Had this dream since childhood - considering making it a reality

[Frankie-H]

I don't think many people will be screaming, I think lots would agree with you.

The RYA syllabus is a good scheme, but it needs to be accompanied by (preferably varied) experience, not raced through as fast as possible with "mile-building" trips to meet the bare minimum prerequisites for each course. It wasn't designed to facilitate the "zero to hero" combined courses that some places now offer.
Pete

Sadly I have met several yacht masters, including 2 on my course, who had no ability to sail at all. 1 could not feel the wind and we sailed out of Portsmouth harbour 'by the lee' with 35 kts showing on the anemometer. The other had an encyclopedic knowledge or everything written but was incapable of helming a boat. The fast track courses are even worse and the danger is that some of the newly elevated yacht masters do believe that they are god's gifts to boating. I knew another well qualified skipper and his wife. They sold their IT company to sail the world in their new cat. The forecast was truly lousy with a very strong mistral forecast for the next day. I and a Norwegian tried very hard to stop him sailing but his answer was that he 'wanted to see how much the boat could take'. They shot away from the port with 60+ kts over the port quarter. By the time they got out onto the well protected bay, the wife was projectile vomiting. They charged about 25 miles straight into the port of Marseille, where the wife packed her bags and went home to her mum, as they had also sold their house. I believe the boat was sold in Marseille but I am not sure.

 

[forestboy]

I know that you took exception to my previous contribution but please realize that I have been sailing on many boats for more years than I care to remember. I have lived aboard full time for 19 years and I care greatly about boats and the sea.

Catamarans of about 38'. I don't know how tall you are but these tend not to have any full headroom in the bridge deck saloon. The cabins down in the hulls are good but storage can be limited. They are not necessary faster and are very subject to weight. They sit down in the water much more seriously than a mono hull and you have to be very controlled with you purchases. I personally do not like the motion when the going gets rough and they are much more unforgiving in very rough weather. If you really are going very long distances, just remember that, should you be unlucky enough to turn your cat over, they do not come up again.

Masts. The good reason for taking your mast down is that you will, through necessity, give it a very thorough inspection. That is the only good reason IMHO . As has been said take the sails and the running rigging off but you mast is better off standing upright and adds very little to your windage. Certainly, if you are in danger of being blown over, you might be in the wrong place or the chocking systems are wrong.

Courses. Courses are valuable but no substitute for experience. They are also fun. Do whatever courses you can but google the schools and talk to them. Again IMHO the fast track yacht masters courses are dangerous. This will be very unpopular and I am sure that there will be many experts screaming but I have known several so called yacht masters, who I would not allow on my boat. The worst of these had been taken on as skipper and had so little idea of rigging the boat that he ended up with the main in the foretriangle and nearly pulled the mast down. I do have a yacht masters ticket but mainly for insurance purposes and I had a great time on the course and I do have over 60 years experience

Whatever you do or buy, take the time to gain experience. The beautiful day on the charter yacht in the Cyclades will teach you nothing. You must take the time to experience heavy weather. Try sailing mono hulls and cats and see what you are most comfortable with.

Sorry again for introducing pessimistic rants into your thread but, if you are interested you can always pm me.

Sorry for the late reply, I've been really busy. You're right, I did take offence but I very much appreciate your reply. Thank you!

I am 6ft precisely and it had not occurred to me the height limitations of a cat. However, I would like to be able to stand up in the galley without banging my head. Not so much concerned about other areas of the boat although it could be quite annoying. This is a medium term plan so nothing is set but the other positives of a cat I alluded to still might outweigh a lack of head room. I intend to charter some different boats over the next few years. What I'm considering is quite a risk from a financial point of view and am now considering re mortgaging and renting instead of selling outright which extends my plan further and also means I would be, initially at least, walking more of a tight rope.

Most certainly I may very well pick your brains if that is still alright from time to time. One thing that's crossed my mind regarding gaining real experience after having training is getting a small boat in the interim. The downside to that is the costs would delay, possibly greatly delay my main plan. If I was to get go on courses and get some qualifications and then buy a boat to live and cruise on I was wondering about the safest way to gain experience on my own boat. I don't want to cruise around the British Isles because I spend most of my time cold, wet and outdoors already and would like some actual sun. I thought about coastal cruising around the Med but from reading about it this is also quite a skill in itself for a variety of reasons. Safer perhaps but quite a high risk of wrecking the boat if you don't fully know what you are doing, especially if alone. So many factors running through my mind ATM.

 

[peterhull]

If you want something smaller you can't go much wrong with Holman and Pye designs or straight Holman designs or long keel Nichololson 31 or fin and skeg Nich 35, very secure world girdlers. Maybe a little cramped for livaboard though.

Good Nichs 31 and 35's hold their value and are relatively easy to sell provided they have been well maintained. Maybe get some experience on these and trade up if you want to?

Contessa 32 also usually sought after and hold their value but beam is quite narrow for long passages but many have done it.

Just food for more thoughts!!

Regards

Peter

 

[Frankie-H]

Forestboy I am still not absolutely sure that you are serious ! If you are a troll then I will bite. You are welcome to pick my brains, such as they are, by pm or by a new post. Pms will be best as I don't often come onto the Liveaboard forum.

There are quite a few people who enjoy sailing around the British Isles. The weather is not always bad and the costs will be less than sailing in the Med.

The best way to gain experience is slowly slowly in either your own boat, a charter boat but the companies will require proof of your ability or friend's boats.

The Med is actually much safer than UK waters. No tides to worry about, although I hope you will gain enough experience to work out your tides, if necessary.
Weather forecasting is good and there are many places, where you could put a small trailer sailer in the water. The next bay is not too far away. You will find marinas expensive during the summer but there are many anchorages, which is another skill to be learned.

Above all gently gently and may your learning be a happy experience.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

It's also worth looking at some of the ideas that have been bounced around by the YAPP team - it's the sort of thing they may have had a go at. [/url]

YAPP team! It's Cat and me - and Cat mostly just gets in the way and scoffs all the prawns.

I did make a remote boat monitoring doohickey that got information from the boat's instruments and communicated by GSM, but no-one was particularly interested in it.

 

[Ravi]

To the OP -

if you are serious about this as a long term plan, join a dinghy sailing club and spend a year sailing. you will then knoe more about actual sailing than 90% of the yachtmasters. If you spend some time racing, you will then be ahead of 95% of the yachtmasters. Of course, you will then have to learn about all the damp caravanning aspects of yachting - but that is the easy bit.

it sounds like you are looking for a bit of exposure to the yachting world to decide and understand what you want. Why not take on some crewing jobs. Sail a bit on other people's yachts, whether it be in the Solent or across the Atlantic. You will learn so much and your money will stay in your pocket until you really know what you want.

 

[forestboy]

Thanks for the advice fellas.

Ravi - I think that what you propose is a very good option. I am in a total catch 22 because my business is still young and at a point where I could safely expand which would financial benefit me in the long run but would eat away more years. I like to be busy but I'm more keen on busying myself with leisurely pursuits than I am working. Most certainly, this year, yachting around is not an option but could be for next year if I decide to keep things as they are.

Frankie- thanks for the feedback. Lol, I don't really know how to convince you I am not a troll but believe me, if you knew me, you would know that the act of trolling, in any guise, is about as contrary to my take on life as flying to Las Vegas and marrying my dog. More contrary probably. Anyhow....

Peterhull- funny you mention it. I did take a look at those Nichs as I am thinking smaller, smaller, cheaper, cheaper just to start. As long as resale was no hassle it's a good option. But then I thought everyone told me that with motorbikes and cars when I first passed my tests and I totally ignored them and bought a rover 400 as a first car and a cb400 as a first bike, both reasonably powered larger vehicles (for a beginner). Never so much as scratched any bike or car I have ever owned. Well... I did get on my bike once in the city, assuming my lights were on cos they always were (someone must have turned them off) and some guy didn't see me and pulled out right in front of me but that doesn't count lol.

 

[Ravi]

Hi Forestboy.

I hope your dream comes true. I have, similarly, been working to bring my dream to fruition over the last few years. Here are a few ideas.....

1. Disregard all ideas of what size, type, etc. of yacht that you want until you have a bit more exposure to yachting. e.g. (When you talk about dog, motorcycle, family, etc, most forumites will be thinking "Catamaran man". Cats are great and may be what you are looking for - but you won't know for sure till yout sry them so ...... so deliberately force all preconceptions from your mind until you ....

2. Get that exposure.

You can't have too much sailing experience. Every trip, even with the same skipper and boat will teach you more, but sailing with different people on different vessels teaches you the most, fastest.

- The starting point is to do the RYA competent crew. you are then of (limited) use to any skipper! 3 days, a few hundred quid and some good fun. No exams.
- The next stage is to get out there sailing. The easiest way is to join your local yacht club and advertise yourself as available for crewing duty. Alternatively, find a day when you are free and post yourself as available and hungry to learn on this or other forums. if you can crew for someone who is racing you will quickly learn all about sailing (rather than yachting) and will learn valuable skills.
- Once you have some sailing experience, you may want to do your RYA day skipper theory. Since you run your own business and are self motivated, you may find that self study is a good option. Centaur sailing are excellent for self study and very strict about making sure you know what you need to know before they pass you.
- When you have an understanding about the Day skipper theory, you may want to pass your day skipper practical. 5 days. If you choose a good instructor, this will be a valuable learning experience from a good sailor as much as a qualification. Good fun, as well.

By now you will have quite a bit of experience. Hopefully, you will have sailed with some bad skippers and bad sailors since you will learn as much (about what NOT to do) as you will have from the good ones!

The you will want to start sailing on your own. A flotilla is a good introduction to skippering, since you will have a guardian angel in the form of a flotilla skipper. Skippering is a psychological step up from taking temporary charge and it just takes getting used to, before you start to enjoy it. Alternatively, you could take a bareboat charter, ideally in sheltered waters. e.g.the Clyde. No doubt, you will enjoy preparing your sailing plans and alternative passages weeks in advance and mastering this preparation and passage planning is what it is all about. Eventually, it will become intuitive.

Now to your boat! By this point you will have had enough experience to have some idea of what sort of yacht is right for you. You will also have had a lot of fun along the way.

As I said in my previous post, doing a bit of dinghy sailing (RYA level 2) at your local dinghy club when you are starting off will stand you in very good stead. When you are doing your day skipper, you may find that you can sail onto a pontoon better than your instructor!

Good luck with your dream. A few people on here have suggested that the way to start realising your dream is not to buy a yacht but to start sailing. I think that they are right. Buying a yacht can mean that the limited time you want to spend sailing is spent, anti-fouling and doing maintenance. The time to really enjoy a yacht is when you have the leisure to spend weeks or months on it. In the mean time, crewing and doing a bit of RYA training will fill up the time you have available for sailing. If your business is young and growing then it seems to make sense that you grab the most varied sailing experiences possible where you can, for now.

See you on the water!

 

[forestboy]

Fantastic advice! I'm gonna take it all and run with it. You have perfectly and precisely answered a lot of questions I have been thinking as well as some others I hadn't thought about. Thanks a lot for that

I would much rather gain experience than qualifications. I'm very confident in my abilities to fathom practical problems and get a feel for things so if I got some basic knowledge and crew experience I feel confident I could spring board from that. My only apprehension is that I have become quite introverted. I often work alone or with my brother for quite a few years now and I dunno I've just started enjoying my own space more and more rather than being with other people so much so I'm a little worried about that aspect but it should be OK. I never had a problem being social a few years back so it should be good. Possibly just what I need actually.

Thanks again Ravi