Newbie wanting a go

[Shay Twomey]

Hi All,

Just reaching out on this forum to see if anyone could point me in the right direction here.

I've harbored (no pun intended) a wish to sail for many years, and finally would like to do something about it. Recently ive been dreaming of a nice cat, something capable of bluewater, but also pleasant enough to drive short-handed. The wifey has strong reservations about setting sail, so I'm hoping to win her over in the next few years, as we start ever so slowly thinking about retirement. Im thinking 10 years is a decent timeframe to try and get some experience, buy a boat and start up from 'practicing/learning' in safe waters to eventually building up to overnight and multi-night extended coastal cruises (Perth to Broome sounds delish).

My issues and concerns:

1) I have no experience (apart from a few dingy sails as a kid). Can anyone recommend a training organisation in Perth, WA that could assist with learning the ropes with catamaran's?

2) If im successful in learning, I'm still thinking i'd be a short-handed sailor. Can anyone recommend something in the region of 40-45" the most suitable catamaran in terms of safety, performance, livability? At this stage im not thinking of crossing the pacific, but you never know.. In the mean time i'd love to be able to learn to sail in general. Im weary of trying to set to higher a goal..

Any help appreciated. At the moment im just one of those dreaded tyre-kickers... Theres plenty there I would love to buy, but I need to remain practicle and start slowly.

If anyone has a decent cat in the Perth area and doesn't mind helping a genuine newb learn a bit, please reach out, I'll jump at the chance to get on board!

Cheers,
Shay

[catsketcher]

Gday

I have had multis for over 40 years. The best way to learn to sail, is to stay away from multis. I still prefer to race monos - mostly dinghies - Lasers and skiffs and some yachts. Monos teach you far more about sailing than a cruising cat will. Get down to your local yacht club and get on as a crew, start with the twilight sails or do some weekend stuff. One season of racing on a mono as a general dogsbody will teach you all you need to know about sailing a boat well enough for cruising - especially in Perth. If you really want to learn to sail get into sports boats or dinghies. And when you see a cat anchored or nearby after a race, head on over, say something nice about it and you will probably be invited aboard. Look over all the cats you can and sail lots - then you will make an informed choice. At the moment you don't know what you don't know.

cheers

Phil

[Tin Tin]

I had a quick look at what for is for sale in Perth, only a couple a leopard 38 and a Lipari 41 - there are pretty similar in layout with larger cockpit decent sleeping arrangements etc and easy enough to sail single handed if necessary. They are not as fast as the custom built dagger boarders such as Schionnings etc which have small cockpits and narrow hulls. Depends what you want, but your wife will most likely want the more comfortable boats, speed is unlikely to be a driver. Inso far as courses etc an RYA 5 day course would be a good start. I don't personally know this company but looks OK on on the web https://www.oceanwest.net.au/ good intro to sailing and navigation and you get a certificate and ICC addendum at the end, that can be useful around Europe if chartering.
Good Luck in your endeavors.

[NevilleCat]

I'm with catsketcher on getting to a local yacht club and having a go on some sailing dinghies...and do it with your partner too if you want her interested.
Then get in touch with this guy who hopefully still runs sailing experience and training on his cat out to the various islands up and down the west coast.
https://www.adventuresailing.com.au/catamaran-queimarla
If you want to get an idea and want something to watch, try Sailing Tangaroa on YouTube...young hippieish types on a Wharram with some spectacular drone footage who sailed in company with the above boat for a season

[grantmc]

+1 for a yacht club. Get out crewing on monos and be a boat slut. And that means going out on as many different boats as you can manage. Ask questions and watch what's going on. And sure dinghies do make for better sailors but you get wet and cold.

Perth and Freemantle have a multitude of clubs:
Marylands
Royal Perth
Shelley
South Perth
Royal Freshwater
Claremont
Freemantle
East Freemantle
Nedlands
Mount Bay
Perth Dinghy

Every one of these will have skippers looking for crew.