Hey Ghost Rider, It's really something to finally have my own sailboat sitting on my back deck. There was no manual with it but duh, I can print it out on the shop's website. So today I'm going to rig it up and try to get to the DMV to register the thing. Probably get hit with a use tax! Still, I might be on the water this weekend and am leaning toward Bodega and Tomales Bay as Chris mentioned. We have Lake Sonoma, Lake Mendocino and Lake Berryessa pretty close but a lot of fire in those directions. I gotta build some kind of cradle to get it around. It has been really cool getting so much support on this site and great comments about this new phase...And so it begins... LOL. Good news, the boat is now in your hands, and you'll soon be having a blast while sailing her... perhaps taking an occasional swim as ya push the nautical envelope, LOL. Don't forget to post photos when ya get around to it, and though ya might wanna start out on one of those nearby lakes, keep Bodega Bay in mind...
CHEERS!!!
Hi Beldar, This is it but with fiberglass rudder and daggerboard-white. I wanted the red stripe from bow to stern and might think about how to make that happen. My sail came with a window which I like as I got pretty close to a pier while not paying attention in the old Sunfish a couple of weeks ago (my first time out in quite a few years but on a lake I've been going to my whole life ). Hard to believe it's out back right now!View attachment 27474. Does it look like this, with a white rudder? It’s a classic color combo!!
Hey Ghost Rider, It's really something to finally have my own sailboat sitting on my back deck. There was no manual with it but duh, I can print it out on the shop's website. So today I'm going to rig it up and try to get to the DMV to register the thing. Probably get hit with a use tax! Still, I might be on the water this weekend and am leaning toward Bodega and Tomales Bay as Chris mentioned. We have Lake Sonoma, Lake Mendocino and Lake Berryessa pretty close but a lot of fire in those directions. I gotta build some kind of cradle to get it around. It has been really cool getting so much support on this site and great comments about this new phase...
Here in the White Mountains, there's plenty of breeze for much of the year, but the wind shifts on these mountain lakes can be quite tricky... I don't know how conditions are on those lakes you mentioned, but I DO know that sea breezes can be consistent or only involve minor shifts. If you sail on those lakes and find the shifts are bothersome, yeah, by all means, take the boat to the seashore. Just remember, the critters in the ocean tend to pose more of a threat than lake critters... think "JAWS" while you're hiking out to the max, LOL. I'd recommend decent footgear, sailing gloves, some sort of cover with brim or bill, and polarized shades for eye protection. Goon cords for wide-brimmed hat & shades, no point in donating or sacrificing gear to Poseidon... ask me how I know this, LOL. Remember to take steps to curb solar abuse, it racks up quickly out there on the water... otherwise, enjoy your new boat, I'm feeling the excitement as you open your new present, so to speak, even if ya gave it to yerself. Sometimes, those are the best gifts, aye???
CHEERS!!!
P.S. If you make a combo sailing/camping expedition to the beach, don't forget the BBQ!!! Even a small grill is awesome when camping, I'm looking forward to camping on the beach in WA when I first arrive, might be staying in various campgrounds for 2-3 weeks as I wait for escrow to close on this property I like. With my stuff in storage and the kittehs in a "cats only" boarding kennel, that camping will be like vacation, LOL. Steaks & beers ahoy!!!
Wow-love the nature and will have to check out those travel notes. Got my boat ready to sail-all rigged up. Took a bunch of pics and will try to post.There is no direct route from here to Tucson, which is 4+ hours away unless you're on a rice rocket or a Ducati doing triple digits, LOL. I live in a little burg called Show Low which sits atop the Mogollon Rim, about halfway up the state on the eastern side, maybe an hour from the NM line on these skinny little blacktop roads. Beautiful setting here in the tall pines, most folks don't realize that Arizona has this sort of climate, they think it's all desert or Grand Canyon, LOL. Show Low lies between 6300' and 6400' elevation, depending upon which side of town you're on, and for the most part, the weather here is absolutely fantastic.
So is the wildlife: everything grows BIGGER here in the White Mountains, I've seen HUGE elk, deer, coyotes, bald eagles, feral pigs & javelinas, coons, skunks, jackrabbits the size of Rhode Island, you name it. My subdivision is in the forest on the NW side of town, and I have 21 magnificent Ponderosa Pines on my property... the bird life in these tall pines will astound you, I love swinging in my big ol' Pawleys Island Beach Stripe Hammock and checking out my little feathered friends. Some of 'em aren't so little either, the ravens & the turkey vultures which soar overhead are the size of warplanes, LOL.
Several times since I arrived nearly two years ago, I have seen huge flocks or squadrons of turkey vultures sailing right above the treetops, 100 or more all running a giant slalom course downrange toward some roosting area in the forest. There's a huge tract of wilderness right next to my subdivision, with dirt roads and riding trails leading out to Rim Road 300, a favorite dirt biking venue of mine... you can Google "Rim Road 300" and see some cool pics of the Mogollon Rim, it is very pretty here in what folks call the high country, or just Rim Country. Like I said, I wouldn't be leaving if it weren't for my personal circumstances... this is paradise on earth for retired folks who love the wilderness.
On the other hand, northern Arizona is facing challenges with the ongoing drought, possible fracking which may taint or ruin water quality in the Coconino Aquifer, hordes of "political refugees" streaming in from Kalifornia, etc., etc. We've had monsoon rains in the past month, but nowhere near enough to put an end to the drought. Seems like I've spent the past two decades or more in areas of the Southwest severely affected by drought, I'll be glad to relocate to an area where drought will never be an issue. And much as I like my home (first one I ever owned free & clear), I reckon a home is what you make of it... I can set up a stylin' bachelor pad no matter where I go, yeah??? Especially with that 8' pool table... decent furniture, quality household equipment, a large BBQ and a LOUD-@$$ STEREO don't hurt either, LOL.
ANYWAY, THAT POWER NAP DID ME SOME GOOD, I'M READY TO CRACK ANOTHER COLD BEER, 10-4? LOOKS LIKE IT'S TRYIN' TO RAIN, WHICH WOULD SUIT ME FINE... THIS ROOF DOESN'T LEAK, AND I LOVE THAT COOL RAIN-FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR ROLLING IN THROUGH ALL THE OPEN WINDOWS DURING A STORM.CHEERS!!!
P.S. Red Triangle aside, 2-ton Great Whites have been pulled outta the waters off San Diego... Los Coronados, the Mexican islands off the northern end of Baja, are designated wildlife sanctuaries (est. 1924, when the Mexican gubmint got tired of all the trigger-happy gringos needlessly blasting critters out there), and those seal & sea lion rookeries are nothing but buffet tables for predators like Great Whites. I always used to lean inboard or hunker down in the Laser cockpit when approaching the islands on camping expeditions, LOL. Same for leaving the islands, though the boat generally rode a little higher by that time, not that it would make much difference to a hungry Great White. You should read my stories of the islands, I posted links on the first page of my "Laser Island Voyages" thread. Those were some grand adventures back in the day, and those islands are truly wild, despite their relative proximity to the coast... awesome venue for wilderness explorers, nature lovers, rock climbers, antisocial types, misanthropes, et al, LOL.