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Training for sailboats/yachts
"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 |
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