Recommended stepping stone from dinghy sailing to yacht cruising

[Mudisox]

There are plenty of us who are more than happy for you to come aboard as crew to learn. I've had more than a few who have become friends.
It needs you to take the plunge and will normally only cost day to day expenses for the boat and transport to the boat and back.
I suggest a brief [ one day meet and agree to see if you are mutually agreeable] and then be available for longer cruises. Learn by experience, most folk who own boats have that in spades. We are not al ogres.

 

[ashtead]

I grew up sailing but as a family I found flot holidays a great way to introduce family. Where you go depends on budget but a club say with a week ashore and a week on flot is an idea. Go to say Turkey, eg gochek etc but obviously if budget permits try Thailand or suchlike just to see what works.
we don’t know your base but then decide where you want to sail from in uk -plenty of advise will then be forthcoming on berths and vessels etc from learned forumites.

 

[PlankWalker]

Before you decide on the boat, decide where your going to keep it, its location may decide other factors.

 

[Beluga Sail]

Wow what a response, thank you all! Of all the online forums I have joined I have never received such a warm welcome or as many helpful thoughts all in one go. So many of you have responded with useful advice that it's going to take me quite a while to process and think about, but I'm sure I will be picking up some of the topics raised with you once I've got my head around all that's been suggested.

 

[bitbaltic]

Before you decide on the boat, decide where your going to keep it, its location may decide other factors.

Agree with that, starting sailing in the Bristol Channel the choice was something heavy or weatherly or light and hopefully fast enough to make the most of weather windows. Also shallow draft was a choice to make best use of Cardiff (back then) as an all tide port.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I would say best way to progress to a yacht is to buy a yacht and go out sailing , it’s exactly the same as a dingy just a bit slower and a bit more space required . Yes you will make mistakes but you will soon learn , advantage if you do day skipper theory for navigation and col regs . But enjoy and have fun .

There is also the fact that all the forces are greater, on account of the heavier weight of the boat and the increased sail area, e.g being hit on the head by the boom of a dinghy; sore, being hit by the boom of a 30-footer; fatal.
Apart from that extreme example, the size and weight of the boat means it will not slow down and stop so easily, and will cause more damage, collateral, or to another boat in the event of a collision.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I can highly recommend doing a day skipper or coastal skipper course. I had a lot of dinghy sailing experience when I did mine and learnt a lot about managing a yacht, anchoring, parking stern to, and gained a huge amount of confidence in handling a boat which weighed some 15 tons as opposed to 100kg dinghy.

Anyone with proficiency in dinghies is, in practical terms, at Day Skipper level, and the next best step is to do Coastal Skipper Theory, so as to be prepared for a Coastal Skipper practical course. Day Skipper is what it says on the label, whereas the Coastal level brings in some experience of night sailing which will be desirable, sooner or later.

 

[William_H]

Everyone above are concentrating on you getting skills. IMHO not so much a problem. The real problem is to carefully translate your dream into reality of you and your partner enjoying that cruising. A few hours in horrible weather can turn you right off cruising. If it does that is nothing to be ashamed of except that you may have gone down the path of a lot of expense in a biggish boat. So yes approaching the problem of what you really love by starting smaller is good. A trailer sailer has much to say for it. I got one 40 years ago and still love it. However it is also much better to buy your last boat first. So a difficult conundrum to add to all the comments above. ol'will

 

[CapPugwash]

Mine was an Albin Vega 27. Small and light with room enough for two and capable of decent passages.

 

[Stemar]

Before you decide on the boat, decide where your going to keep it, its location may decide other factors.

Big You need the boat to be accessible!

Decide the area and research parking spaces before you even think about buying. Moorings away from the south coast tend to be cheaper, but reasonable prices can be found, even in the Solent. Also think about what you want from the boat. If you sail Moths, you'll probably be willing to sacrifice a degree of comfort for performance, if a Wayfarer, maybe the other way round

It's worth remembering that you don't have to keep your boat in a marina. A mooring, especially a drying one will be a LOT cheaper, though a drying on may not suit a fin keeled boat.

35ft was mentioned; for two people, you may not need something that size. We spent a couple of weeks at a time aboard our 24 footer, though I would go a bit bigger for months at a time! Maintenance costs tend to go up like volume - with the cube of the length, so the perfect boat is just big enough for what you want to do.

 

[Wansworth]

Don’t forget to vid the whole experience and put it on you tube so we can share in your journey?

 

[TSB240]

Like you we wanted to move from extensive Dinghy sailing into yachts.
Our route was to gain experience with Friends or aqaintances for a few days on bigger boats.

This is fine but you then make the step to your first boat.
Our first year on our own.
We:
Hit rocks in fog
Nearly sank due to flooding of an unsealed cockpit locker.
Had a major laceration of a hand.
Had to deal with sea sickness that was never a problem on a dinghy.
Witnessed a stabbing at one if our marina destinations!

We generally found we could handle our small trailable yacht better than most especially in the tight confines of a marina.

It handled and planed like a dinghy!

The learning for us was how to handle longer passages and make and change plans for all outcomes.

This was helped much by joining a club or group that offered cruising in company and more importantly passed on experience and advice.

We now find ourselves doing the same for others and offering warmth and comfort in a much larger boat when it is required.

I still have no sailing qualifications other than a certificate I gained aged 10 that allowed me to dinghy sail solo on a tiny inland mere.
?.

 

[ashtead]

Another thing that can take up many units of time is going to few secondhand boat shows if these still exist. In the years before we bought a new boat we had been to quite a few as we roughly knew size/budget - I guess currently not much around but there used to be a few lined up at hamble point marina etc. it helps with things like stern or centre cockpit,how many cabins,how woody do you like interior of a boat to be etc. often it also helps to identify a model you like even if not the particular one you are viewing. Happy hunting.

 

[JSpalding]

If you want to sail around Europe one day then you will need a licence. You don't need one in the UK, but you do in most countries abroad.
The most universally recognised set of qualifications worldwide is the RYA cruising scheme with which you can also get an ICC without any further examination.

If you are going to need these sooner or later, might as well get them over with sooner. You will learn loads in a really short space of time and get some quality time with instructors at a relatively low cost. They might even have tips on how to progress and get more experience.

If you don't know how to navigate (plot tidal vectors, calculate variation and deviation, plot a course to steer, use the admiralty method for calculating tidal heights etc) or know your IRPCS then you will need to start at Day Skipper as most of this is assumed knowledge before you start your Coastal Skipper qualification. Day Skipper is also all you need in terms of licencing and has a much more friendly and enjoyable examination process.

The Day Skipper course is a big undertaking with a 40+ hour theory half and a 5 day practical half, but you can save a bit of hassle and money by taking the Day Skipper Theory online through a provider such as Ardent Training.

 

[slawosz]

If you want to sail around Europe one day then you will need a licence. You don't need one in the UK, but you do in most countries abroad.

While its true that some countries require licence, I am pretty sure formal requirements depend on the flag of registration - if you are UK registered, you don't need one. That said, I don't know this for sure. Worth checking to be 100% sure. I would never think of that but at the same time I don't go anywhere soon and will probably do ICC to be able to charter abroad.

 

[JSpalding]

While its true that some countries require licence, I am pretty sure formal requirements depend on the flag of registration - if you are UK registered, you don't need one. That said, I don't know this for sure. Worth checking to be 100% sure. I would never think of that but at the same time I don't go anywhere soon and will probably do ICC to be able to charter abroad.

I am afraid not! I have heard stories of people getting stuck sailing into countries without a licence and having to hire a local qualified captain to help them get back out of the country!

Evidence of Competence Abroad | boating abroad | RYA

 

[Neil]

I started sailing in an open sailing boat that was sedate enough not to be called a dinghy! I wanted to do longer journeys, night sailing and so on so bought a 'pocket cruiser' in the form of a Sadler 25, as a stepping stone to my 'retirement boat' which I fancied to be a newish 35'er. At the same time I crewed on another boat that was exclusively raced. I learned nothing crewing. I did learn a great deal from the Sadler; keeping an old boat going is a great grounding in boat maintenance. I did Day Skipper and Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory, which I found useful but there is no comparison with learning from your mistakes in your own boat. However, at the end of the day I re-evaluated my priorities and having sold the Sadler, I'm going back to a trailer sailer.

 

[Tranona]

I am afraid not! I have heard stories of people getting stuck sailing into countries without a licence and having to hire a local qualified captain to help them get back out of the country!

Please could you expand on this as it is not the normal experience. While many countries require a licence from their own citizens or it is a condition of local registration, virtually no countries (and certainly none in Europe) require a licence for leisure sailors in their own boats registered in another state. There is a requirement for licences for some inland waterways and often for chartering boats and the ICC is widely accepted for this purpose.

 

[JSpalding]

Please could you expand on this as it is not the normal experience. While many countries require a licence from their own citizens or it is a condition of local registration, virtually no countries (and certainly none in Europe) require a licence for leisure sailors in their own boats registered in another state. There is a requirement for licences for some inland waterways and often for chartering boats and the ICC is widely accepted for this purpose.

A quote from the RYA found by following the link I provided in my previous post:

The law of the sea is frequently misunderstood, with many boaters believing that they can go wherever they wish abiding only by the rules of the country in which the boat is registered (the Flag State).

When you visit another country, in most circumstances (as detailed in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) you can be required to comply with the maritime legislation of the visited country (the Coastal State) in addition to that of your vessel’s Flag State.

You will need to have acceptable evidence of your competence if either the Flag State or the Coastal State legislation stipulates it (requirements may vary depending on the size and type of vessel and how it is used).

Experiences differ greatly. Inconsistency from province to province and port to port means many boaters are never asked to provide evidence of their competence abroad. However, those that are asked and do not have a suitable document can find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.

Whether this is stipulated in the national legislation, required under local rules or the local port authority making unilateral decisions is often not clear. Querying the validity of such requests can make matters worse and to challenge the legality of a fine or other penalty would, in most cases, mean going to court abroad.

I have heard of people getting in trouble in France, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece. I think it largely depends on the officer you speak to when you first enter the country and how officious they are. I guess it's a more common problem for British sailors since Brexit as now there are more formalities to visiting these countries...

 

[Tranona]

A quote from the RYA found by following the link I provided in my previous post:



I have heard of people getting in trouble in France, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece. I think it largely depends on the officer you speak to when you first enter the country and how officious they are. I guess it's a more common problem for British sailors since Brexit as now there are more formalities to visiting these countries...

You will always hear stories of people having difficulties with local officials but there is almost always two sides to the story and you only hear one. What the RYA says is correct - states can impose conditions on visitors but the reality is that they don't do so systematically and such events are almost always the result of some incident. Thousands of British have sailed around Europe for years and never had to show any licence - and this is unlikely to change because of Brexit as the EU has nothing to do with maritime law. The problems Brits may face is related to Schengen or VAT on their boats, both of which did change following Brexit but everything else related to boating is either international or individual state law. An ICC is widely accepted as evidence of competence, but this is a UN sponsored certificate, and as I suggested rarely asked for from private boat skippers but more commonly to charter boats.