Anyone here go sailing often? if so..

Where do you go?
Do you have your own boat or do you rent (know of any where that rents)?

I'm looking at renting lasers or similar size boats that are one maned. I'd prefer to rent and take it out in the open ocean rather than in a lake...but i'll settle for a lake thats near by.

8/14/2007 11:31:50 AM

I have my own dingy and routinely crew on a yacht for ocean races. The summer sucks inland--little to no wind. I've been all over the east coast (for races, deliveries and shits/giggles) from newfoundland to bermuda to the carribean.


You don't want to take a dingy in the opean ocean--stick to harbors, rivers, lakes and sounds with them. You can pick up a used dingy or new for pretty cheap.

[Edited on August 14, 2007 at 12:09 PM. Reason : ever sailed before?]

8/14/2007 12:08:43 PM

There's a local sailing club that does regattas and meets on lakes in the area (1-2 hours max). There's always someone looking for another hand on one of their boats (if you're just looking to get out somewhat locally). Other than that, when I was on a sailing team in HS (by team I mean my friend had a 2 person boat, there were 3 people on our "team," & his dad trailered the boat around for us w/ their minivan-LOL)... but anyway, we did most of our sailing down in Charleston. Usually we rented boats down there, but we knew a guy that worked there, so I think we were actually just borrowing. Oh well-- here are some links...

This talks some about local rentals, might get you looking in the right direction:
http://www.carolinasailingclub.org/resources/programs.htm

More stuff in general... it's been a while since I've done anything w/ them, but they were always very friendly & helpful when I did.
http://www.carolinasailingclub.org/xoops/modules/news/

Good luck. If you find anything worthwhile, post-- I dream of going back to it someday (but I just spent my $$ on a new-er motorcycle...)

8/14/2007 1:07:59 PM

i try to make it to jordan lake once a month. You can buy a sunfish on craigslist for between 300-1000 pretty easily, or a slightly bigger boat like a capri 14 for less than 1500. If you are sailing by yourself, i would just get a sunfish with a trailer and tow it where ever you want to sail. Sunfish (especially the older ones) are generally more durable and cheaper to get replacement gear for than lasers. Though lasers are a bit faster, sunfish are easier to handle and rig for different wind conditions.

8/14/2007 4:36:04 PM

Quote :

"I have my own dingy and routinely crew on a yacht for ocean races. The summer sucks inland--little to no wind. I've been all over the east coast (for races, deliveries and shits/giggles) from newfoundland to bermuda to the carribean. You don't want to take a dingy in the opean ocean--stick to harbors, rivers, lakes and sounds with them. You can pick up a used dingy or new for pretty cheap. [Edited on August 14, 2007 at 12:09 PM. Reason : ever sailed before?]"

a dingy to me is an inflatable boat that can sometimes use a 70hp or lower motor. What do you mean by dingy? the sailing boat i was using here was a small boat that can take 2 people max but its more fun solo. I've only sailed in the open sea. Been sailing the last 10 days here in the mediteranian sea. To me, its a lot more exciting with a strong wind and high waves then a closed in lake. I'm very comfortable sailing solo on a small boat. Never tried the atlantic so i can't say how it is. However the waves here were quite big...i'd say about 5' + swells at the very least, but thats once you get to be a few kilometers offshore and can barely see the coast.

Whats pretty cheap for a dingy? My uncle here in Egypt imports them from england....the he gave me to use here was a Laser Pico. He said new it runs about 13,000 LE (Egyptian Pounds) which is about $2400 with todays exchange rate. Is that about right for a dingy?

Here is a couple of pics of it from the first day.




^^excellent links, thanks!

^i'll check into that as soon as i get back to the States. Sorry i'm not familiar with different boat names etc...only have experience with Lasers since thats mainly what my uncle imports and he always has one or two laying around, plus its always free to use. lol

[Edited on August 14, 2007 at 5:59 PM. Reason : fda]

8/14/2007 5:55:47 PM

Quote :

"Quit playing with your dingy."

8/14/2007 6:01:03 PM

you can rent sunfish at lake johnson on the cheap

8/15/2007 4:12:46 AM

10$ an hour with 20$ deposit, last time i was there.

lake johnson is a lot nicer IMO... water's clearer, more people around... lake crabtree is decent, it doesn't get any deeper than neck deep at any part, and there's more wind (IMO); however the water isn't as clear (again, IMO).

8/15/2007 1:58:12 PM

All sailing info you need: http://www.sailinganarchy.com/index_page1.php

8/15/2007 2:28:18 PM

are you talking about lake Johnson off of avent ferry? Cause i live down the street from there and never seen anyone sailing there plus the waters filthy LOL

8/16/2007 5:42:53 PM

Yes, by dingy, I mean a small boat--like all the ones you have listed. The price you list seems resonable to good for a new one. You can get them for less used. Lasers are very fun boats.


Lake Johnson is also where NCSU's Club Sailing practices (and crew, too).

If you are going to be doing this with Raleigh/NC as a base, give Layline a call. I know they used to be a Laser dealer, and would allow locals to curb shipping costs by picking them up there. With their sale and warehouse move to GA, I'm not sure if their Raleigh sales office will still does this or if they even still are a dealer (however, they can point you in the right direction).

8/16/2007 6:07:03 PM

Lake Wheeler.

8/18/2007 9:51:24 AM

Where do y'all find ppl who are looking for crews? I posted on http://www.spinsheet.com, but haven't found a boat yet. I live in DC.

8/19/2007 4:33:27 PM

Yea, I borka'd on Raleigh roads and lakes there. Lake Wheeler on Lake Wheeler Rd. is where the teams practice. I don't live in Raleigh, and haven't for a bit--so cut me some slack.

8/20/2007 5:55:35 PM

If you live in DC, you should be looking at Annapolis for sailing. get in touch with the people at Annapolis Yacht Club, Eastport Yacht Club, or the Severn Sailing Association

on Wednesday nights you can pretty much walk to the docks and find a boat to crew on for the thursday night races. ask the people at the yacht clubs if they have a crew list. when I loved in san diego, I posted my info on a few different places and got picked up almost immediately (of course, I had a very robust sailing resume, so that helped).

8/20/2007 6:11:34 PM

^^^ I was successful finding rides on spinsheet in annapolis a few years ago. I'm not sure how active the potomac and baltimore areas are... annapolis is definitely the way to go.

8/20/2007 11:37:03 PM

Really, check out http://www.sailinganarchy.com


This is how I intially found a boat to crew on (several boats and connections ago).

8/23/2007 6:37:56 PM

alright....who on here goes sailing?

1/24/2013 1:33:50 PM

I do - although I'd say I'm still a beginner

I lost my boat in Irene though, so I haven't sailed in about a year

1/24/2013 1:50:03 PM

Quote :

"you can rent sunfish at lake johnson on the cheap"

Lake Johnson is garbage, tiny lake, and asinine wind rules that I think are just a cover for laziness on the part of some staff not wanting to unlock and set up the sailboats.

I remember one weekend where the wind was 12-15 mph I called several times and they weren't renting because it was **too** windy. I think what they define as *too* windy, is any amount of wind that would be sufficient to capsize the boat in the hands of a beginner. If I could facepalm over the phone I would have. I told the guy I had a Skipper B Keelboat license and had performed several solo capsize recoveries, but the blockhead was having none of it.

I went to Lake Crabtree and not only were they renting, but their fleet of ten or so boats were all rented with a waitlist, but it was well worth it. Crabtree is easily 3-4 times larger than Johnson and you can really get into good runs out there, and not have to constantly tack/jibe if you don't want to. Plus there are less hills and trees in the area so you can get far better breezes over the flat open area.

ALso as far as water cleanliness, I think Crabtree wins on size alone, when I think of Johnson, I think of murky brownness, unless things have drastically changed.

1/30/2013 10:48:28 PM