Hi Jack,
You should contact Dave Lampert yhtlines@surfari.net and Scott Poe poe@brainyard.com in SoCal. The 2000 Olson 30 National Championships are actually in Long Beach this June.
Regarding your question on whether to purchase an Olson 25 or an Olson 30:
It all depends on what type of sailing you plan to do. If you want a more family-oriented, user-friendly type of cruiser/racer that you can race casually, go with the 25. I think the Olson 25 is a good, stout boat with nice accoutrements down below. There are several being campaigned here on the San Francisco Bay and offshore.
If you are looking for a more thrilling experience with a sometimes painful learning curve, buy an Olson 30, and be prepared to work at it with your crew. Olson 30s have only minimal comforts, and no headroom. In a recent used boat review of the Olson 30 in Sailing magazine, one owner was quoted as saying, "Yeah, I SUPPOSE you COULD cruise an Olson 30."
When I bought my Olson 30 almost 3 years ago, I thought I knew how to drive a boat. Run Wild showed me that I didn't have a clue! Finally, with the help of a great racing crew, I'm starting to get the hang of it. One of my life's biggest thrills is surfing Run Wild downwind over waves on the edge of control at 18+ knots boatspeed. That experience is incomparable! It took a few years of horrendous wipe-outs, blown-out chutes, cockpit swampings, near-death scares, and some physical injuries for me and the crew to "get it." And, as Run Wild shows us regularly, we still have much more to learn. They don't call 'em "Punishment Ponies" for nothing!
Either way, if you plan to race, I recommend you evaluate the local
one-design
fleets for each design.
Good luck!
Dale
-----Original Message-----
From: Ewart, Jack <DCJJE@smtp.ais.ucla.edu>
To: 'dale@daleirving.com' <dale@daleirving.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 7:11 AM
Subject: So Cal
>Dale,
>
>Do you know of any organizations such as yours in Southern California? I
>have been debating whether to purchase an Olsen 25 or Olsen 30. I've crewed
>on an Olsen 30 over 15 years ago, but I don't know if it would be better to
>start out on a 25. Your thoughts?
>
>Regards,
>Jack Ewart
>Murrieta, Calif.
>
Received on Tue Apr 4 19:18:00 2000