First sail on my GP14

[Steve101]

I had a guy take me out who is used to sailing lasers. I crewed for a while, I understand the principal of the genoa and I was able to jibe/change tack no problem (IMHO), but when it came to taking the helm either my co-ordination was way out/ I was unable to grasp his instruction/ or his instruction was crap. I didn't really enjoy this very much at all. He seemed to get quite agitated not with me but with other sailors for not giving us a wide berth and positively ballistic when no one came to help us moor up. He's quite a chilled out guy on land so this has dented my confidence a little. I intend to take her out again next Saturday night when I've been told the lake will be clear. My wife is going to crew whilst I make as many mistakes as I can knowing the worst can happen is we get wet. Can anyone make comment

 

[MedMan]

My first 'boat' was a GP14. They are excellent to learn in - stable yet reasonably responsive.

You don't say where you propose this trip out with your wife. Is it at sea or on inland waters. Will there be a rescue boat available if it goes pear-shaped? An offshore wind at sea with no recue boat could spell disaster. In contrast, a not-too-large inland lake might be fine, though even then a recue boat in the wings would be a sensible precaution.

If you have access to the ideal spot with recue services in reserve and a nice 10-12 knots along the shore I suggest you go out alone and leave your wife ashore with the binoculars. After a couple of hours you will have learnt a huge amount and your marriage will be intact!

 

[rogerroger]

Don't be put off.

I'm a very calm and laid back person and have just spent a week sailing in Turkey where much of it was spent trying to teach my girlfriend to sail. I consider myself a good sailor but when she took the controls I realised that without the "feel" I didn't understand 100% what was going on. I found myself biting my tongue a bit trying to explain what to do.

A good sailor might be a lousy teacher!

Perhaps his frustration / anger was showing thus no one wanting to come near to help? Also, if it looked like you were getting instruction, people probably thought they'd get in the way or their help wasn't needed. I'm sure if you'd asked for assistance it would have been forthcoming straight away.

Don't be put off by this experience. My girlfriend got frustrated not being able to do it straight away so I had to keep reminding her I first sailed 24 years ago and she'd been out there an hour!

/forums/images/icons/cool.gif Roger Holden /forums/images/icons/cool.gif
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.first-magnitude.co.uk>First Magnitude</A>

 

[Steve101]

Thanks for the reply. In-shore, about two acres of water and the wife is up for getting wet! No rescue boat on a Saturday night though and lake is only open Saturday and Sunday (Race day).

 

[Jeremy_W]

It's not the getting wet that's the problem, it's the rows that lack of communication will cause. If the blind lead the blind they shall have a flaming row.

I guess today was the first time you used a tiller [do Bavs have wheels?] so you've probably learnt an awful lot more than you think. But you're trying to fast-track skills that take a while to learn.

Think back to how long it took you to master a hill start in a manual car. That's a two feet plus one hand co-ordination problem. You probably didn't get it first lesson. Most dinghy sailing moves are the same level of co-ordination. But you can't teach them till you understand them.

I did give my girlfriend sailing lessons. But I'd been sailing for decades and I hired a Squib keelboat on Windermere: Massive cockpit; It doesn't capsize; There are acres of space on the lake to play around in; and it responds more slowly than a dinghy which gives time to think. None of which stopped her dumping me a year or two later!

 

[graham]

Steve congratulations on taking the plunge.Teaching someone to sail is never a relaxing experience.It is very frustrating to have to let someone else make a bad job of helming when your itching to get the best out of the boat!!


I would think twice about learning with your wife unless you are both very laid back and game for a laugh.There is also a safety issue with no rescue boat.Without wet or dry suits even this time of year the cold wateer will quickly be a problem if you can out.

If you are a member of a sailing club possibly they will have some club toppers or similar you could use on your own.

THey only have one sail and are much easier to right after a capsize .Also the GP14 will sail on mainsail alone while you get the nack of using the tiller.

Probably the best route would be to sign up together for some lessons by a qualified school.In our area the council runs a school but you would have to ask around.Or contact the RYA for advise.

You dont sound like the sort to be put off so good luck whatever way you learn .PS

Day skipper ,Coastal skipper or Yachtmaster courses are more to do with navigation than actual sailing.If you do a course it needs to be a dinghy sailing course.

 

[jimi]

Steve,
I went through a similar learning curve with the wife on a GP14. Excellent for learning sailing skills, & sail trim etc..,However they are absolute buggers to get up if they do go over & they can go over quite quickly in gusty conditions. I would seriously recommend a couple of sessions with a RYA qualified coach to help you up the initial curve on the learning slope. HAving sailed both a Laser & a GP they are quite different boats to sail. Other things to check .. do the bailers work, do the flotation things work? (I had an interesting experience when the forward flotation chamber started filling up .. I can confirm that a sailing submarine is not stable!).

Good luck

Jim

 

[Trevethan]

Actually, getting wet is far from the worst thing that can happen.

Among them -

Divorce - the frustrations of sailing, especially with little or no experience are huge as is potential for huge fights that go on for weeks.

Death - either at each others hands (see above) but on a more serious note, accidental gybes can cause major head injuries and will often involve you winding up in the water. Not a good place to be while your wife or you is bleeding heavily and you have to swim a quarter of a mile towing the other person.

Seriously, you ought to have someone standing by just in case if you decide to do this.

If I were you though, and having been through much of what you're doing now, my advice is to get some more experience first. You should be able to squeeze three up in a GP 14 so take someone who knows what they're doing to helm and let you and the wife crew. Get familiar with the way the boat moves about in tha water and so on. Build experience a bit more slowly. Sailing can be great fun. it can also be torture. Learn to tell wind direction and read the wind for gusts etc.


You will be in for a tough time if you are trying to "teach" someone else and you lack the basics yourself.

Get a bit more practice first! Maybe Both of you take a one day intro to dinghy sailing or similar before you start going together.



Regards,

Nick

 

[sailbadthesinner]

I have been sailing years but wholly acknowledge myself to be no good at teaching. ' not that left the other left'
get an rya instructor to teach you
remember it can be dangerous out there
i saw my other half's head almost being taken off by a boom on a wayfarer.

...It was like that when i found it!

 

[vyv_cox]

Over-cautious?

Are we not at risk of following the liability lawyer route here? Sailing is a very safe activity although, naturally, there are accidents from time to time - there probably are to people lying in bed.

I learnt to sail with a friend in a lugsail clinker dinghy at age about 13. Neither of us had any experience or knowledge. We were given the boat. We pushed it out to sea off the Wirral coast, not a lifejacket between us, and sailed it. Within a couple of weekends we were reasonably competent.

After a long layoff canoeing and surfing, wife and self came back to it. Bought an Enterprise and were racing it within a few weeks. Both learning together. Of course we capsized, frequently, but that's part of it.

OK, times have changed. The way we learnt in the late 1950s may not be acceptable now, but with a few concessions to the safety-conscious 21st Century I still maintain mine to be the best way to learn. Possibly not the fastest route to all-round capability but far superior for team-building.

 

[Trevethan]

Re: Over-cautious?

I developed my sailing skills much the same way. Though I had a bit of instruction first. I'd then go off singlehanded (Taw Torridge Estuary, Bristol Channel) in a 14 footer.

And when I think of some of the things I did, I cringe now. I'd always wear a life jacket, but still.

There are a couple of points. Two adults in the boat is quite different to two kids. Adults are more exposed to the boom being taller, and are less nimble and able to scramble around inside a small boat in order to balance it.

They are also more likely to get stressed and frustrated and have a row than kids.

They want their introduction to sailing to be as much fun and least hassly as possible before moving on to a much larger boat. and I think a little instruction would really help this.

The second is the risk factor. Its unlikely that they will hurt other people, but as novices, I think it would be prudent to have someone else there just in case.

Look at it this way. When ;earning to ski, would you just buy the kit, head off to the top of a mountain miles from anywhere with a friend and then set off with very little clue what to do other than "Bend ze knees"?

The main point is theoriginal post suggested the worst that can happen is that theyu get wet. That is untrue, other risks exist and before embarking on a ventuire like this, those risks need to be properly assessed and either discounted as being unlikely in the extreme to occur, or if a risk is more likely, a contigency ought to be in place.

An experienced sailor will do this automatically - checking weather, boat condition, equipment, capability of crew and so on before setting out. A novice isn't able to this.

And yes pottering on a lake doesn't hold the same danger as a North Sea crossing in February. But there are risks and these ought to be addressed I think, even if it entail having someone sitting in the car/clubhouse/punb having a drink watching out you, until you develop a bit more confidence and experience.

 

[Steve101]

Re: Over-cautious?

We want to get wet!!!! The very worst I feel that could happen is we have to leave our GP14 capsized in the water until the next morning for the rescue boat to give us a hand. On land my Wife and I can have some right ding-dongs (We run our business together; Nuff said!) However the boating thing is stress free, we don't want to do everything at 100mph. The boom goes over our heads (we're only short arses.) so chances are minimal I'm gonna get knocked out. Everyday we drive our cars at 70 mph+ there are risks involved there too!

 

[Guest]

Some tho

 

[Guest]

Err... there was originally a lot more of that above post. Shome mistake, shurely. Well, I'm not typing it all out again but in essence... have fun and be safe!