Getting started the right way?

[Suijin]

I would start by "learning how to sail", and there is really no better (or cheaper) training on that than serving as crew on a race boat. Boat owners who race are almost always looking for crew or open to taking people on board to learn, depending on the size of the boat. Not only will you learn the basics of sailing and general boat handling, but if your skipper is good you'll learn the finer points of sail trim. You'll also learn a LOT about right of way, at least with respect to sail boats.

Then, make yourself available to serve as offshore crew on a boat making passage somewhere, with a knowledgeable skipper. You'll learn a whole lot more in a short time.

Reading is good, but experience is king.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "Cramped, damp, smelly, and moldy. You gotta be desperate for adventure to go the cruising route."


:-0)!!! Many years ago I was banned from the Vancouver Rowing Club because I'd got...uhmmm..."physical" with a young buck who'd stuck his nose in my face and exclaimed, loudly "ARSEHOLE!" because in answer to his query about what it is like to "go blue water", I'd told him I don't like it.

"There is nothing out there", I had said, "but cold and wet and hungry and tired and sick. And you know where you can put that!"

Now coastwise - now you're talking :-)!

TP

[zeehag]

you need to learn to sail.
then ye need to practice that knowledge.
you do not need your own boat until you know what you want.
if you have easy access to water, get a sailing dinghy to play with.
make a pest of your self with others around you who do sail-- mebbe they will help you learn where to find stuff and folks and experience. show up on time for any appointments you make for assisting your new friends in the yard.
help folks with haul out work--if you have access to marine action-- yard, marinas, etc. a hand in the yard is worth a lot in bartering for sailing time.
you might want to learn something about the weather so you know when to leave port safely and how long you may have between disturbances in your sailing locale.
2 books--royce's and sailing for dummies might help you get a foot in the door with your local sailors. learn terminology and orientation to wind and how sails work.
when you go to help--bring beer.

[Cadence]

Save lots and lots of money and you can't learn to sail from a book. JMHO

[dgarces]

There are some wonderful lakes in TN that would be great way to begin to do some sailing. Good luck and keep on dreaming

[laika]

Most people I've met certainly aren't desperate for adventure! They try to avoid "adventure" as much as possible, which is smart.

Sometimes it feels like living in a small closet, but not really. Treat the boat as your bedroom and the world as your backyard!

Don't overthink it and doing wait too long. Get some experience somehow before you buy your own boat so you know its right. And as as others have said, the real learning curve is in knowing and maintaining systems onboard. Calders mechanical and electrical book is good. Chapmans too if you want a crash course in things nautical. Nothing wrong with the adventure books either if they're a good read.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Save lots and lots of money and you can't learn to sail from a book. JMHO

exactly but you can learn terminology before meeting the snotty yotties demanding the accurate terminology before setting out.

[jkindredpdx]

You might try...
1. Join a sailing club where you can try several boats.
2. Find sailing/boating/navigation class(es).
3. Find someone(s) that you can crew for (racing).
4. buy a dinghy, kayak, paddle-board, and/or raft.
5. continue reading.
6. If you really plan to take off in 3 years, start looking at boats to buy and live-aboard now...

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by zeehag

exactly but you can learn terminology before meeting the snotty yotties demanding the accurate terminology before setting out.

Hell, you don't like them either? I like the scrambled eggs on the hat bill. It was rough out today they ran 3 foot.

[SVTwilight]

Just get out and sail in anything, a day sailor, an offshore passage maker, a bathtub. If you like it, it will compel you, the rest of it will draw you in, the people around you will help you, and you will pursue what you need.

Many of the best offshore sailors from Pigeon, to Pardey to Aebi to Rutherford were, in the beginning, completely (practically) incompetent, but passionate and drawn to the allure of sailing!

Forget about ending in tragedy. Every life ends in the tragedy known as death.

A few years ago I met Larry and Lin Pardey. Larry had a notable health problem developing. I thought it was dementia, but I have read lately it is Parkinson's. (I wish him and Lin the best) But hey, they lived it all passionately while they were able, a great example for us all! They both had some great pointers for newbie and experienced cruisers, but it was Lin who stared me down, grabbing me by the collar with her gaze and said, "just get out there now, not later. Everything else will come"!

Life is a ticking time bomb with an indeterminate detonation. Lin and Larry know that and have it right: Go small, go simple, go now.

The rest is only details!

The boat is almost ready. We leave in a few months....

Best of luck in your pursuits!

[Ded reckoner]

If you buy a little sloop (e.g. Catalina 16 or Hunter 18), the sailing skills you learn are directly transferable to a big sailboat. The cost of entry is low, you have portability so you can bring your boat on a trailer different places to sail, and you will likely recover your costs. It you take sailing courses (e.g. ASA), you will learn fundamental skills. Passing ASA courses enables you to bareboat charter anywhere in the world. Not only can you now rent different boats and try them out for a few days, but you can do so in your favorite maritime vacation spots. You'll get a better feel for what you like and dislike. You'll also be more valuable as crew to friends you meet who already own bigger sailboats. All this will help you make a better decision later on your retirement boat. The most important thing for you now is to start sailing.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I would start by "learning how to sail", and there is really no better (or cheaper) training on that than serving as crew on a race boat. Boat owners who race are almost always looking for crew or open to taking people on board to learn, depending on the size of the boat. Not only will you learn the basics of sailing and general boat handling, but if your skipper is good you'll learn the finer points of sail trim. You'll also learn a LOT about right of way, at least with respect to sail boats.

This, while possibly true, made me chuckle... get with the wrong type of skipper and you may never want to set foot on a boat again!!

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by reed1v

try living in a crawl space under some old house. Gives a good simulation of what it's like to live in a sailboat. Cramped, damp, smelly, and moldy. You gotta be desperate for adventure to go the cruising route.

I don't know what kind of boat you have, but I sure hope your wrong, mine so far has been none of that.
I do admit I am a fair weather Sailor, I won't go where its cold. My boat won't need a heater

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Kita

Wow,grumpy? Some people are desperate for adventure for sure..not for everyone to enjoy cruising....I am thinking you didn't. ...but for others,it can be a new lifestyle

Yeah, I never felt cramped or claustrophobic even in a 24 footer because to my mind I wasn't IN a boat, I was ON the ocean. Pretty hard to feel cramped on the ocean. Now, I did like the idea of having more space for more STUFF and more speed, but that was a different matter.

[Hieuhuule]

Wow, thank you for all the replies! I'm amazed at the active community here! A special thanks to user 'Steady Hand' for his helpful message filled with resources! I've taken his advice and gotten over my shyness and filled out my profile.

There is a yacht club about an hour away in Nashville, TN, the Percy Priest Yacht Club (PPYC). From what I've seen from their website, they are a wonderful organization that teaches sailing to their members and have frequent regattas. I'm in the US Army so I don't usually get off work until it's too late to commute for their lessons. Though you guys have inspired me to contact them and volunteer to crew for their regattas, I was hesitant to even broach the subject because I have zero experience, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I'm very hesitant about buying a Lazer or other small boat to learn on, as the price for those would pretty much be how I'd pay for a larger ship ($3500) or at least a big chunk of it ($1500) bearing in mind the extra $$$ I'd need for the BOAT (Bust Out Another Thousand) rule. But, I've got time and if things pan out with the PPYC, I'll be able to try my hand at it. The first boat I buy, I plan on living in while I go to college so I'd like something in the 25 to 30 range (I think, I have no real clue).

As far as specialized skills like diesel mechanic or electrical work, I have none, so that's why I'm particularly interested in learning everything I can before I buy a boat so I'd only need to BOAF (Bust Out Another Five Hundred)

Since everyone's learning experience was different, what's something you guys wish you'd known before purchasing a boat or setting sail? (Being in the military, I've learn to benefit from learning from other peoples mistakes, hence no wife/ex-wife to be worried about )