Attracted to Sailing but ....

[wooster]

Hi all,

I am a motor cruiser type of fellow, but have more time on my hands now and I keep getting the urge to go learn sailing. Trouble is I will be 70 next year, if I'm spared. Pictures like the attached are hardly inspiring. I know everyone says age is just a number and never too old and all that stuff, but I'm not able to do these type of acrobatics.

I'm not interested in racing and my idea is cruising in a more leisurely style: the question is, does a more leisurely yachting style actually exist or do you need to be young-ish, strong, and bendy to sail a small yacht or dinghy?

I would love to become competent and perhaps buy a small yacht to go along coastal waters, but realistically, should I just keep on motor cruising and continue to look enviously at the yachters sailing by and forget all this nonsense about sailing.

 

[KevinV]

Ask one of us wafi's at your club if you can come out for a sail, most of us would be delighted to introduce you to proper yachts

 

[Skylark]

Hi @wooster

Sailing has many definitions by many people. None of them are wrong.

Age is but a number.

Coastal cruising can be very pleasurable and rewarding.

Many ways to learn to sail, often discussed within the forum. Usually end in heated debate but with an open mind you’ll probably find the advice that you’re looking for.

Fair winds.

 

[Sailing steve]

You already have a boat so naturally you'll be familiar with the frustrations of ownership and the rapacious appetite of the marine industry for parting you from every spare penny you've got.

As far as sail vs power - I have experienced both - goes I think one of the biggest differences between the two is passage planning. With power it's relatively simple, but with sail a whole layer of added complications gets chucked in the mix and of course any passage will take way longer under sail too so you're more at the mercy of weather changes and contrary tides.

If you have all the time in the world and don't mind changing plans or destinations and you have the patience for slow travelling then immersing yourself in the art of sailing might work for you but if you're more accustomed to arriving when and where you planned to be then it might not suit.

 

[SaltyC]

As Skylark says, age is a number it is how 'active ' you are for Cruisers.
If a member of a club ask if you can go out on a light wind day and get an introduction to the silence and pleasure of bumbling along.

There are may order than you who still sail, actively in dinghies and long distances in cruisers. Choose your weather and wind strength and direction and coast hopping is very rewarding.

Depending on your definition of 'small' you can get all lines led aft so no deck acrobatics to hoist and reef sails, with near certainty you would have roller reefing headrail, possibly in mast furling mai and self tacking jib taking much effort out of the sailing part.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Wooster, you’re 5 years older than me. Is that significant? It’s not usually age, but fitness that makes sailors give up and buy a motor boat. Lasers are pretty tough to sail, as sailboats go. Perhaps avoid 18 foot skiffs too? We have a 30ft trimaran, much admired by motor boat owners. It is fast, but requires a fair bit of energy. The hardest work is raising the mainsail. I think you’ll find that is universal, though ours is tougher than most 30 footers. So if you get someone to take you out, ask if you can do the main. If you’re ok with that, there are few other barriers to you taking up coastal cruising in a sailboat.

 

[Mister E]

There are lots of sailing craft that are slightly larger than the one shown. But are heavy if you want to take it out of the water every day.
If you have the money have a look at the Cornish Crabber type of boats.
I am just short of your age and still manage to sail an 8 meter catamaran on my own, it is not age but fitness that counts.

 

[DreadShips]

Even amongst dinghies and dayboats there's plenty of designs that are ideal for pottering about without worrying about outright speed and the athletic ability to go with it. The trick might be to look at more traditionally-inspired designs. The originals were working boats, so required inherent stability for working nets etc, and have rigs that don't require huge amounts of effort.

Could always keep the motorboat for cruising and get a small sailing boat to mess about with on days when you've nowhere to go and just want to enjoy being on the water for a few hours?

 

[RogerJolly]

I'd say you can choose your type of sailing to suit your capabilities and inclinations. Starting from 'barely need to be there' - furling/in mast/self tacking sails, autopilot, and working up intensity/fun(?) range from there.

For me swinging mooring imposes most physical demands - lugging tender and engine about, stepping into wobbly tender, climbing over rails. In a marina even that would go away.

 

[Mister E]

In my sailing club some of the not so sprightly walk out to the boat on the moorings that dry out.
They then go out sailing and when finished go back to the mooring and wait for the tide to go out then walk away.
Only works if you are not in a rush.

 

[ProDave]

my idea is cruising in a more leisurely style: the question is, does a more leisurely yachting style actually exist

Cruising along slowly in light winds on a flat "sea" with the autopilot steering. It doesn't get more leisurely than that.

Of course it is not always like this.

 

[steveeasy]

If you want a nice challenge and something that will continually keep the brain cells occupied 24/7 then it’s for you.

Steveeasy

 

[johnalison]

Leisurely sailing or cruising exists, but it depends on what sort of person you are whether this also includes sailing badly. While there are times when I have been happy to amble along, such as when trolling for mackerel or watching wildlife, but generally sailing is the art of going from A to B using the wind, and I don’t get satisfaction from knowing that if I made this or that adjustment or change of gear I could be going that much faster or more comfortably.

For someone as ancient as you, clearly a Laser is not ideal, but anything up from a Wayfarer could be fine. Small boat sailing is never going to be entirely comfortable, and larger boats can induce sea-sickness, but it is in overcoming the difficulties that the rewards are made sweeter, which accounts for the smug grins that all the sailing members here carry permanently.

 

[winch2]

Have a similiar experience tho with different kit. Im 65 and last year decided to get back into sailing after. a... 30 year lay off. yes I know life got in the way. So we thought how bout a little day sailer to get us back into the 'game' so to speak.

So we bought a lovely traditional Gaff day sailer and shes a beaut, looks and feels brilliant and sails slowly and wonderfully but the problem is because the boom is so low and the cabin so shallow, I find most of the time Im bent over which is doing my back no favours at all, or hanging on precariously to the skinny decks and when it rains, oh so wishing we had a cabin. For us anyway the idea that a 'small boat' is easy isn't neccessarily correct as its hardly anymore comfortable than a largish dinghy etc.

Knowing what I know now I kind of wish we'd simply gone out, been brave and bought a much larger vessel because I think in boating bigger literally is easier and more comfortable to manage. Our next boat is going to be in the 30ft range which compared to the lil day sailer will be luxury and comfort indeed.

 

[ProDave]

Knowing what I know now I kind of wish we'd simply gone out, been brave and bought a much larger vessel because I think in boating bigger literally is easier and more comfortable to manage. Our next boat is going to be in the 30ft range which compared to the lil day sailer will be luxury and comfort indeed.

We previously had a Leisure 17 which was a fun boat to sail and it sailed well but the cabin was limited. You could sit comfortably and it was ok for the occasional overnight as long as you planned to eat out.

Our present boat is a Hunter Horizon 23. The must have items were a heads in a proper compartment, standing headroom (we are only 5ft 6) a galley, and able to sleep 4. The HH23 offers that as do a few other boats of that size.

 

[ashtead]

There is a utube website featuring a sailing vicar in a little Cornish crabber type vessel entitled sailing morning vicar -he seems to single hand and not youthful so might be worth a watch. Anyway let’s assume you have a budget and location to keep then a trailer sailor is simples to run but a crew might help ? Find a young person maybe or buy a half share with another in say a crabber type . I don’t see why it’s not possible though on basis knees and heart in good shape.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We previously had a Leisure 17 which was a fun boat to sail and it sailed well but the cabin was limited. You could sit comfortably and it was ok for the occasional overnight as long as you planned to eat out.

Our present boat is a Hunter Horizon 23. The must have items were a heads in a proper compartment, standing headroom (we are only 5ft 6) a galley, and able to sleep 4. The HH23 offers that as do a few other boats of that size.

Yours is exactly the sort of boat I would suggest to a chap in the OP's position.

 

[capnsensible]

Age may just be a number but it's fitness that gets us all in the end......

OP, have you ever sailed at all? Thing is, here, you will get other peoples dreams, not yours, unfortunately.

From my experiences taking people of all ages out on the water, how about trying it first? Someone may have mentioned a dinghy club. Some will have competent instructors used to this. Any sailing school certainly will. That usually makes a good start, using trained people's knowledge. That helps you decide if it's for you.

Now there will be some on here that say they are 110 years old, smoke fifty woodbine a day, got a 22 year old wife and taught themselves sailing by looking at pictures in a magazine.

But for us mere mortals, it's much better to take pro advice. And yes, of course I'm biased but I have insider knowledge.

 

[Wansworth]

Would suggest a 23 footer with a outboard motor on a marina berth,little sailing boats have inboards stuffed in and difficult to fiddle with a23 footer not to big but affords shelter and a toilet

 

[wooster]

Thank you all for your comments and advice. I would certainly be attracted to a boat such as the 23' one mentioned but obviously it is good advice to take an extended trial of the sport first.

I have found a couple of sailing clubs near to my home and where my boat is currently moored which aren't too expensive. They do RYA 1 and 2 courses which I believe should give me an opportunity to find out how suited I am. As long as all this leaning over the side of the boat as in my picture isn't compulsory I am cautiously optimistic that I might be able to make a go of it, at least to some extent and in some conditions.