Mates: A friend of mine called me to tell me he wanted to teach his wife to sail and wanted to know if I have any suggestions as to how he should go about it. My first suggestion was DON'T DO IT - send her to a sailing school!! I then got to thinking about it and thought how many of us have had friends come onboard and asked us how does the boat sail? When I get that question and feel the friend is really interested here are some of the drills I use to teach basic fundamentals. Even if I suspect he is not interested I go through these drills to sharpen my own skills. To show how the boat works and what makes it go you can use a stop and start drill. Start on a beam reach and ease the main and jib out slowly. The boat will start to slow down and will eventually stop. Now trim in the sails and the boat will start to move forward. Do it a couple of times and then when you get the boat going at full speed have him look at the sails so he knows what a nicely trimmed set of sails look like. Here's a tip to remember when reaching - the most efficent trim is when the sails are on the verge of luffing. Some sailors may think that the harder they trim in while reaching the faster they go but that is not true. When your demonstrating the above drill check out what I'm saying and "when in doubt let it out". To show the difference between sailing a course when the sails are trimmed in and out verses sailing according to the wind where the sails are set and the boats course is adjusted relative to the wind is pretty easy. This concept is sometimes confusing to beginners. Again, sail on a reach and get your sails properly set. Now head up until the sails luff and the boat slows. DON'T let the boat lose all headway. Now head off and let the sails fill. Next, give the helm to your guest and tell him to sail a straight course. Have him bring the boat up and when the sails start to luff he should bear off before the boat slows down. Next time your out on the water, with a friend or not, take a few minutes and try those drills. It may help some of you learn a few things yourself. It will certainly teach you how to control your boat. That takes care of the reaching aspect. Next session I'll give you some close hauled drills.
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Don, Make it easier
I know you're doing sail trim, but MATES are other people, too. So, ask them to tend the wheel or tiller when they're new to sailing. My experience is that most new folks love to drive.
Thanks for all your input on this forum. Stu
I know you're doing sail trim, but MATES are other people, too. So, ask them to tend the wheel or tiller when they're new to sailing. My experience is that most new folks love to drive.
Thanks for all your input on this forum. Stu
Great Tips, Don
Great Tips - & it just so happens I have some students, and a new boat to boot. After I told them about Optimists, my kids have been begging me to rent them one, little do they know about what Dad just did. Optis are pricey to buy, but a $200 Holder Hawk (9') just found me - hard to rent anything much time for that. Right at kid size & we have a sailing pond 2 blocks away (with no traffic worries) to learn on. So - sail trim, hmmm. Luff sock, no halyard, cunningham, no traveller, vang and mainsheet. Just enough to work with, not enough to be tooo hard. I think that I will start with one telltale in the middle of the sail and work up from there. What do I say when he blows by me? "Hey Dad, you gotta adjust the . . . if your going to keep up with me!" Good Drills.
Great Tips - & it just so happens I have some students, and a new boat to boot. After I told them about Optimists, my kids have been begging me to rent them one, little do they know about what Dad just did. Optis are pricey to buy, but a $200 Holder Hawk (9') just found me - hard to rent anything much time for that. Right at kid size & we have a sailing pond 2 blocks away (with no traffic worries) to learn on. So - sail trim, hmmm. Luff sock, no halyard, cunningham, no traveller, vang and mainsheet. Just enough to work with, not enough to be tooo hard. I think that I will start with one telltale in the middle of the sail and work up from there. What do I say when he blows by me? "Hey Dad, you gotta adjust the . . . if your going to keep up with me!" Good Drills.
Let 'em drive
I ommited an important part of "teaching a friend to sail". I thought it would be understood but I should have mentioned it. How would you like me to teach you to hit a baseball or tennis ball but never gave you the bat or racket? How interesting would that be? You have to get the person your teaching anything to involved and with sailing the easiest way is to get them to take the wheel. Generally, when we have guests on board I don't even talk about sailing or sail trim - I just let them enjoy the boating experience. My wife starts warning me about talking sailing as soon as the car leaves the garage and we lived 45 minutes from the marina and I have to listen to it all the way there!! After about 1 hour on the boat the time is about right and normally it is the gal who will broach the subject. I'm pretty good at getting people to broach the subject and without ticking off my wife and I do it by busying myself with the controls but still paying attention to the guests. Eventually, one of them will ask me what I'm doing. As soon as that happens I ask the gal if she would like to try steering the boat and in the same sentence I tell her I'll be right along side her so nothing will happen. A funny thing happens after 10 minutes behind the wheel - she does not want to give it up and now the guy wants to drive. When you introduce someone to sailing you become an ambassador to the sport. In my case, I'm giving something back to a sport that has given me so much over the years. My wife tells me you can't push people into it and I don't - well, I do nudge them a bit but only because I know how much enjoyment and relaxation they will get out of it.I have intoduced a few people to the sport who enjoyed it so much they purchased boats of their own. Now that give me a lot of satisfaction. In a couple of days I'll discuss some easy to learn closehaul fundamentals.
I ommited an important part of "teaching a friend to sail". I thought it would be understood but I should have mentioned it. How would you like me to teach you to hit a baseball or tennis ball but never gave you the bat or racket? How interesting would that be? You have to get the person your teaching anything to involved and with sailing the easiest way is to get them to take the wheel. Generally, when we have guests on board I don't even talk about sailing or sail trim - I just let them enjoy the boating experience. My wife starts warning me about talking sailing as soon as the car leaves the garage and we lived 45 minutes from the marina and I have to listen to it all the way there!! After about 1 hour on the boat the time is about right and normally it is the gal who will broach the subject. I'm pretty good at getting people to broach the subject and without ticking off my wife and I do it by busying myself with the controls but still paying attention to the guests. Eventually, one of them will ask me what I'm doing. As soon as that happens I ask the gal if she would like to try steering the boat and in the same sentence I tell her I'll be right along side her so nothing will happen. A funny thing happens after 10 minutes behind the wheel - she does not want to give it up and now the guy wants to drive. When you introduce someone to sailing you become an ambassador to the sport. In my case, I'm giving something back to a sport that has given me so much over the years. My wife tells me you can't push people into it and I don't - well, I do nudge them a bit but only because I know how much enjoyment and relaxation they will get out of it.I have intoduced a few people to the sport who enjoyed it so much they purchased boats of their own. Now that give me a lot of satisfaction. In a couple of days I'll discuss some easy to learn closehaul fundamentals.
Driving
Its funny, I used to crew on a J24 but stopped because I got tired of being rail meat. Never got to drive. So I bought my own boat. But if I have a new sailer on board, I love to let them drive. It is so much fun to see them having fun doing what I love. Brian
Its funny, I used to crew on a J24 but stopped because I got tired of being rail meat. Never got to drive. So I bought my own boat. But if I have a new sailer on board, I love to let them drive. It is so much fun to see them having fun doing what I love. Brian
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