How to begin sailing in UK?

[steveeasy]

Or you could just as you say Wing it. I Just went to see two boats on a rather large pond in the lake District. One looked boring and one looked fab. the seller told me not to touch the lively looking one. I took no notice and bought it. Bit like the difference between a safe hack and a race horse.

Nice quite day and a good breeze and off I went. She was so light and over canvassed, but she went like a rocket. I was sat in the cockpit trying to figure out how to stop the thing. went for miles. No ive never hit anything!!. Learnt lots in a few months.

Couple of years later. I am happily rebuilding my first Twister. Chap climbed up and asked if I was a shipwright. I laughed and told him Id never sailed in open water. Some years later I feel very confident in most aspects of sailing and maintenance. Ive so far surpassed any of my early expectations and the whole experience has enhanced and changed my life. I have the upmost respect for the wealth of knowledge held by all sailors. It can be a very daunting sport to enter but its not at all. As long as you appreciate your on a very long learning curve that in essence will never end. So much to it and learn that you simply will never get bored.

Steveeasy

 

[Daydream believer]

Or you could just as you say Wing it. I Just went to see two boats on a rather large pond in the lake District. One looked boring and one looked fab. the seller told me not to touch the lively looking one. I took no notice and bought it. Bit like the difference between a safe hack and a race horse.

Nice quite day and a good breeze and off I went.
Steveeasy

And your age when you did that??-- 60 like the Op?

 

[srm]

And your age when you did that??-- 60 like the Op?

Given the range of advice and experiences so far in this thread I am sure the OP will pick out a route to suit his needs and aspirations without being wrapped in a blanket and sat in a rocking chair because of his age.

 

[steveeasy]

And your age when you did that??-- 60 like the Op?

Age is just a number. It’s how you feel. I’m no spring chicken and a pretty crooked one at that, We only live once. There is a lot to be said for just getting stuck in while you can. Also gives you a sense of worth. Just imagine the fun and fulfilment to be had.

Steveeasy

 

[Fossil]

Not a lot to add to the above as I now don't live in the UK. What I would say is that many years ago when my wife and I got into sailing, we did a Competent Crew course, which whetted our appetite enough to do the Yachtmaster Theory shorebased course over the winter and a Day Skipper course the following year. And then we bought our own boat and haven't looked back. But what I wanted to emphasise was that we found the two practical courses we went on excellent value for money, and what's more an excellent holiday vacation. We had the usual UK/Solent mixes of hot sunny followed by wet weather, went up and down rivers and anchorages, had something new to think about all day long, every day and all for less than we would have spent lounging around at a mid-range hotel for a week. To my mind practical courses - on somebody else's boat and under expert instruction - are essential, if only because you are bound to make mistakes at first, it's how you learn. Look on it as a good holiday, with useful spin-offs, and it won't seem so bad!

 

[Skylark]

Welcome to the forum @PaulGS

I live south Manchester and keep my boat in the Clyde. I had many, enjoyable, years in North Wales until the demise of Holyhead Marina.

In my retirement from a real job, I‘ve now done 6 seasons of part time, freelance instruction.

From Manchester, travel to the Solent and the Clyde is pretty much equidistant but travel times vary hugely. Getting to the south coast can be torture. There are many sea areas around our coast, each having merit.

You’ll have to carefully read through all of the above posts and decide which pathway is for you. There’s no doubt that the RYA Cruising Scheme is a product of progression and refinement over many years.

The Comp Crew course, delivered well, is an excellent foundation. The Day Skipper Shorebased course is a logical next step.

My advice would be to pick a couple of schools, not necessary but why not choose opposite ends of the country, phone, ask to speak to the Principal and seek his/her advice. Probably better than well meaning forumites without up to date experience of sail training.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Isn’t North Wales the default area for you Manchester people? It’s where I’d go from there. But then, for a few days of course, it doesn’t make much difference where to travel to, as Skylark says, go sailing with a school you like, see what develops from there.

 

[Stemar]

If you can sail a dinghy, you can sail a small yacht, at least enough to get started. What's needed is an understanding of colregs, navigation, weather and tides, and you can get that from a Day Skipper theory course, whether it be a formal one, trawling through the internet or just reading a book. However, there's no substitute for getting out on the water to turn theoretical knowledge into solid seamanship. When I started 20 years ago, I used Crewseekers, and found local people willing to take me out and made a good friend who was a huge help in getting me started sailing. They're still going, but they aren't the only ones. Here's an entry on Crewseekers that's fairly local to you

Morecambe Bay and Beyond….

Obviously, I've no idea if it's still current, but it does show they exist

It is possible to sail and even run a boat on a budget, but only if you have good DIY skills and are willing to get dirty. Lying on your back on muddy concrete scraping barnacles from between the keels of a bilge keeler on a cold spring morning is an over-rated experience, but if that doesn't put you off, go for it! Forget about marinas, you'll want a drying mooring, preferably one run by a sailing club, but you'll likely need to join the club and get your name on a waiting list for that. Being a club member is also a good way to meet people who will take you out to get practical experience.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Isn’t North Wales the default area for you Manchester people? It’s where I’d go from there. But then, for a few days of course, it doesn’t make much difference where to travel to, as Skylark says, go sailing with a school you like, see what develops from there.

And of course the RYA have a training centre at Plas Menai, so worth looking at for their sailing courses held there, I did my Basic Sea Survival Certificate and my Safety Boat Certificate there, excellent tuition and facilities.
The Safety Boat Cert’ was in the middle of January, snow on Snowdon, and despite the dry suit getting into the water of the Menai Straits at that time of year was not ‘warm’.

 

[Skylark]

Isn’t North Wales the default area for you Manchester people? It’s where I’d go from there. But then, for a few days of course, it doesn’t make much difference where to travel to, as Skylark says, go sailing with a school you like, see what develops from there.

In days of yore, half the population of Greater Manchester used to migrate to north Wales on a Friday evening and return on a Sunday. The very thought of the A55 through Conwy or the traffic lights near Queensferry still give me nightmares, years later ?

Sailing north Wales is exceptionally good but can be restricted/constrained by the tides. Holyhead is/was the only all-states port but still has a significant tidal obstacle turning left or right out of the harbour. Nevertheless, a weekend in a Dublin port or in the IoM is easily doable. The river Conwy, for example, has extremely restricted access.

The NW coast of England has little appeal for me so when Holyhead was destroyed the obvious move was to the Clyde. When I signed my marina contract I also had to sign the official secrets act to not tell anyone just how good it is. I’ve done a fair amount of Solent sailing in school boats, it’s a great place to learn but I wouldn’t want to berth there for many reasons.

Regarding Comp Crew, there’s a good debate to be had in considering if it’s best done, assuming 5-day, together with Day Skipper or Coastal Skipper students.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’m just moving my mooring from the most historic Solent yachting port to the cutest. Some parts of the Solent are a lot better than others? Though all of them are a horrific drive from Manchester.

 

[awol]

Deleted

 

[Skylark]

I’m just moving my mooring from the most historic Solent yachting port to the cutest. Some parts of the Solent are a lot better than others? Though all of them are a horrific drive from Manchester.

I always favoured berthing at those marinas prepared to invest in the future of yachting, ie, giving a discount to school boats. Could have argued "not my money" but I saw it as mutually beneficial.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I always favoured berthing at those marinas prepared to invest in the future of yachting, ie, giving a discount to school boats. Could have argued "not my money" but I saw it as mutually beneficial.

They do that at our new home. And we are going to be south of the bridge, well away from any hazard caused?

 

[doug748]

So here's my situation: in my early 60's but in vigorous good health and only now having the time to think of owning a 'proper' boat (I had a GP14 on a reservoir years ago). A RYA CC course would seem an obvious place to start but forum contributors often see them as poor value - I need to get a lot of sailing-time 'bang' for my £'s in the initial learning phase, and money spent on courses is taken out of the purchase kitty. Many cruisers seem (by their own account) to just buy a boat and wing it, building their experience by gradually extending themselves over years. I'd probably (with trepidation) do just that but here we run into another hurdle - co-ordinating the purchase of a boat with finding a mooring (I'm situated most inconveniently for all this - in Gtr. Manchester). In a perfect world I'd hope to join a club and stumble upon someone (perhaps worried about going single-handed now they're older) prepared to take me out - but it's a bit of a reach to stump up a membership in this expectation. Any advice on getting on-water experience and finding that elusive mooring appreciated.

Courses are not for everyone and, as you say, can be expensive and not particularly productive. I would go to a lively looking spot for the weekend, suss out joining a club, root around the marinas and boatyards and spend some time in the club bar chatting.
Conway would be my first thought:

Home - Conway Yacht Club

In my second season I would buy an inexpensive boat there and perhaps do a theory class. I doubt moorings are a problem. After a couple of seasons you may either give up or the world's your lobster.

It may be worth having a look at the Manchester Cruising Association:

Manca

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[Martin&Rene]

Given the Manchester location, I would suggest contacting Ark Sailing at Windermere.

Search Results for “” – Ark Sailing

07879 334852

They run a First 20 and I would suggest you talk to them and ask for a sailing experience day. They run the Start Sailing courses in keelboats and I think a session with them would give you a good idea of what you already know, what you can learn from books, as suggested above, and what you need to learn from a course.

I knew the previous owners, so I am guessing they are still running the very flexible format.

If you then decide to have a course on the Clyde talk to Intuition Sailing, a one man band who I am sure is very flexible in his approach.

Sailing InTuition

 

[jac]

I think you have a number of different elements that you need to consider here. In vague chronological order
1) Sailing ability - you say you have sailed in the past so other than a quick refresher, you probably don't need much
2) Seamanship - Navigation, maintenance, Colregs, Manouvering under power etc. You'll need to brush up on those - experience / practice is the only way to do them - Day Skipper Practical - maybe having done some online / theory / reading type theory courses.
3) What boat for sea time. I would suggest 2 things. Firstly find a localish club and see what happens., You'll probably get little take up but no harm and will help when you do get the boat. Secondly - try sailing abroad - ideally charters or Flotillas aimed at beginners. This will give you some practical experience in a benign setting and will hopefully lead to get the confidence to get your own. if you avoid school holidays and go for late deals this may be fairly cheap and you may be able to persuade SWMBO that this comes out of the holiday budget, not the boat budget
4) If you still like it - get a smallish, sound, comfortable boat for teh sailing / area you are going to be sailing. At 60, forget small ( sub 25 foot boats) and think 30-32 foot, modern, well sorted with creature comforts.

 

[steveeasy]

Personally, I tend to do things the wrong way round. I intend to do some courses as I’m sure they will benifit me a lot.

Steveeasy

 

[steveeasy]

Hi PaulGS.
I’ve no fear sailing single handed at all. I would be more than happy to get you on the water..
I’m a little tied up at present though. Just been on the chopping block again this morning. Now with two new hips I should be on the water in march. If you fancy a day sail then and have a sense of humour id be very happy for you to join me. Your probably get lots of offers from like minded souls. Most of this lot here are very accomodating.
Best wishes
Steveeasy

 

[SaltyC]

IF you can sail a dinghy, you have wind awareness and basic seamanship and sail setting skills ie can tie knots and set sails. Enrol on a Day Skipper Theory course to understand tides and Col Regs.

It would be helpful then to find a 'club' where you can gte experience. From Manchester I would suggest North Wales or Cumbria. They are mainly 'racing' sailors who want bodies but you will quickly learn if you enjoy the sailing or the competitive element.

Do not be discouraged, good sailing is available in the North West.