I'm new here.

[AWJensen]

I am new to sailing and would love some training and teaching. I live in the middle of Texas though. It's not the most sailing based community. If anyone happens to be in Abilene it would be superb to go sailing on a weekend. Anyway, open to lessons/advice. Hoping to read some encouraging posts...

[Teknav]

Hiya Texans and welcome aboard! There are a couple of books that you need to buy and learn about boating; written for newbies. They are published by ASA and are sold by most booksellers; Amazon.com is an example. These two books, are current classroom books for courses you'll need to take to get your feet wet. You'll need to take ASA classes with actual hands on sailing experience; some sailing schools train on lakes. The next step is to volunteer as a crew to gain real hands-on experience; check local marinas and yacht club's bulletin boards for weekend crewing positions. Crewing is a non-paying job, as you need it to build your seamanship experience; when crewing, bring with you some sweets/drinks to everyone on the boat. The next step, after a few classes, crewing and local sailing is to charter a bare boat; the BVI - Caribbean is a good place to practice what you've learned. Try different boats for size and ease of handling. The USCG offers requirements for obtaining a "six-pack captain's license". Google it, then glance over these requirements. You may want to follow some of their recommendations; First Aid training, getting a TWIC card and such. Keep us posted on your progress! Good luck!

Mauritz

[AWJensen]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hiya Texans and welcome aboard! There are a couple of books that you need to buy and learn about boating; written for newbies.

You didn't mention the titles of the books, but thank you for responding and helping out

[Teknav]

Hiya Texans! Here are the two books that I recommended in my previous post: 1) "Sailing Made Easy" by The American Sailing Association ASA (2010), and 2) "Coastal Cruising Made Easy" by American Sailing Association, Peter Bull and Billy Black (2012). These two books are exceptionally well written for the newbie, and are used in ASA hands-on sailing classes. Good luck! (Disclaimer: Not affiliated with ASA in any capacity.)

Mauritz

[Waterway Guide]

Welcome aboard!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, AWJensen.

“ASA SAILING MADE EASY TEXTBOOK - 101"
“ASA COASTAL CRUISING MADE EASY TEXTBOOK - 103"
➥ http://asastore.org/

More resources:
➥ http://www.asa.com/sr-sailing_resources_gen.html

[Teknav]

Hiya Gord! ++

Mauritz