courses

[arcs]

I have no experience in sailing and I am looking for an intensive yatching course to take me through to a fully qualified sailor. Can anyone recommend a good school. I am also interested to learn diesel engine mechanics and/or practical boat building if anyone can point me in the right direction

 

[Chris_Stannard]

Try the UKSA in Cowes, they have intensive courses and run a lot of boats.

I am sure they have a website.

Chris Stannard

 

[nicho]

Try John Goodes Southern Sailing School, based in Southampton. Just completed their sailing day skipper practical (5 days), and they are very good indeed. Their boats are a bit old, but it doesn't matter if you knock them around. Website is WWW.southern.co.uk

 

[Guest]

southampton city
college run diesel and boat building courses

 

[billmacfarlane]

Agree with Nicho. Southern Sailing School has an excellent reputation , so much so that I'm off in a couple of hours to do a 5 day course with them. Be aware when you say that you want to be a " fully qualified sailor " , that a sailing school can help , but it's equally important to get in some sea hours.

 

[nicho]

Bill,

Have a good time - like I said, the boats are all pretty old, but as a result, we also learned quite a bit about maintenance (even having to hotwire the engine to get it started!!). The instructors are really great guys (and girls), and a lot of fun (and hard work) was had by all. I have done 100's of hours skippering a motor cruiser out of Hythe and decided to change to sail - apart from dinghy sailing in the distant past I knew little of how to sail, but after 5 days on board, honestly feel confident enough to take my own boat around the Solent (in reasonable weather of course.) Have a great few days, wish I was going again. If your instructor is Sean, give him our best regards

 

[tome]

My mate Stuart Charter was with you and has just completed his DS with them - turned him into a real old salty sea dog. His comments were similiar to yours and he really enjoyed it. I've heard very good reports about Southern Sailing School, though everyone says their boats are a bit tatty. Gather you were on a Yamaha 33 which I thought was an electric organ...

 

[nicho]

Stuart was not actually on our boat (there were 5 out in total), though we all kept bumping into each other!. I was on a Sadler 34 called Ice Dancer. The last night party at Swanwick was a stormer - I staggered back to my "my" boat at 04.00 in thick fog. Felt like s...t in the morning. A great 5 days! (PS I thought a Yamaha was a motorbike - wife likes motorbikes, she keeps saying she likes something hot and throbbing between her legs!)

 

[sailbadthesinner]

As do Reading College in marine diesel maintanence

You sail on the white bits, anchor on the blue bits, get drunk on the yellow bits

 

[PhatBuoy]

BOSS are the business. Good boats, fantastic tuition. They are there to teach you proper skills and give you plenty of practise. A few schools treat it all like a bit of a charter break, not BOSS. Tons of courses that they can mould to fit your own needs. Cannot praise them enough. Check out their ads in YM/PBO.

 

[andy_wilson]

\"Fully Qualified Sailor\"

Suprised no-one has tried to define that one yet.

How does one get 5, 10, 20 years experience on an intensive course.

More to the point how do you ensure you are not getting 1 years' experience 5, 10 or 20 times.

Seems like at least once every long weekend or week afloat I say to myself "why didn't I see that one coming"?

Suggest a dinghy sailing course to learn how to make the thing go forwards, backwards and sideways with and without wind, then buy an old boat with an old rig and old engine, and sail that short and mob handed for a year or two, with the odd course sprinkled in amongst for good measure.

"Fully Qualified Sailor"?

When you can....

sail where you choose to sail, and choose well when you would,

arrive when you say you will,

bodge, fix or maintain most key systems aboard,

handle experienced / enthusiastic / amature / novice / useless / disinterested / frightened / sick / injured crew (including all variations of family, personal and business relationships), and ensure they take something positive away with them,

dry out without getting stuck for a fortnight (or at least have the confidence to sail straight over the bar when everyone else goes another mile down the fairway, and a mile back again),

anchor up and sleep soundly (with anchor watch posted if necesary),

all the above without the aid of an engine if necessary,

be able to put a cross on the chart, with a degree of accuracy that gives you the necessary confidence to call a new course (with and without the help of one or more - hell any -electronic aids),

not lose ANYTHING more important than a decent hat over the side,

I'm sure there are a few more essentials some in and some not in the sea-school curriculum.

 

[nicho]

Re: \"Fully Qualified Sailor\"

Lost a decent hat over the side last week - still, I've a very long way to go to become a fully qualified sailor with your criteria! - good posting though

 

[blackbird]

Unless you are on the East Coast

We don't normally sail on the yellow bits, but we do a lot of sailing on the blue bits (and the green bits) as we are a bit short of the white bits.

 

[RupertW]

I'd second that. BOSS keep you working and learning hard. Bit spartan for my taste but there's a lesson there too.

Even so, I'd still consider taking at least some of the courses somewhere nice and warm, especially in winter. You get to appreciate some of the better bits of cruising and have a bit of a holiday whilst learning. Clubsail in Tenerife is a very good example of a school which teaches well and is fun to learn with.

 

[sailbadthesinner]

Re: Unless you are on the East Coast

You wannasail in the med then

You sail on the white bits, anchor on the blue bits, get drunk on the yellow bits

 

[Guest]

BOSS - Hamble Point do an intensive Fastrack (beginner to Yachtmaster) takes 4 months (full time) and costly but worth it if you can take the strain. Course include general and diesel maintenance.
Good luck