Free: Advice on sailing lessons

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome!
There are a lot of opinions on sailing lessons and classes. My opinion is that if you learn from someone who is not a certified instructor you are probably learning a lot of bad habits along with some good. If you learn from a racing crew who is caught up in the frenzy of racing you are likely not to learn in a safety conscious environment. You'll learn racing rules and not proper rules of the road. If you learn from an "old salt" who isn't an instructor you are likely not to learn proper sail trim and you'll pick up their old bad habits.
Of course, you might get lucky and find an old timer who knows everything and how to instruct but they'll be few and far between.
My advice is to save up a few dollars and take the whole family to a basic sailing course and get everyone involved. Wives and husbands can be in the same class but not on the same boat.
Good luck and I hope all the posts you are reading are of some help.
kind regards,

[snort]

It's probably a true generalization that your best instructors are ASA or US Sailing training instructors, but not all of these are exactly stellar.
For sure, learn what "not to do" for safety reasons. It's not a long list, but it should help you to keep all eight fingers.




or ten fingers, if you're not a Simpson.

[D.D.]

It would be nice to hear from the original poster at this point to get further information as requested. Thank you,

[SkiprJohn]

A good book to start with is "Start Sailing Right!" If you can find a sailor that will teach you hands on what is in the book then you'll be good to go.
kind regards,

[guerillabird]

Thanks, John Just found it on Amazon and getting it! Anymore suggestions on books to get for beginners would be great. We are serious about getting a 38+ catamaran as we want to move into a boat we can live in and sail with at a whim (that's after we've acquired skills safe enough to cruise the coast).

[guerillabird]

I'm just getting the hang of posting messages on this forum. Thanks everyone for all your invaluable advice! I'm taking notes here. I'm based in Jupiter, FL. I recently found a school that offers sailing classes called Chapman School of Seamanship. They charge $125 per hour ($50 for the second person) - a bit pricey since I'm taking the advice of others in this forum who suggested learning sailing separately from your spouse. But I guess we'll find out if it's worth the money after our first couple of lessons! Anyone in my area who knows of a better deal is more than welcome to PM me Thanks!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by guerillabird

I'm a complete newbie to sailing, just drawn to the ocean and the dream of sailing (a 35-40ft. vessel) through the Caribbean - and the world someday. I still don't own a boat, but my hubby and I are on the hunt for one.

We would like to take sailing lessons, but the sailing clubs in our area are either done with lessons for this season or they're too expensive. Can anyone give a greenhorn some advice on how to find affordable sailing lessons? I'm hoping to find experienced sailors who would like to either donate their time or charge a small amount to teach us the ropes Other ideas are welcome!

Thanks!

T

You're talking about taking up an inherently dangerous (yes) sport on a substantially big boat, taking it across an ocean and into foreign countries.

And you want to save money on lessons?

I'm sorry but you don't have a good plan there.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by David M

Hire a private professional instructor with experience, like a certified ASA instructor. It takes training to learn how to teach sailing. Your learning curve will be much shorter with a professional and your learning will be more thorough.

It won't be cheap but it is literally worth your lives to learn to sail well.

I agree with the suggestion that you and your wife should take lessons separately. On sailboats there's a lot to do to make 'em go, and people in couples tend to specialize. You really need to know how to do all the jobs on the boat -- both of you.

[reiner]

We been very lucky having a good friend who is a boat builder and professional skipper. He is without a boat at the moment and loved to teach us on our boat. Learning on your own boat has huge advantages as you learn a lot about your boat at the same time. We became good friends and go sailing as much as we can.
Our first boat was a lug rigged plywood trailer sailer ( scruffie) and I thought I could learn from books only. Today I know it would have taken us a lot longer to get the confidence we have now. After Scruffie we bought a beautiful H28 . 12 month later we sold our beloved H28 and found a 39ft Challenger.
We are in the middle of planing a 6 month trip on the Australian East Coast.
Without our Teacher we would have spend another 2 or 3 years learning it the hard way.
If your boat is in a Marina put a note on the noticeboard and I bet somebody would love to teach you.

Cheers
Reiner

[guerillabird]

@ rakuflames: i respect your opinion, but i might not have made it clear. we don't plan on sailing on our own until we have the skills, experience and resources to safely manage a vessel of this size. However, this doesn't stop us from buying our first live aboard boat and finding the most affordable means to get some basic skills. So I'm really grateful for all the advice on this thread

[boatsail]

I have been sailing since I was an infant in diapers. There are photos at my parents house laying across the bow of a sunfish while sleeping. I still remember the slap of water and ocassional wave coming over the boat. Even a kid can't sleep through that.

Sailing is not as dangerous as some make it sound....as long as you learn...learning is not as hard as some make it sound...as long as you take small steps....boats are not expensive as some say...as long as you dont buy expensive.....its all a choice.

Get a small boat. A dinghy. Build it or buy it. You can learn to sail. The same principals apply to all boat. A dinghy is the best way to learn. You don't need lessons for a 10 foot dinghy. Go to a beach or pond and practice. If things get to crazy, release the sheet. That fixes 99% of scary on a dinghy when your a kid. Probably still works for adults too.

Once you learn, progress up to larger and larger. You'll build the confidenced and experience needed by starting small.

[SkiprJohn]

Before jumping into the expensive Chapman's course I'd recommend a club sponsored basic sailing course or ASA or US Sailing Basic course just to "get your feet wet" then decide if you want the doctorate program.

kind regards,

[boatsail]

Also, I have never in my life had professional sailing lessons in my life. I don't think it is necessary. I started very small and worked my way up.

I did go to dive school in the Military for navigation underwater with rebreather. Over water is easy. Learned tides, currents and navigation in military school too.

[SkiprJohn]

The Annapolis Book of Seamanship is a more comprehensive guide. Royce's Sailing Illustrated is a dandy book you can stuff in your pocket if they still have them available in that size.
kind regards,

[guerillabird]

@ Reiner: wow, it would be a dream to find a friend like yours with that kind of experience! We still havent purchased our boat but that's a great idea having someone teach us on our boat once we get it. I think after reading all the posts on this thread and doing research on sailing lessons, my conclusion is investing in some professional sailing classes and combining that with hands on training from seasoned sailors in our area. And cold beers at the end of a lesson is always a good idea good luck planning your Aussie trip - that sounds like an adventure!