Paul Nielsen
Culebra

Olson 34

PHRF: 127
Homeport: Sausalito, CA
Sail: #28622

Culebra

  I love the water and adventure, and I love to sail. I grew up on Monterey Bay, and thanks to Mom's love for the beach, I spent summers in the '60s playing in the surf, sand and tide pools. It doesn't get much better than that. The sights, sounds and smells of the sea from those idyllic days are somewhere imprinted on my brain, because every time I jump in a boat they come back to me.

  I started sailing as a teen. El Toros and later Hobie 16s, capsizing frequently from the cold sea breeze. Years later, and after moving to Colorado, I picked up wind surfing, which during the microbursts of summer was quite a thrill. I still sailed a Hobie 16 and my daughter and I enjoy showing off by flying a hull together on the trapezes. It was after a day of battling 30- to 40-knot summer storm winds in 1999, and actually tacking the beach cat in that stuff and NOT capsizing, that I think I literally got charged with a pure joy of handling a boat (as well as the electricity from the air). Sailing would no longer be a pastime. I took up racing keel boats with friends on gorgeous Colorado lakes, and I took a series of keel boat courses on my home waters of Monterey Bay. In 2002 I bought a Santa Cruz 27 and sailed that little boat probably a hundred days a year initially. It's that experience, I think, that kindled my enthusiasm for solo sailing. Who in their right mind was going to accompany me on the water as the first sign of winter arrived with snow flurries? I moved back to California in '05, sailed several seasons in the OYRA shorthanded division, and fell in love with sailing on the ocean, sometimes in 30 knots of breeze with the kite up. I mean really, is that sane?

  I'm on a drier, saner boat, now a beautiful 1990 Olson 34 that I got in August 2008. I'm fortunate to have found boats that are full of spirit and vigor but are safe on the open sea. The sea itself, and the boat's response to it, is a great teacher. I love tweaking the lines, shaping the sails, carving over the textured water, feeling the feedback from the boat and the sea. This adventure to Hanalei Bay (and back again) is another aspect of learning, and a chance for uninterrupted days sailing.
Paul Neilsen
Navigation: Garmin 276C with back-ups, Comar CSB200 AIS transponder, AIS Watchmate, Coastal Explorer pc software by Rose Point Navigation, and a little Acer laptop
Steering: Raymarine X-5 gyro-compensated tillerpilot, with back-ups, Monitor windvane, MRUD emergency rudder
Communication: iCOM M802 SSB, VHF and Iridium sat phone (for weather data)
Food: Probably a lot of snacks, fruit, nuts, rice, noodles, canned tuna and veggies, and frozen or vacuum packed meals from home


Special Thanks To: The Kennedy family of Salinas for teaching me to sail so many years ago. Melissa, my wife, for letting me follow this obsession unfettered. My father, Svend, for instilling in me a passion for life. My mother, Jean, for loving the beach and enduring the fog of summer. Jim Ulatowski, for introducing me to the art of boat handling. Bob Maddison, for inspiring me with his daring on the bow while surfing that lean 27 in 30 knots with the kite up. And finally to Larry Myers for his friendship, encouragement and very large helping hands.