WannabePirate
Member
Hi all,
Life's lead me to a bit of a weird place. I'm 30ish years old, from Sheffield, and I've basically never sailed. I worked from 15 in a specialist area of demolition, left at 25 with some savings, took myself to university to study philosophy, and for a year or so since graduating have struggled to find a job in a new industry, and I've run across a bit of bad luck in my old one. So after a year of being in and out of work and often living on savings; its time to do something. I'm getting really bored.
My sum total of sailing experience is:
- I've sailed across to Alderney a few times, but never as anything more than a slightly active passenger on a very leisurely cruiser (been on some rough crossings though).
- I did a fair bit of inland dinghy sailing as a kid. Never had any qualifications or anything. Just used to rent a stratos or wayfarer regularly on a local lake and play on it all day.
But I do love boats, and the sea in general, despite not spending as much time around it as I'd have liked. I've read books, watched tv/internet videos, read forums/articles, bought magazines , etc, about them all my life. Whenever I'm anywhere with a marina its a fair bet you'll see me just wandering around the hard and the slips just looking at everything. I've always been the adventurous type with over 20 years mountaineering and scuba diving experience. Last 10 years I've been on quite a lot of exploratory caving and cave diving expeditions. Got into mountain biking in my boredom too. I'm thinking with how the last year and immediate future looks for me; it might be the right time for me to explore sailing/the sea more...and seriously. At the moment I'm thinking of doing the UKSA Yachtmaster Offshore course with the STCW and commercial endorsement.
Afterwards, I'd love to look for a job on the water. As I understand this would allow me to apply for jobs like crewing on delivery's, flotilla positions, deckhand on superyachts/workboats, etc? And the most likely work I'd be to get would be unpaid crewing on delivery for a...amount of time? I'm kind of expecting a few years after the course of real hardship, still living off my savings, renting my Sheffield house out, and maybe buying a small boat/renting somewhere on the coast/moving in with my dad on Alderney, and living on the move. Really am getting ready to do quite a lot.
I'm not planning to rush though. The current plan is to do my ENG1 and head over to Alderney in January to hang around the boatyard/yacht club trying to learn stuff, and aim to book the UKSA course around this time to start spring/early summer. I'd love to hear any advice, tips, recommendations, slagging off, arguing, etc this post may have provoked in you! And show my face and say hello!
I'm hoping I'll be around a while.
Life's lead me to a bit of a weird place. I'm 30ish years old, from Sheffield, and I've basically never sailed. I worked from 15 in a specialist area of demolition, left at 25 with some savings, took myself to university to study philosophy, and for a year or so since graduating have struggled to find a job in a new industry, and I've run across a bit of bad luck in my old one. So after a year of being in and out of work and often living on savings; its time to do something. I'm getting really bored.
My sum total of sailing experience is:
- I've sailed across to Alderney a few times, but never as anything more than a slightly active passenger on a very leisurely cruiser (been on some rough crossings though).
- I did a fair bit of inland dinghy sailing as a kid. Never had any qualifications or anything. Just used to rent a stratos or wayfarer regularly on a local lake and play on it all day.
But I do love boats, and the sea in general, despite not spending as much time around it as I'd have liked. I've read books, watched tv/internet videos, read forums/articles, bought magazines , etc, about them all my life. Whenever I'm anywhere with a marina its a fair bet you'll see me just wandering around the hard and the slips just looking at everything. I've always been the adventurous type with over 20 years mountaineering and scuba diving experience. Last 10 years I've been on quite a lot of exploratory caving and cave diving expeditions. Got into mountain biking in my boredom too. I'm thinking with how the last year and immediate future looks for me; it might be the right time for me to explore sailing/the sea more...and seriously. At the moment I'm thinking of doing the UKSA Yachtmaster Offshore course with the STCW and commercial endorsement.
Afterwards, I'd love to look for a job on the water. As I understand this would allow me to apply for jobs like crewing on delivery's, flotilla positions, deckhand on superyachts/workboats, etc? And the most likely work I'd be to get would be unpaid crewing on delivery for a...amount of time? I'm kind of expecting a few years after the course of real hardship, still living off my savings, renting my Sheffield house out, and maybe buying a small boat/renting somewhere on the coast/moving in with my dad on Alderney, and living on the move. Really am getting ready to do quite a lot.
I'm not planning to rush though. The current plan is to do my ENG1 and head over to Alderney in January to hang around the boatyard/yacht club trying to learn stuff, and aim to book the UKSA course around this time to start spring/early summer. I'd love to hear any advice, tips, recommendations, slagging off, arguing, etc this post may have provoked in you! And show my face and say hello!
I'm hoping I'll be around a while.