Another newbie on the forum

[Colin_S]

Hi everybody

Found the forum a few weeks back and have had a good trawl through - loads of interesting stuff.

The reason I found the forum is because I have been thinking of giving yachting a try. Currently I spend a bit of time on the water either fishing off a friend's boat in the Thames estuary or tearing about on a jetski off Herne Bay. The trouble with these hobbies is that they are not really family friendly. The fishing boat is too small to take the family out on plus they will be bored silly and the jetski is really a solo ride although it is a 2 seater. So I am thinking it's time to try something different and a bit more family orientated.

My first obstacle is that I have never been on a yacht before (excepting the Cutty Sark and Gipsy Moth down at Greenwich but I don't think that really counts). I have investigated and am considering a weekend sail with someone like Elite Sailing at Gillingham, perhaps the 3 weekend competent crew course but wondered what other options may be worth a try. I know there are a few sailing clubs on the Medway. Would it be worth visiting some of those and seeing if I can get a ride?

Another question that perhaps someone can help me with is that of the availability of moorings on the Medway. My friend keeps his boat in Chatham Marina but the cost seem rather high for my budgets. I have found some prices on various web sites for moorings on the river which seem a lot more reasonable but wonder how easy it is to actually get one of these moorings? Are there huge waiting lists as the forum suggests at other locations? I would hate to find I love the sport only to then discover that it would be too costly to participate in.

Any advice and pointers will be great.

Colin

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[whisper]

Welcome to the fold. Your idea of doing the RYA Comp. Crew course is a good one as you will probably then find that more people will be willing to give you further experience.
Have fun.
Sorry, can't help with Medway questions but someone else is likely to be along soon./forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[Cantata]

Hi Colin,
If you can cope with some tidal inconvenience you can try Conyer Creek (Swale Marina), Oare Creek (Youngboats), and various spots at Faversham Creek. You'll find the first 2 on Google. All dry at low water, but are very much cheaper than marinas on the Medway. Good luck.

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[Talbot]

agree that a competent crew course is a great way to start, as it will provide a good taster of what this boating lark is all about. But be careful, this is a wickedly addictive game and I would really recommend that your partner does the course at the same time cause if you want to do it as a family, she needs to be enthused as well.

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[david42]

Marinas on the Medway

Hi

Have you tried Hoo Marina? Not sure how the prices compare with Chatham but they seem friendly enough although access is limited to about 1 or 2 hours either side of high tide.

David

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[boatless]

Talbot has taken the words right out of my mouth. Again.

Partner training is vital, seen so many sailing couples become boys only boats.

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[mushypea]

If you start with a course, I'd suggest picking one that is fairly relaxed and low-key so that neither of you ends up finding it so stressful you give it up as a bad idea. I don't know any of the sailing schools in that area so can't comment.

I don't know if you saw C4's 'No Going Back' the other week about the sailing school in the Canaries, but it raised the issues of sailing course versus holiday and making sure that the skipper/instructor and the guests/students had the same expectations.

Another possibility would be to make it a family trip and get a whole boat and skipper to yourselves. You can then either win them all over to how nice it would be to do it by yourselves or put them all off at the same time!

Enjoy whatever you do!


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[ubuysa]

<font size=1>tearing about on a jetski off Herne Bay</font size=1>

Possibly not a good idea to admit that here /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

If you can I'd try and do the comp crew as a 5-day all-in course. That way you get to go somewhere instead of just out and in evey day. Much more fun!

Welcome......Tony C.

<hr width=100% size=1>There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

 

[masterofnone]

hi . tried hoo marina, v.sociable, reasonable facilities,access forced me across the water found hoo slightly cheaper than current berth at gillingham; in marina roughly same price as chatham.there are some drying berths at gillingham.try hoo ness yacht club, they have numerous moorings not sure on price ,etc. swale council moorings at queenboro, they were cheap enough, and a decent clubhouse.
with regards courses check local night school for theory classes, i got mine for a tenner, then go and do a practical.

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[Colin_S]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Good comments re taking the wife but I very much doubt my wife would be interested in taking an active role in sailing, I expect she would rather be a passenger. It's more likely to be the children, particularly my younger daughter (12) who would want to get involved.
I had thought of doing a 5 day course but pressures of work may make this hard. Elite at Gillingham, who I mentioned above, do weekend courses with an overnight at an away port but I don't know if that will be the same port each weekend or if they vary the destinations.
In defence of jetskiers I did once, with a fellow skier, rescue a couple who could not right their capsized sailing dinghy on a rather windy and choppy day, and then returned to their boat and got a line to it which was tied onto a passing fishing boat who had almost towed it into Herne Bay harbour before the 'cavalry' arrived.

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[poter]

Dont bother with the course\'s yet!

As you say

>So I am thinking it's time to try something different and a bit more family orientated.

My first obstacle is that I have never been on a yacht before <

Ok the best way to start, IMHO, and get the family into it, is to do a nice relaxed Flotilla holiday in the Med.
As you have some experience on the water it should be easy for you, & the family get a great holiday as well. Have a look in Yachting Monthly they have a whole section on Yacht charter & sailing hols.

If you decide after that, sailing's for you, then go to an RYA school and start the courses have a look at the RYA site <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rya.org.uk/>here</A>

good luck and welcome.

poter

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[mushypea]

[OK so I do cheerfully admit that I am biased towards skippered charter because of a family connection but I try to express my own opinions here.]

> but I very much doubt my wife would be interested in taking an active
> role in sailing, I expect she would rather be a passenger.

That's quite understandable. Why not make sure she *can* be a passenger, be provided with plentiful cups of tea that she didn't have to make and watch you and the children have fun? With luck she'll feel like joining in sooner or later, even just a little bit, at something not too wet/difficult/scary/crucial and it can go from there.
If not, at least she'd have seen what the rest of you got up to. However (and IMHO) it is also important not to always land her with making the aforementioned tea or have anyone imply that she "should" have been all hearty & nautical.

Pick a nice boat with mod cons too and make sure you all get a chance to sit out under the stars with a glass of wine and wake up with the sun streaming into the cabin... although I don't know any charter companies that will guarantee the weather, unfortunately!

Best of luck!




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[TheBoatman]

Why don't you look at the Medway Yacht Club, dial in Medway Yacht club on your browser.

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[Colin_S]

@ Talbot "But be careful, this is a wickedly addictive game"

I've been avoiding golf for all my adult life for precisely this reason, now you've put me off sailing

I've had a nose around some marinas and clubs on the North side of the Medway today including all those mentioned above. I was planning on stopping and asking a few questions but, as I was not at my most presentable (very hard day at work) I decided to leave that for another day.

I like the idea of a sailing holiday but I think I would like to know a bit more about how yachts work before embarking on such an adventure. Unfortunately I'm one of those people who pulls things apart just to see what makes them tick.

Although I'm looking at family sailers would it be worth trying dinghy sailing as they do lessons in my local park and very cheaply?

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[Melody]

The RYA have a brand new course called 'Start yachting'. Its just a two-day introduction and a great way to find out if the other members of the family are interested too.
You can count the time towards a Comp Crew should you decide to continue.
Best wishes for happy days

<hr width=100% size=1>Melody McKay Burton
Yacht Valentine, Greece

 

[mushypea]

Types of holidays

There are lots of companies to choose from and between them there are various different levels of experience needed, tuition offered (and effort expected) and comfort provided. The RYA have some comments and advice, including:
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.rya.org.uk/Cruising/faqs.asp?contentID=568924>
Do you need training/experience before you go on a charter holiday?</A>
That's actually part of a larger I want to start sail or motor cruising – how do I do it?

Of course the advice given by other members here is usually a bit more personal and all the more valuable for being so - these are just as a supplement.

You might want to ask skippers before you take their boats apart to see how they tick! Seriously, most skippers are only too glad to explain what they're doing and why (if not at the time then later over coffee) even if you're not on a formal course.



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[Talbot]

Yes. The fundamentals of sailing are the same whatever the size of the boat. Thus a quick dinghy intro will provide a faster learning curve on how to get the boat moving with the wind. However that is only the start as far as a family cruiser is concerned. You will then need to understand how tides affect you, and navigation, and also the traffic rules (International Rules for Prevention of Collisions at Sea). It is also wise to start taking more notice of how weather works so that you are able to sail within your capabilities.

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[Colin_S]

Thanks again everyone for all the advice. Excellent stuff!

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[Jeremy_W]

If you want a trial sail with a club, don't expect to turn up on a Sunday and be invited onboard. The only people who pull in crew "off the pontoon" are keen racers who have been left one or two crew short. You can strike lucky but most likely you will end up as mere ballast on the rail of a slick machine where many incomprehensible things happen very fast and nobody talks to you except to swear when you do things wrong.

Ring the club secretary; go for a night's midweek social; express an interest; and someone will probably offer you a ride on their yacht. If you are really lucky you will be put with an unofficial "hand holder" to fresh crew who will cruise sedately round the race course, serving tea en route, and amazingly finish in the top half of the fleet

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[Colin_S]

This could be the answer

I spoke to Medway Yacht Club today and they have an open day coming up in July. The very helpful lady who answered the phone tells me that there will be a number of members boats taking people for trips during the course of the day. Could be just what the doctor ordered.
I was also in Chatham Marina today, off out fishing for a few hours, and I popped into the office for a chat. There were a couple of notices on the board placed by people offering to crew. I took the numbers and will give them a call to see if they had any luck and, if so, may try a similar approach.

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