Thinking of learning to sail properly....advice please
Discussion
Like many here, I enjoy messing around on boats, be they powered by engines or or with sticks with cloth attached to them..
It seems I can be at least not a hindrance as a crew member, although i have never been properly taught.
With a bit more time now available to me, I am thinking it may be time to learn to sail properly.
There are so many different sailing schools in the solent, it is very hard to choose without some personal recommendation.
Could the PH collective offer the names and some links to a selection of sailing schools that fit the following criteria:
- Have some nice boats that are not knackered.
- Are run by decent people, lets say "Pistonheads" type of people. Not too young, not too old, perhaps people in the 30-45 age group with a sense of humour and a very professional approach.
- Are based in the Solent.
- Run small numbers of students at a time.
I want a school that is happy to push their students a little. I don't want to fanny around on a boat that is going to the pace of the slowest/most stupid member of the crew. I want to crack on and fast track to a decent standard in a reasonably short period of time. I don't want to share with any numpties or people with a low fear threshold, I want to get on with it in a professional environment and be a little challenged in the process.
Any recommendations welcome !
I thank you
It seems I can be at least not a hindrance as a crew member, although i have never been properly taught.
With a bit more time now available to me, I am thinking it may be time to learn to sail properly.
There are so many different sailing schools in the solent, it is very hard to choose without some personal recommendation.
Could the PH collective offer the names and some links to a selection of sailing schools that fit the following criteria:
- Have some nice boats that are not knackered.
- Are run by decent people, lets say "Pistonheads" type of people. Not too young, not too old, perhaps people in the 30-45 age group with a sense of humour and a very professional approach.
- Are based in the Solent.
- Run small numbers of students at a time.
I want a school that is happy to push their students a little. I don't want to fanny around on a boat that is going to the pace of the slowest/most stupid member of the crew. I want to crack on and fast track to a decent standard in a reasonably short period of time. I don't want to share with any numpties or people with a low fear threshold, I want to get on with it in a professional environment and be a little challenged in the process.
Any recommendations welcome !
I thank you
Hard-Drive said:
Three things...
One-learn in a dinghy. It will make you a far better sailor much more aware of what is going on with the boat. If you want to drive an F1 car, you need to start in karts.
Two-I assume you one day want to skipper your own yacht. A golden rule is that you sail that yacht in sympathy with the illest/scaredest/least competent/slowest/weakest person in your crew. Good skippering is as much about managing people in what might be a very stressful/dangerous/unpleasant situation, rather than just technical knowledge. It's also about living in very close proximity of people for a long time...saying "just want to check, non of you are scaredy cats are you?" is not going to go down brilliantly on day one or make you seem like a great sailor or someone your crew wants to trust. Sailing is a multi faceted hobby, it's not all just "ggrrrr man v elements" and you will feel a bit of a numpty having been tutting at someone who takes ages to grind a headsail in, when they "get" magnetic variation and deviation at the first pass and the instructor is still explaining it to you an hour later, or you forget something on the shopping list and your crew ask "skipper, is this out last toilet roll?"...
Three-you cannot fast-track to a decent standard. (Well you can, UKSA do Yachtmaster fast-track courses for a start, but it's a ticket at the end of the day). The one thing that gets you to a decent standard is experience...hours/miles...visiting many different ports/places, different weather, emergencies, etc etc etc. And you can't fast-track those!
Thanks for the response. One-learn in a dinghy. It will make you a far better sailor much more aware of what is going on with the boat. If you want to drive an F1 car, you need to start in karts.
Two-I assume you one day want to skipper your own yacht. A golden rule is that you sail that yacht in sympathy with the illest/scaredest/least competent/slowest/weakest person in your crew. Good skippering is as much about managing people in what might be a very stressful/dangerous/unpleasant situation, rather than just technical knowledge. It's also about living in very close proximity of people for a long time...saying "just want to check, non of you are scaredy cats are you?" is not going to go down brilliantly on day one or make you seem like a great sailor or someone your crew wants to trust. Sailing is a multi faceted hobby, it's not all just "ggrrrr man v elements" and you will feel a bit of a numpty having been tutting at someone who takes ages to grind a headsail in, when they "get" magnetic variation and deviation at the first pass and the instructor is still explaining it to you an hour later, or you forget something on the shopping list and your crew ask "skipper, is this out last toilet roll?"...
Three-you cannot fast-track to a decent standard. (Well you can, UKSA do Yachtmaster fast-track courses for a start, but it's a ticket at the end of the day). The one thing that gets you to a decent standard is experience...hours/miles...visiting many different ports/places, different weather, emergencies, etc etc etc. And you can't fast-track those!
Edited by Hard-Drive on Monday 26th September 14:32
Edited by Hard-Drive on Monday 26th September 14:38
I have messed around in dinghy's quite a bit in my yoof, so I can sail a bit ( admittedly in gravel pits, but you there you go ) . I have also spent sometime on boats ( did the Round the Island this year ) so I guess I may be a bit more confident than a pure first timer getting their competent crew. I am a willing grinder when someone shouts at me.
Don't get me wrong, I am approaching this with complete humility. I guess I am worried a little that when it comes to signing up for a course ( that I fully intend to take to yachtmaster ultimately ) it is important to find a school and a teacher that "fits". I am no weekend hero and know I have a lot to learn and that I need to get cold and wet to learn it. But I know a few friends who have been taught at different schools and they all seem to have mixed experiences. It seems as if it can be a bit of a lottery regarding who your skipper is and what kind of people you share the boat with ( and how many of them ) . I guess I am just trying to manage the variables as best I can by finding the right learning environment.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff