a wheel fall off after your engine dies and being
sent plumeting down a mountain in your vanagon (with 3 wheels and no
engine). You have some impression of control, and just hold on.

-Craig
US Sailing instructor
Keelboating instructor
Working on my Captains licence.

On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 11:14 AM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

>  Boy, you all lament the Vanagon as a difficult device.  Boats are
> seriously, intensely intolerant of neglect and very vulnerable to 'stupid
> owner' syndrome.  At least those boats that are actually used for offshore.
> Even a trip through Puget Sound,  along the Inter-coastal Waterway, or
> across the Chesapeake Bay can be life threatening in a poorly maintained or
> ill designed boat.
>  I  spent a period of time being totally enthralled with and immersed (pun)
> in the Sailing Life..Working in a high dollar full service yacht yard,
> sailing as a Pro racing crew (rock jock) on wealthy guy's boats. Guys who
> wanted to beat their friends so they brought in us "ringers" aboard to help
> them go fast.  We built the 'scratch boat' or one of the first to finish, a
> 46' Doug Peterson designed very high dollar fractional rig, which we
> campaigned full time in the Pac NW for the owner of the yard where I
> worked. I learned a lot,  but I also lost some of my "romantic" notions
> about how cool it would be to "Sail around the world" sometime..
>   When something goes wrong with an offshore yacht or even a daysailing
> boat, you just can't pull over in a wide spot and fix it.  Or call AAA for
> a
> flatbed..When you lose motive power..or worse, if you have a problem
> involving hull integrity (a hole in the boat) you are in serious trouble.
> If you happen to be along a rough coast...and all coasts are 'rough' if
> your
> boat gets sent ashore ("On the Bricks" was the phrase) you can even
> die...If
> you get exhausted while sailing, you don't just find a Wal-Mart and spend
> the night...
>  Using a cheap part for a fix.....not a good idea.  Duct tape, tie wire, or
> Home Depot spare parts?  You have to consider the possible consequences of
> a
> half-a**ed repair failing again at just the wrong time... say...off Cedros
> Island along the coast of Baja, or half way to Maui..or somewhere equally
> 'inconvenient'..
>  Nope, having your WBX blow a gasket or your 3rd/4th shaft fail, getting a
> 'No Start' with your Subie-Vanagon or breaking down in Death Valley or in
> Tijuana...that all is 'small stuff' when considered against Sailing's
> possibilities.
>  Don Hanson
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 11:16 PM, BenT Syncro <syncro@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Friday is sooooo close. :-)
> >
> >
> > BenT
> > Sent from my mobile device
> >
> >
> > On Dec 3, 2009, at 9:49 PM, Jim Cochran <mxsailor@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >
> > Craig-
> >> You should do that!
> >> It's a 1973 Morgan 33 Out Island.
> >> Also have a Morgan 44, 1987.
> >> (project- ugh!)
> >> But soon the Police will kick this thread off to Sailnet...
> >>
> >> Jim
> >> On Dec 3, 2009, at 10:07 PM, craig cowan wrote:
> >>
> >> Nice looking boat Jim!
> >>> Is that an Ericson 30?
> >>> It reminds me very much of an Ericson 30 i've sailed on.
> >>>
> >>> I'll have to post some of my boat(s) sometime.
> >>>
> >>> -Craig
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 11:55 PM, Jim Cochran <mxsailor@gmail.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >>> Nice boat, nice movie Ben.
> >>> Here's mine:
> >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9csMI5Ya0I
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Dec 3, 2009, at 9:31 AM, Benny boy wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Need a sailor?
> >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg37jqwpOsw
> >>>
> >>> I'm in
> >>>
> >>> Ben
> >>> http://www.benplace.com/
> >>>
> >>>
>