Learning to sail

[cdreid]

Im sure youve read this post 1000 times. Im retiring to a sailboat in 4 years. I live in the mountnains so... our longest lakes etc are.. er maybe 3 miles (and nowhere near that wide).. you can google asheville nc. Closest lake is actually a power plant lake.. very protected etc cant see much but flat water there ever.
So im thinking of going ahead and buying a small boat to learn to sail. Looking at a supercheap Southcoast 22 . Im also looking at other local boats but probably that length so it's trailerable.
Im wondering if a: that's a good choice (my final boat will probably be a 40ish monohull, maybe a tayana 37 or cheoy lee 41 etc) to learn to sail.. but im more curious about the experience you can get on small mountain lakes? Im thinking you probably wouldnt learn any more than just spending a couple days taking a class due to lack of wind conditions, waves etc etc .

[Wetterbote]

The conditions on lakes are hard to compare to those of the sea. You appear to be on a lake that very rarely sees bad weather, but that's not a general rule. There are mountain lakes that have regular dangerous downwinds from adjacent mountains. Or regular heavy thunderstorms with wind gusts of 8 Bft or above.

On the other hand, the conditions on the sea are also very regionally different, depending on average water depth, customary wind direction and other factors. Most ocean-going vessels can cope with 7 or 8 Bft, but when in shallow waters, with strong tidal currents and breaking waves, even 6 Bft have had fatal consequences for many boats and their crew.

Hence, you need to learn the conditions of whatever region you'll be in. This only comes with experience, from understanding both weather forecasts and your personal observations.

For learning to sail, you can of course look for a local sailing school. They will teach you the basics. For your case, I would recommend looking for a school that teaches sailing on large boats, not only on dinghies (the latter is commonly done on small lakes or for children). There are also schools that will teach you the theory and practice of sailing on the ocean.

IMHO, the difficult part about sailing on the ocean or its shores is not the handling of the boat itself, but everything around it: Navigation, meteorology, tide prediction, provisioning, and learning to fix everything that breaks.

[cdreid]

Originally Posted by Wetterbote

The conditions on lakes are hard to compare to those of the sea. You appear to be on a lake that very rarely sees bad weather, but that's not a general rule. There are mountain lakes that have regular dangerous downwinds from adjacent mountains. Or regular heavy

IMHO, the difficult part about sailing on the ocean or its shores is not the handling of the boat itself, but everything around it: Navigation, meteorology, tide prediction, provisioning, and learning to fix everything that breaks.

Im good on the other stuff jsut not the sailing. And ya i was thinking along the lines youre talking about. Im sure spending days off sailing around a lake will teach me the basics but that's it. Just thought of getting a head start.

When i retire i plan on either paying or more likely getting an experienced sailor drunk and touring boats then paying him to teach me to sail. I figure there are probably quite a few broke sailors about haha. Then ill take it on the ocean in good weather as much as possible to get experience and go from there.

On the other hand i have good friends i imagine would love spending an afternoon on our tiny lakes drinking wine.... :P
Thanks for the advice

[thomm225]

I learned sailing on inland (TVA) Lakes in Tennessee and Mississippi. (Arkabutla, Sardis, Pickwick)

Sailed a couple months alone or with family then went directly in to racing.

All on Beach Cats.

You learn tons about sailing racing plus boat and sail setup, land effect on wind, seeing wind on the water before you arrive, currents (when on the coast) etc

Sometimes for fun we'd sail on the lake when a front was coming through. Winds would hit 20 knots or more and we had fun with fast sailing plus flips and pitchpoles.

Others times racing took me to the Florida and Mississippi Coasts which was a nice change.

Moved to Florida a couple years after learning to sail/racing and continued there

Did this for about 15 years then later bought a monohull for use after I moved back up here to the lower Chesapeake Bay area where I had always had power boats before

[JudgySkipper]

I would recommend taking the ASA 101, basic keelboat. No substitute for having it all broken down on the front end.

Be smart, and take it n dec-march when it’s cold. Fly to Florida for the 2day class, and enjoy a long weekend in the warm,

[cdreid]

Originally Posted by JudgySkipper

I would recommend taking the ASA 101, basic keelboat. No substitute for having it all broken down on the front end.

Be smart, and take it n dec-march when it’s cold. Fly to Florida for the 2day class, and enjoy a long weekend in the warm,

I will before i buy

[cdreid]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I learned sailing on inland (TVA) Lakes in Tennessee and Mississippi. (Arkabutla, Sardis, Pickwick)

Sailed a couple months alone or with family then went directly in to racing.
had power boats before

Bizarrely enough i was looking for your advice after seeing your Frank but NOT negative advice to someone who i think wanted to buy a big cat.

Im 50/50 on buying the boat. Normally id have just grabbed it with the ridiculously low price but the last few months have kicked my butt financially. Thanks

[chris mac]

That is basically what I did.
About 5 years before retiring, we bought a 26 foot and sailed on our local lake. During that time, I think year 2, we did a 1 week live and learn aboard a saga 43 on the west coast. Then at year 4 we chartered a lagoon 38 on the weet coast to get more experience and learn some differences between boat types.
It worked out for us, so I obviously recomend that approach.
The best advice I can offer is to sail as often as you can on your own boat to gain skill and confidence, but also never turn down a chance to sail on any other boat as well. They all offer slightly different benefits and weaknesses. Learn what values are important to you. I'm sure by now you have noticed how many different opinions exist on what is the right boat🤏
And most importantly, have fun!

[Sailer_Med]

Just get the boat and sail it. Everything else is details of where (you'll learn) when (hopefully soon), how (buy, charter etc).

I know a big plan is really appealing but sometimes just moving forward shows the rest.

[jeanathon]

Believe it or not I had my first knock down on a 22 ft. Oday on Lake Julian. I was always surprised on the size of the sailboats on that little lake. I used to go to Lake Marion a lot on that boat. The black bear landing side of the lake is pretty wide in places. I also had a learning experience on that lake. After the dulldrums of the summer months a hurricane was headed up the coast, and I was determined to take advantage even though my crew(gf) couldn't come with. Blew out a turnbuckle on an upper shroud!
I wouldn't go to the lakes west of Asheville as the wind coming at you from 3 directions at once can be maddening.
Hit me up on pm maybe I can be more helpful over a beer.
Also always looking for race crew in Charleston on a buddies boat.

[jeanathon]

I would also add spring and fall is the best wind to go sailing on our mountain lakes. Buy the boat and go sailing.

[cdreid]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

Believe it or not I had my first knock down on a 22 ft. Oday on Lake Julian. I was always surprised on the size of the sailboats on that little lake. I used to go to Lake Marion a lot on that boat. The black bear landing side of the lake is pretty wide in places. I also had a learning experience on that lake. After the dulldrums of the summer months a hurricane was headed up the coast, and I was determined to take advantage even though my crew(gf) couldn't come with. Blew out a turnbuckle on an upper shroud!
I wouldn't go to the lakes west of Asheville as the wind coming at you from 3 directions at once can be maddening.
Hit me up on pm maybe I can be more helpful over a beer.
Also always looking for race crew in Charleston on a buddies boat.

Thanks a lot. I noticed julian has a boat club.. which seems weird as swimming in that lake can get deadly lol. I was considering the tn border. Ill probably buy it.. works been slow and weird for 2 month or i already would have. Ill try to remember and hit you up when i have time and boat

[DanielI]

We’ve take ASA 101 and 103 on a mountain lake. Some mountain lakes have really tough winds. Maybe not as strong as the ocean, but much more variable. And you get a lot of practice tacking and jibing so as not to run into the shore. On the other hand, lakes have much smaller waves.

Whatever water you can get to, you’ll learn something, I’m sure. ASA 104 does require an overnight passage, so you will need to go to a larger body of water.

[denverd0n]

I learned to sail in Nebraska. Almost everything about handling sheets, tacking, jibing, points of sail, and so on will transfer directly from small boats into large boats.


Good luck.

[maryc]

I learned to sail on a lake in OK by taking ASA 101. Bought a 26ft Hunter a few weeks later and sailed it for several years until my son went to college and I went cruising on a 28ft and now am on a 31footer that I sailed to Panama, My experience is that sailing on a lake is nothing like sailing on the ocean, but it's still a lot of fun.