RYA Start Yachting 2 day Course

[blueST]

In the new year I will hopefully be booking the above course for my Dad, Brother-in-law and myself. None of us have any experience with boats or the sea but it's something we've all wanted to have a go at for many years.

I haven't decided on which "school" to book with yet, but it will probably be one of the several that operate along the North Wales coast. Does anybody have any advice on choosing the right school or location? Anything else worth knowing to make the most of our introduction to sailing?

[SlipStream77]

PBO magazine has a course guide in the current issue, it might be useful.

http://www.pbo.co.uk/magazine/2888/pbo-october-201...

HTH

[anonymous-user]

buy and read the rya handbooks, the day skipper book is probably the best place to start though it might seem "advanced" for what you want, it covers a good range of subjects and the knowledge will never be wasted.

Then go straight for the 5 day skipper course, the comeptent crew certificate is pretty much useless. as mentioned, find practical boat owner this month as there is a big RYA oull out on courses..

[blueST]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

OP just how lotle knowledge do the three of you 'not have'?

Father knows zero, Brother-in-law did a bit of Dinghy sailing on reservoirs as a child and I once canoed down the Wye. Ellen McArthur has nothing to fear!

[blueST]

pablo said:

buy and read the rya handbooks, the day skipper book is probably the best place to start though it might seem "advanced" for what you want, it covers a good range of subjects and the knowledge will never be wasted.

Then go straight for the 5 day skipper course, the comeptent crew certificate is pretty much useless. as mentioned, find practical boat owner this month as there is a big RYA oull out on courses..

Is PBO available in Smiths?

I dont want to splash out ( ) on a 5 day course at this stage in case one or all of us find sailing is not for us. Dont even know if we'll be hideously seasick or anything.

[maser_spyder]

PBO everywhere, supermarkets, Smiths, etc. It's like entering a different world though, a whole new lexicon...

Have fun!

[anonymous-user]

blueST said:

pablo said:

buy and read the rya handbooks, the day skipper book is probably the best place to start though it might seem "advanced" for what you want, it covers a good range of subjects and the knowledge will never be wasted.

Then go straight for the 5 day skipper course, the comeptent crew certificate is pretty much useless. as mentioned, find practical boat owner this month as there is a big RYA oull out on courses..

Is PBO available in Smiths?

I dont want to splash out ( ) on a 5 day course at this stage in case one or all of us find sailing is not for us. Dont even know if we'll be hideously seasick or anything.

yes, PBO should be easily available, try big supermarkets if you get no joy in smiths.

you will be seasick, i know naval officers of twenty years who still get sea sick on small boats, rarely are you sick for long though, its just a case of acclimatisation. its best to have something in your stomach to bring up but after that you should be fine. sugary fluids work well for me but we are all different.

www.bookharbour.com is probably the best place to go hunting for some bedtime reading.

[Hard-Drive]

If you want to experience yachting to see if it's for you or not, a start yachting course is a good starting place. A Dayskipper course will be a too advanced for a starting point. If you do like it, try and get some trips on other people's boats and a little bit of experience before you do a DS course.

Also, if you want to learn to sail properly, start in dinghies. It will give you a much, much better idea of how to sail a boat properly, safely and fast. Analogy…if you wanted to start motor racing, you'd start in Caterhams or MX5s, so you can understand the forces at work and how the vehicle should "feel" when in the groove and when starting to get out of shape. Then, you could progress to truck racing, but you would not start off learning to powerslide in a truck!

Seasickness…avoid going below, avoid engine smells, cooking smells, and don't watch others puke. If you feel iffy ask to steer. Eat ginger nuts…they are a good anti-sickness remedy!