[NYCAP123]

Originally Posted by Capt. Bill11

Sailing is fun and a good learning tool. But unless he intends on just captaining big sailboats, and even if that is true, it's time he starts spending some time on power boats as well.

That's primarily what he'll find in his area.

[mr.andyrew]

Originally Posted by Pascal

i dont know how many marinas woudl be willing to hire a 14 or 15 year old they dont' know. a lot of these position are filled the "who you know" way...

if you're into sailing, you need time on the water, not pumping gas... Start saving, do some odd jobs, get family to give you money for Bday and Xmas instead of silly gifts, save every penny you can and next spring buy yourself a used something. a laser, a hobie cat, anything that will get you on the water for cheap and which you can eventually race a little bit. something that's cheap to maintain, which can be easily stored in a back yard and trailered around. This how you will learn the basics. you cna find a used hobie for under $1000...

with that experience you can also be a councelor at sailing summer camps, and get more experience, and reference.

and as others have mentioned, try to get your foot in the door at local clubs to crew. There are many boats looking for crew come regatta day, with a little experience sailing and the right attitude you can get in.

as NYCAP said, you're not going to find a lot of action in Myrtle Beach... instead check out Oriental NC and obviously Annapolis although you should also find a lot of opportunities around NY too. Seem to be a lot of racing on the sound.

My family owns a Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2m. So I have some experience and i know all the basics and some specialized stuff but I'm pretty sure larger boats and a lot different than daysailers.

[mr.andyrew]

Originally Posted by Pascal

never mind, i dont' know why i thought he was from NJ!... confusing posts i think... yes, then obviously LIS and annapolis is too far...

Oak Island is next to Southport, not sure how active the sailing community is aroudn there. Teh cape fear river is probably not too dinghy/beach car friendly so most of the sailing will be in the ocean. unless there are large lakes nearby.

Small boats is where you learn the rope, litterally. it's also so much fun... we now keep the Hobie 16 not far from the marina, and sail at least once a week...

Funny you mention Oak Island because my grandparents own a small beach house there and we go there a couple of times throughout the summer. Southport is only about a 10 minute drive from the house

[NYCAP123]

Originally Posted by mr.andyrew

Funny you mention Oak Island because my grandparents own a small beach house there and we go there a couple of times throughout the summer. Southport is only about a 10 minute drive from the house

You might have noticed your location posted. That's why we're trying to direct advice to your area. The guys you're talking with here have been through the area several if not many times.
Boats do in fact get much more complicated with size. First we crawl, then we walk, finally we run. Good luck.

[scott49]

Wow - My wife laughs at me ever time I say this but I thought some one should mention it. I was a Sea scout. The boat I was on was one of the biggest in the Sea Scout fleet in Puget sound. It was a old mine sweeper. Don't remember the year but it was 75' -ugly old wood hull with a single diesel. You should check to see if there is a group by you. You will learn alot from being in Sea scouts. Hands on repairs to working out of books. Here was a recent ad that I saw. PM me and I will give you the phone number and maybe they can locate a group by you.

Everett Sea Scouts is looking for boat donations and new recruits. The Sea Scouts is a 100 yr old division of the Boy Scouts. Looking for new recruits 14-20 yrs old- co-ed. Adult volunteers needed, too!