Our floating home away from home
I've sailed since I was a kid, but didn't sail regularly when I lived in San Diego. Part of the attraction of moving to Seattle was the great sailing available, and not long after moving here in 1998, Stephanie and I took a class at WindWorks. Now we're both "certified" skippers. I have taken additional courses, including a Coastal Passagemaking course in 2004 that included sailing a 40-foot catamaran from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Belize. 360 degrees of blue horizon is pretty awe-inspiring.
We chartered from WindWorks for a few years before finally deciding we'd really use a sailboat enough to justify (or at least rationalize) buying one. We chose a Catalina 36 for the good balance between performance and cruising, with emphasis on the cruising side (I also sometimes crew in races on Tom Kerr's Corvo--a locally competitive J/33). From our research, we knew we preferred a 1990-92 C36 because it seemed to have the best balance between modern features like a step-through transom with a little more wood inside and out than the newer models have. Also, the price range was better than the newer boats. Fortunately, we found one in great condition. We bought it and renamed it Manzanita Moon.
Shane 2005.09.06 (updated 2005.09.10)
We plan to keep actively sailing as we raise our baby girl--hopefully she'll
enjoy it as much as we do.
(even in the chillier months here in the Great Northwest)
