I've sailed one day a year for the past 5 years... That's 5 years experience then!?

[Manuel_Hung]

Hello everyone. I'm new to yachting and recently decided to scout around and find myself an instructor. I finally found a friend of a friend (Alex) who, very graciously, took me out for the day on a Westerly 22. Alex claimed that he had over twenty years of sailing experience which I found extremely reassuring.
Well, I don’t want to go into details as Alex was doing me a favour, but this guys sailing was absolutely awful. When I asked him afterwards about his sailing history he then told me that he sailed as a kid, stopped for fifteen years, and then picked it up again four years ago. In the past four years he’d only taken his boat out a dozen or so times. Apparently, this is a very common embellishment.
So I was wondering if it would be bad form to ask my future instructors for their experience in hours/days rather than years? Would you tell me to Foxtrot Oscar?

 

[Jamesuk]

Yes i heard that a lot at Sunsail. 25 years. Which actually meants a few weekends each year And a holiday sailing.

The question you should ask is, how many miles have you got and in addition how many trophies have you won racing. I find you learn an awful lot more about actual sailing at an event like Cowes week, than a transatlantic across an ocean over 3 weeks. Granted it is different.

 

[onesea]

Yes i heard that a lot at Sunsail. 25 years. Which actually meants a few weekends each year And a holiday sailing.

The question you should ask is, how many miles have you got and in addition how many trophies have you won racing. I find you learn an awful lot more about actual sailing at an event like Cowes week, than a transatlantic across an ocean over 3 weeks. Granted it is different.

On this one its not about winning, have they competed in. Sadly like any pastime some people can talk the talk but not walk the walk.

I have seen people who sailed regularly but never actually driven a boat.

There are also some superb sailors who only sail on Sundays, but have done that all there lives all year round....

Ask questions learn from what others do right or wrong...

Sailing is often about not making mistakes...