I bought an 85 s2 8.6 a couple years ago and spent a few months on her in Mobile bay. My girlfriend and I took a coast guard axillary boating safety class and one two hour sailing lesson from an experienced sailor. We sailed mobile bay a number of times and motored the icw to Pensacola. The boat is equipped with GPS and auto pilot and many upgrades. I'm capable of navigating with the GPS and charts and I've now learned to sail by myself. My jobs in other states have only allowed me to sail the boat a few times. I've read a couple books and have some knowledge now of the basics but I find myself overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge needed to safely sail for long distances. I've considered giving up on the dream and selling her. Any suggestions?
advice for a novice sailor
- Thread starter charlie tuna
- Start date
two hours of lessons? There is a lot of material to cover in two hours. Take a ASA basic keelboat class, then seemhow you feel.
How far do you want to go and how soon? The skill set for crossing oceans is much larger than a long daysail with an overnight. The skills and knowledge don't come all at once. It is built up step by step.
Assuming that you are considering overnight trips, start with a short weekend trip to somewhere nearby. When I started cruising the nearest port was 12 miles away, it was a big adventure! Now, 30 years later a 50 mile sail across Lake Ontario is not that big a deal.
The skills required for longer cruises fall into 3 basic categories. boat handling including anchoring, navigation, and living. Get out, sail and practice. Go for a day sail, anchor, have lunch. Go for a longer day sail, anchor and stay overnight. Keep building on what you learn. Over time your skills and knowledge will grow as will your confidence. You'll make lots of errors learn from them! When you start doing longer trips over several days you will bring too much stuff, not enough stuff and you will certainly run out of ice and cold beer a time or two. None of those are dealbreakers, learn, read, ask questions, but most importantly go out there and enjoy yourself and when you screw up, don't take it too seriously and learn from the experience.
Dave
Assuming that you are considering overnight trips, start with a short weekend trip to somewhere nearby. When I started cruising the nearest port was 12 miles away, it was a big adventure! Now, 30 years later a 50 mile sail across Lake Ontario is not that big a deal.
The skills required for longer cruises fall into 3 basic categories. boat handling including anchoring, navigation, and living. Get out, sail and practice. Go for a day sail, anchor, have lunch. Go for a longer day sail, anchor and stay overnight. Keep building on what you learn. Over time your skills and knowledge will grow as will your confidence. You'll make lots of errors learn from them! When you start doing longer trips over several days you will bring too much stuff, not enough stuff and you will certainly run out of ice and cold beer a time or two. None of those are dealbreakers, learn, read, ask questions, but most importantly go out there and enjoy yourself and when you screw up, don't take it too seriously and learn from the experience.
Dave
The only real way to gain confidence sailing is to SAIL. I recommend Royce's Sailing Illustrated as a basic primer. It covers just about everything one needs to safely handle a small craft in a fun yet comprehensive format. No preachy tome here.
Remember, sailing isn't rocket science. Man has been sailing for millennia on everything from reed rafts to the pinnacle of sailing craft, the China Clippers. Going longer distances is just adding a day to yesterday's trip, over and over again.
I'm not one to recommend formal classes such as ASA, but if you learn better that way than by experience, it might be worth the money. I can't tell you to stick with it because it's something I like to do. That's a choice you have to make for yourself. But I will say that there is a lot more satisfaction in arriving in a new place on my boat than I ever had from paying an airline to get me there, or I imagine there would be from taking a cruise ship, God forbid.
Remember, sailing isn't rocket science. Man has been sailing for millennia on everything from reed rafts to the pinnacle of sailing craft, the China Clippers. Going longer distances is just adding a day to yesterday's trip, over and over again.
I'm not one to recommend formal classes such as ASA, but if you learn better that way than by experience, it might be worth the money. I can't tell you to stick with it because it's something I like to do. That's a choice you have to make for yourself. But I will say that there is a lot more satisfaction in arriving in a new place on my boat than I ever had from paying an airline to get me there, or I imagine there would be from taking a cruise ship, God forbid.
If you can sail her for one mile then sail her for another. If you have made short jaunts then do more until you are comfortable with them. Slowly increase your distance and you will get there.
The course is a great suggestion.
You may want to try to crew on a boat for a racing season. A lot of racers are looking for crew and you will learn a lot quickly by racing. It is an excellent way to learn sailing.
The course is a great suggestion.
You may want to try to crew on a boat for a racing season. A lot of racers are looking for crew and you will learn a lot quickly by racing. It is an excellent way to learn sailing.
Well, what'll it be?
Capta's quite right about how to gain confidence.
All the previous entries offer good advice ... ... but here's the thing.
If you don't have the "itch" to be on the boat, sailing, fixing, overnighting, cooking, floating, (fill in whatever excites you about sailing), or just being there, it's time to sell the boat.
Find her a good home with someone's that got the itch and pursue what gives you joy. It may be sailing again someday and that'll be great. It won't be sailing ever again however if your enthusiasm wains and the maintenance and upkeep becomes a burden followed, (eventually), by the chore of selling a run down boat at a price that disappoints you.
Good luck.
If you don't have the "itch" to be on the boat, sailing, fixing, overnighting, cooking, floating, (fill in whatever excites you about sailing), or just being there, it's time to sell the boat.
Find her a good home with someone's that got the itch and pursue what gives you joy. It may be sailing again someday and that'll be great. It won't be sailing ever again however if your enthusiasm wains and the maintenance and upkeep becomes a burden followed, (eventually), by the chore of selling a run down boat at a price that disappoints you.
Good luck.
"What is a long cruise?"
A long cruise is a series of short cruises, back-to-back.
No magic, just go.
I sailed from San Francisco to Vancouver Island last summer. A month and a half of 10 hour day sails from harbor to harbor up the coast.
No magic involved.
700 nautical miles.
Good luck, you can do it, don't over think it.
Keep the boat and have fun.
A long cruise is a series of short cruises, back-to-back.
No magic, just go.
I sailed from San Francisco to Vancouver Island last summer. A month and a half of 10 hour day sails from harbor to harbor up the coast.
No magic involved.
700 nautical miles.
Good luck, you can do it, don't over think it.
Keep the boat and have fun.
Correct, very good suggestion, great book.
Take a class or two, read stuff, hang out here at SBO and ask questions, sail the dang boat.
In my late teens (19-20), before I knew much (if really anything) about sailing living in the San Joaquin Valley of CA, I concocted a scheme with some buddies to sail around the world. We all got jobs, saved money, went to boat shows in Los Angeles to look for boats and to learn about them. Read books. Big dream that a lot of people seem to latch onto or similar to it. Well, the oldest guy who had the best finances--his wife divorced him about a year into this plan; another guy lost his job and moved to OK where the family lived; another decided he didn't like working so hard and dropped out, etc. So as a the lone "survivor" with all this money saved up--a lot for a 20-yr-old with a minimum-wage factory job, I took a trip to New Orleans (Mardi Gras) instead (where you did NOT have to be 21 to buy a drink)! Great fun. About twelve years later after college, grad school, a wife, and a real job, I finally got my first sailboat. I've been a boat owner and sailor ever since and still have not "sailed around the world", nor will I. It doesn't matter anymore. I love sailing, even if it's only a loop around the harbor on a afternoon of good wind. That has to be your first love or you should not expect anything else to work out. That's where the "Dream is Alive."
I've been a boat owner and sailor ever since and still have not "sailed around the world", nor will I. It doesn't matter anymore. I love sailing, even if it's only a loop around the harbor on a afternoon of good wind. That has to be your first love or you should not expect anything else to work out. That's where the "Dream is Alive."
Last edited:
At age of about 43 I had a friend who was supposed to teach me to sail right after buying our first sailboat (A MacGregor 26D.) ON the morning we were supposed to go he called to say that his wife and kids were sick. We decided we knew we could motor, so we put it in the water and motored out into the bay. My logic was; if we get uncomfortable we motor back in with sails down. It was dead calm, so we ate lunch. After a while, a light breeze came up so we put up sails and made 2 MPH. We learned to tack, Learned to crash jibe, and then learned to avoid a crash jibe. By the time the day was over we had about 10 kts of wind and were loving it.
I continued my learning by reading things and then jump on the boat and try it for myself. It worked, and I got lots of great information from online forums. This one is the best.
We sail in Puget Sound which has lots of fairly protected water. There are no ocean type swells unless things get really frisky. We spend lots of time just cruising around from Olympia to the Gulf Islands in Canada. I keep thinking someday up to Alaska via the inside (most protected) route. We'll see if that happens. I'm 61 now and fortunately able to retire 5 years ago. I suspect your area should be good for similar cruising fun.
Also, there are lots of folks who single hand because they have don't have anyone to go with them. Many would love to go out a time or two with you on their boat or on your boat. Just get to know them.
Ken
I continued my learning by reading things and then jump on the boat and try it for myself. It worked, and I got lots of great information from online forums. This one is the best.
We sail in Puget Sound which has lots of fairly protected water. There are no ocean type swells unless things get really frisky. We spend lots of time just cruising around from Olympia to the Gulf Islands in Canada. I keep thinking someday up to Alaska via the inside (most protected) route. We'll see if that happens. I'm 61 now and fortunately able to retire 5 years ago. I suspect your area should be good for similar cruising fun.
Also, there are lots of folks who single hand because they have don't have anyone to go with them. Many would love to go out a time or two with you on their boat or on your boat. Just get to know them.
Ken
Last edited:
The problem is not what to do when everything works well and it's sunny and warm. Its what to do when it's cold and dark and something is going wrong. The only way to get comfortable with that is experience and that can only be gained by doing. Start small and grow.- make day sails longer and longer until you are comfortable bringing her home after dark. Then plan for and execute linked day sails to a distant destination where you can duck for cover and overnight. Then get some experienced crew to do that or a similar trip overnight. Then just make the segments longer. As experience builds so will comfort level but at the end of the day no one knows what they don't know until they need to know it and so prior experience is the only thing that can possibly prepare you. Good luck, but keep the boat
Lots of excellent advice , here. Do take more classes. They do not have to be formal, expensive classes, either. Go out and sail. Get to know your boat thoroughly. Every nut, bolt, wiring, piping, etc. Everything! Another good primer is, "Sailing for Dummies". Covers just about everything in a very readable fashion. As you gain experience, the more in-depth sailing instruction books will make more sense. As mentioned above, the key is to get out there and sail. Do an overnighter. Do a weekend. Do a few days. Sail in different weather, nice and nasty. You may learn you don't really like it or you may find out you're addicted. You may also find out you need a bigger boat. Either way, it's better than getting a few days into a two month cruise and hating it or not being prepared for what Mother Nature throws at you. Good luck and stay tuned to this forum.
don't give up !!!! 1) look up and join your local US power squadron. they have a wealth of courses you can take at very reasonable prices. some classes are even on line. you get a 10% discount off your boat insurance for certain course completions..2) buy or download some paper charts, and learn what the symbols mean and how to plot a compass course back home without GPS aid. that way when your GPS and autopilot conk out you can get home safely. (that's how we did it in The Olden Days...)
You stated you know how to navigate, with navigation you know how to look at weather predictions, plot the course and go for it, sailing a mile or sailing a 1000 miles there is little difference other than time, pay attention to weather set goals with limits the rest will come.
A truly fantastic book. Covers everything, and well written. Get it. A used copy should cost all of $2!!! Great investment.
And don't let those small craft warining stop you from going out. You will want to know what to do when the breeze pipes up, like reading the weather so you reef early and not after you need to.......
Thank you all so much. All great advice! I was afraid to ask a stupid question but I guess it's true. ..the only stupid question is the one you're afraid to ask. I do love my boat. I've done all the maintenance and repairs myself with information gained from asking the awesome guys at Turner marina. This has definitely rekindled my desire to learn more and keep trying. And I did read sailing for dummies. I'll read it again and the others you suggested. And I would like to hook up with some racers to gain more hands on experience. I don't an abundance of money for classes but I really am interested in the courses offered by the power squadron and the coast guard axillary was a great bunch of guys. Thanks again. Charles