I'm looking at new job opportunities, and have a choice between Culver City, Ca, Columbia, Md, and Huntsville, Al. Huntsville isn't on the coast, but it's closer than Tucson.
I'm looking for info on sailing areas, weather, accessibility to good locations, etc. Since I have an F18, I'd like to pick an area favorable for that boat.
I like warm weather, Ca seems like the obvious choice, even though the cost of living is crazy high. But, I've never been to Md, so perhaps I shouldn't discount it right away.
What do local sailors like/dislike about those areas?

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Brett
2012 Goodall C2 with 2014 Hulls (warranty)
1992 Hobie 18 w/ SX Wings (Sold)
Tucson, AZ
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That's a good problem to have.

No experience sailing any of those areas. Though some family lives in DC.
Columbia, MD is under an hour to Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay. No shortage of sailing clubs and boats there.
I'd try to start a grassroots F18 club in Utqiagvik, Alaska before moving to Cali...

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Joshua

Texas Gulf Coast
'82 Prindle 16 (Badfish)
'02 Hobie Wave (Unnamed Project)
‘87 Hobie 18 (Sold)
‘89 Hobie 17 (ill-advised project boat, Sold)
--

South of Culver City is Long Beach and the ABYC Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, they have a pretty active cat fleet. And you can't beat the wind in the Long Beach Harbor and the surrounding area..

Real Estate is a little more affordable there too...

Don't know if there is anything left in Marina del Rey

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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John:
Affordable real estate? I was afraid I would either have to live on a boat or in an RV.

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Brett
2012 Goodall C2 with 2014 Hulls (warranty)
1992 Hobie 18 w/ SX Wings (Sold)
Tucson, AZ
--

ropewalker,

My home club is West River Sailing Club in Galesville, MD. Its 39 miles from Columbia, MD proper, an hour drive on a weekday (rush hour traffic here is the same or worse than Cali) but closer to 45min on a weekend. There are also closer places to live like Crofton or Laurel. Personally I live as close to the office as I can get as I do that commute daily, and accept the longer drive on the 1-2 weeknights I head to the club and weekends (30miles, 35min, not too bad). Housing wise, its cheaper than Cali but that's about it...

Huntsville, AL is far and away the cheapest, but the closest racing is Panama City, FL and Pensacola. There is probably more there that I don't know about.

In terms of fleet, we have 4x active F18's, 4-5x active Nacra 20's, 4x active F16's and 3-4x active A-Cats. These are guys coming out most every Tuesday night for racing and several weekend regattas a year. We are a 7hr drive from the active New England (Rhode Island centric) fleet which boasts 5 of the top 10 best F18 sailors in the country.

In terms of sailing conditions, spring and fall generally have good breeze, July and August are hot but if you time it right we'll get a solid sea breeze fill. You can expect that like most venues save Miami and Long Beach if its a regatta weekend the breeze will be light, but that isn't always the case (505's host their East Coast Championships here every other year or so, and they like breeze!).

Our club is a friendly place with a great lawn, very reasonable membership fees and mast up storage!

https://www.westriversc.org/
http://wrcra.org/

If you have any other questions feel free to give me a shout.

ropewalker

John:
Affordable real estate? I was afraid I would either have to live on a boat or in an RV.

Living out of an RV.... my cousin in Mountain View tells me folks and renting out their driveways for the Google employees who buy an RV (for cash) and park them there... Like food trucks it is the new fad in California...

Yeah.... Culver City... plan on spending a $1,000,000.00 plus for your standard 3 bedroom, two bath, 1600 square foot home on a 6,000 square foot lot...

That same place in a few "nice" areas of Long Beach will go for about $650K to $800K.

If it were me, Maryland (having lived there) would be my first choice with Huntsville a close second.

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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In Tucson, the sailing season is generally during the spring, winter and fall. Once summer hits, it's too hot to be very enjoyable. That's not to say that no one goes out, but you have to put up with the 115 deg heat and summer storms (unpredictable winds). We were out this past weekend, and I got out on the wire as we started flying a hull, hit a puff and had to steer up. Just as the windward hull set down, we got a gust from the opposite direction, which dropped me in the water and lifted the opposite hull. The guy skippering was able to climb up to the other hull in time to prevent it from tipping over on top of me.
I imagine that MD would have a shorter sailing season, maybe part of spring, summer, and part of fall. Is that true?

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Brett
2012 Goodall C2 with 2014 Hulls (warranty)
1992 Hobie 18 w/ SX Wings (Sold)
Tucson, AZ
--

We sail from early April through Thanksgiving. Ski in the wintertime, or if you are hardcore there is frostbiting in Annapolis on keel boats.

The Gulf Coast From Ocean Springs, MS to Fort Walton beach FL is pretty active. I believe there’s a lot of F18s although I have a N 5.7. It’s not that far from Huntsville, AL. We have a family active group in the Memphis area and several make the trip to the coast 2-4 times a year.

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Tim
Collierville (Memphis), TN
Supercat 15--sold :(
Hobie monocat--given
Vanguard 15--traded for...
Nacra 4.5--sold
Nacra 5.7
Hobie 14–sold to make room for...
Supercat 17–sold
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Sam;
I saw an article about Frostbiting - I could probably find something else to do during the winter.

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Brett
2012 Goodall C2 with 2014 Hulls (warranty)
1992 Hobie 18 w/ SX Wings (Sold)
Tucson, AZ
--

ropewalker

I imagine that MD would have a shorter sailing season, maybe part of spring, summer, and part of fall. Is that true?

The winters are why god invented Floreeduh!

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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I'm with Badfish, anywhere but CA. Huntsville is a very exciting area, has international airport, 5 hrs. to beach, close to Nashville (NFL and CMA), close to the Great Smokies, Atlanta, and the Jack Daniels and several other distilleries .

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Philip
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P.M.

I'm with Badfish, anywhere but CA.

Says the one that comes out here on vacation every year....

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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I came out here in 1980 to Belmont Shore (Long Beach). Excellent sailing area & upscale community. They put a paved ramp & parking 150 yards from the street to ocean just to accommodate catamarans! I wouldn't leave Cali for the 109 degree Midwest or South for any reason. Pete

pbegle

... I wouldn't leave Cali for the 109 degree Midwest or South for any reason. Pete

I'm flying out there next Thursday for an in-person interview. We'll see how it goes. I may not like the place, they may not like me.
But, just in case the stars align, where would be a good place to store the cat, ABYC?

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Brett
2012 Goodall C2 with 2014 Hulls (warranty)
1992 Hobie 18 w/ SX Wings (Sold)
Tucson, AZ
--

ABYC cost $1000 to join & $121/mo dues. Mast up storage for F18 is $189/mo but there is a waiting list. Big Bear is about 2 hours east at 7000'. Mast up storage & lake permit is $485 /6 mo. Winds are 10-15 and we have casual racing on weekends, but no F18's. Lot's of arbb and two ski areas. Lake is about 1/2 mile x 5 miles. Pete



Edited by pbegle on Jul 19, 2019 - 02:44 PM.

pbegle

Pete

Is that a wood Tornado? They are so dang beautiful.

--
Joshua

Texas Gulf Coast
'82 Prindle 16 (Badfish)
'02 Hobie Wave (Unnamed Project)
‘87 Hobie 18 (Sold)
‘89 Hobie 17 (ill-advised project boat, Sold)
--