RE: New Owner

Congrats Michelle,

I too am a new owner of an SJ23. May your sailing be as enjoyable as mine has been. For me it was 25 years in waiting. Learning to sail in the southern coastal islands of Norway's south coast as a child, the gentle ocean breezes, salty spray from the bow has been a missing component in my life for far too long.

As far as I can tell she was the last SJ 23 that was made (1988 Fixed Keel H2) it has a 28' mast with 1100 LB led winged Keel, inboard rudder as on the SJ24 and custom interior. I am the third owner and have her moored in the PNW and have enjoyed sailing her in Puget Sound now for just over a month. But at this time am just single handling her. I have added a halyard draw down line to the headsail to make it easier and trips to the bow less frequent.

Currently I have a trailer on order and hope to have her out as the weather changes for a winter overhaul and update to make her more single handed friendly. Items on the list are CDI FF2, Sail conversion and I'm thinking of going with a Teflon bottom paint. Along with the major projects, the normal stuff will also be taken care of too like replace window/hatch seals, and gel coat buff out and polish.

May all your sailing be with good wind and sunny skies

Cheers

Erik

-----Original Message-----
From: bluegill-lady@xxxxxxx [mailto:bluegill-lady@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 10:06 AM
To: sanjuan23@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: New Owner

Hi!

I have purchased a 1977 San Juan 23 , hull number 117. This boat was formerly owned by Gary Robinson and was named Ms. B. Hav'n 2. I have renamed her (complete with champagne and ceremony) as "Kathy Marie". She will be sailed mostly on Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but I intend to trailer her to some of the larger lakes in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. I am one of the few women in the Lake Manawa Sailing Association that skippers her own boat, and most of the time I sail single handed. My husband comes along as crew once in a while, but he doesn't have the love for sailing like I do.

The SJ23 is a step up for me (from a Helsen 20), but she has been gentle and forgiving when I make mistakes, and nice and fast when I do everything correctly. She has been mine for only two months, but I already am quite attached to her. This winter, I plan on sewing a new sail cover, and hope to make more modifications next spring to make it easier to sail single handed.

Michelle Pierce