Can you learn to sail on Cruiser's Forum?

[atoll]

best people to ask would be the rescue services.....I'm sure a lot of their customers learnt to sail on youtube..............

[atoll]

Originally Posted by o_q

So this forum exists either to share sailing knowledge, or for the long-time members to circle-jerk each other, and laugh at the questions noobs ask.

never heard of "circle jerking"........you learn something new every day on CF

[Delancey]

In Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" he suggests that you can't "master" a complex subject without accruing 10,000 hours of experience. That's like a full time job for five years. Sounds about right.

My wife gets impatient because she isn't a master mariner yet. I have to remind her to throttle back her expectations and that there is no substitute for time spent at the helm. There just isn't.

Funny though, about CF. You can tell who has their 10,000 hours and who doesn't.

[thomm225]

I learned sailing from books and racing. When I say racing, I'm not talking crewing on some big monohull. I'm talking being the Skipper and diving right in amongst the other experienced racers.

You learn a lot really fast that way especially if you race 10 months out of the year and sometimes sail your boat to the race. (Beach Cat)

I have learned quite a bit about cruising on CF especially during prolonged arguments err..................discussions.

I learned quite a bit about boating from junker power boats I bought as a teenager and young adult. That training was all trial and error. Mostly error to the point where I barely survived a couple times.

[Badco_67]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here and have never sailed and this thread really caught my attention. I have been trying to do just what was asked, learn to sail by reading stuff on forums, blogs, books, etc.

Sailing is a goal, well actually a dream of how I would like to live, my wife is, well let's just say she likes the idea, but isn't convinced.

Wife's Question's
----How do you know we will even like sailing? Very fair question, so I booked a family vacation on a skippered 40' Cat for this summer in Annapolis for a week on the water in the Chesapeake.

In addition to enjoying ourselves, I hope to learn as much as possible while on the the boat. I recognize though, that this won't be as instructive as a ASA Sailing Course would be. So a more formal sailing course would probably be our next step.

Could a forum like this collectively take a newbie from landlubber to competent sailor, maybe not certified, but nonetheless competent??

Let me know if anyone is up for that challenge, lol!

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by barnaclejim

Well its winter I guess so the mostest profoundest questions are pondered. Of course you can learn sailing on the internet! It like totally prepares you! Barnacles come off easier, anchoring is exacting and the seatalk on your electronics doesnt talk back. Im not even gonna visit the sea till Ive posted and read all the important stuff. Then watch out!

I think I'm getting baited here or in my grandson's terminology:
"Your mocking me arn't you?"

[dwedeking2]

I just finished up a 7 day live-aboard/learn to sail vacation. Prior to this I've read (on and off) books for the last 6 years as well as reading a lot of the forums online. The time on the water (limited though it's been) tied all the book/online learning together and provided a physical point of reference. I am really good at book learning and usually forgo any hands on training, just jump in an do it learning from my mistakes. I felt this was important enough (to me) to get some formalized training.

Can you do it without book learning? Sure
Can you do it by reading on it and then doing it? Sure, I just think it's a little bit harder and because of the size of physical items (sailboat, rocks, islands) more risky.

Reading an internet forum is like sitting in a beginner's class, over and over again. Your going to hear the same basic questions over and over again as new users come to the site. More experienced users are going to have fewer questions and they will be more infrequent.

[s/v Beth]

I noticed that most of you that mention reading as such a great aid did it while on their boats or in combination of various sailing activities. Yes, learning like this on CF and books keeps you from reinventing the wheel. But if I want to learn what Boatman or the Captain down the dock knows, I am going to hire them to sail with me.
Now I would never advocate "just go out and do it" , but the next person who asks "what kind of boat I need to go sailing to Hawaii and then up to the Bering sea?" I am going to ask:
"How much have you really sailed?"

[Badco_67]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

I noticed that most of you that mention reading as such a great aid did it while on their boats or in combination of various sailing activities. Yes, learning like this on CF and books keeps you from reinventing the wheel. But if I want to learn what Boatman or the Captain down the dock knows, I am going to hire them to sail with me.
Now I would never advocate "just go out and do it" , but the next person who asks "what kind of boat I need to go sailing to Hawaii and then up to the Bering sea?" I am going to ask:
"How much have you really sailed?"

Exactly!

[a64pilot]

In today's society it's believed that you can't learn anything without taking classes and getting certificates, SCUBA is a good example, there are so many "C" cards for that that's it become a joke.

I know people that have taught themselves to fly, I stupidly maintain that I can teach myself to sail, maybe not as well as you guy's that have raced of course, but so far well enough to get where I have wanted to go. It just ain't that hard, and most of it is common sense. But i'm learning on the boat as opposed to on the internet. But I have the boat, and my time is free. What better way to spend it than making stupid mistakes, and hopefully learning from them?

I fully realize that I'm leaving performance on the table, that really smart people spend their entire lives tweaking the last Erg of energy out of a sail, and I'll never come close to that kind of knowledge, but I'm wanting to cruise, I'm lazy and enjoy the ride so to speak.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Now I would never advocate "just go out and do it" "

Why not?

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by dwedeking2

Reading an internet forum is like sitting in a beginner's class, over and over again. Your going to hear the same basic questions over and over again as new users come to the site. More experienced users are going to have fewer questions and they will be more infrequent.

Interesting observation. I do miss DOJ, Anjou, Amgine, even Astrid, Ocean Girl and Staight Shooter don't post much anymore. Some of my friends are dead, some in prison (none of the above) but most I think have just lost interest. Have they moved on to real sailing and left CF behind?
Or decided to spend time on SA? (that will be the day)

[a64pilot]

I think Ocean Girl at least has graduated to cruising for real.
I look forward to disappearing for long stretches at a time

[drpaoletta]

You absolutely have to put your time in, make mistakes, talk to actual people around the dock, etc. However, I find this forum incredibly useful to get ideas for upgrades and modifications, "how to" info on maintenance and repairs and the nuts and bolts of how to keep the boat functional so I can get my sail-time in! Oh - and some rummy sea stories from time to time...
- Thanks for of that folks!

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I know people that have taught themselves to fly, I stupidly maintain that I can teach myself to sail, maybe not as well as you guy's that have raced of course, but so far well enough to get where I have wanted to go. It just ain't that hard, and most of it is common sense. But i'm learning on the boat as opposed to on the internet. But I have the boat, and my time is free. What better way to spend it than making stupid mistakes, and hopefully learning .

You also ask in the next post why I would not advocate just going out and doing it. Remember when you bought your boat you had help in the passage to your home. We are community creatures, we learn well with each others help. And you were learning on the water. The ideal situation IMHO. Once you have learned the basics, I see nothing bad about going out on your own. You know the risks, and hopefully you know the weather and the charts. But I do not think you are just going out and doing it as a first timer.
You certainly were not learning on CF.