Taking up sailing

[Jeremy_W]

What got posters into this crazy, exhilerating, exhausting, quiet, relaxed sport?

My mother, who hates sailing, read all the Arthur Ransome books to me as a kid. Then my dad, who had never sailed before in his life, signed up with a dinghy sailing school that used Cherubs as its basic trainer. Then he bought a Mirror dinghy and signed on at the local gravel-pit.

 

[gregmlucas]

We rented an apartment down at Port Solent a couple of years ago for a while and seeing all the boats goind past my thought's were "Gotta have a go at that".

Wife got fed up with my squinnying so bought me a two-day experience with SunSail in October of that year (secretly hoping it would be wet and rough - putting me off for life)

She got half her wish, it was F6 most of the weekend gusting 7 or thereabouts by the Sunday afternoon but I came back with a grin that didn't wash off for a week.

I'm now hooked, crew whenever I can (SWMBO permitting) and we're going on our first flotilla holiday in June - which will be the wife's first time afloat.

 

[WayneS]

As a small child I remember some big boxes arriving at our house. These slowly, over a matter of months, were transferred into our spare bedroom where my father managed to turn them into a boat, a Mirror.

My first outing ended up in a swim but that was it, I was hooked.

W

 

[FWB]

Sailing is just like any drug. Only it's legal! Well it is until the anti enjoying yourself lobby in Parliament get organised.

 

[RupertW]

I grew up with Solent holidays with parents and four kids on a 22ft clinker-built Kestrel. The bigger question for me is why was I the only one of four brothers and sisters to like getting wet, going aground, going backwards against tides etc. etc.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Born, practically, on the beach in Eastbourne. Dad's boss was building a plywood racing cat - a Shearwater???? When it was completed Dad used to crew it. So I was hanging around Eastbourne Sailing Club quite a bit as a youngster and it wasn't long B4 I was being taken out for trips.

Then the family moved away from the coast and no more sea until I got my first job with a half-decent salary, saved up and bought a Fireball. Fell in a lot until I vaguely mastered the art.

 

[ex-Gladys]

...announcement at school assembly (Penzance) about "school sailing club". Thought that sounded interesting, went along and spent Easter hols stripping, sanding and painting two old Enterprises (one of which had been built by the woodwork teacher from scratch)... Remeber the first sail, and still have the scars. Wearing a BoT kapok life jacket, slipped a lot on new varnish. Bust my nose, gashed my thigh on centreboard stop bolt, but not been able to stop since.... and that's 40 years ago this year. Feckin' 'ell where'd all that time go?

 

[Evadne]

School sailing club for me too, they had four Cadets and a Devon Yawl at St Peter's Comprehensive. Anyone who turned up every Saturday to crew and helped sand and paint over the spring got a sail. Having moved from the genteel inland civilisation of Basildon to the coastal wilds of Burnham-on-Crouch the year before, I'd never realised that sailing existed, but I was hooked straight away. Learned how to come last in races, capsize, win in post-race water fights, capsize, put the bungs in while under way, paddle in a flat calm, capsize while roll tacking.... Got a dinghy of my own when we moved to Durban for a few years, had a bit of a gap in between then bought the boat I have now when I got my first proper job. Well, first paycheck.

 

[Toutvabien]

Crewing for my uncle Fred when I wa 8 yo in a home built Heron on Civil Service Sailing Association pond, I think that it is now Fishers Green SC. Then while at school strange dinghies on Mayesbrook Park Lake in Dagenham, then a very long break until a weeks holiday in Ibiza in 1983 where Wayfarers were rented off of the beach. This encouraged me to take groups of young people sailing at Banbury Res. on the N Circular Road, bought a Kestrel with a mate that we crashed and raced for a few years, then similar with an Osprey. First cruiser was a Hurley 22 (1988), Hurley 30 (1995), Oyster Mariner (2004).

 

[CliveSmith]

As a young lad I read a couple of sailing books I got from the local library. Started reading everyone I could. My dad got taliking to a neighbour and my interest in sailing came up. The neighbour suggested dad took me to Thurrock Yacht Club and see about joining. We never knew that Grays had a sailing club. Off we went, met the nicest possible chap (Ron Graham, where are you now?) and joined as a cadet.

A school friend was also a member and I crewed for him in his Mirror.

As soon as you knew the basics the yachties wanted crews so most weekends were spent racing dinghies or cruising the Thames estuary.

Been broke ever since.

 

[cameronke]

Always had this idea in my head about how nice it would be to bob along on a lovely blue sea in a nice saily boat. How tranquil!

Anyway...................

Saw an advert for an International 420 for only £200. Whats a 420? Anyway bought it and with my friend went about teaching ourselves to sail. Fortunately we were both divers, wore drysuits and were as happy in the water as on it. We made lots of cock ups, had great fun and I for one was utterly hooked. From then on I lived to sail. That was about 18 years ago.

Only regret is that I never discovered sailing earlier, all those years wasted.

Regards
Cameron

 

[Sans Bateau]

Was selling computers in the late 80's. Compaq used to give some sort of vouchers to reward the dealer channel sales guys (me). I won so many of them I didnt know what to spend them on. Then one day it struck me, a learn to sail holiday! I was between wives then anyway so I booked myself up on a Falcon holiday in Paxos. Had a great time, learned on Wayfarers and Toppers, still friends with some of the people I met, those 15 years ago.

 

[beancounter]

As a lad the closest I got to things nautical was the Mersey ferries and a diet of Hornblower et al. SWMBO did some dinghy sailing at school. In 1980, on a soggy camping holiday (we had lots of those /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) in Aviemore, on the spur of the moment we booked an afternoon's instruction out on the loch. Those three hours in the Wayfarer sowed the seed.

The seed germinated for the next 11 years as kids arrived, the mortgage got bigger etc, etc. Then a colleague at work said he fancied learning to sail, so both of us booked onto an RYA dinghy course at Mepal Outdoor Centre in Cambridgeshire. A short time later a kit for a Mirror dinghy was acquired, and we were off!!

 

[Sheff]

Got divorced, found myself as a single parent for a few years then realised as my two sons grew up and became independent that I was in danger of becoming some sad person sat at the side of a swimming pool on his own in A-N-other hotel when it came to holidays.

Booked a flotilla with Sailing Holidays six years ago (I had never been on a yacht or set foot in a dinghy), absolutely loved it......... I was hooked. Returned home, booked a weeks dinghy sailing course and also a further two weeks sailing later in the year.

Since then I have spent at least six weeks sailing abroad every year plus some weekends in UK(amazing how much money you have once divorced /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

Finally bought my own boat at the end of last year so looking forward to sailing East Coast/Holland/France this year even though it means the end of sailing in Greece/Croatia/Canada/Azores etc.