Some insight if you please...

[brennonwilliams]

Hello to all.

I am in the process of trying to find out if living on a yacht is going to be right for me. I know no one can tell you, you just have to do it but there are some particular questions that I have and I would appreciate anyone’s point of view which may bring up some things I had not thought of before.

I guess my biggest question is, just how much time will I practically get to sail my yacht with the assistance of skilled sailors where I intend to berth (between South Hampton & Brighton)? I was thinking that the people that do have the experience and skill as well as the ability to teach me a thing or two would probably be so wrapped up in their own problems that I might find it difficult to get people to help. Has anyone found this the case?

I have experience of sailing very small craft, mostly on lakes so I do have some very basic skills when it comes to sailing (how much skill can you get on a lake?), but never an ocean going vessel to which I intend to buy. Yes my primary goals are to live comfortably in an environment I enjoy, but I think it would be an awful waste of time if I didn’t take the opportunity to learn while I was living on the boat.

I have got the money to do courses but I don’t have the time during weekdays to be able to do any long courses. Are there good weekend courses available and what would you say is the most important skill to learn (navigation, radio etc..) first.

Last question I promise, would it be unreasonable to expect to be able to sail to somewhere like France after a year of small sailing ventures around where I berth?

I do apologies if my questions do appear stupid, but I don’t know anyone with a boat, let alone a yacht.

Thank you for any insight you may offer.

 

[Deleted member 478]

Wilbur

Welcome to the forum.

All journeys start with one step. The second step is less exciting, the hundredth is mundane and the rest are preditable, yet thoroughly enjoyable. A bit like the first time you stepped into a small dingy... and now you're confident of those abilities.

It'll be just the same on the ocean, but in a bigger boat with bigger bills. It's just not quite as daunting as one might imagine. Go for it in the same small steps that you started with on your dingy i.e. venture out of the marina for an hour, then two, then more and more until you've done eight hours, which is roughly Southampton to Brighton.

 

[brennonwilliams]

Thank you Stingo.

I guess like everyone I am apprehensive in regards to several points but as you say, baby step, baby steps. I have enormous respect for the ocean, having been a surfer several years ago and being pinned to the ocean floor in a cyclone swell in Australia. This brush with death was not new but merely reinforced my understanding of how much water weighs and how inescapable it can be, regardless of how close to the shore line one is.

This weekend I am going to drive to all the marina’s between Southampton and Brighton which will hopefully show me what is available and will suit my lifestyle at the moment and there are few obstacles left before I make my purchase.

 

[AliM]

You will need to do a VHF course - that's the only qualification you need by law for cruising, assuming you will have a radio, of course. Learning navigation, either by a correspondence course, night school, from a book or two, or from friends, is also essential, I would say.

I'd strongly advise you to do a short course, just to see what the issues are. Most sailing schools do weekend-based Competent Crew, Day Skipper ones.
That experience should help you decide what your priorities are when you come to choose a boat. If you are really sure, though, I guess you could skip that one. Once you have a boat, then get some own boat tuition, which will concentrate on the bits you really need help with. That is invaluable!

Crew - I think that if you are in a friendly marina/boatyard, you'll be able to find crew quite easily.

Now, your last question...
My partner and I had similar experience to you - lake dinghy sailing, and kayaking. We bought a boat in December 2003, sailed it round the East coast rivers, with a couple of coastal passages. We got the radio certificates, and did a Coastal skipper shore based course (navigations etc). We did a few short passages and stuff on friend's boats (probably less than 20 days between us) and the own-boat tuition which was, as I said above, invaluable. The following April (2004), we sailed to Denmark. I must admit that a couple of experienced friends came with us for part of the trip. We sailed in the Baltic during the summer (flying back to work frequently), and sailed home in August/September.

So the answer is yes, of course you can!

Enjoy it - it is a lovely hobby/obsession! and good luck.

Ali

 

[brennonwilliams]

Cheers for your piece of inspiration AliM. It sounds like you had a great time and I can only hope to emulate your experiences.

I guess from an inexperienced persons point of view (and I hope that these posts might help someone else one day) when I read such things that I will need to get my Yacht Master qualification before I could even attempt a decent ocean going passage, it kind of makes you gulp and wonder if this is something best left until retirement.

My wife had never been keen on me owning a boat, probably due to time restrictions and the misinformation about how expensive everything is, but now that I live in the UK on my own during the week, she is all for it, knowing that I work very hard and deserve some happiness with the way in which I live.

We were both pleasantly surprised by the price of some items that we have seen both in magazines and at the odd chandlery. That’s not to say that everything is inexpensive but I must say I think if more people knew that it isn’t going to cost ₤1000 a month to berth a 35 foot boat, perhaps they too would expand on the idea.

I am looking into the VHF course as well getting a correspondence NAV course. I did a few years in the Army with a lot of land based navigation which I know is different to oceanic navigation but I’m hoping that a few of the old principles come back to assist me.

 

[AliM]

Well... the land generally stays put. The water tends to flow in and out and up and down - that's where the nav course gets interesting!

Hope you enjoy it. PM me if you want a chat about it.

Ali

 

[Admiral]

Where does it say that in law you have to have done a vhf course to go cruising? You need a licence to have a radio on board and to operate it. Not having a radio on board does not stop anyone from cruising, and in this day and age, if you are coastal cruising a mobile phone works just as well in an emergency. I would perhaps agree that it may be foolish not to carry some sort of set, be it fixed or h/h, but a legal requirement for cruising? I don`t think so!!

 

[AliM]

No, I agree that you only need a VHF licence if you have a radio, that's why I said "You will need to do a VHF course - that's the only qualification you need by law for cruising, assuming you will have a radio, of course."

Since my mobile phone quite often fails to find a signal, or runs out of battery at the most awkward moments, I, personally, would rather rely on a radio in extremis. It's your choice, of course.

 

[brennonwilliams]

She has a full install of radio, GPS and I believe small radar. Either way, doing the radio course is all part of it as far as I am concerned.

I didn't know it was a legal requirement until you guys pointed it out though, so thanks for that.

 

[summerwind]

In addition to doing the course you will need a licence for your radio. This will then give you an international call sign and MMSI number if your set is DSC. Of course, the licensing authority want to know that you have passed the exam!!!

If you register your boat with your local coastguard station, they will want to know your call sign and MMSI number!!!!

And so it goes on - Its a slippery slope once you start getting involved with the bureacrats.

Good luck with the course.

 

[brennonwilliams]

Cheers Summer.

Is the license required just to use the radio or is it a requirement no matter what before my girl is allowed to sail in British waters? I’m just thinking of when I get her sailed back here, some of the types of questions I will be asking people who apply for the job.

Thanks for the insight…

 

[Abigail]

Hi - enjoy the process, and remember the learning curve is an endless circle!

On the radio thing - the operator needs a licence (one day course, about £80.) The boat needs a licence - renewed every year, currently £20 but proposal is to abolish the fee (Hurray) If you don't have a radio you don't need either of these, but personally I would hate even coastal cruising not to have a handheld VHF. YMMV

There are various bits of kit which if you carry must themselves meet certain standards - eg liferaft and EPIRB but you are not (in this country) required to carry them or yourself have any qualifications. This is not so in many european countries where you do need certificates of varfious kinds.

On marinas - a couple of things to think about along that coast:

(i) cost - obviously! But it can get very expensive in the Solent and it's still dear in Brighton (I know because I kept boats there for 4 years, living aboard for about 15 months)
(ii) will they accept liveaboards? There is lively debate about this, as some people simply turn up and make an extended stay. Others want to be able to use the marina address for post, which does need negotiation and permission. Marinas are very variable about this and you need to be sure of your strategy before you start in case you mess up relationships with where you want to be <g>
(iii) what sort of facilities you want/will settle for. Eg can you cope with living aboard in winter on a swinging mooring. Much cheaper but hard work. Will basic showers do or must they be warm, well-lit etc etc etc.
(iv) draft - difficult when you haven't got the boat yet but in Shoreham for instance, if you're in Lady Bee (in the canal to the east of the river entrance) you may be limited by the times you can get in and out. A shallow draft will open up places like Littlehampton - but might unreasonably affect the boat you want for your longer range plans.
(v) the sailing from the marina you choose. This may be a really big issue for you given your plans to practice. In Brighton - basically you can go out and back, or 5 miles to Newhaven, 7 miles to Shoreham or the slog to the Solent, or across the Channel. It's not easy pottering around there, with friendly anchorages etc, which the Solent (for all it's grossly overcrowded and expensive) will offer you. We really notice, now lying in Ipswich, that for more liveaboards actually go out for days/weekends from here than ever did from Brighton - basically because it's easier and kinder on you and the boat.

I totally agree with the advice to day the practical courses - day skipper, coastal skipper. And you get to meet friends that way too.

HTH

 

[hlb]

If you register your boat with your local coastguard station, they will want to know your call sign and MMSI number!!!!

Well, If they ask me, they've got no chance. Would not know what they were after 20 years sailing the seas, and not about to find out!!

 

[Abigail]

hlb - like I said that's your choice.

If you call the coastguard they will also ask for it. We called in off Dover to report a large sailboard drifting, big enough to be a hazard to small motor and sail boats. There was an embarrassing 10 minutes while we looked for our MMSI number. Now it's dymo taped to things! Obviously if you call in a mayday they are less bothered except insofar as it helps to identify you And if you (or Wilbur) are buying a new (and hence DSC) radio you are paying for an identification and safety capacity that not having the numbers makes unusuable.

I think of all the areas to get worked up about increasing surveillance and invasion of privacy - and I wouldn't start with DSC/MMSI numbers ...

 

[brennonwilliams]

Thanks hlb and especially Abigail for taking the time to respond to my post.

I made a bit of a fact finding mission throughout Southampton last weekend and I have decided that I would like to berth in the Ocean Village Marina. I got the chance to speak to quite few people that had boats there and not one of them seamed to have a quibble about the place.

I liked the look of the access to the river and I believe that this may be quite a good starting point for me, plus it looked like it had good facilities all very close and a nice bar/restaurant. Not to mention that I can get straight onto the M3 and into the office.

I have sent an email to the senior dockmaster with a list of questions that I have since thought of, so with any luck I will hear back from him this week and if all goes well that will be another box ticked.

I am going back to Spain this weekend and am hoping to catch up with the owner of the yacht I want, so hopefully I will get some more information from him and I can at least meet some people that could potentially bring her back for me.

Still along way to go before I have her back here and then I am guessing that just like a house, there will always be something to do on her. I can’t wait.

Cheers all.