"Andy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Gary wrote:
Andy wrote:

My wife and I bought a 36 footer and cruised from San Diego to Panama
City and back after about 24 hours of instruction, a few day sails
around San Diego Bay, and copious amounts of reading about cruising,
navigation, anchoring, etc.

You are very lucky.

Gaz

Why do you say we were very lucky? What exactly does one need a lot of
experience with before going coastal cruising that can't be learned
from books?

The actual sailing part of cruising is pretty simple and
straightfoward. While it could easily take a lifetime to master the art
of sailing for maximum speed, for purposes of cruising you just need to
know how to roughly trim the sails.

Navigation, especially with a GPS, is pretty straightforward and can be
learned from books.

Anchoring is an important skill, but it can really be learned from
books, and getting an oversized anchor can provide a good safety
margin.

The other skill needed for cruising, which is repair and maintenance of
the boat and its systems, is not really taught in sailing courses
anyways, and in any event, those can be picked up from books too.

Andy


OMG you are kidding right? That information is dangerous.

Seamanship can not be just learned from books. I must be taught under the
instruction of an experienced sailor or qualified instructor.

A bigger anchor is "not" the solution to anchoring problems. Rode, Warp,
Chain, Anchor type are many of the considerations that must be taken into
account when anchoring. Not to mention swing, tidal increases/decreases,
other boats. Anchor watches. Transits. Doing it on the water with an
instructor the right way to do it. Not grabbing a book and hoping for the
best.

You can not learn a proper MOB recovery from a book. It has to be done on
the water. The information learned while with an instructor is invaluable.
Sunlight, wave action, leeway, headsails, drift, short-handedness are all
things that can not be experienced in a book and can only be experienced in
a proper drill.

Radio use cannot be learned from books. Proper courses must be used to
ensure the person knows the proper procedures and fully understands their
obligations when on VHF or MF/HF.

Picking up moorings and sailing on and off jetties can be read about in
books too. But it needs to be done under the supervision of a good
instructor for the safety of the boat at least. The book doesn't give you a
feel for the boat. A feel for the wind and a feel for the wave action.

Reefing, sail changes, knots, groundings. That is four more subjects off the
top of my head. There are so many others to learn the RIGHT way too.

Books are fine, but as a tool that assists with on water learning. The blasé
comment you made about learning from books is ridiculous and dangerous
though.

DP