I have often thought that if I really wanted to learn how to sail, I would have to get my own boat. I do know the basics, having raced a dozen times on other peoples' boats as well as going out on small lasers. Five months on a sailboat in the South Pacific also taught me a few things. However, having your own boat would really be the only way to truly learn all the intricacies of sailing. Last spring, checking Craigslist once again, I found and bought a 26 foot sailboat for a good price. She's a Thunderbird, fiberglass on plywood, a classic, fast boat from the Northwest coast. See this for a brief history and description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_26 I was somewhat familiar with the boat as friends had one for a while.
The previous owner had her moored at a dock in Coal Harbour for the past year. There were obviously parts that needed some TLC but the hull was apparently sound and the rigging looked good. There were also several extra sails that came with the boat. They say that the happiest time relating to sailboats is the day you buy one... and the day you sell it! They do require lots of time and $$... "an expensive toy" as a friend had put it.
According to sailor lore, it's bad luck to change the name of a boat. The owner had changed the name though and could not remember the original name from the man whom he had bought her from. I figured then no harm in changing the name once again. I came up with Manta Ray, those graceful flying creatures of the sea that I had seen several times snorkelling in the South Pacific.
As I do not have moorage (waiting lists and too expensive in Vancouver) I would be anchoring my boat back and forth between Kits Point and False Creek. The latter is a protected inlet of water that is, unfortunately, regulated by the city of Vancouver. You can only anchor there for two weeks at a time out of 30 day period. The former is out in English Bay, open to the sometimes nasty North Westerly winds coming from the Georgia Straight. I had to get a good anchor, chain and some anchoring line. The spending started at Popeye's, a 2nd hand Marine store in North Van, a place I would be going back to several times. A friend of a friend hooked me up with an 8 hp 4-stroke Honda motor that just fit the motor well of the T-bird. The next step was to get her hauled out of the water at the Granville island boat yard to power wash the the hull and to apply a new coat of anti-fowling paint. I had her out for a few days and also did some repairs on the rudder and transom. 
After buying a second hand dinghy and borrowing Erik's old Johnson Sea Horse motor, I was finally able to go for the maiden sail after having sorted out some of the lines and halyards. It took a few outings to get comfortable sailing with both the genoa and main sails. Thunderbirds have a fractional rig (or Marconi rig as they are often called) which means that the foresail does not go up the entire length of the mast but only 3/4 way up. The main sail area is quite large for the size of the boat as is the height of the mast. Still learning what exactly it all means as well as some of the terminology and characteristics of the different types of sails.
My friends were of course happy for me that I had this boat and I got several different small groups together to go out. Even though almost all of them do not know how to sail, the basics would be explained as we went, sometimes with anxious shouting if say a tack went wrong. I will need to practice sailing alone though, with both sails out.
It does not take long to get to know the community of boat owners anchoring in False Creek. Through my friends Erik and Naomi, who up until recently had their boat there, I met a few of them. One day, after anchoring in the Creek next to Albert, who lives on his boat, he asked me if he could check out my T-Bird. As he went inside the cabin, he asked me if I had a knife or screwdriver. Poking away, he then informed me that there were several rotten pieces in my cabin, one that was of crucial importance. I knew there were some problems but did not realize that one particular piece of wood was a block that supported one of the mast's stays. In other words, if the three screws that held together the chain plate attached to the stay were to rip off that rotten wood they were screwed in, while sailing, the mast could fall down ripping the cabin and deck of the boat. That would be the end of the boat. Albert offered to help me fix up my boat. What would transpire would be 3+ weeks of ripping out pieces of the cabin and deck, fiber-glassing and painting... It would have been preferable to do all this work with the boat on land, but that was not possible. Therefore much time was spent going from boat - dinghy - car - Home Depot - car - dinghy - boat... Another friend, Simon, let me use his generator, essential for all the power tools we used. I now understand why people like a grinder so much. The weather was perfect for working. There were a lot of man hours put in and I am grateful to Al for helping me out. I learned a lot about fixing things. There is another saying about boats... "whatever time you plan to work on a boat, multiply it by 3 then double it". A bit of an exaggeration, but yes, it does take a lot of time to get things done.
Once we got through the major repairs and after having cleaned out the cockpit and cabin of sawdust, fiberglass, scrap plywood and tools, we were able to go sailing. Albert has sailed all his life, so apart from being an excellent teacher for repairing sailboats, it was good to watch him go about sailing as well. There were still quite a few things to do on the boat but at this point they were mostly cosmetic. Removing several coats of marine paint on the coaming of the cockpit revealed the beautiful grain of teak wood, of which my boat, being built in the 60's, has a lot of. We also put the anchor line and chain at the front of the bow, through a hatch. While sailing, the anchor would now hang from the railing in the front. Before, I was dropping the anchor from the stern, then walking the line to the bow, because there was nowhere to put the heavy chain and line on the deck at the front.
I sometimes wondered what I was getting into... especially upon receiving some of my credit card statements. However, with the wind in the sails and the sound of waves... the pleasure of learning and having fun... it makes it all worthwhile. I will be taking the Manta out of the water soon for the winter months. Anchoring on and off in English Bay would be just too stressful with our many winter storms that roll in with the North West winds. There will be a few more thing to do in the spring, like painting the entire deck. This of course will be much easier with the boat on land. I'm looking forward to sail for days at a time, exploring the many islands and inlets of Georgia Straight.
