02 February 2008 | Chesapeake Bay
12 January 2008 | Chesapeake Bay
31 December 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
21 November 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
17 November 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
04 November 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
28 October 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
20 October 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
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30 September 2007
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16 September 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
15 September 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
01 September 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
26 August 2007 | In a major film
25 August 2007 | Chesapeake Bay
11 August 2007 | Chesapeake Bay

Down at the club

18 April 2011 | Alexandria, VA
Last Thursday evening I went down to my sailing club, Sailing Club of Washington (SCOW). The sailing season has officially begun and every Thursday we have a social sail and dinner which is actually open to the public if anyone in the DC metro area is interested. I take my camera as usual, but my goal last night was to create one good photograph. I didn't bother going around snapping photos like I used to before getting more serious with photography. I had a goal in mind and I didn't want to take pictures that I knew were just going to be snapshots. I walked around to find an ideal subject and composition. One of my thoughts earlier in the day was to try to make a photograph of a sailboat with the capital in the background. This is what I ended up with and I didn't have much time because they started putting the boats away.

Update

11 May 2010
I thought I would post an update to my sailblog to let you all know that sailing is still my passion. I'm bored on a Tuesday night in my hotel out in Los Angeles for work and have been thinking about posting an update for a while, but I've been so busy. Having not updated my sailblog since I sold my Sapphire Breeze last September, it may have left my blog on a some what sad note. I wrote that honest post on my thoughts of selling, but things have been great since then and I still have no regrets whatsoever on selling my Sapphire Breeze last Fall. People often ask if I miss her, and my immediate response has always been, "Nope!" I always look back at all the amazing memories I had over those four sailing seasons, but really I do not miss owning her. She was such a great sailboat and owning my own sailboat definitely had its perks, but I would not have made some very positive, significant changes in my life this year if I had not sold her.

For years I have wanted to move out of the suburbs and into the city. I made the move over this winter and could not be happier. Selling my boat made this a lot more feasible. I now have an amazing apartment overlooking the Washington, DC skyline and have joined a sailing club that is only 5-10 minutes away! I can easily ride my bike down to the marina. Just this past weekend, my friend and I went for a run and came across a 125' Barkentine ship that is in port down in Old Town Alexandria. We took a tour and I will be going back with my camera to take some photos once I'm back from LA. I love where I live. Another benefit is I am half the distance to the Chesapeake Bay compared to my old place. So, now I get to sail during the week after work on the Potomac River and go sailing with my friends on the bay on the weekends.

Another positive outcome to selling my Sapphire Breeze is it has freed up my expenses and allowed me to travel. So, one of my dreams for many years has been to go sailing in the Caribbean. Last month, six friends, me, and my younger brother Brian chartered a 50' Jeanneau sailboat down in the British Virgin Islands and spent 10 days island hopping. One of our stops was at the Bitter End Yacht Club at the Bitter End of Tortola. Brian and I rented a Hobie Getaway catamaran; wow those things are a blast! I've always wanted to try sailing a cat and they are so much fun. We had such an incredible vacation.

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Since selling I'm also getting more involved with other hobbies and interests. Sailing used to consume all my free time and I felt I had to spend all my free time sailing since I had so much invested owning my sailboat. Now I'm free to pursue anything without the pressure of feeling I'm neglecting my sailboat. I'm getting more serious with my photography and recently bought a new camera. Here are a few photos I took last week during some Wednesday night racing at my club:

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So, I have no regrets on selling my boat. I'm really enjoying everything else I have going on and I am sailing just as much, if not even more than before now that I live so close to the water. I'm sure I will own another sailboat someday later in my future. I still look at classified ads every so often dreaming of my next sailboat, but at this stage in my life, it's hard to ask for things to be better. If only I had a winning lottery ticket, then I'd be seriously shopping for my next boat!

S/V Sapphire Breeze has been sold!

26 September 2009
S/V Sapphire Breeze has been sold to her proud new owners. I wouldn't say this is one of the happiest days of my life as I've been told, it's a combination of mixed emotions, but I have no regrets and am looking forward to what I can now do in my future. She's provided me with almost 4 years of amazing memories that I will forever treasure.

The main reason I sold is I was having a hard time justifying the cost for the limited use I got and I no longer wanted to feel pressured that I must go to the boat every weekend. I've only sailed my boat 9 times this year! Now there were several reasons... I had a girlfriend earlier in the season and was enjoying other activities rather than sailing, although she and I still sailed some. I then blew out my mainsail on a trip to Tangier Island in June which left my boat out of commission for a month and a half. During that time I then traveled to Washington, Oregon, and Canada and had an awesome time. After taking my vacation to the northwest, I realized I want to do more traveling and pursue other interests. That was the first time I'd ever taken a vacation like that. Selling my boat will free up some funds to permit me to travel more often. Then I didn't get to sail much in August due to hot, humid, and calm weather that we always experience on the Chesapeake. Another factor is also the magic of sailing has somewhat subsided in me. I still enjoy it, but I'm not as strongly passionate as I used to be. I will still get to sail often, this time with my friends on their boats, possibly crewing in races more often, and probably joining SCOW (Sailing Club of Washington) in Alexandria, VA. $160 a year and I could take out the boats whenever I want if they're available; you can't beat that deal! After going on the Tangier Island trip on my friend Dave's boat, I also then realized how much I do not need my own boat. It was great sailing with my friends, for the company, and since we know we are very capable sailors.

When I originally bought my boat almost four years ago, I had this whole dream of what it's going to be like. The boat has provided me with so many amazing memories the past four years, I pursued my childhood dream, and had some experiences that I used to only imagine ever happening, but overall it isn't quite what I had envisioned. My original dream was I was buying my sailboat as a social tool, how it would be great to be able to bring friends and family out all the time, to do something other than meeting up with friends at bars, to share a new experience that most people don't get to encounter. It turned out that with the boat being so far away, it became very difficult to bring people out sailing and I'm sure over half of the time I was always out there single handling my boat. Granted, I do have a very good group of sailing friends, but we often sailed together single handling our own boats. I used to think that it'd be a great dating tool, to bring girls out, and people used to make comments thinking the same thing, "that being a young single guy with a sailboat, wow you must get so many girls!"... No, going on four years has shown me it doesn't help that much. I began to realize sailing is my passion and not my friends' and family's. I found my boat to be my weekend get-away, such a nice change of pace from the normal everyday we experience during the work week. I had so many wonderful times on my boat, even when I was not able to bring friends and family out. It was so worth the past four years, I have no regrets at all, but I now feel it is time to move on to another stage in life and see what is next. I have made some very good friends through my sailing and I plan to continue to sail with them regularly.

I remember the day I bought my boat and I went to West Marine, the sales rep told me that was going to be one of the happiest days of my life. He then said the second happiest day of my life will be the day I sell my boat. Back then, I could never imagine that being true, but now I totally understand. Now that she is sold, I am not finding today to be quite one of the happiest days of my life, I have mixed emotions and it is sad to see her go, but I am also happy and relieved. I used to think I would never be without a boat, at least not anytime soon, but things do change. One of the biggest benefits now is it is a huge weight off my shoulders now. I no longer will feel that I must go to my boat every weekend to get use out of it since I'm incurring all the expenses of boat ownership. Lately I felt like I was forcing myself to head down to the boat which was not a good feeling. Now I will be free to pursue other interests, to do whatever I want any weekend, and still sail if I want with my friends. I will free up my boat expenses to save for future vacations, a future house, moving to the city, or other hobbies/interests I have.

I still love my boat, but I have let go and am happy to see her go to her proud new owners. It actually hasn't been hard for me emotionally. I think the hardest part was making the initial decision and placing the ads. After that, I realized I am selling for all the right reasons and I feel it is the best thing to do now. I really put a lot of thought into the decision and actually started thinking of selling back in May or June. I also thought about it last year, but then changed my mind. I can always buy another boat in the future, but right now I don't see it happening anytime soon. Maybe someday I will live closer to the water and be able to benefit more from being a boat owner.

I haven't posted much on my sailblog this year. I might update it with a backlog of some photos from this season, including our nine day adventure sailing south down to Tangier Island. Now that I've sold my Sapphire Breeze, one of my next traveling adventures I'm thinking about doing is chartering a 40'+ yacht down in the BVI with my friends next April. This has been another dream of mine, and now that I'm freeing up my boat expenses, I can put them towards adventures such as this.

It's been great hearing from people around the world that have read my blog over the years. I've even met some in person, one becoming a very good sailing friend that I brought into my sailing group. I will probably post every once in a while with my future sailing adventures, but it will probably be more limited as even this year had become. I hope everyone is enjoying the rest of the sailing season. Fair winds!
Vessel Name: Sapphire Breeze
Vessel Make/Model: 1982 Catalina 25 SK/SR
Hailing Port: Mayo, MD
Crew: Justin
Extra: This site is all about my experiences with my first boat; from restoring it, to my sailing adventures. I enjoy hearing from my readers, so feel free to send me an email. I'm also interested in meeting new people in the area, especially people in my age range since I hardly know any that sail.

Who: Justin
Port: Mayo, MD