How hard is it to learn to sail?

Question

I've always had an interest to learn how to sail. I'm 33 catch on quick and very enthusiastic when I get into something. It's a life long dream to learn how to sail. How long does it take to master? How long before I feel comfortable to rent a boat and sail the open waters say off of British Columbia..whale watching and island hopping?

Answer 1

Good question and I'm glad to hear it.

I'm still trying to figure out exactly when and what were the circumstances that led to my interest in sailing but in 2003 I went on my first sailboat ride and I said, "YEAHHH". It just made a lot of sense. Like you, I envisioned sailing to far off places but the problem - also like yours - is I didn't know how to sail and where to begin to learn.

There are a quite a few schools willing to teach you but the problem is you'll have to sort through them because often you can spend quite a bit of money when you really don't have to. So you're going to have to trust your instincts in this area. Secondly it depends on what size boat you'll learn on. There are 2 schools of thought: 1. Mid sized keel boats or 2. Small center boards. Mid sized keel boats are steady and what you'd take on far off cruises, so of course this is your ultimate objective. However lessons on these are quite expensive. Then there's the school of thought in favor of learning first on the smaller center boards first. These boats are more sensitive and you'll quickly learn the significance of trimming or easing out your jib sheets for example because of the instant response. So it's very easy to transfer these skills to larger boats. These type courses are much less expensive.

I began my lessons last April on a 19' Flying Scot and there were 4 of us learning. We had 4 sessions on the water and then given a written exam as well as a sailing exam on tacking, jibbing, and rescue exercises. THEN the real learning began because if you passed you could rent a boat and take her out without an instructor. Sailing is much like driving in that you only learn the basics in the beginning but as someone earlier said, then you have to practice, and that's what I did practically every available weekend thereafter. I made mistakes but gradually I gained more and more understanding as to what I was doing and why and my confidence in my abilities increased tremendously. And let me add, that I've heard and discovered that you never stop learning but it's a continuous process of refining what you've learned and come to understand.

A couple of weeks ago I manned the helm of a large mid sized keel boat and because I first learned the principles on the lowly, humble, centerboard Scot it was quite easy in comparison.

So as a word of caution, I repeat, be careful of the large places with a lot of people in the class learning on large boats because you'll spend a lot of money and may not get enough helm time to justify your expenses. I'd suggest a small place with smaller boats where you can get more attention and helm time.

Answer 2

I used to teach sailing. We'd run 12 week courses in beginner, intermediate, and advanced sailing, as well as racing seminars. Each class was approximately 3 hours, with some of that time in 'ground school' and a lot of it on the water. Most of my students felt confident about the principles by the end of the beginner class, and were doing quite well by the end of the intermediate class. If you pay attention, not only to your instructors but to what the boat is 'telling' you, you'll probably pick up the basics very quickly.

But I'll warn you. After 30 years of sailing I sitll haven't 'mastered' it - you're always learning new things.

The other thing is that there is a difference between 'sailing' and 'cruising.' You can know everything there is to know about sail trim, weight placement, tacking, gybing, shaping sails, etc. and still not be prepared for open water, which also includes weather, safety equipment, gear stowage, standing watch, navigation, etc. These equally important aspects are learned through experience, Auxiliary or Captain's License classes, seminars and the like. The easiest way to put your sailing knowledge into cruising practice is to make friends with someone with a boat. It's not that hard - sailors tend to be a friendly bunch and love to talk about their boats when they're not actually using them.

just my 2cts.

Answer 3

I bought a book on sailing and about a 14' sail boat. By the end of the first summer I had it down pretty good. If you have half a brain its easy. If you have friends that sail you can learn some from them but I just did it myself. You'll likely flip the boat a few times but that's how you learn. Try it you'll like it! If you decide you don't like it you can always sell the boat. At first just go to a lake. The area you want to sail in is a great one. Before I took a sail boat very far though I would spend some time studying tides and currents weather and general coastal sailing. Its a lot more than lake sailing.

Answer 4

Sailing is allot of fun, but can be dangerous and tricky in challenging weather. Watching the weather forecast is really important, especially when heading out into the ocean.

The quickest way to learn is to go on a sail with someone whom you know. There are sailing schools that can help too, if you don't know any sailors.

I think most people get exposed to their first sailing experiences on lakes by sailing small sailboats, like Sunfish. Sunfish are fun to sail and easy enough to learn. Even then, the Sailfish sales/rental people will have to show you how to set the sails up.

The problem with sailing without any help is that you can get stuck going in one direction and rookies have a challenging time sailing the boat back to shore. It's funny to watch, as long as no one panics, tips the boat over or gets hurt.

I have sailed larger boats, too, like 30' sloops and 33' catboats. The larger boats are easier to handle in the wind, because they have more ballast. They also have engines, which can get you back to harbor in a hurry, if needed.

Anyway, you should definitely go for it and enjoy one of the most personally rewarding challenges the world has to offer.

Answer 5

For most people, learning to sail is not difficiult, but of course this depends on the quality of instruction and how you learn. Sailing does require some conceptual learning and basic physics to do it well. I had done some small boat sailing as a kid, but was solo sailing my own 26-footer easily with minimal additional expereince. (see liveaboard courses below) I sometimes sail a 33-foot boat solo. The ability to sail solo has as much to do with how the boat is rigged as it's size. One of the hardest things about learning to sail, is knowing all the terms. It's like learning a foreign language. There are many ways to learn. It doesn't hurt to learn in a smaller boat, but a small sloop-rigged keelboat will have more in common with a 30-foot boat than will a small dinghy like a sunfish. (I teach classes on both and those who have only sailed the small boats are not nearly as ready to move up to a 30-foot keelboat as those who have sailed a 17-foot small keelboat are.) I don't think there is anything wrong with learning on a larger boat if that's a convenient option, but you can learn many of the basics on smaller boats if that's what is available and affordable. Local university sailing clubs offer a great way to try sailing without spending much. The quality of the instrucition is likely to be hit or miss. Some local yacht clubs sometimes have days where they will take newbies out. You can check with organizations such as the American Sailing Association or US sailing to see if courses are offered in your area. These are likely to be of a fairly high caliber of instruction, but cost more than through a club. If your goal is to go cruising, you can take a live-aboard sailing course. Although this is expensive, it's a great way to get a feel for what you are getting yourself into and have an enjoyable vacation at the same time. Much of cruising has to do with skills and experinces other than physical sailing and a course like this will give you great exposure to some of those. Again, you can check with ASA or look in the back of sailing magazines or online sailing websites to find some of these options.

Answer 6

Get a few books, learn the terminology, study weather, Ocean currents, tides, chart reading, navigation, repairs, emergency measures and first aid. Survival at sea, rescue techniques, astronomy, and on and on and on. That is what appeals to people that want to sail. You want to master and control life in an uncontrollable medium. That IS the Sea. Just go down to the docks or on line and find a Capt. to take you out and sail. Do as much of the other stuff as you can fit in, but it's a life-long adventure. You should be out in the Ocean with a good crew in a few months to a year if you're the quick study you say you are. It's great fun! Good luck.

Answer 7

There are plenty of books out there. Read up before youn even buy a boat, just to make sure you don't buy something that could break on you... learn the terms, read some horror stories, etc.

as for sailing itself, I'd recommend finding lessons on at least the basics of boathandling to start. Even just seek out some people to BS with.

Confidence is really key.

Good luck.

Answer 8

Try to get use to it. It may look hard but once you get use it, It'll be pretty easy. Just practice. Bring someone you know who knows how it sail. When you think you're good enough or confident, then start renting a boat. Good Luck! And Have Fun!

Answer 9

The other contributors are right. You need someone to give you the tuition AND you need at least 12 months of practical experience to do it safely.

In the UK we have a very well defined route of learning provided by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) - you can view their website on http://www.rya.org.uk

There are many levels of tuition in sailboat sailing on the RYA syllabus, but I think that the Day Skipper qualification would be the best for you. To see a synopsis of the Day Skipper syllabus look at my website http://www.central-sailing.co.uk/dayskipper-theory.htm

If you want to ask questions fill in the contact form. Bigpathome.

Answer 10

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