Vacation 2006 was spent in Clearwater FL at the Marriott on Sand Key.  

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/travel/tpams-clearwater-beach-marriott-suites-on-sand-key/  

This is a wonderful hotel that is located on the Intracoastal Waterway.

It has access to the ocean via a right-of-way between hotels on the other side of the street. The Intracoastal Waterway at this location is simply beautiful. Even better is the fact that right next door to the Marriott adjacent to their parking lot is the Clearwater Community Sailing Center (CCSC).    http://www.clearwatercommunitysailing.org/   

 I went next door to talk with the people at CCSC and see if I could rent a sailboat. They told me that I could join their membership on a weekly basis if I was not a local resident. They told me I had to pass a written exam to test my sailing knowledge. I started the exam and had to meekly tell the nice people that I could not pass the exam. My wife, Nancy, and I have enjoyed sailing for many years on small dinghy’s and catamarans but were not experts. We know how to get from point A to point B but really never understood how we did it, nor the sailing terms used. We learned from my Father-in-law who, Chuck Curtis, who is a very practical man who taught us by example. He was a very good sailor but not one to get caught up in the terms and complexities of the science behind the wonderful sport.  

Chuck’s brother, Bruce is also a sailor.  Bruce lives in Hawaii and sails the South Pacific on his Caliber 40 LRC.  In 1982 Nancy visited him and sailed off Maui.  They are pictured below on his old boat a Morgan 38:

Nancy and I have sailed for years and had a lot of fun but we are not experts.  I explained this to the people at the CCSC and they told me they would allow me to join anyways. Thank goodness. My wife and I sailed everyday of our vacation crisscrossing this wonderful location on the Intracoastal. It was glorious.  

The photo’s below are of us sailing the catamaran and having a drink at the pool.

When our vacation was over I came home with a few sailing magazines such as

Sail, BlueWater Sailing, Cruising World and Southwinds (picked up free at the CCSC).

 http://www.cruisingworld.com/                              http://www.sailmagazine.com/

http://www.southwindssailing.com/                           http://www.bwsailing.com/

I read these with zeal and decided to subscribe to these publications. I enjoy reading about sailing and the adventures of Cruising Couples living their dreams and look forward eagerly to their arrival each month. I dream of setting sail one day with my wife and enjoying the sailing lifestyle. I have a goal of chartering sailboats in Florida and the Caribbean and maybe someday living the cruising lifestyle.  My reading takes me to a world I love to dream about.

.

Being an engineer and lifelong student of science & technology lead me to investigate formal instruction in sailing so that I could enjoy the sport of sailing more fully. While I sincerely appreciated the knowledge my Father-in-law has provided me I wanted to know and understand the science of sailing and to be formally taught the proper sailing techniques, terms and safety tactics. My wife, was supportive and also had great interest, but wanted to wait until our children were in college before we took such time and expense. I understood her concerns but convinced her that we weren't getting any younger and why wait to begin the fun! Plus our children love to sail too.

As such, I began to look for a sailing school that could give us formal instruction and at the same time accomplish another secret goal. My wife and I celebrate our 20th anniversary on May 23rd. I wanted to celebrate our anniversary by taking our sailing course together as a couple. I needed a sailing school that would allow my wife and I to vacation and relax as well as instruct. We wanted a live-aboard course that was ASA (American Sailing Association) based with formal instruction & certifications. Formal instruction would provide us with the science behind the proper sailing tactics and practical safety techniques. We wanted the ASA instruction and certifications so that we could have a way of measuring our knowledge and thus lead to confidence that was built through proper instruction and on-the-water exercises and practice. While I love the water and sailing, I have always had a respect for and degree of fear of it as well. I felt that proper instruction and formal exercises would impart confidence that is truly real rather than perhaps a false confidence that is easier to falter. I guess that is why even after my instruction I still have a respect and fear of the water. I think this is good.

After talking to many people at a lot of reputable sailing schools I made the decision in favor of Yachting Vacations in Punta Gorda, Florida. http://www.yachtingvacations.com/ 

Their program was just what we were looking for. Yachting Vacations had professional instructors that are Licensed Captains and a fleet of exceptional vessels to learn upon. Since one of our goals is to become bareboat charterers it was only natural that our sailing school be part of a professional chartering operation. I wanted the sailing school to be US based and to be located in Florida. We love Florida and since this was also to be a vacation, warmth was a primarily concern. April in Rochester, NY is still snowy and cold. We wanted SUN. We have vacationed previously on the West Coast of Florida and we love it. Sanibel, Captiva, Boca Grande, etc. are wonderful vacation spots. Charlotte Harbor is ideal. You can visit all these islands and have great sails on Charlotte Harbor. There is access to the Gulf via Boca Grande Pass and the water is beautiful. A big plus in favor of Yachting Vacations and the Punta Gorda area is Burnt Store Marina. This is a wonderful community and the facilities are world class. Over the top in fact. http://www.burntstoremarina.com 

This is the most ideal location for what we wanted to accomplish. Finally, prior to arriving at Yachting Vacations, Lou Anne, who helped us set up the sailing course and all our arrangements was great. She was always eager to help us and would promptly answer any concerns we had. Before we ever arrived and met the people at Yachting Vacations it was apparent we made the right choice. Their professionalism prior to arrival was as good as that during our instruction and vacation. And I haven't even gotten to the good parts of our experience yet. We chose the 6 day live aboard course that would provide a total of 4 certifications: Basic Keelboat 101, Basic Bareboat Chartering 103 ; Basic Coastal Cruising 104 and Catamaran Chartering 114.

Nancy and I arrived into Fort Meyers Airport at 5 PM and rented a car and drove to Punta Gorda on Wednesday. We stayed at a local hotel and had dinner at Harpoon Harry’s at Fishermen’s Village.  http://www.fishville.com        http://www.harpoonharrys.com/  

We slept in to 10 AM and had a nice walk along the beach and then had a nice lunch at the fancy Captain’s Table which is also at Fishermen’s Village.  This location has a lot of nice shops.  http://www.smugglers.com/captainstable/

Here’s a few photos of Nancy and I at the Captain’s Table.

Around 3PM we had some friends join us for an afternoon of fun and laughs. We checked in with Yachting Vacations, met Lou Anne and she introduced us to the boat and its dockside handlers.  They gave us a quick tour of the boat and told us that a formal introduction to the boat and systems would be conducted the morning of our second lesson day. 

Below is a photo of Nancy and another of our friends, Steve & Lori, when we first boarded AFTICA.

We boarded our vessel and got acclimated (had beers) and explored the Burnt Store Marina with our friends. We then drove 30 minutes south along a beautiful drive to St. James City and had dinner overlooking San Carlos Bay towards the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  We had lots more fun and laughs and some great food at The Waterfront Restaurant. http://www.waterfrontrestaurant.com/  

After dinner we drove back to Burnt Store Marina and said goodbye to our friends.  Nancy and I retired to our Gemini 105Mc Catamaran for the evening. 

 The Gemini 105Mc was very comfortable and we awoke well rested.  We had a nice breakfast aboard and then went over to the Yachting Vacations and Lou Anne introduced us to Chris Rogiers, managing partner and our instructor for our first day of training, Basic Keelboat 101 on a Catalina 22.  http://www.catalinayachts.com/  They were wonderful and Nancy and I were excited about the week.  We went over a number of items on the boat and covered most of the syllabus in the ASA course book.   Nancy and I had read all the ASA course books prior to our week of instruction and had studied and prepared for the upcoming written tests.  The live training went over the same items but longer discussions of a practical nature were wonderful as Chris was patient and caring as well as very knowledgeable. 

We proceeded to take the boat out of the marina after about 3 hours of dockside instruction.  By 1PM we were out in Charlotte Harbor and enjoying a beautiful sunny day with brisk winds.  Chris had us practice many maneuvers and we went over the terms and technical aspects of various points of sail.  This was exciting especially as the wind picked up a bit more.  Chris estimated that the winds were between 10 and 15 knots and picking up.  The sky had some mixed clouds but still had some nice sun.  After learning our points of sail and various maneuvers we began practicing man-over-board tactics and executing these with a boat fender thrown over the side to simulate our MOB.   

Chris was very patient and we became quite proficient in running over the MOB fender.  We found it relatively straightforward to get back to the MOB Fender but actually snagging it and bringing it back on-board was quite difficult.  We continued to practice as the wind became stronger and more forceful.  The water had consistent white caps and was choppy.  The waves made it even more challenging to bring our MOB back on deck.  At one point I made a quick change of direction and Chris lost his footing and disappeared through the companion way and fell inside the boat.  He was hurt and disoriented for a brief instant and Nancy and I felt terrible.  With Chris injured Nancy and I quickly put the boat into a heave-to procedure and got the boat under control and helped Chris recover.  This was a little more exciting than we had expected and we were all shaken up a bit.  After a few minutes and with Chris recovered we retrieved the MOB fender and decided to call it a day.  By this time, it was close to 6 PM and we had a long day of instruction, excitement and were exhausted.  When we finally arrived into the marina Chris had us practice entering and docking a few times until we were comfortable handling the Catalina 22 in the marina and around the docks.  We went inside and met a few of the dockhands and they remarked that learning to sail on a day with winds gusting to 25 knots in the open harbor must have been exhilarating.  That was an understatement.  We estimated the winds were high but not that high. I guess in retrospect we probably learned more in that one day than we would have if it was a calmer day.  Our nerves were as tired as our bodies and we had dinner at the Porto Bello next to the Yachting Vacations office.  First on the menu was an ice cold drink.

The following day we awoke refreshed and met our new instructor who would handle the rest of our instruction, Captain Jim Dorrance.  Jim and some deckhands went over the Gemini 105MC Catamaran and it systems.  http://www.geminicatamarans.com/ This boat being considerably larger with many more features and systems than the Catalina 22 took all of the morning to go over and a few more hours in the afternoon.  Around 2PM Jim took us out of the marina and into Charlotte Harbor.  Another beautiful day with winds in the 15knot range.  Not as windy as the previous day but enough to give us some real good speed on the fast catamaran.  Jim had us practice many of the same maneuvers as we had done on the Catalina 22 to give us a feel for the larger catamaran.  The basic points of sail and handling of the sheets are the same.  The heeling felt on the Catalina was non-existent on the Gemini 105Mc.  The catamaran accelerated much faster and flew over the water.  It was a lot of fun and felt very safe.  Jim explained the nuances of the catamaran and told us not to be overconfident in the safety due to the lack of heeling in high winds.  The catamaran won’t heel like a monohull but when it begins to overpower the risk of capsizing is increased without much warning.  Jim was very professional and made sure we correctly understood the course material and practiced the exercises on the water.  We headed back to the marina for some exercises in the dock area.  We had a cookout with some new friends on Dock E.  Dock E is the party dock at the Marina and these people are worthy sailors and great company.  We had a wonderful time and plenty of laughs with Cynthia and fun-loving Bill Fell and their crew of merrymakers.  The camaraderie of the live-aboards and the residents of Burnt Store Marina was very special.  I can see why everyone loves Burnt Store Marina.  Its people are wonderful. 

Below is AFTICA and the Dock E Party Central Picnic Area.

The third day we prepared for our overnighter out in the barrier islands.  We got going early and went over all the systems and checked them for proper operation. We stopped to fill up the diesel fuel and fill the water tanks.  We stocked the boat with provisions and Jim helped us navigate out the marina into Charlotte harbor once again.  We practiced our points of sail and MOB exercises some more and then we did a heave-to and had a nice lunch in the harbor.  The beauty of Charlotte Harbor is that it is so large, an absolute huge body of water in itself.  During the lunch hour we once again went over our plans and charts for the journey towards the barrier islands, a distance of 14 miles from the marina. 

 After lunch Jim introduced us to the electronics on the boat that we previously used but now we understood had advanced features that we did not know about.  Autopilot, radar and chart plotters were studied.  Up to now, we had done things the old fashioned way with all manual controls and paper charts.  I must say these electronics were interesting and helpful but deep down I enjoyed the old fashion methods and paper charts and calculations.  Being an engineer from the slide rule days I am nostalgic.  Besides, I work with computers and fancy electronics all day long in real life and look forward to sailing for the peace and contentment away from the stress of daily life and electronic pervasiveness.

We set our course and enjoyed a nice sail towards the Boca Grande Pass.  The winds were lighter in the 8 knot range and it was a beautiful day and sail.  Once we reached the ICW Intracoastal Waterway near the Boca Grande Pass we turned south and traveled along the ICW for about a mile or so and turned into a protected anchorage known as Pelican Bay.  We practiced anchoring in this beautiful bay and then put down a final anchor.  We had dinner and spent the evening talking and practicing our knot tying.   What a beautiful night it was.  The stars were brilliant and the fish were jumping all around us.  Dolphins cruised near our boat and we were in awe of nature, in the midst of it and loving it.

In the morning we went over the course syllabus and took a few exams.  Having read the material ahead of time and with the excellent instruction of Chris and Jim and then all the practical experience we were gaining we did well on the exams. Nancy and I love to learn and we read later that more and more people are taking vacations where they have learning experiences.  I guess without knowing it was the “in” thing to do we were doing it on our own.  Learning to sail with Yachting Vacations is a great way to spend a vacation. 

Lou Anne had made arrangements for us to have lunch at the private island club on Useppa.  http://www.useppa.com/indexb.html    Chris Rogiers and Yachting Vacations is a member of this wonderful club and they enable Yachting Vacations to entertain guests (Nancy and I) at the club.  This island is simply charming.  The homes, cottages and inn are beautiful and it is considered on the top 25 island retreats in the world.  Lunch was peaceful and relaxed the food spectacular and the ambiance charming.  We talked about our families and our lives.  Jim Dorrance is a wonderful gentleman who was very interesting and we enjoyed his company.  Useppa was a wonderful experience.

Leaving Useppa later in the afternoon we practiced our navigation and made good use of the charts.  We traveled a bit on the ICW and quickly realized it is more peaceful sailing away from this motorboat highway.  Having 75 to 100 foot motor yachts traveling well in excess of the posted speeds is a tad unnerving for inexperienced sailors like we are.  Again, I guess trial by fire, is one way to learn.  We learned a lot in a short period of time as a means of survival.  We made it back to Pelican Bay and paradise soon enough. We took the dinghy over to the Lacosta Island and the Cayo Costa State Park.   We walked from Pelican Bay across the island to the Beach on the Gulf of Mexico.  The beach was pristine with white sand and very few people.  The water was cool and refreshing.  We had a nice dinner of sandwiches that Nancy had prepared and watched the sun begin to set over the Gulf.  Its golden hue was shimmering off the calm ocean.  We walked back to the dinghy in the early dusk.  We boarded our new home and had some drinks while viewing the stars.  Pelican Bay is well protected and the weather was perfect.  The temperature at night was in the high-60’s with a nice gentle breeze.  It was perfect sleeping in our nice sized queen forward berth on the Gemini 105Mc. The boat had great ventilation and we could view the stars from our berth.  What a great way to live. We wished we could do this every night.  Cleary live aboard cruisers have a great lifestyle.  My envy may hopefully become our own lifestyle in the future.  In the meantime, this education, experience and hopefully future charters with Yachting Vacations will suffice until retirement beckons.

The fifth day began with a casual breakfast aboard our yacht and some more coursework and exams.  We went over charts and navigation and planned our route back to Burnt Store Marina.  After pulling anchor and leaving Pelican Bay we traveled the short distance to Boca Grande Pass and traversed it into the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean. The day was spectacular again and the ocean was calm with a nice 10 knot breeze that enabled us to get some nice speed and practice some points of sail while admiring the Cayo Costa State Park Beach we had enjoyed ashore the day before.  The white beach and the pristine blue waters captivated us.  Oh, how we love Florida and these beautiful barrier islands.  This area really is the perfect place to Charter a sailboat and vacation.  While I dream to charter in the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, I also dream of many charters here in Charlotte Harbor and the Barrier Islands of the West Coast of Florida.  There is a special quality in chartering on the mainland USA. 

After enjoying the Ocean for a few hours we headed back through Boca Grande Pass towards Burnt Store Marina.  We kept close watch for Aids to Navigation (ATONs) and found it fun to identify them.  Keeping a running record of our coordinates and comparing them to the electronics and GPS was challenging and enjoyable.   Both the trip to and from the Barrier Islands and Burnt Store Marina were straight Beam Reaches.  The return trip was easy and the weather was perfect.  Temperatures in the low-80’s with 8 to 10 knots of wind.  The hard-top Bimini on the Gemini 105Mc came in real handy it kept us cool.  We used plenty of sunscreen (50 spf) every day.  We had plenty of provisions and kept hydrated.    Nancy and I wore PFD’s at all times of sailing.  Being prepared and practicing safety precautions make for a more relaxing time and enjoyable experience. 

We arrived back to Burnt Store Marina in time to have a private dinner alone and we talked of all we had learned and experienced.  Nancy loved her Anniversary Gift of this trip.  We took a nice night time swim in the marina pool and retired to our pleasant berth tired but serene.

Our final day of lessons we continued MOB exercises in Charlotte Harbor and had a pleasant sail.  We enjoyed lunch while hove-to and took our last exam.  Afterwards, we returned to the marina and practiced docking and handling the boat in the marina. We visited the fuel dock to top off the tanks and to clean out the holding tank.  The professional dock hands helped us and taught us a number of things about docking for gas etc.  Little things learned via experience from people who do it every day.  They were a great help.  After more docking practice we made our final stop into our slip and cleaned up the boat and packed our bags.  We said goodbye to all our friends at Yachting Vacations and the Dock E comrades.  Jim Dorrance and his wonderful wife, Charlene, were nice enough to drive Nancy and me to the Punta Gorda Rental Car agency at the local airport. We were grateful for all Jim had taught and did for us.  We said our final goodbye and Nancy and I were sentimental that this part of our vacation had come to a conclusion.

That Evening we drove to Sarasota and spent the night at a nice little cottage in the village and watched the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico.   The following day on our drive to Clearwater to meet some friends I received a phone call from Chris Rogiers at Yachting Vacations. Prior to leaving Burnt Store Marina I had left a gratuity for Chris and Jim with Lou Anne.  Lou Anne gave it to Chris and he called immediately to let me know that such a gratuity was excessive and that he would not accept it.   While researching sailing schools I had been told to tip the instructors between 15% and 20% of the total costs of the instruction.   Having had an excellent experience with both Chris and Jim we decided to tip the 20% of the costs.  Chris had never heard of such gratuity rates and he had never had anyone mention such a rate.  We discussed our time and we agreed upon an acceptable gratuity if I really wanted to provide one but he prefaced it by saying no gratuity is expected nor necessary.  I insisted upon providing a gratuity and Chris finally agreed but he quickly sent us a check for more than half of what our original gratuity was.  While Yachting Vacations had no such expectation for gratuities I can say that many other sailing schools state the expected rates.  Once again, I was most impressed with Yachting Vacations and their professionalism. 

My youngest son, Curtis, and I had spent the rest of the Springtime searching for used sailboats to purchase. This would be our first real sailboat.  We had sailed on other peoples boats for many years but never had our own.  I had been contemplating purchasing a boat for many years but Nancy thought we should wait until the kids were in college.  After our sailing vacation and lessons she had warmed to the idea of having our own boat.   Curtis and I had searched and visited many boats but found nothing that turned us on.  Then one day, I noticed an advertisement for a Com-Pac Yachts 23.  I had always admired the Com-Pac Yachts 16 which I saw locally in our area.  It had a traditional look and it appealed to us.  The 23 we saw was just what we wanted.  Since we live in Western NY and planned to keep the boat on Canandaigua Lake at Holiday Harbour we had certain limitations we had to abide by.  http://www.canandaigua.com/

The boat had to be no more than 23 feet and be trailerable.  It had to have a shallow keel or a retractable centerboard and it had to accommodate at least 6 people comfortably.  The draft could be no more than a few feet.  The Com-Pac 23 met all these requirements. 

The one we visited and fell in love with was in perfect condition and well maintained. It was a 1987 model but it looked brand new.  The inside was in perfect condition and I doubt it has ever had any water in the bilge.  It was in mint condition and Curtis loved it.  I was excited and drove Nancy and my eldest son, Kerry Ed, to visit the boat and inspect it.  They too fell in love with it and I offered the seller his asking price.  He was the second owner and the first owner had only sailed it a few years and then put it into a barn after he had some health problems.  Our seller purchased the 23 because he had previously owned two Com-Pac 16’s and loved them.  He wanted to move up and got the 23 and now 4 years later wanted to invest in a new boat.  I asked him to assist us in learning about the boat and how to maintain it and most importantly to use his truck to get it to the boat launch and teach the whole family how to put up the mast and rig the boat etc.  Remember, this is the first sailboat we have owned and we have zero experience in rigging a boat.  Yes, our course material went over all the rigging and set-up of a boat, but the actual course we took did not cover this practical experience.  Reading about it and actually doing it are two different things.  We needed the seller’s experience and knowledge to set-up and rig the boat properly.  This was a wise decision.  Our seller spent an entire day helping us rig the boat and practice the process.  He taught us a great deal.  Getting the boat launched and in the water went a lot easier with someone helping who has done it before.   We got the boat into the water and took it over to our dock at Holiday Harbour and then we fixed a few things and took it out for a sail.  http://www.holidayharbour.org/

We are now sailboat owners and we love the Com-Pac Yachts 23. 

http://www.com-pacyachts.com/com-pac23.php

We have joined the West Marine Advantage Program and the Boat Owners Association of America.  We purchased insurance from BoatUS.  http://www.boatus.com/  The people at West Marine have been happy and eager to help us choose a variety of items for our boat.  We are happy with their service and quality products.  http://www.westmarine.com

One of our close friends, Steve Czajkowski, is an avid sailor and has taken our family out sailing on Lake Ontario for years.  He is very knowledgeable and he has been nice enough to go sailing with us and teach us many things about sailing our Com-Pac 23.  He is patient and quick witted and we have a ton of fun with him as he continues to teach us whenever he joins us.  This Summer (2007) we have sailed about 2 or 3 times a week and have enjoyed it tremendously.   We love our boat and the whole family spends quality time together enjoying the great outdoors without the everyday distractions.  It is truly relaxing to sail Canandaigua Lake and enjoy the beauty. 

Now that it is winter, I have added a few more subscriptions to my magazine collection.  I love to read about the cruising lifestyle and have enjoyed Latitudes and Attitudes, Sailing and the BoatUS monthly.   I hope to attend a Lats and Atts party someday.  That Bob Bitchin guy looks like he knows how to have a good time.  The sailing seminars look informative too.   http://www.latsandatts.net/ & http://www.latsandatts.net/magazine/  I must admit that while I enjoy all my sailing magazines Latitudes & Attitudes & Cruising World are my favorites.

While it may sound crazy to read all these magazines each month I love it.  I figure for the cost of a single night out with the boys to a hockey game and some after game drinks I can subscribe to all of these magazines and enjoy my winter nights in front of the fireplace on my comfortable couch reading about faraway lands and stories of the sea.

We can’t wait for Spring and more sailing.  Sailing has become a wonderful outdoor activity for our whole family and we love it.

 I dedicate this site and this story of our sailing experience to my Father-in-Law, Chuck Curtis.

He is our inspiration and the reason we can call ourselves sailors.

Thank you, Dad!

Author;  Kerry Van Iseghem

Copyright 2008

Below are photo's of our experience.  If you click these photo's you will be taken to a higher resolution set.

Photographs on this kerryvaniseghem.com website are free if they are for your own personal use.  Any publication of these photo's is prohibited without proper authorization  by Kerry Van Iseghem and payment for rights to publishing.  Copyright 2008.

Please send me an email asking for the full resolution image and I will send it to you.

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Kerry Van Iseghem

7343 Hertfordshire Way

Victor, NY 14564

 Phone = 585-230-9090

 Email = Kerry_vaniseghem@yahoo.com