Complete newbie

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dustynet

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Hi all,

Complete newbie here coming to sailing later in life.
Not sure if this is the right location for this, please move it or let me know if not.

I got lots of questions, some probably quite stupid, some less so, but apparently there's no such thing as a stupid question except the one unasked...
I'm north west UK based and looking to get out on a sail boat for a half day to a day before the weather really turns.
I'm also looking to complete my day skipper theory before Christmas lands, with the intention of completing day skipper practical very early in the new year, although theres no saying that the latter is going to happen in UK waters... :D

I'm also looking around for my first boat, starting looking now as by the time I have my DS Im hoping to have a good feel for the market and boats, so there will no doubt be lots of daft questions around boats, options etc.

If there's anyone locally who doesn't mind a coffee/beer and 20 questions, im also looking to absorb as much common sense and learning second hand as is possible.

Cheers
Dusty
 
Welcome to the forum dustynet.

Also an indication of what sort of boat you are considering. Size, age and budget help for the best advice.

I would strongly advise joining a club near you which has boats of a similar size. Alternatively have a wander round some local marinas and chat with some owners.
 
LadyInBed said:
Welcome. Are there any sailing clubs in your neck of the woods (there's bound to be)! Asking there or identifying them on this thread might produce someone who is also a forum member.
Click to expand...
Hi,
That's great advice.

I did call in to my local club a couple of weeks back. Nice friendly bunch, very welcoming but also very dingy racing focused and I got the impression the only way onto anything bigger was of your face fits.

I have no interest in dingys in afraid, and the membership fees I could pay for a day skipper course with. Not that I have anything against clubs or dinghies, but clubs are slow moving beasts.

I understand the social aspect too of course but that's some very expensive social ?
 
@dustynet welcome to the forum.

If you ever venture into Manchester I’d be happy to share a coffee or two.

I keep my own boat in The Clyde and, to keep active in retirement, I teach the Shorebased and practical courses.

Feel free to send me a pm but be aware that, I believe, new users need a certain number of posts before this facility becomes available……so keep posting.
 
Be careful. My wife suggested I do a sailing course years ago. Over the years, it's probably been the most expensive suggestion anyone ever made to me!

If that frightens you off, You're clearly far too sane to take up sailing. If it doesn't, your plan seems like a good one. DS Theory is a good way to spend manky winter evenings, and the practical will give you enough to get started with your own boat or be useful on someone else's. If you want to go abroad to do it, avoid the Med - you want it to cover tidal waters. I believe Gibraltar has schools that do it, or Brittany, if the language isn't a problem.

As for crewing on other boats, there's always Crewseekers and I'm sure there are others. There's a subscription, but I got enough trips out to justify the cost when I started. A DS practical, a willingness to do what you're told and buy your round will make you a desirable asset on any boat.
 
Hi Dusty,

Like the others say, I would highly recommend finding a local yacht club for a bit of yacht talk over a beer. It's a good way to wrangle your way onto trips out on other peoples boats too! Though they might teach you some bad habits ;).

Also, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of time my day skipper instructors spent chatting with me about anything I was interested in/had questions about. I did my theory online with Ardent Training and I found the team there were always happy to chat and share their knowledge. Such passionate folks!
 
As you describe yourself as a complete newbie, I'd say please don't go straight in and try to do Day skipper as your first practical sailing. Either go out and crew for people, to learn the basics (hence all the sensible suggestions to join a club, but note this needs to be a lot more than just a day or so), or do Comp Crew first. Doing the Day skipper theory now is fine, but but you do need to know how to hoist, trim and drop sails, helm under power and sail, tie the boat up, make tea while heeled over etc etc before doing the practical course.
 
Hello and Welcome

If I maybe so bold as suggest you do the Yachtmaster Theory rather than the Day Skipper, there is a lot of stuff you will need in there that Day Skipper just touches. Secondary Ports come to mind. It might take a bit longer, I am assuming that you are doing it online and if you rock up to your Day Skipper Practical with they won't turn you away.
 
Stemar said:
Be careful. My wife suggested I do a sailing course years ago. Over the years, it's probably been the most expensive suggestion anyone ever made to me!

If that frightens you off, You're clearly far too sane to take up sailing. If it doesn't, your plan seems like a good one. DS Theory is a good way to spend manky winter evenings, and the practical will give you enough to get started with your own boat or be useful on someone else's. If you want to go abroad to do it, avoid the Med - you want it to cover tidal waters. I believe Gibraltar has schools that do it, or Brittany, if the language isn't a problem.

As for crewing on other boats, there's always Crewseekers and I'm sure there are others. There's a subscription, but I got enough trips out to justify the cost when I started. A DS practical, a willingness to do what you're told and buy your round will make you a desirable asset on any boat.
Click to expand...
Hi Stemar,

I dont think sane is something Ive been called before so maybe this is dangerous ground for me, from the few people I have bumped into in life that have any ties to the sea, I should fit right in,
What frightens me more is the thought of walking away from a perfectly good job to take a year out (or more) and loose myself in this.

Elaborating on plans slightly more right now, despite the weather changing and the nights coming in, I'm desperately wanting to get out to sea on something around a 30 footer for a day, or part thereof.
Having been diving for the best part of 15 years on and off and being quite happy on a RIBs around west coast of Scotland in less than ideal weather, and liveaboard charters out of Stromness, I cant see myself not falling for the life.

It appears that I have missed out on a DS course which got cancelled last weekend, so Im looking around again for something Ideally face to face, as 18+ months of working from home under COVID new world order has left me isolated for too long so yearning for the great outdoors or at least a classroom indoors with other humans to speak to mask to mask :)

Now you mention avoiding the med, would that mean theres a difference in the DS qual depending on where its taught?
Yes I really am a complete newb to the sail training side of things, so anything along these lines with little gotchas etc are really useful pointers for me.
Alas I speak English only so learning in a different language would be a non starter for me, would there be any other such options for tidal?

Thankyou for the info provided already, and TIA for any other snippets which come to light.

Dusty
 
JSpalding said:
Hi Dusty,

Like the others say, I would highly recommend finding a local yacht club for a bit of yacht talk over a beer. It's a good way to wrangle your way onto trips out on other peoples boats too! Though they might teach you some bad habits ;).

Also, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of time my day skipper instructors spent chatting with me about anything I was interested in/had questions about. I did my theory online with Ardent Training and I found the team there were always happy to chat and share their knowledge. Such passionate folks!
Click to expand...
Hi,
Thanks for the link, Ill take a look.
 
Sandy said:
Hello and Welcome

If I maybe so bold as suggest you do the Yachtmaster Theory rather than the Day Skipper, there is a lot of stuff you will need in there that Day Skipper just touches. Secondary Ports come to mind. It might take a bit longer, I am assuming that you are doing it online and if you rock up to your Day Skipper Practical with they won't turn you away.
Click to expand...
Hi Sandy,
Thats a very interesting point you raise, and its not something im against.
Having just had a cursory glance at a the top 3 sites offering this training it would appear that they expect DS experience before attending training.
Now assuming that I can get this classroom based somewhere, somewhere soon even in the sun, Im curious what other forum members think about this?
 
I'd echo what others have already said: join a club, get a bit of practical experience sailing with others, at least enough to put the formal training in context, then do the Day Skipper Theory before deciding the next training that will be right for you. For example, you might find, given your previous familiarity with small boats and the sea, and your freshly acquired practical experience with a yacht club, that the Competent Crew course would be unnecessary and that you could more usefully go straight to the Day Skipper practical.

Also, before you rock up at your preferred sailing / yacht club looking for crewing opportunities, I suggest you consider investing in your own set of proper sailing gear (if you haven't got it already). I mean the whole lot, not just re-purposed outdoor wear or casual clothes with boating logos: proper sailing waterproofs; sailing boots; sailing gloves; a modern life-jacket; a suitable warm hat; a thermal layer for cold days (and nights); retaining straps for your hat and any glasses; your own sea-sickness pills/patches/w.h.y.; and a soft, robust, waterproof bag (that rolls or folds up fairly small) to put everything in. This is all stuff you will want to acquire quite early in your sailing career anyway and I think having all or much of it readily available will show the club members / skippers / boat owners that you are really serious about this, genuinely set on being a useful crew-member.
 
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