Gaining experience

[SteveB_Sigma33]

Well time to bare my soul

I've been sailing for about 8+ years now. The last 4 I've been skippering a Sigma 33 but I feel like I've reached a sticking point in myself development.

What I mean by this is that I've taken out vast amounts of family and friends on sailing trips mainly around the Solent with the odd Channel crossing thrown in. Each trip seems to be a case of teaching people from scratch etc etc.

Anyway to cut along story short. I'm now finding myself asking this question to myself - Do I get involved in JOG and do some inshore and offshore races on my boat and get crew from the crew seekers site to further my experience, or should I actually throw myself into the hat with all the others on the crew seekers site and get myself onto some other boats?!?!?!

Has anyone else found themselves at this point?!?! What's the advice from the great un-washed..............





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[Sybarite]

Just do it...

Try both and see.

John

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[flaming]

Why do you need to get crew from crewseekers? If you're racing for fun there's no reason you can't start with people that have simply enjoyed sailing with you and train them up as you go.

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[AndrewB]

The problem as a newcomer to racing is that if you sit at the back of the fleet, either as skipper or crew, you'll have a very slow learning curve. As skipper, you need to attract decent committed racing crew, and be prepared to spend money on the yacht. As crew, you need to be aboard a reasonably competitive yacht. Both are helped by some kind of track record for yourself, and in the first case, for your yacht.

I've raced on other people's yachts but never had any aspiration as a racing skipper myself, above club level. So my bias is to think you would be best to start by crewing for someone else, even in a minor position. Another consideration is that at JOG level races are strictly played to the rules - this can be a bit intimidating for a novice racing skipper.

Be prepared to look around for a position on a reasonable, middle of the JOG or good racing club fleet yacht. You aren't going to get aboard the crack yachts, and you'd be baggage anyway. But being an established cruising owner/skipper is worth some brownie points, so you don't have to take anything going, and can avoid the no-hopers. To make the most of this experience and give yourself the best chance of selection, you should be prepared to commit to a season's campaign, including one of the main weekly meets (Cowes, Burnham, Ramsgate) in your summer hols. Meantime, race your own boat at club level in spare weekends.

 

[Dave99]

If you starting racing then it is worth getting a couple of good people, certainly an experianced foredeck makes quite alot of difference. I would recommend sailcrew.co.uk -its free. I'm not just saying that because I'm registered but I have ended up getting a regular position on a max fun 35.

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[LadyInBed]

If racing is the way you want to go, fair enough, but it’s not my thing.
I am more inclined to single handed sailing, to new locations, cross channel, passages in a range of conditions and anchoring in bays rather than tying up in mariners. Also crew on some delivery trips to see how other people do it.


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[Jeremy_W]

Do you really want to race? You don't exactly sound keen. If you do want to race there aren't a lot of yachts better than a one-design like the Sigma 33. But it'll cost (Genesis main, Genesis #1, Genesis #2, reaching spinnaker, better instruments, breakages) before decent crew will step onboard. Allow a 4-figure (or even 5-figure sum) for a season's racing.

You obviously like cruising so why not expand the range of what you do now. Recruit a solid dependable Day Skipper with plenty of night hours from Crewseekers, another website or even Scuttlebutt. Then you have 2 watches (self + less experienced crew) & (DS + less experienced crew). When you're certain (from a weekend or two together) that everyone gels, go for a decent Channel Cruise: Solent - Dartmouth (eat seafood at "Aussie Phil's) - Falmouth - Guernsey - Alderney - Cherbourg - St Vaast - Weymouth (nice pubs) - Folly Inn - home [for example].

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