race sailing dilemna...

For about 6 months ive been racing on a nice Jboat 31 footer every second saturday.
I got invited as the boat owner in his 60's lives right behind my boat in woodford bay.
He saw me sailing alot and left a note on my boat and ive been going out with them since.
My dilemna is, im not sure i like racing. I almost feel every time i go out for a race, that id rather be on my own little boat, doing every thing single handed or with some friends...
Its a hard one because ive learned a fair bit but i just dont think racing is for me. As much as i love to go fast and get some lift, i also like to cruise, drop anchor, have a beer, bbq, swim etc. dunno.
Tonight we did a twilight and won - again. Most of the time there is someone different coming with us, and every now and then someone comes who is really serious about racing.
For me sailing is about fun, and navigating from A-B using the wind. I dont care how long it takes to get there.
The other thing is, im mainly used for ballast and to help retrieve and set up spinnaker. Getting quite bored of that!
What are peoples thoughts on racing. Anyone here do any?

yeah me too. last friday i had a ball. sailed about 40nm from home in the harbour out past the heads and back. music cranking some swell....boat loved it....
I think im gonna knock the racing on the head...the other thing is its taking up 6 hours every second saturday and 2 hours every wednesday arvo...
Its a shame cause i like the guys alot. The boat owner always keeps and eye on my boat too as its in front of his house.
I could be out doing my own thing and not tryna race around buoys!

Yep, I know what you all mean.
I spent years racing, mostly on other peoples boats and loved it. I have to admit that watching boats race is pretty boring but being on board is a whole different thing.
Now that I am what most people might call a senior citizen I much prefer to do things at my own pace. That doesn't mean I don't try to get the most out of my boat, it just means that I am longer fanatical about it.
As long as we still enjoy what we do and are satisfied (somewhat) with our efforts then that is a reward in itself.
When I was approaching 50 yrs of age I used to wonder how many more years of sailing I had left in me. Now I am approaching 70 years of age I still wonder the same thing.
Jon Sanders has recently completed his seventh circumnavigation at 74 years old and Alby Bergin was still racing short handed in his seventies so there is a good deal of inspiration there.

well the guys i race with are all retired and in their late 60's, triple bypasses, stuff knees etc.
they like the racing buzz. ive just totally lost interest. i know this because the last few times weve been out i dont look forward to it at all.
i like to race people who dont know im racing them when out on my boat. I also dont have anyone barking on my boat. its chilled - except when the missus is on board.

I raced sailing dinghies for more than 55 years, mostly singlehanders. I've raced my own yachts too the same time, dinghies Saturday and my yacht Sunday. I have also crewed for other people and I don't like that so much and I think this is your problem Sectorsteve. I always wanted to be responsible for my own mistakes. Now I'm retired everyday is a Saturday and I go sailing when ever I feel like it. If it's windy I will just go tomorrow instead. I have been sailing a dinghy in a local club each Saturday up till this year and I have not renewed my membership and I have let my card slide. The reason is mostly about having to turn up at a certain time, finding a parking spot and getting out to the starting line. It's amazing how often the weather each Saturday afternoon is so crappy compared to during the week! I have found I am over having to be places at certain times.

Ha! From what you guys are saying here, Racing and cruising are chalk and cheese!

I got my boat about 18 months ago and since then been going out a whopping 30 hours a week. An addict.
Something you can do when you have a business i guess. Lets say though, my business hasn't grown, but I've become a fairly good sailor!
Im not gonna be able to afford another boat with this balance, so I've been focussing on work. I'm restricting my sailing time , disciplining myself to sail only after hours. (really hard to do, love going out through the week) Having said that, I'm able to delegate while sailing but this brings a little stress and less focus on the present moment, like last week out the heads, 17 emails and work calls as i was passing through the swell.

Last night at GFS twilight i couldn't help but think to myself "id love to be out there on the bluebird"

Not sure. i don't want to be a quitter, but i find racing soooo boring….
Think the plan is to work a bit harder and hitch a ride with my mate from tahiti to nz when he arrives. (he is tryna leave the med now, but stuck in mallorca)

Id certainly be up for getting between waypoints fast for e.g. morning bird, syd to lord howe. Id wanna do that quick too!

I have a similar history to loosechange and h20 , sailed dinghies from very young age then move into otb cats racing local , state and national regattas , combination of burnout and family responsibilities , while still occasionally sailing saw a 15 year hiatus in racing ending when i resumed racing lasers at local level.

To have further developed that racing itch i would have had to spend vastly more dollars , rub shoulders with people hell bent on proving themselves superior and neglected other areas of life .My solution was to get a trailer sailer which if needed could be raced , so i purchased a boomerang 20 , without insurance or club membership i successfully navigated extensively the waters of PPB for almost 8 years

Recently it was decision time the bay was getting a bit boring so decided get new set of sails , insurance and club membership.
long story short sailmaker was dissapointing causing much stress and strain , club racing was feeble as in lack of participants and attitudes experienced through that time overly aggressive and just not fun ..... glad i did not waste money on the insurance

Plan is now complete business with sailmaker , do an occasional race and continue my cruising perhaps expanding the areas i sail to some more regional areas of victoria.
I particularly enjoy sailing to destinations or events and have had some great highlights over recent times , tall ship vist to PPB in 2013 , many NYE fireworks , all the starts of the M2H at the heads, this years geelong Oz day passage race and last year a 4 day >30 nm/day solo trip criss crossing PPB.

My family are always taking the piss as with my competitive streak i return from trips and relate how i was racing some other yacht on a particular part of the passage and they ask me "did the other boat know they were racing" and for me that is the thing thats often missing when sailing solo over many days , other people on their boats sharing the same wind and water its not that you are racing but rather just sailing in company , i really enjoy doing that.

But as far as real racing is concerned i think i am now over that also .

Congratulations SS, you made the break. Some racers seem to think that cruising is not really saling. For me, it's whatever gives me the highest reading on a happiness meter ( a happiness meter just measures your happiness level - it doesn't care how you got the reading) and that's cruising solo.
So go for it, do your own thing.
Allan

Well,well ,well look what is creeping out if the woodworks...we are not that much different after all.

SS, when l saw you on the Pittwater, couple of times actually, while you were up there, l tried to catch up with you but to no avail. This afternoon l almost saw Woodford Bay and your boat while l was climbing my mast. We are so close and yet so far.

I love to ride to the yacht club, race, brake other peoples boats (see pic's) and then sail my own the way l think proper.

While racing, you learn a lot. Good and bad. Picked up good seamanship but not the bad attitude. There is plenty if both.
It is fun, close racing at the start, screams, harsh words, sometimes bangs too. MOB! It is the school of life on the water. Exciting. So, is riding home after a good race.
Many times l get on my boat and run the race the next day on my own. When l am racing and have to fight the wars on the fore deck l pick up ideas, technics, strategy which l can later use on my own boat. Never had a day while racing when l did not learn something useful.





The picture speaks for itself. Watching the mast come down while racing on someone else's yacht was an experience of a life time for both of us, my son and me.
Cruisers might be good sailors but racers usually become better cruisers and that is a premis.

Drinking, eating and burnouts might no be my cup of tea but sailing to a nice shore on good music, go for a paddle or dive, can't beat that.

I understand the general sentiment about professional racing, thou.
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Whenever there is another sail on the horizon, a race is happening.

Should you ever get the chance to do any off shore racing I think you would find it vastly different to inshore racing. Having done it for some 25yrs all over the place the comraderie is really amazing, even today having been retired from it for 20 odd years still get the odd call for a social drink from overseas yachties that are in Sydney for whatever race they're here for. The learning curve would be very steep but so worth it and if a Hobart should come up SS the knowledge gained would be worth many years of just coastal cruising. Now I just do the odd delivery and cruise in my own boat which I love dearly but being closer to 70 than 60 now, I find that I'm not as inclined to adjust the traveller that 1" as much and instead of the 5 minute rule it's now the 30 minute rule and there's always that iron topsail. I'm just around the corner and up river 300mts from Woodford Bay and a mate has a Cav 32 in the northeast corner of Woodford Bay, say G'day next time you're about, regards Mick.

Either way sector Steve enjoy the moment