Day 1 (ish) of 8 year PLAN

So I love sailing but have not been on the water near as much as I would have liked and now as I near 50!! have decided to put a race boat and team on Dublin Bay. Maybe a little mad, and I am not sure if it's possible but thats all part of the adventure.

I have been away working for the last 3 years and am now back in Dublin. Before I left I sold my cruising boat, a Bluewater 58. I want (and need) to get back on the water. My challenge is that I am still as busy as ever. My plan is to get a somewhat smaller boat (about 34-35 foot) that is competitive and to try to get a team together that will work together over the coming years to become one of the top 10 teams in the bay.

I am not a racer myself, but I am competitive and I love a challenge so I am going to try to build the team from scratch and with people who want to learn rather than experienced sailor/racers. I believe that good teams are generally more successful than loose teams of talented individuals.

So today I have no Boat and no Crew - Just Me !

The PLAN : get a boat (good start) and build a crew over two-three seasons (2013-2014/15). Over this period we will learn to sail together, understand each other and know the boat. We will white sail for this period as learning to crew together and depend on and know each other will be key to our success in later years. By the end of the 2-3 yrs we should aim to be in the top 30% of the White Sail fleet. We will move to High Tech and Spinnaker when we have learned how to sail well without them. Within another 2 years I would like be be in the top 30% of the high-tech fleet. We will then start ISORA and the likes of Cowes or Cork Week. Over the next 3 years we will become a boat to watch on the circuit. Well you need a plan !

The BOAT : At the moment I am thinking either Beneteau 34.7 or J109. Both boats will need driver, pit, genoa, mainsail and tactician for white sail and them some weight for weather.

The TRAINING : No one succeeds without practice and a thirst for bettering themselves. I have shelves of books on sailing and racing. Recently I have purchased the NorthU Sail Trim and Sailing Tactics books and Videos. They are fantastic and will form the basis of our education and training.

So now to get that boat ...