How did you gain your experience

[DAKA]

I am not experienced at all, still trying to learn someone suggested otherwise so I thought I best put the record straight and also find out what others did....

I sailed and won a lot of races / series in my youth but no real navigation as you just sail round marks with visual waypoints everywhere, we raced everywhere under power as well as sail which is partially why we were so successful.

I was then asked to miss sailing one weekend in order to be in the committee boat ( Race judge and jury), the committee boat was bust so I had to take the Rescue launch and that was it , I never really enjoyed sailing again and realised it was speed that interested me.

My first speed boat cost £20 (a broom) which I owned 32/64 share with one of my school mates , we sank it /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Then took a Falcon out at hightide so I couldn't run aground, never bought a chart, just used a 5 inch to the mile OS road atlas.
I got a bigger boat and followed someone to Dover, I kept the track so we could go on our own and find our way back.

from Dover we set off to France by following the Pride of Calais, we couldn't keep up and we lost sight of it, didn't matter as I guessed another would be along soon and sure enough it was, we ended up in Boulonge but had a great weekend. Two weeks latter we went again but this time our mates we followed to Dover followed us to France and that was the start of assumptions that I knew what I was doing.

I kept the GPS when I upgraded to the next boat so we could still find France, one of my mates was selling his Garmin gps, I knew he had been to the channel Islands so I bought that extending my cruising grounds /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

And thats it really, so when I ask a question regarding Navigation, fog and collision regs they are genuine questions.

I am still unsure what to do in a TSS when you have a Ship on your port side.

I did go on a RYA vhf course but I was disappointed with the idiot who was more interested in telling how to SAIL into a marina in the dark without lights on and leave early as to avoid marina fees.

Also followed an RYA instructor to St Helier who took us through wind against tide Alderney race..........what a plonker !

Hence you can understand why I put more reliance on what I hear from experienced skippers in club bars, pontoons, here /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I do have a passage plan chart now as it came with the boat gps and one of my mates gave me some of his old charts that I inked over some old pencil lines.................if the passage was right for him why bother to change it next time /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


MBM cruises were very easy to follow, I recommend them to newbies, very easy way to build a comprehensive Track library.

 

[breezer5012]

I've still got my L pates well and truly attached and learn something every time I go out. Encouragingly though, it means my learning curve is steep and I can see myself improving with each trip.

I started from scratch in 2006. Having decided we wanted a boat, we took a powerboat level 2 course first (I can only say it was the worse training from an instructor I have ever received, but it did get me out on a boat I guess!) We then bought a 17ft Fletcher, only to sell her within a few months when we realised we were hooked and wanted something bigger. We bought our S 23 from the Hamble and opted to motor her back to Plymouth ourselves, but with a delivery skipper on board - what a wonderful decision that was! We learnt so much from him about the boat and how to handle her.

I did some reading around navigation, tides and colregs using a variety of RYA books (and still do as I've only scratched the surface to date) but mainly at this point I was learning from my other half, Paul who had a reasonable amount of experience and a lot of theory. A week long holiday last summer to Portsmouth and back (via Torquay, Weymouth and Bucklers Hard) taught me lots, including the dangers and risks of being at sea on a 25ft boat. I came home full of enthusiasm and increased confidence.

October last year saw me on a Day Skipper course with Cornish Cruising in Falmouth (they and our instructor, Phil Soltys, were absolutely superb). I was on the course with yacht master and Coastal skipper candidates so my theory came on leaps and bounds.

Since then, I've been learning and increasing in confidence from first hand experience on the boat and was chuffed to bits a couple of weeks ago when, for the first time, I confidently took our boat out with a friend without Paul on board. I even managed to bring her alongside without mounting the pontoon! The feeling was very similar to the one I experience having past my driver's licence and took the car out on my own for the first time. Daunting and a bit scary but very exciting. I must admit I was quite proud of myself. It was the day Arny returned from his round UK trip - he and Sally were drinking bubbly to celebrate his safe passage round the UK, and I was drinking bubbly with them, quietly celebrating the fact that I had got Nuffink Dubhing safely from Yacht Haven Quay to Mayflower Marina via the breakwater without Paul on board /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I love every minute I have on the boat and really enjoy learning both the practical stuff on board and also the theory. Its not for everyone I know, but I plan to do my coastal skipper practical next year and perhaps my yacht master theory. Not so I can waft a certificate about, but because I really enjoy learning the theory and superimposing it onto the practical experience I gain from being out on the sea. It makes me feel far more confident and in control, given the fact that I am so new to all this. I don't want to be sitting next to Paul doing nothing but throwing ropes and organising fenders. I want to be able to take her our whether he can come or not and share the helm when we are out together.

We have 2 weeks leave coming up and hope to take the boat away - I'm praying for good weather and looking forward to another steep learning curve /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[JasB]

I was in the Air Training Corps, and they took us on a sailing weekend to Grafham water.
Treasured memories, I now know how to upturn a dinghy wether I am on it or not.
After that was a long time away, dreaming, then a small lottery win got me back (small = £5000) bot my own boat, did a comp crewcourse, and have been hitching lifts when I can, and trying to get my boat seaworthy when I can't. (at least I will know the bloody thing inside out when it breaks down out at sea...cold comfort)

 

[Searush]

I made loads a mistakes, read a lot of books, drank a lot of beer with people I thought knew.

Started with dinghies in the sea, eventually tried hiring a small sailing cruiser, then bought my own. First passage was delivery to my own location with previous owner's help. He laughed at my book learned RYA navigation and then taught me the art of coarse navigation & I haven't looked back since.

RYA theory is great in a classroom or if you have someone on board to focuss on navigating. But sailing, steering, keeping a lookout, cooking, going to the loo & navigating all at the same time needs a special art. It's all about quick, simple and "accurate enough".

(Stand-by for know-it -alls to jump in with you must know EXACTLY where you are at all times!) /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[powerskipper]

well mine was a bit different,
My dad had a river boat when we were kids but all I remeber from it is how to tie it up so it did not get away and standing on the front with a long stick, poking it into the mud to see if there was enough water to get back to our berth.
did a bit of dinghy sailing as a child ,
worked at a place where we hired out windsurfers, canoes and topper sailing boats.
I can rig them in my sleep and can pull them off a lee shore with ease now as I worked there for 3 summers.

now the big stuff. My dad got a princess 43, and said to me "your kids are at school you can crew for me"
so off we went
I asked , "how do you know where to go?"
answered " you stay between the red and green marks"
"Why "ask I.

"so you don't run aground"

It had not occurred to me you could. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Well I went and did the theory courses and then the more we went out in her the more I became addicted,
So I set out to get my YM , I read books , practised what I read, again and again, read some more and practised some more. did a couple of courses along the way , and about roughly 4 years after that first time out I passed my YM /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[breezer5012]

Your kind of navigation is what I want to be able to do, but for me, I can only get there by learning it the book way too. Every one is different - I learn best by watching, doing and reading. It makes it hard work, but I'm getting there.

 

[paulm299]

I realise that this may sound odd , But wasn't there a book available Called " The Art of Coarse Navigation " . I think I used it when I was in the RAF and have used that method since .
Paul

 

[hlb]

Started on Butlins boating lake, age about six. Spent all week on it, every holiday. Burnley boating lake, St Annes boating lake, Fleetwood boating lake and any others I could find. Funny really, my parents hated boats.

Started on the Broads age 18, 25 holidays there in all.

Mates little old speed boat. Dunno why we did not sink it.

8ft dinghy, supposed to sail row or power, didn't do much well.

Thought we needed something bigger, for the four of us and the Retriever. Came across a boat in St Annes, bloke said he raced it to IOM or sumfink....A National Ospray sea racing dinghy. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Had some good times and hairy does with that.

A new Imperial cuddy cabin V8 petrol thingy. 20 gallon fuel tank, which was always empty. eaked like a sive from the windows and covers. Got sick of petty restriction on Windermere, silly charges and wardens, so started on the sea.

Navigation was by fag packet and chart, dont thing we had learned about tides.

Princess 33. Started learning a bit from books and things. Thought nothing of going 90 miles to Dublin or where ever. Eventually went on a Dazed skipper course, where I learned about cardinal marks and nowt else. Hated it begining to end 26 evenings at night school.

Dont do so much navigation, just enough to not hit anything, it's not that I cant, just cant be arsed. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Talbot]

Anyone who has claimed to be very experienced has probably closed their mind to further learning. Doesnt matter what the depth of your experience, you can always learn something usefull from others.

 

[paulm299]

Did some research and the book was called " the Art of Coarse Sailing " and it was a light hearted look at sailing , Answers some of my foibles anyway . /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Paul

 

[hlb]

Think the Ex wife had the best answer to the Dazed Skipper course. When asked. what are the dangers round Deal to Dover.l.

Stay in the Blue bits and out of the brown, then you should be allright. She said. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[breezer5012]

I loved Paul's answer to a question on our spectacularly crap PB2 course. When asked why we should tow a boat behind us, he answered 'cos if it was infront of us it would be called pushing'.

One of the very few highlights of the course.

 

[hlb]

In Carnarvon the other week, dunno if you remember the story. Strapped a boat along side like a kipper, Hm said we needed another rope. So we did. I said, well if all OK, we will take him back home along side. HM shook his head, cant do that. Shudder!. So out the lock no problem, I keep piling on the power, looking down from the fly bridge, no probs. Going up to planing speed seemed a bit rediculase. So we didn't. It was like poetry in motion.. Yep there are guide lines, but everything is different. It's just about slight changes to every rule. Towed a boat alongside one day for miles, would not have done it the next.

Best course. Start at 6 years old and mean to go on. Learn slowly, and carry on.

In all my years of sailing, I could never understand. Taken many none sailors out to sea. They all believe, that once off shore, it's like a bowl, they could not conceive it has rocks and sand banks underneath.. They have all read stories of ship wreaks I'm sure.Still the sea is like a bowl of water. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Malcb]

Started with Swallows and Amazons, lik a lot of people.
I went on other peoples boats when ever I could. Sailed on small boats in my teens. My Dad eventually owned a canal cruiser which I think that I used more than he did.

I joined the Gas Sailing Assoc. (Now known as the GSA) and got hooked on bigger boats.

Eventually lived in Cornwall and crewed on a J80 for 3 years, (now that was fun).

I went to live in France and finally did my shorebased courses for day Skipper & Yachtmaster by correspondence course in the sun /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Came back to the UK some years ago and finally bought my own boat ( a 23 foot Virgo Voyager) and sailed that single handed over the last 3 years. The last 2 I have been to Falmouth ( and back), from Chichester.

I was also a member of the Maritime Volunteer Service (Portsmouth) for a 3 years and got a lot of experience on RIBs and displacement craft. A lot of the training/practice was done at night. Which is why I have no problems in traversing the Solent during the hours of darkness

 

[nonitoo]

Started in a "Twinkle Ten" on the Clyde Estuary in 1955, messed about in all sorts, GP14, Enterprise, FF15, Gareloch OD, Loch Long OD, Dragons, etc., crewing anywhere between Dublin and Skye. Went off to sea and sailed in my spare time in Oz, NZ and South Africa.

Ended up with a Master Mariners Ticket, commanding various vessels.

Retired last year after piloting on the Thames Estuary for 30 years and bought a small MoBo, now mooch around the south coast and near continent - only 8 mtrs but I can get to Calais in an hour and we have just returned from 7 weeks in the French Canals - docked back in Dover on Saturday at 0500 in the only weather window at the time.

Still picking up the odd snippet here and there and getting the occasional surprise on the water.

Still lots to learn.