Learning to sail

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I'd definitely advocate dinghies as a good starting point. The saily bit of yachting is a relatively minor consideration and you will do better if you can do that side of things subconsciously.
 
Would agree with those advocating dinghies: my first yachting trip was a flotilla holiday with (at least for some years) non-sailing parents—from a Pico to a Beneteau 323 was essentially a matter of adding an engine and recognising that stopping takes longer.
Parents decided to take a chap from hire company with us for the day to make sure we weren't absolutely certain to perish at sea; before long, he felt unwell, and we continued without him without difficulty. He was clearly a career yachtsman, quite possibly of the "intensive three-week course" school, and didn't know what telltales were called, let alone how to use them! If you're used to big boats already, you're already used to motoring, stopping, rope work, navigation etc (to some extent at least) so dinghy sailing is the logical way about it! My late great-uncle raced his home-built Hornet until the age of 80, so age need not be an excuse!
 
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Thanks Tranona and KellysEye.

I have my eye on a dinghy that ends early hours of Sunday morning on fleabay not too far from me. I am very excited as its something that I have just wanted to do from a young age and now have the opportunity too :) I live close to Mudeford and work in Poole so there are vast amounts of coastal waters close to me so get myself into.
 
cavancullen said:
Thanks Tranona and KellysEye.

I have my eye on a dinghy that ends early hours of Sunday morning on fleabay not too far from me. I am very excited as its something that I have just wanted to do from a young age and now have the opportunity too :) I live close to Mudeford and work in Poole so there are vast amounts of coastal waters close to me so get myself into.
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Don't know what class of dinghy you are thinking of, but living in this area it makes sense to join one of the big clubs. Poole Yacht Club has a fair size fleet of dinghies and dayboats and Parkstone also has a varied fleet. Either would be a good choice and unlike in the past it is now possible to join quickly. I am a member of Poole and it really is one of the best clubs going with active racing from the excellent all tide marina and no shortage of training and crewing possibilities.
 
cavancullen said:
Thanks Tranona, I am going to give them a call in the morning and see what they have to say.
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You won't get anything from the office on Saturday! Worth doing a tour of the clubs if you are new to the area. Christchurch sailing club is also an active place with a superb clubhouse, but saiing more limited than in Poole, particularly if you want to graduate out of the harbour.
 
Well I would not advocate learning in a dinghy. A smaller keel boat will get you all the sailing skills you need but without that constant need to balance the boat (or capsize). If OP can get to a sailing school with keel boats he will get an idea if he likes it and if so what sort of boat he wants. These lessons if learnt correctly will save a huge amount in avoiding buying the wrong boat. So I say pursue the learning in KBs and persevere trying to get rides on boats something like what you imagine you want. good luck olewill
 
I tend to agree with William about dinghy sailing as an entry method to cruiser sailing. Yes, a dinghy will teach you about the wind but so will a cruiser and, if you make a mistake it won't dump you in the oggin with gay abandon. Also, once past a certain age, the gymnastics involved in dinghy sailing for the uninitiated make it an uncomfortable option, as likely to put someone off as to encourage them to take up sailing.

All that said, I did my first sailing in dinghies, enjoyed it and it is what gave me my love of messing about in boats. But my first encounter with a plywood GP14 was at the tender age of about 7, so moving round the dinghy wasn't an issue......
 
I disagree with william & duncan
never buy a cruiser straight off
Any thing cheap will be a load of junk & need loads of maintenance & put the OP off straight away
What the OP needs to get interested is results & quickly, not loads of hassle & knock backs
Get a dinghy - preferably of a class sailed by a local club. Even if you do not join the club right away you will find you will have problems & questions & can decide to join if you need to & already have a dinghy of a class that can get you started in the club without further investment. Just sailing in never ending circles learning little can be boring so guidance from the club scene really speeds up the learning curve. however, you have to be a social animal & push yourself a little bit to get accepted. Sitting on the edge thinking it is clicky is no use. Join in social activities etc & you soon become one of the crowd & the learning comes thick & fast. THEN you can think about what direction you want to take
 
Daydream believer said:
I disagree with william & duncan
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Me too
Not sure how needing to learn to balance a boat can be given a negative conotation with regards to sailing.��
In dinghies things happen quickly and cost tens or hundreds if they go wrong. In keel boats, things happen much more slowly but cost (tens of ) thousands when they go wrong. Train for fast reactions with cheap repairs.
 
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Another thing about dinghy sailing is that it does sharpen up my sailing.
I can get a bit lethargic sailing my cruiser but a few races in my Phantom gets the adrenaline going & I find that once on board my cruiser am tweaking lines again.

A point from Quiddle's post above is that with a cruiser a problem can take weeks to sort. With a dinghy a breakage can be sorted (even a mast)& the Op could be up & running the following week.
 
Quiddle said:
Me too
Not sure how needing to learn to balance a boat can be given a negative conotation with regards to sailing.��
In dinghies things happen quickly and cost tens or hundreds if they go wrong. In keel boats, things happen much more slowly but cost (tens of ) thousands when they go wrong. Train for fast reactions with cheap repairs.
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When I read things like this I begin to wonder how I have managed to sail my boats all over the English Channel and the Med safely for over 40 years only ever having sailed a dinghy once for about an hour off a beach in Mauritius - and fell out - but the water was warm! Next try was a 35' Cruiser racer off Antigua which I sailed adequately first time out under the watchful eye of the owner. Got the bug, built a 19', quickly moved up to 26' and then 37. Slight diversion into (or rather falling out of) an Osprey for one season which convinced me that I gained nothing of value for sailing my cruisers from the dinghy experience.

Just nonsense that you HAVE to start in dinghies and you SHOULD NOT buy a cruiser without going through some kind of apprenticeship first.

Of course many people start in dinghies, but it is not compulsory.
 
What this argument in posts does show is that sailing can have a huge variety of styles and forms. From dinghy sailing and or racing, to racing a keel boat or just cruising. Day sailing or long holidays on board. You need to figure out what you want. But then often you don't find what you want until you have a boat ans start using it. No matter what sort. Sailing lesson will get you some experience to help find your own style. olewill
 
Short tacking a dinghy up tide in the shallows is a skill that can't be over rated. When your "iron tops'l" fails (or as with me the shaft drops out of the coupling) being able to tack back onto a mooring in a crowded anchorage is something that will not phase you...
 
Gladys said:
Short tacking a dinghy up tide in the shallows is a skill that can't be over rated. When your "iron tops'l" fails (or as with me the shaft drops out of the coupling) being able to tack back onto a mooring in a crowded anchorage is something that will not phase you...
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Never had a problem with that. Short tacking an old Eventide up Poole harbour gives you plenty of practice!

You really do not need to learn to sail in a dinghy to learn those skills.
 
Useful if you want a tender to a bigger boat while still having the ability to sail for a bit of fun. Like most dual purpose things it is not particularly good at either of its roles. Too heavy and limited capacity for a tender and not very good for sailing!
 
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