bitten by the bug

Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, BVI

One symptom of the sailing bug is obsession.

Check.

Our Sunfish lessons were spread over two weeks, in which time we jumped on Craigslist and SearchTempest.com to see what fishies were out there, what the going price was in our 300 mile radius, and what other little sail dinghies we should consider.

Then came the blogs, the forums, the scattered websites with spots of good information (what years and manufacturers are good, what to look for when inspecting a boat, etc.). This isn't good, because we are both in the last year of getting our masters degrees and rather strapped for cash, but by god, we want a boat to call our own.

While it is fun for both of us to jump into something enthusiastically that could grow into a family activity, it's also proving to be one of those exercises in marital negotiation. Mike is one of those people who loves to research and consider all options and possibilities. I like to do this too and value that quality in my husband. However, he can put himself in analysis paralysis, whereas I can get the information I need and make a decision and then act on it.

Here is what we know:

• We can sail a Sunfish
• Sunfish is one of the most economical, easy to sail, and portable boats out there
• We can store the Sunfish at home and trailer it with our cars
• They are small, 1-2 person boats, so no family rides, but we can also possibly have one each

Here is Mike:

• Yes, but what other boats are out there?!
• I don't want to get bored with a Sunfish
• Maybe we need a bigger boat

We aren't seriously hunting yet, though I think we are enthusiastic enough to jump on a good deal if we see it (and are quick enough). But we've already learned a few things: when a good Fish comes on the market, people JUMP. There was a good looking boat for $450 on Craigslist in Missouri we seriously thought about just grabbing (the ones in our area are overpriced or look like projects), but Mike hesitated, because he isn't sold on Sunfishes yet. It was gone within a day or two.

The battle will be finding a boat in good shape, with a trailer, in our price range, but the other part will be convincing Mike that a boat is something your grow out of, not into. You can't leap from novice Sunfish sailing to a daysailer. Also, we don't want a boat that we then have to get a bigger vehicle for, cannot store in the basement or garage, or is too big to toodle around his parent's small lake. While I agree we don't want to lock ourselves into a tiny box and miss some good options, I also want to be able to enjoy our little boat.

Our best bet has sailed by, so now we will content ourselves with the club boats and reading until the next opportunity comes along. I've been obsessively reading Windtraveler, O Dock, my2fish, and Proper Course, both dreaming big and small. We've been watching Horatio Hornblower and What About Bob? and Captain Ron are in the Netflix queue.