Experience or a course?

[phanakapan]

Help me choose, chaps and chapesses. I've got a week free, no partner or kids. I have been considering either doing a coastal skipper course, or taking my own boat down to the Solent from Brighton. Either way I will be doing the girls only meet at the end of the week. As I see it, the advantages of a course are;a challenge, getting to sail on a reasonably decent boat, hopefully good teaching, company, going out in weather and the sort of situations I might not attempt on my own.
Disadvantages- primarily cost. I'm really broke.
Avantages of my own boat-a challenge(never taken it more than 10 minutes from Brighton on my own),cheap, I can go where I want when I want.
Disadvantages- my boat is less than luxurious, and I'd be PETRIFIED!
But my main question is, would I learn more by doing the course or going it alone?
BTW I've done YM theory so either way I'd need to brush up on that, but it's the sailing experience I haven't got.

 

[BrendanS]

Sounds to me that if you've got YM, you are not short of knowledge on pro's and con's.

If money is an issue, then forget usual advice. Don't go on a course. While you'd learn a lot, what you really need is confidence, and that can be obtained by asking forumnites for help, and there will be plenty of people who will take you out on your own boat, or take you for trips on theirs while you build up experience

Save you pennies until you need them. RYA courses are wonderful and useful, but there are alternatives if you are broke.

 

[LadyInBed]

You’ve got the boat. If you are happy taking it out locally on your own, spend some money on a book on weather forecasting and learn to interpret synoptic charts. Brighton - Solent is a nice day sail if you are not beating into the wind.
If the forecast is crap or you are not happy taking it out locally on your own, spend the money on a course. Though all the courses you do with a full crew won't be the same as taking the boat out on your own. Personally I would look around for an experienced boat owner who is prepared to come out with you purely as a passenger so you can build your confidence doing things on your own.

 

[RupertW]

Courses are great if you have the money and time - especially if you've never owned a boat.

I'm based at Brighton - pretty new to single-handed, but not to sailing - so send me a PM if you fancy following up the ideal of having somebody sailing as a passenger sometime to try a few things out.

Cheers

Rupert

 

[Evadne]

Take your boat out. Take a friend or a forumite if you don't fancy single-handing, but if you've done the theory and sailed your own boat before then Brighton-Solent with forecast Northerlies sounds ideal. The main drawbacks with singlehanding are when berthing and navigating when you don't have an autopilot. That and talking to yourself. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif If you sail out of Brighton then you've nothing to fear from anything in the Solent, and the rest is open sea.

 

[StugeronSteve]

I agree with the points above. You obviously have a good idea of what you are doing, you have a boat and you can sail.

I'm not sure about the single handing bit, but get some friends on the boat, of mixed abilities, and use it. Sailing with experienced people will help to build your knowledge and showing a few newcomers the "ropes" will do wonders for your own confidence.

As Dave says, if you are used to sailing into, and out of, Brighton, there's nothing in the Solent that should pose too many probs.

Have fun.

 

[alant]

Why not approach any RYA School, discuss your 'needs' & get some own boat tuition. This could even be included in your trip down to the Solent, giving you passage making/planning + navigation/pilotage experience + night passage.
Unless you think a paper qual is essential, what you need is reassurance from someone who can assess your competance in an un-biased way.

 

[jimi]

I reckon a course is a good idea. Sign up for a weeks course (Coastal skip) with Southern Sailing. You'll learn a lot. If you sail your own boat you may mile build and gain a lot of confidence but you'll learn much much more on a weeks sailing course .. all IMHO of course

 

[tcm]

I agree with this. The touig htheing to get is a boat. Getting people to come and help out needn't cost a load of loot cos zillions of people do it themselves for nothing. I bet (hope) that somebody wd come along for a day. Put a post up specifying that they come along for a day or two, you provide boat, they provide brainpower, spilt any costs. I have never yet been on a boat with another boatie and failed to learn something from them (even if it's "cripes i wdn't do that!")

 

[snowleopard]

i'll agree that it's experience you need right now. what you need is a mentor who will guide rather than take over, let you make mistakes and learn from them but prevent you making big ones. he/she must also not have another agenda, e.g. showing off, condescending (or the obvious).

i am of course the ideal person /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif but am sadly not available at the time and place - i'm probably doing the same for someone else!

 

[billmacfarlane]

If you're that PETRIFIED you really should do a course if only to get your confidence levels up a notch or two. Then you can go out with more experienced peers to put into practice what you learnt on the course. The trouble with using only peers to learn off, is that unless you know them really well, you can't guarantee that what you learn will be any good. I'm not talking paper qualifications but hard experience. Someone else has already mentioned Southern Sailing School but my experiences with them have been mixed, but it seems to be only me that has an issue with them. You could do worse - Sunsail for instance.

 

[DJE]

Just a thought. Check your insurance for single handed sailing; particularly if you might be under way after dark.

 

[phanakapan]

I've been overwhelmed with the great response to my dilemma- this forum is great! Thank you all.

At the moment, I'm thinking of getting down on my own boat (I will check the insurance) possibly with a fellow forumite on board or sailing in company at the start of the week 2/3 April. I'll then be up for playing with any forumites who fancy passing on their experience on my lovely tub in return for a few (or many) drinks...
then come the 9th April it's ladies only and the Folly.
Hangover permitting, I'll have to get back to Brighton on Sunday 10th April- although if the hangover or the weather is too bad, I'll do it in stages over the following weekends.
Hope to see some of you down there- cheers!