On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 12:53:37 +0000 (UTC), John Forkosh
wrote:


Rodney Myrvaagnes rodneym at attglobal dot net wrote:
I know that Newport SS has weekend overnight trips on a J36, or at
least has for the last two seasons. Sometimes it leaves for longer
trips. They also organize winter charters in the Caribbean where one
could gain experience.

I haven't done any of these myself. I know a couple that took the
basic keelboat course there on the J24s, and seemed happy with it. I
afterwards had them out on our boat and they had certainly learned the
baics.

Colgate's, the next school downstream, has a Hunter in the mid 30s
that I see out quite a bit, but it might be just a daysail as you
said.

Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

I wasn't aware of Newport's weekend club sails on J/36
(spent weekend on it during coastal course) and, since
already paid up for the season anyway, will check it out --
do I know you from there???

I have the other J36, the dark blue one farther down the dock from
Rick's.

I have seen them doing docking practice on the school J36, out on the
T end. Their J36 has a non-folding prop, which I am sure makes it
easier for a beginner to use in reverse.

And I've tried but so far failed
to arrange time for BVI cruise. Actually, I understand it's
much more of a party trip, but I've certainly got no problem
with that and I guess you can learn a lot about sailing in the
meantime (is there such a thing as "designated skipper"?.

I took Newport's basic course, and Rick is by far the
best classroom teacher. Had different instructors on
the J/24's, but they were terrific, too. And, abandoning
my original constraint not to say anything explicitly negative,
Manhattan's basic classroom session was _completely_ unprepared,
and their instructors were certainly okay but still a notch or
two below Newport's. (Note: there were three years between
courses, so I re-took it as a refresher, and tried Manhattan
the second time for comparison.)
Nevertheless, I'd say (in my extremely limited capacity)
that the basic course from either school teaches you absolutely
everything you'd expect from such a course, and even a bit more.
So far, for me anyway, getting significantly beyond that is
what's been my problem.
That is, the coastal course (like the club day sails)
consisted of little more than tacking and jibing and handling
the running rigging on a biggger boat (with a few extra pinches
of navigation and navigational aids, running lights, etc,
thrown in for good measure).

Navigation, aids, running lights, and such you will get from classroom
courses offered by the USCG Auxiliary and the US Power Squadron.

You should take the basic safety and seamanship from one of these in
any case. A follow-on course in coastal piloting is also useful.

Since the instructors are volunteers the quality is quite variable,
but you will learn something, and get an idea what else you need ot
study.

You might also join a sailing club, like New York Sailing Club, whose
first purpose is to put boat owners together with those who would like
to sail but don't have a boat. Check

www.newyorksailingclub.com/

It meets monthly September to May at Raymond's Cafe, 88 7th Ave, NYC.
There are on-water events in the sailing season.

But docking, setting anchor,
engine, radio, electrical, and most other stuff discussed
in the book, weren't covered in the course. Stuff you need
to begin to move from crew to skipper.

Books (remember those?) are your friend. Also The Practical Sailor is
a newsletter for boat owners that is especially useful for owners of
older boats. The newsletter itself is supported entirely by
subscriptions, so it seems pricy at first. I think it is worth it.

The publishers also put out a series of books on buying boats,
maintaining, etc that may still be in print.
I'd hazard to guess part of the problem is that the
basic course had some 25 students every week, whereas my
coastal course had three and was given four times that season.
Most of the money (in the New York City area, anyway) seems
to come from the basic course. After that, club dues, etc,
seem to generate the most revenue, from members who usually
already know everything they want to. Coastal and other
courses seem to contribute no more than a drop in the bucket.
And I guess I'm not suggesting schools be obliged to put
lots of effort and resources into non-money-making courses
that I happen to want (though it wouldn't seem to take lots
of extra effort to do the course right once you're doing it
at all). But I am asking how/where I can learn what I want.

And, meanwhile, thanks again, everybody,
for your answers to that question (and sorry
about that "real sailor" thing -- hope I've
cleared up what I was trying to say),
--


Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a


"Be careful. The toe you stepped on yesterday may be connected to the ass you have to kiss today." --Former mayor Ciancia