I haunt used book stores since there are some great
books out there on cruising,
boating,
navigation, etc that are reasonably priced and fun to read. One of my favourites is an older book written in response to another book I have called -
Learning to Sail the Easy Way. The other book is called
Learning to Sail the Hard Way.
You really don't need that much experience, but read, read, read, so that in the back of your mind you will have the information to develop back up plans when things go bad.
Everyone has a tale or two to share after
boating for a while; just make sure you have a copy of "Chapman's" on board so that when you "blow it" you can read up quickly on what to do.
The first time I anchored, it started to blow a bit, not a lot but strong enough to challenge my
anchoring ability. Yes you guessed it, I dragged my
anchor. After setting it again, and having it drag again, I knew I was doing something wrong. So if you can imagine it, while I was down below madly reading Chapman's anchorage info, my buddy was up above motoring to a new location to set the hook. The answer - I wasn't setting out enough
scope.
You can learn enough to sail between point A and B in one afternoon. Learn about reducing sail when the winds pick up, and that with a sound
anchoring plan, you should be good to go and learn to sail - the hard way.
Work on your
navigation skills with the use of that "used" navigation book you bought at the store, and then make sure you have a
GPS (preferably with a cheaper back up).
Plan short trips on guaranteed calm
water with your wife so that she develops confidence in not only you but the boat as well. If she is affected by motion, make your first couple of trips to the boat still tied up and just
barbecue off the back as she gets use to the motion. The more you can be on the boat the more you'll get your sea legs (the best way to combat motion sickness).
More is better on a boat than less. I often go down to the boat to
work on it so that my body can adjust long term to the motion - I do get sea sick. When I first put my boat in after a long hiatus away from sailing last year, I really noticed the motion, even at the jetty. But now I barely notice it at all. For example, today I just went down and sat in the
cabin reading a boating magazine, again to adjust to the motion, then took a nap.
You will soon have your own adventures to tell.