Wilbur Hubbard wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...

And Vic...

If you still have a lingering interest in the MacGregor 26 boats...
and as others have suggested... check out this web site:

http://macgregorsailors.com

It is a moderated forum... with about 1800 registered users...
and very active concerning the MacGregor product... mostly
the good... but the bad and ugly as well. (smile)

And yeh... I am an owner as well... and you are more than wel-
come to email me direct. The email address that is shown... is
for real.

I have made it personal policy not to discuss the attributes as well
as the shortcomings of this boat on public forums... for obvious rea-
sons.

Jim Cate is the only one that I am aware of that has the guts to do
so. heh heh



JimC is a natural born loser so it's to be expected he'd engage in
self-flagellation in public forums. Anybody who buys a Mac26 is a loser.
Anybody who's proud of owning one is a double loser. If you own a Mac26,
just shut up about it and use it once in a while. Try to not notice any
real sailboats because you will quickly become dissatisfied with your
choice of boats. Try not to notice any real motor boats because you will
quickly become annoyed at the lame compromise boat you ended up with.
Just stay focused on never examining the many faults of the Mac26
compared to its one or two virtues and you might remain happy with your
uninformed purchase for a season or two. But whatever you do, NEVER
claim it's a good boat because it just isn't. It's a cheap, entry level,
compromise boat that calls to immediate attention the lack of
intelligence of the owner. People who have real motorboats and people
who have real sailboats know what I'm talking about.

Wilbur Hubbard.


But sailing it is lots of fun. - Have a nice evening Wilbur.

Jim

On 27 Mar 2007 16:15:29 -0700, "
wrote:

And Vic...

If you still have a lingering interest in the MacGregor 26 boats...
and as others have suggested... check out this web site:

http://macgregorsailors.com

Thanks, Bill. Spent hours there, and will join up if I go that way.
Pretty happy crowd.


I have made it personal policy not to discuss the attributes as well
as the shortcomings of this boat on public forums... for obvious rea-
sons.

Heh heh.

Jim Cate is the only one that I am aware of that has the guts to do
so. heh heh

Good for him. He's an iron man. Personally, I couldn't spend as much
time as him on the education he's done, especially with such class.

--Vic

Peter Hendra wrote:

On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:39:57 GMT, JimC wrote:



Wilbur Hubbard wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...


Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.



That's excellent that you're taking your time and doing it right.
There's one moron around here by the name of JimC who claims he's a
lawyer. He ran out on an impulse and bought a Mac26M and now is totally
embarrassed about his uninformed entry-level purchase. It's like I'm
sure people look at his boat and then find out he's a lawyer and they
begin to wonder how lame is this guy. Lawyers who are worth a hoot make,
what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be able to afford a real
boat and a classy boat at that. Anyhow, poor JimC spent probably a
hundred hours posting things about how he was so happy with his purchase
but you could tell he was not happy at all. Somebody who's happy with
his boat doesn't spend hundreds of hours trying to convince himself how
great it is.

What's really sick is how Wilbur, and a few others, devote all that
attention and time posting such garbage criticizing me and my boat. If
he was really interested in sailing and really enjoying his own boat,
he wouldn't be so interested in posting more sarcastic notes like that
one. (Actually, once was enough for us to get your peculiar and biases
re the Macs, Wilbur.) - Why do you go on and on on this subject? It
suggests that you have some other motive, of course. - Are you jealous
that I'm out sailing and enjoying my boat after you have posted all
those notes explaining why I shouldn't enjoy sailing it?

It's obvious that Wilbur has some personal problems and is in need of
professional help. - No normal adult would get his jollies posting such
childish, personal attacks on a fellow sailor, over and over again.

Jim


Jim,
I wasn't aware that you knew Wilbur personally and so well.

I wouldn't get upset too much. You are quite right in your comments.
Some people regard boats as they do their cars - the newer, the more
expensive, the faster and so on, the better. There is actually no best
boat at all. There are boats better suited for cruising, for racing,
for shallow waters, for entertaining etc., A true lover of boats and
those with experience of the sea does not regard them as a status
symbol to enhance the social or other status of the owner. As there is
no "best" woman or man, there is no best boat. People choose boats for
a number of reasons, often quite illogical - rather like marriage.

I recall two boats in New Zealand that would readily incur the
ridicule of such as Wilbur. One was a 18 foot open plywood home built
dory with the name "John's Dory" painted on the sides in large
letters. Holiday makers at the wharf of the resort town where my beach
home is never gave it a second glance but stared at the large and new
power boats with dreamy eyes. The interesting thing is that John,
being retired, went out recreational fishing in his home built boat
every day and always came back with a decent catch. His little boat
was out in all weathers and was probably more seaworthy than most of
the larger power boats who were kept at home by the rough seas. They
often complained also of the lack of good fishing. John would never
take much from the sea and gave most of his catch away to older people
and others about town. A couple of times, John went out to tow in
flasher boats that had broken down. He never said much and never
responded when people scoffed at his boat. He was a much better seaman
and fisherman than they, regardless of the monetary worth of their
boats.

Another boat I met several times when we lived aboard at Westhaven
Marina in Auckland, New Zealand. It was built after WWII of timbers
that the then owner had managed to scavenge. It was about 28 feet in
length and had rigging made of plow steel, spliced with a a Liverpool
splice and parceled. The inside was barren and in need of furniture
there being only two perfunctionary berths. The only things on that
boat that were less than 40 years old were the owner's sea boots. He
was a bricklayer who lived and worked on Great Barrier Island, a day's
sail northeast of Auckland. In essence, the little sailboat was his
car.

As the vessel was not fitted with any engine, he had become a
proficient sailor and would sail to the marina mouth, turn port 90
degrees into the channel, starboard 90 degrees, then port 90 again
and finally another port 90 to gently brush against the pontoon of
thefinger berth. All of this under sail by himself. I doubt that I
would ever be able to perform this manouvre, if I ever had to. As we
usually anchor out, I have to suppress feelings of panic upon entering
marinas.

What was most interesting to see was that everyone's eyes were turned
to watch this little rough boat coming in. Nobody said anything but
watched in silent appreciation of the skill displayed. People vied to
take his docklines, people whose boats were worth half a million
dollars. He never said much either, even though many of the onlookers
tried to engage him in conversation. We were fortunate that his berth
was along from ours and we would often have him to dinner with before
he set off back to the island.

In writing of these two boats, several other boats and their owners
have come to mind. One left a lasting impression upon my family. We
were anchored by ourselves overnight near the Ranger Station on Rinja
Island in Indonesia, one of the two islands that are home to the giant
Komodo Dragons. Early that morning, my wife went on deck in response
to a gentle knock on the hull and was presented with a 15 inch long,
freshly caught fish by a small old man in an outrigger canoe about 12
to 14 feet in length. At one end of the canoe was a small broken pot
on some stones where he cooked his meals. Drying in the sun were a few
three and four inch long trepang or sea slugs that he had dived for
and that he would later sell to the traders for a few cents - the
basis of his living. He had home made diving goggles carved from wood
with plastic inserts and a piece of string to hold them on his head.
His only protection from the elements was one of those ubiquitous blue
plastic tarpaulins folded neatly in the bow along with a cheap woven
plastic prayer mat.

My wife told him to wait for her to get some money but he smiled,
waved and slowly paddled off. We spoke to the rangers of him later
that morning and found that what we saw about him was all that he
owned in the world. Cooking and eating that fish for dinner was
somewhat of a religious experience. That simple man, who had made a
present to those who had far more than he, taught us a valuable lesson
and made a great impact on the lives of the three of us. My son, who
was 9 at the time, still remembers him.

We couldn't give him money - it would have been an insult; so we later
sought him out and gave him some clothes, a diving mask and some
flippers as well as a few other items of little real value to us.

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that one should never
ridicule other people's choice of boat any more than one should
ridicule their occupation, station in life or choice of spouse.

Cheers
Peter Hendra
(I do go on - don't I? Blame it on the Greek blood).

Interesting story Peter. As you say, the important thing is to enjoy
sailing your own boat, whatever it is, and to sail it with a little
skill. I've enjoyed sailing the Mac (as well as a number of other
boats) ever since I bought it.

Jim

Jim

On 27 Mar 2007 17:34:07 -0700, wrote:

Peter Hendra wrote:
If there is one thing I have learned, it is that one should never
ridicule other people's choice of boat any more than one should
ridicule their occupation, station in life or choice of spouse.

Well, most of the time. There's always the well-justified exception.

OTOH there's always the bitter losers who will spew their bile on any
possible target, thus proving to the world what they really are.
"Wilber Hubbard" is just one of many such.

Vic Smith wrote:
Thank you for writing of your experiences here. It is educational,
to say the least.


I agree. Visiting Rinja (or for that matter, much of Indonesia) must
have been fascinating. Do you see any Komodo dragons?

Regards
Doug King

Hi Doug,
Yes we did. The larger ones are the size of large crocodiles (or
aligators to thee) - about 10 feet long.

Unlike the aligators I saw in the Everglades which can have a dreamy
benign facial expression, these things look mean and evil
(anthropomorphic I know). On the two islands that constitute the
national park, Rinja and Komodo - they are also on neighbouring
Flores, they eat water buffalo, goats and pigs. The water buffalo are
huge, much bigger than a dragon but the dragons lie in ambush near
say, a water hole and bite the buffalo either on the leg or soft parts
of the body. This bite couldn't kill the animal but it soon becomes
infected from the bacteria from the Komodo's teeth (they do not have
toothbrushes and no money for toothpaste). The buffalo dies and the
smell of the putrifying carcass attracts the dragons for miles around.
The larger ones can kill goats, monkeys, smaller dragons and humans
outright. The rangers' only defense against them is a stout pole. We
were also fortunate to see a breeding female occupying her nest -
litter scrapped into a heap. I personally couldn't imagine a male
komodo finding her attractive enough to mate with, but then one should
never criticise one's choice of spouse - or boat.

As this is a "cruising" newsgroup I can safely say that Indonesia is a
fantastic cruising ground. Unfortunately much of it is not safe for
lone yachts to travel through over the past few years. There are
however still plenty of places one can visit provided one is careful
and uses one's brain. The archipelago is so varied, both in geography
and cultures that it would take years to exhaust one's curiosity.
Depending upon yourself, people are generally very friendly and
hospitable and if you take a firm but polite stand, corrupt officials
(by no means all are) and shady people can be dealt with. To sail up a
river in Indonesian Borneo and see Orangutans in the jungle is just
one of the life-time memories you can experience.

Malaysian Borneo is also a treat - the states of Sarawak and Sabah
which are much safer to visit and where facilities for tourists and
yachts are excellent. Again, the cultures are diverse in a small area
with the Iban (Dyaks) in their long houses up river - very hospitable
to the Malays and the Chinese.

Charts of Indonesia are suspect and one should always be suspicious of
one's navigation. The Malaysian ones have all been corrected for GPS
and are accurate.

There are Sunsail hire yachts in West Malaysia if anyone is interested
in a good, safe and relatively cheap place to holiday. I am not sure
if there are any in Sarawak or Sabah.

Can you imagine sailing along and asking a prawn fishing boat to sell
some fresh, flicking prawns with tails 4 or 5 inches long? On our
patrol boats we always carry small scales to weigh them and often have
them for dinner.

cheers
Peter

wrote:
Dog gone Katie... that was kind of a cold hearted admonishment
of Mr. Hendra's post much less Jim Cate.

Excluding Jim of course... it could well be that Mr. Hendra is
not up to speed and familiar with the infamous Captain Neal and
his literary escapades (much less alias) via these news groups.

For the record... I myself found Peter Hendra's post a very inter-
esting readindeed... and thank him for sharing.

Bill

Channel Islands Harbor
Oxnard, California


Considering how many warnings have gone out in the past few months
regarding Neal's new aliases, I'm surprised that there's anyone out
there that was not aware that he's a troll...and besides, Jim C. has a
Mac26X....I know he likes it..I know he sails it quite frequently and
enjoys his time out on the water..I do think, though, that promoting it
is another thing. They are bad sailboats and mediocre motorboats...

On Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:02:00 +0700, Bruce
wrote:



I guess where Wilbur misses the boat is his remark that "Lawyers who
are worth make, what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be
able to afford a real boat and a classy boat", and Wilbur is probably
right.

But instead of buying a boat that meets Wilbur's standards for a
proper boat the guy went out and bought what HE wanted. Probably what
a lot of people do -- ignore Wilbur and buy what they want....


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

You make a good point Bruce. That to me is the mark of a real person.
One who is not afraid to go against the tide, make his own decision
and do what he (or she) wants to do.

Too many people buy cars and boats based upon what others think with a
flock mentality that is often devoid of any forethought.

I think it was Larry who said once that people often work at a job
they don't like to buy the things they don't need to impress the
people who don't matter.

Peter who prefers Penang to Bangkok anytime.

On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:11:59 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:



Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)


See my most recent post with the subject line of "Your boat should
reflect your status in life . . ." It should quell your doubts.

Wilbur Hubbard in Phuket

Bruce,
Isn't Phuket where paedophilic old Western men go to grope young Thai
boys and rent Ladyboys?

Just asking
Peter

katy wrote:

wrote:

Dog gone Katie... that was kind of a cold hearted admonishment
of Mr. Hendra's post much less Jim Cate.

Excluding Jim of course... it could well be that Mr. Hendra is
not up to speed and familiar with the infamous Captain Neal and
his literary escapades (much less alias) via these news groups.

For the record... I myself found Peter Hendra's post a very inter-
esting readindeed... and thank him for sharing.

Bill

Channel Islands Harbor
Oxnard, California


Considering how many warnings have gone out in the past few months
regarding Neal's new aliases, I'm surprised that there's anyone out
there that was not aware that he's a troll...and besides, Jim C. has a
Mac26X....I know he likes it..I know he sails it quite frequently and
enjoys his time out on the water..I do think, though, that promoting it
is another thing. They are bad sailboats and mediocre motorboats...

One minor correction. - I have a Mac26M, not a 26X. The 26M is the
model in current production.

Jim

"katy" wrote in message
...
wrote:


Considering how many warnings have gone out in the past
few months
regarding Neal's new aliases, I'm surprised that there's
anyone out
there that was not aware that he's a troll...and besides,


Wha? You really think that Wilbur is Neal? Bah!




Jim C. has a
Mac26X....

Way to rub it in, Katy!

Scotty

"JimC" wrote in message news:


One minor correction. - I have a Mac26M, not a 26X. The
26M is the
same old Mac26X model , in current production.

Jim

Whoop dee do.