How to start sailing.

B

BobUp99

New Member
Joined
10 Nov 2021
Messages
3
Visit site
Hi,
I wish to start sailing, and one day perhaps own a sailing boat and do some ocean sailing.
I'm sure this is asked a dozen times or more.
Can you self teach yourself to sail, I wish to start off by purchasing a small one or two person dinghy.

I note many recommend taking the RYA Level 1 and 2 courses, can you self teach what you learn, or is it wise to take the courses.
 
Can you self teach? - yes ................. but there is a lot of experience and knowledge out there and you would be wise to tap into it. Joining a club, paying for courses, reading books, all will help. No matter how long we have been doing it or how far we have sailed, we are all still learning something new. Please take advantage of others' wisdom!
 
Do speak to some clubs as many have taster days when you can just go and try it out. Maybe not best time of year for yachts but plenty of dinghies still sailing through the winter. If not organised taster sessions, they can probably put you in touch with people who will be happy to take you out.

You don't necessarily need to join a club to do RYA level 1/2. Same for Competent Crew on yachts.
 
Yes, emphatically, take courses. You will learn more in one week than you would in a month of self designed experimentation and without developing bad habits. You will learn the hows and whys and the science of wind-powered propulsion. You will learn what makes a boat sail efficiently and what slows its progress. Most of all you will learn to do it safely, gaining knowledge of the effects of offshore and onshore winds and the effects of tidal currents, and when not to venture out.
In your opening post, you are suggesting that you buy a boat and take it out and sail it yourself. This implies a single handed type. What you should first realise about dinghy sailing is that it is your own weight that keeps the boat upright, so when sailed incorrectly it will dump you into the water. Initially you will repeatedly fall in and each successive time it becomes more difficult to get back on board, until you are too tired to actually succeed. On a course you will always have a safety boat nearby, to get you out of trouble and to put you ashore if necessary.
Join a club,so that you can get regular practice. Investigate local clubs and find out what kind of boats they favour, before actually buying the most suitable one for your stature. In a club you will have the opportunity to practice two-handed sailing, which is much more social than the solitary pursuit of single-handed sailing. Also try keelboat sailing and sailing on cruising boats, as you might find these more attractive than dinghy sailing, as I did.
 
Get in contact with your local sailing club, someone who needs a crew may be willing to take you out even if you have no experience. It's worth a try,
 
As a kid - I was given one of the Percy W Blandford books. On the strength of that, I built a flat bottomed pram dinghy out of hardboard. I launched it in a very quiet harbour and Lo! It floated and I could row it. I made a lug sail rig for it and found that I could make it go - magic! I however did NOT know anything about waves, tides, interaction with other boats and many other things. My father, shocked by my success, paid for some lessons so I wouldn't drown myself. Start with some books but get some tuition, too!
 
People do successfully teach themselves with maybe a book or looking at the internet.
You might find a water sports centre that offers anything from a 2 hour 'have a go ' session upwards.
In my experience, a lot of clubs do not offer ever so much in terms of adult training from nothing. We are a typical small club, we train some kids every year, starting late Spring. It's not like golf clubs where you can rock up and buy a lesson.
However a club is a good place to keep a boat, and if you initially sail when the racing is on, then there will be some oversight from a safety boat.
If you want more than that, pick your club carefully.

Alternatively, if you trawl around Facebook etc, you may find some yacht owners happy to take you out for an afternoon or something. I think covid is still a dampener on this sort of thing, but that should improve.

There are many routes to getting wherever you want to go.

Beach sailing holiday is another starting out option?
 
Thank you all for your swift replies.

I will heed your advice, I was also uncertain if courses were still running this late in the year, and should I wait till next spring, but will certainly take a look at what some clubs might offer.

Initially you will repeatedly fall in and each successive time it becomes more difficult to get back on board, until you are too tired to actually succeed.
This was one of my concerns.

There are a few clubs near to me in London here, but would prefer to do this by the coast, should there be any preferrence for the beginner, ie inland or coast ?.
 
BobUp99 said:
There are a few clubs near to me in London here, but would prefer to do this by the coast, should there be any preferrence for the beginner, ie inland or coast ?.
Click to expand...
If, as you stated, you'd like to do ocean sailing, I wouldn't bother with inland sailing on lakes or rivers as this is a world away from being at sea. Some will suggest that learning on a dinghy is ideal, and they are right in many ways for learning the basic physics of how sailing works. However, at the same time you may want to consider spending some time at sea on a decent yacht to get an idea of what this is like too.
If you are in London you can easily access south coast sailing centres for this.
 
yes, you can self-teach, but a course is a short cut to skill, and is likely to save you a good few, though not all, dunkings. If you want to start now, do inland by all means to learn how to control a dinghy, and that will stand you in good stead for sailing in places like Chichester Harbour, but I'd look at joining a club on the coast longer term.

The next course to take you into yachting would be Competent Crew. A yacht is a very different beast from a dinghy, even if the physics of what makes it move are the same. Having the CC under your belt would make skippers more inclined to take you on for a first trip. Demonstrate a modicum of skill and, above all, a willingness to learn, and you'll get as many trips on other people's boats as you want. Day Skipper is the next one, which will teach you the elements of navigation, passage planning and meteorology, which you'll need to take your own boat (or a chartered one?) out. After that, unless you want to go professional, it's just a matter of gaining experience.
 
davidej said:
I think inland would be a good idea if you don’t want to wait until next spring.
Click to expand...


100% agree, get cracking now, no point wasting the winter months.

You will learn loads of useful stuff on a simple dinghy course, handling a boat ashore, launching, parts of the boat, safety and wind awareness. Whatever you end up doing in sailing you will look a right muffin if you can't board and sail a dinghy with confidence. As well as learning to sail you meet like minded people and by spring you might be buying, or sharing, a boat. Not everyone likes the boy scout, knobbly knees and woggles atmosphere on some sailing courses and nothing beats taking your own boat out for gaining experience and consolidating learning.

I learned to sail over a winter in London, it's grand to get out early Sunday mornings and though I never became an avid dinghy sailor, it was great fun.

.
 
There will be many bits of sound advice but don’t listen to people who say start by deciding which autopilot is best before correct anchor or colour of engine paint.
this is place of many opinions and of much experience some of which may be relevant
middle of winter in UK is not as attractive as a competent crew course in the sun which gives a goal to strive for
 
People vary enormously in their aptitude and how they best learn. I took a couple of mates on the Broads many years ago in an engineless sailing boat. One of them studied hard before the trip, reading books and practicing on Regents Park pond. He never even began to get the hang of it in spite of my expert, ahem, instruction. The other chap I gave a quick briefing lasting less than a minute and shoved him off in the dinghy and within a few minutes he looked as if he’d sailed all his life. Whichever type you are, the old adage that you learn faster in a dinghy is true, and in addition it is cheaper. If you are comfortable sailing a dinghy, including bringing it alongside, then sailing a larger boat will give you few problems even though there will be more to learn.
 
I started late and was mentored by a friend who had been an instructor. I went on through formal training to be a boat owner. Starting from zero was scary, but incrementally l found that it became fun. Enjoy the journey.
 
Hi ,we know you are in London Bobup99 we don’t know your,age or budget or indeed free units of time. It is going to be easiest I suspect to learn to sail in a warm climate with others that you know or are learning with you. If you are young and athletic a wetsuit and a dinghy in a cold reservoir near London might be fine. You could look to join a club near London or a channel sailing club where you might meet members etc. You could sign up though for a holiday somewhere hot eg Thailand and learn to sail there maybe or for next year in Majorca for a weeks dinghy instruction. In the past companies like sun sail used to offer dinghy sailing holidays where they taught basic sailing in tame conditions-is Nielsen still running?
If dinghies don’t appeal then try a club which has members who need crews ? Epsom sailing club I believe offers openings maybe. Look to see if you are with a corporate if your employer has a club or any professional body you belong to. Ultimately the way into sailing depends on age,budget,friends who might sail and what sort of sailing you feel you might enjoy. As said read a few books though . If you want to check out learning opportunities and holidays you will get a lot of free advice at boat show stands though. Which might help your thinking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

bluey01
Anyone want to design a folding sailing dinghy with me?
2 3 4
Replies
66
Views
2K
bluey01
bluey01

Share this page

Top