
Confessions of a Long-Distance sailor   - justlearning
http://arachnoid.com/sailbook/index.html
======
bd
For those who don't follow proggit, here is the context:

 _Programming thought experiment: stuck in a room with a PC without an OS_

[http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/9x15g/programmi...](http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/9x15g/programming_thought_experiment_stuck_in_a_room/c0ev6lj)

 _I am a little difficult to describe ..._

[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9xgnd/iama_little_diff...](http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9xgnd/iama_little_difficult_to_describe_designed_part/)

(redditor _lutusp_ is Paul Lutus, author of the linked book, former NASA
engineer who worked on Viking Mars mission / Space Shuttle and creator of the
Apple Writer, hacker extraordinaire)

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Writer>

~~~
NonEUCitizen
He also wrote GraForth (an implementation of Forth with animation and sound
for 1Mhz Apple ][+), one of the most amazing pieces of software I've ever
seen.

------
jbyers
As I imagine many readers are in Silicon Valley, I'd point out that the San
Francisco Bay is one of the best places to sail on earth. Beautiful scenery,
20+ knots of breeze every summer day (scary at first, awesome once you get
used to it...), and endless possibilities from tiny dinghies to 50+ foot
racing sleds. And racing sailboats is a tremendously fun, inexpensive (unless
you own a boat), social, and high-adrenaline activity.

Learn the basics at one of the many Bay Area sailing clubs or schools and go
out and try it. There's always demand for crew, and the most important
qualities of a new crew member are being ready to take direction, in
reasonable shape, and out to have fun. Expertise is a double-edged sword for
new crew members, don't think you need it to get started -- you don't.

I've been racing on the SF Bay since 2000 and am totally addicted (raced
today, as it happens). Forget what you think about sailing -- it's for old
rich people; it's boring; I need to have grown up sailing or be some kind of
expert -- and go out and try it.

------
albertsun
If anyone is in either the Bay Area or in New York, there are two community
sailing co-ops that I highly recommend. I was in each city my past two summers
and joined both and had a great time sailing.

In Berkeley, there's the Cal Sailing Club <http://www.cal-sailing.org/> with
sailboats and windsurf boards. All for $60 for three months plus a few hours
of contributed work to the club. They have cookouts and open houses and free
sailing lessons from members. Really a great group of people.

In New York, look into the Sebago Canoe Club out in Brooklyn on Jamaica Bay.
<http://www.sebagocanoeclub.org/> They're something like $200 a year plus a
few hours of contributed work. Everyone there is super friendly and have
kayaking and canoeing as well and free lessons.

Definitely the cheapest way to learn how to sail if you've never done it
before, as most yacht or sailing clubs are much much more expensive and/or
require you to own your own boat.

------
quizbiz
I went sailing for the 2nd time today. It was only circles around a lake but I
learned how to harness the awesome power of the outdoors. It is an awesome
experience. Recommended for all.

~~~
nihilocrat
My dad is an avid sailor, with a lake-sailing boat in the backyard (Flying
Scot) who invites me to multi-day trips on the North Carolina coast on a
cruiser he rents. This means I get to sail without ever really having to take
care / pay for the boat.

There are three experiences on a sea-going sailboat that I particularly like:

a) Not quite being in control. You can set your sails to carry you any which
way, but the wind and seas will only allow so much. You have to cooperate, but
you do have quite a bit more control than a layperson might think.

b) Being "alone". Sailing on the open seas (or even within a particularly big
bay or sound) means all you can see around you is water. Even if you're
sailing with a crew, the disconnect from the outer world feels even more
intense than going camping or some other disconnection from civilization.

c) Having to stick through foul weather. The first time you find yourself 5
hours from shore when it's raining and the seas are rough (not rough enough
for small craft advisory, though) you realize there is no possible way to
bypass those 5 hours; you just have to sail through it. The things that
normally bother you just do not matter when you are completely drenched and
trying to keep the waves from bashing you off course enough to lose the wind
and get forced into an unplanned tack/jibe.

------
tdonia
I cannot recommend 'The Long Way' by Bernard Moitessier & 'The Strange Last
Voyage of Donald Crowhurst' highly enough. Both books cover how 2 contestants
in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race could have won but did not, for rather
interesting/different reasons.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_Times_Golden_Globe_Race>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Moitessier>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Crowhurst>

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
I saw "Deep Water" earlier this year. While I sympathize with the stresses
that drove him in that direction, I honestly can't understand why Crowhurst
ultimately did what he did.

------
domodomo
I'm a member of a sailing co-op here in Minneapolis, great people and everyone
is your teacher. We just pulled the boats off the water a few weeks back (and
were already sweeping snow off the boats, dontchaknow). Just tested for
skipper status before the season closed out.

Don't know if it's everyone's cup of tea, but definitely worth trying. If
there are any HN'ers in Minneapolis/St Paul, happy to take people out for a
try next Spring ;)

~~~
domodomo
We sail on little Lake Harriet. The community is really active there, and from
what I'm told it's a little more interesting than Calhoun as the winds are
much more variable. That's due to all the obstructions and variation around
the lake. The band shell in particular creates a deadspot or sweetspot on some
days.

I joined the Twin Cities Sailing Club in August, I'm a newb ;), know just
enough to be dangerous:

<http://tcsailing.com/tcsc/>

The people in this club are seriously cool people, a great group. Everyone is
very generous in terms of teaching less experienced sailors, I've seen nothing
but generosity when it comes to tiller time.

I think we have about a dozen boats or so, a mix of scows and daysailers.
There are club days twice a week where you can crew up with a skipper and hit
the lake. Once you pass your skipper tests, you can take the boats out anytime
you please. Annual dues are $200 or so I think.

Oh and we are having our annual banquet November 7th:

<http://www.socializr.com/event/830239512/1867039201>

If you are not quite ready for putting down $200 and just want to try things
out, definitely hit me up in May and I'd be more than happy to take you out!

------
RiderOfGiraffes
I remind those interested in sailing about this:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=809060>

------
dimarco
_The Apple Computer company, no longer in a garage, heard about my program and
asked to see it. I added some things to it, made it presentable and stuffed it
into a big manila envelope. As I rode my bike to the post office I thought,
Who knows, maybe they'll like my program. It might be worth hundreds of
dollars._

That doesn't even sound like the same field. I love it.

------
matthewking
Retired at 35 and sailed around the world? this guy is my hero!

Well worth the paperback I should think. Another similar book I've read is
Dove by Robin Lee Graham which is well worth checking out if you're into
sailing. Things like this really make you re-evaluate your goals/path in life.

