Sail at home mom

[EvanneKegley]

Hi

I'm homeschooling my 8 year old in SE Alaska.
Learning to sail together will be our big homeschool project for this year.

I guess I just wanted to plug into this community for support and research.

Thanks!

[chris mac]

Welcome to the forum. What a great activity to do with your child! Enjoy

[Jim Cate]

Well, welcome aboard! And now that you are plugged in, how can we help you in this excellent endeavor?

Jim

[NorthernMac]

Good on you!
Wish more parents were as involved and did these types of things with their kids

[grantmc]

Greetings from New Zealand and welcome to the forum Evanne.
Don't be reluctant to post, we certainly need some new and original views.

[LittleWing77]

Right on! and Welcome to the Forum.

You might reach out to Kissmekate, who has just bought her own boat (like, 2 weeks ago) and she and her son intend to take up cruising and racing her this Summer. She's in Washington State on Puget Sound, so you could compare West-coast notes.

Good luck! As far as I'm concerned, sailing is the best possible home-school project. Be safe! Lifejackets everyone!

Warmly,
LittleWing77

[gamayun]

Great idea! Physics, biology, meteorology, oceanography, ecology and even economics could be some amazing lessons learned on a boat not to mention the practical ones such as fiberglass repair. All kids should be so lucky. Let us know how it goes.

[EvanneKegley]

Thank you! I will reach out

[EvanneKegley]

thanks @Jim Cate

Not sure if I am replying in the right format. If you were teaching a young child to sail, where would you start?

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by EvanneKegley

thanks @Jim Cate

Not sure if I am replying in the right format. If you were teaching a young child to sail, where would you start?

Start with yourself on a small lake sail boat. Have a good idea of what you're doing before taking your eight old aboard.

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

Start with yourself on a small lake sail boat. Have a good idea of what you're doing before taking your eight old aboard.

No! Go with him to a sailing school and learn to sail together each in your own dinghy. Nothing will inspire him more than beating you in his own boat

[HellBentSailing]

Sailing with other boats such as at a dingy school/club is more fun than one boat on its own, but not always practical/possible. I would however strongly recommend learning in a dinghy before setting foot on a keelboat. Dinghies will teach you more about sailing in an hour than a keelboat could in a week, have lower loads, and are much less expensive. Even a larger dinghy like an older Wayfarer/CL or similar can be a lot of fun while also being much safer and easier than a performance boat. I have sailed (helmed and crewed) Optimists, Toppers, and Flying Juniors as a kid, a Tasar, a Wayfarer, a Ranger 22, a Sonar, an Elliott 770, a Yamaha 25, numerous Santana 525s, an Andrews 26, a Dehler 29, and a J133. Out of all of those boats I would have to say that the Flying Juniors and Tasar have taught me the most about sailing, skills which I have been able to transfer to keelboat sailing and racing. As a side note, good on you for doing this for both yourself and your kid. As someone whose parents got them into sailing at around that age, I believe that the best way to start would be to put him into a week or so of sailing lessons on small boats. The instructors are knowledgable and know how to work with the kids on the natural fears associated with the sport. Once you come to grips with the fact that the worst thing that can possibly happen is you getting wet and having to right the boat, the sport becomes a lot more enjoyable. I regularly capsize my dinghy now for fun or when it is too hot and the wind is lacking. Plus I remember that at my dinghy school it was a running competition to see who could recover from a capsize the fastest which adds a lot of fun to learning a necessary skill. Competition is always a good way to help build skills.

[redhead]

Originally Posted by gamayun

Great idea! Physics, biology, meteorology, oceanography, ecology and even economics could be some amazing lessons learned on a boat not to mention the practical ones such as fiberglass repair. All kids should be so lucky. Let us know how it goes.

All of the above -
AND don't forget agility as the boom swings over your head!

You have a lucky 8 year old, and she/he has a lucky mom!
You're gonna have a ball.