When taught you to sail?

[Debenair]

Gosh HinewaiMan, I was a member of that troop in the early 1960s.
If I had known that as we crossed paths during your two winters in Ipswich we could have caught up on old times.
My father taught me in 1957 on the Broads and then in the Gull dinghy we built at home visiting mainly old Admiralty hards at Creeksea and Stone.
My only course was a weeks cruiser course with the Warsash based Hamble School of Yachting in 1962. UNTIL 2011 when in order to charter in Croatia for my 60th I was forced to do an ICC course to have a piece of paper.
My children (then 33 & 29) who have sailed all their lives and never had any formal instruction, almost died laughing.

 

[Kermit]

I joined Thurrock Yacht Club in 1970 as a cadet member. Started sailing dinghies and as soon as one knew one end of a boat from the other and could pull the "red one" when instructed and stop before you pulled the fitting out of the deck, one was in demand as a crew member for those members with yachts.

As always seems to be the case, there were more boats than crews so I could sail every weekend if I wished. Difficult to say who taught me most, but Don Baker probably had more influence than most.

 

[woozy-UK]

i am at Erith Yacht Club. may have crossed paths

 

[ChattingLil]

aged 14 I was packed off for the summer to church camp - 4 weeks camping and sailing half-deckers on the Norfolk Broads. Gave me the bug.
Joined the university Sailing Club and did RYA Dinghy 1,2,3 and raced.
Chartered yachts with friends through my 20s.
DS done in about 2004
Bought first boat in 2007 and did most of my learning then from friends (mainly from the East Coast Forum!)
did YM theory 3 years ago.

Still not confident with no idea most of the time!

 

[KellysEye]

A schoolmate Graham and I bought a Shearwater cat. We decided to sail it for the first time one Saturday and noticed no other boats were out. We launched the boat from Leigh on Sea yacht club, put the sails up and paddled out between two large wharves where there was no wind. The wind hit us beam on and the boat started to heel, neither of us had sailed before but Graham put the helm over and off we went downwind a vast speed, we had no idea what to do and were level with Southend Pier miles away in about five minutes. Eventually we decided to ease the sails and turn up to wind, again I have no idea how we came up with that idea. I dropped the main and we sailed back to the wharves under the jib, at the time we also didn't even know what the sails were called. We were soaking wet and weren't wearing lifejackets but we could swim two mile or more. We hadn't looked at a forecast and subsequently found out it was a gale, had we known we probably would have gone out anyway. A classic example of total ignorance and extraordinary luck. It hooked me on sailing and adrenaline though, leading to skydiving, BASE jumping and ocean sailing. I still don't have any sailing qualifications.

 

[Lakesailor]

You're a brave man to post that on here.

 

[ChattingLil]

remind me of friends who did something similar off Sheerness. Went out in a 14' cat that they'd owned for a fortnight, in wetsuits, no LJs, no radio, just them and boat. They were dismasted and adrift. Fortunately for them, someone in the club spotted their trailer on the slip at the end of the day and realised they'd been gone for over 6 hours and were out unprepared and unready so called the lifeboat - who sent a chopper to look for them and then the lifeboat went and got them. They were very lucky and did get a good telling off (which they gladly and humbly accepted)

 

[Slow_boat]

Fred Hillier. Splendid old fellow from the same mould as Des Sleighthome.

That's him! Wonderful old boy. He was a friend of my teacher, Ron Outen, and used to take a crew of us kids off for a few days at a time round the Solent in the early 70s. Wouldn't be allowed now, of course.

Having said that, I still haven't 'learned', I'm still at the bottom of a learning curve and always will be.

 

[BobPrell]

I never sailed when I was a youngster

A few trips on the Ballachulish Ferry.

Messed about in all kinds of old clinker row boats, even put a seagull on a couple mostly for fishing.

20, Redundant, Unemployed, bitter twisted , no idea what to do with the rest of my life other than the dole.

Saw an Ocean Youth Club vessel, stopped by and kicked its tires. I couldn’t afford a trip but they took me out any way. Ended up sailing on it as bosun.

Learned how to sail on a 72 ft ketch. Taught by Skipper Mark and Mate Uricanejack.

Invited by a neighbour to crew a Hunter Sonata during the winter out of Helensburgh

In later years worked my way down to Cal 20’s. even taught sailing on Cal 20’s.

Did some wind surfing on loch Lomond and English Bay.
Canoed, Kayaked, Surfed, Power Boated, Fishing Guided,

Have yet to sail a dingy.

Looking to by one if I can find a old one going cheap.

So still unemployed?

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

Like many another, I suspect, I was taught to sail by Arthur Ransome, through reading his 'Swallows and Amazons' series of books. It wasn't until about four decades later though that I bought my first boat -- Aileen Louisa, somewhat like a larger version of Amazon , albeit sprit-rigged --

Everything I'd learnt was immediately remembered and put into practice. I could hardly imagine a better set of instructions on the basics of dinghy-handling than Ransome's books.

Mike

 

[Slow_boat]

I always wanted to go on the OCY vessels Dodo or Goldeneye when I was a kid but you had to have been in court to get it for free and my parents couldn't afford to pay.

 

[FulmarJeddo]

My Dad had me out sailing, I'm told, before I could even walk in the families Nipper sailing dinghy. As a child, I would sail most weekends through the summer with him from the beach on the North Kent Coast where we have a holiday home. One day, when my younger brother and I were obviously big enough to push the dinghy on it's trolley in to the water, we decided to take the boat out on our own. It was too difficult to get the main up, so settled for just the pocket handkerchief jib. With the wind behind us we set off downwind only to find we couldn't get back to the beach. Within a few minutes Dad appeared in our small speedboat to tow us back in. He had seen us go out but wanted us to realise the boat wouldn't sail properly on jib alone. We did get told off for not telling anyone we were going out in the boat though. I guess it was just part of learning to sail. Amazingly I still have the Nipper, I think built in about 1957 of GRP . It still completely original and has it's original Jeckells sails, they are a bit tired now, but the boat still sails well and has taught quite a lot of people over the years the basics of sailing.
In later years I did the RYA evening classes, but never any on the water training. Every boat I have ever sailed or owned has been different so you never stop learning.

 

[mjcoon]

There has been sailing in my family since I was about 5 years old so I should have learned a lot. In truth I still cock things up all the time, sometimes so badly that nappies might be a sensible precaution!

That sounds like the absorbent but non-breathing underwear a colleague invented years ago. They were called "panickers"!

Mike.

 

[Cantata]

Joined local sailing club at age of 12 and crewed for a school friend for a couple of years in his Cadet. Did lots of unscheduled swimming. Because I was tall, started to get crewing jobs in local hot Albacore fleet, ending up crewing a lot with the club hotshot. Loved it despite being cold and wet and shouted at. By late teens had my own boat and could occasionally beat him. Parents were completely relaxed to let me go off to the sailing club every weekend and all day every day in the school holidays, would go out single-handed in horrendous weather and blast round the bay all afternoon. Raced all winter too on nearby lake. An education for life.

 

[Zen Zero]

I'm still learning!

 

[Uricanejack]

So still unemployed?

Not currently.

I did gain a lot from the OYC though. Not just learning how to sail.|
Have repeated the redundant or severance process several times since something always turns up. even worked at sailing, Not much of a career choice though, pay sucks.
Like a lot of things when you have to do it. It’s not so much fun. I did quite enjoy being a sailing instructor .
I’m even thinking of taking it up again. As a semi retirement option.

Fishing guide was short lived option. I found it sounded good but wasn’t much fun. I quickly came to the conclusion people should bait their own hooks and no I can‘t guarantee you will catch a fish.

 

[Ravi]

Bought a boat when I was 54, having never sailed or boated. Stuck the sails up and thought "I can do this".

Kicking myself for not doing it 40 years earlier.

You da man!

 

[Ravi]

Saw your post on the "How I started sailing thread".

I sail at at Kielder Water, where there are a few decent Osprey bsailors so I am familiar with the boat. The first time that I saw one sailing, I couldn't believe how balanced and graceful they were for a dinghy. Like the flying 15's which had a ruddy great lead keel. So, much so, that I owned one for a while until I realised that a bad sailor can even make an Osprey look bad. So, I am on to yachts, now!

If you can sail an Osprey, you are doing something right!

 

[Ravi]

What a wonderful thread! Magical to read.

Me? When I was a kid, my Dad used to work all over the world and when the family came out to see him, he used to insist that my Brother and I had a 'hobby' for the holiday. Swimming, learning the local language, etc. As a parent, I now realise that this was his way of getting the kids out of the hotel so that he could have a few assured uninterrupted parenting-free hours with his spouse! Anyway, in Tunisia, it was "Sailing!". I moaned about how | didn't want to do it but I fell in love with it straight away. A summer of Oppies then dinghies and the occasional jaunt on a yacht and I was hooked. After that, all my school classes were spent gazing out the window and dreaming about sailing.

And today, after after all those years, I bought a pretty little yacht!!!!!

 

[Kermit]

Parents were completely relaxed to let me go off to the sailing club every weekend and all day every day in the school holidays.

Those were the days, I'd leave home Friday evening or early Saturday morning to return Sunday evening. No contact with home until I returned. No constant texting or calling.

Parents were not worried, they knew someone would be in touch if there was a problem. Dad would slip me a few quid so I could stand my round in the pub. I learnt to drink under the watchful eye of club members.:encouragement:

Freedom, as William Wallace might have said.