I joined the Navy at 16 as an apprentice. Our first leave was granted after 6 weeks. I was from Brisbane and was in Sydney and knew nobody there.

We were offered the opportunity of going to Schnapper Island off Balmain, which was the base for the naval Cadets, and participate in sailing activities.

I will remember this weekend till the day I die.

On the Saturday they just said "You three or four in that boat and you three or four in that one and away you go." No training or instruction and all arguing over who was the boss. The yachts were Corsairs being fibre glass and unsinkable. We all survived the day.

On the Sunday I had the great privilege of being crew (crew does what it is told) with a couple of other sprogs (newbies who know nothing) under the command of a couple of experienced sailors on a magnificent traditional clinker built open sailing boat about 15 or 18 foot long that was fully varnished.

The two old hands shouted at us "Get out on the windward rail you useless sprogs!!!!" and sailed the yacht till the leeward rail buried in the briny. Then they yelled "Do you want to go swimming?? No?? Well bail that frigging water out!!!"

You should experience something like that to appreciate what it is all about.

One hand for yourself and one for your ship.

Nice one Cisco. We're not all that fortunate. Interesting question.

I did Intro to Sailing I think it was with a woman in Sydney with a 33 foot modern luxury yacht. Nice and gentle intro. Then a couple of entry level courses (Keelboat Crew and Keelboat Helm) with a sailing school on J24s. That was great because they're so responsive; you could instantly feel the effect of whatever you were adjusting. I did a few social races as crew but didn't learn much; unfortunate match with poor skipper imho. It would have bee good to do more crewing I think. Would have done some coastal or offshore stuff if I could have taken the weekends off but couldn't. I read everything I could; books I bought, library books, online resources, and also watched every sailing video I could find.

So with only that tiny amount of experience I bought a boat. Not enough experience or education to skipper a boat especially considering I bought what was probably a good second boat - 31 footer. Got the original owner to take me out for a sail and then some boat owner friends of my wife to take us out and chaperone us for a couple of days. After that I took things slowly; motored then foresail only then mainsail on gentle days.

Just over a year later I'm still on the learning curve. Quite happy to sail under main and jib through a busy harbour, pop out through the heads on a low swell, anchor for lunch, etc and still refitting the boat, learning tonnes. Not pushing myself or the boat until we're ready. Have just connected with a cruising club that is active and full of experienced cruisers who do small trips together. Next step is navigation and seamanship level stuff. I see myself as someone who is quite cautious and sensible but really didn't have much access to experienced sailors. Plus, I seem not to be that happy as crew (for any length of time anyway). Boat ownership was the (high) price I pay for that.

Sailing has always been a part of my life thanks to my dad. He owned a yacht before I was even on this planet and so growing up for as long as I can remember Saturday afternoons in summer, dad went sailing (racing). As a kid I used to go along with him now and then but there wasn't a lot for a little kid to do on a racing yacht so it was a little boring. As I got older however I was able to get more involved and that made it more interesting. I somehow missed the dinghy intro to sailing that most kids have these days and it was dad that really taught me to sail.

Sundays were often spent picnic cruising. A sail, drop the anchor, have a swim and a bite to eat, another swim before sailing home on the afternoon sea breeze. Generally there was always a bunch of my parents friends (most of the guys were dad's crew) along with their kids also. If it was just us and the conditions were right my brother and I would plead with mum and dad to stay out on the yacht for the night and we would make up a dinner of lunch leftovers and fall asleep listening to the sounds of the water lapping on the hull.

Now, one generation later the same cycle is repeating. A bunch of my mates and I sail regularly during the summer, do the twilight races and a few other events during the year. Essentially it is a good excuse for us to catch up with each other now that there are so many competing priorities (wives, children, work commitments). And my wife loves a nice cruisey picnic sail.

Len76 - you are never too old to learn and your enthusiasm is commendable. Like in any sphere of life there are dick heads in the sailing world also but if you are open and friendly you will not have any difficulty finding those that are happy to lend advice and help you on your way. My advice to you - don't bite off more than you can chew at once. Build on your knowledge and skills gradually, be open to advice and ask lots of questions. Hang out at your local yacht club and you will find likeminded people that are willing to share the joy of sailing with you. But above all enjoy yourself because there are days out on the water when all is going well and the yacht is humming along in the groove that are just magical.

I started off by reading the classics - Hiscock, Slocum, Chichester then studied the multis, which were very poorly regarded in those days !

Finally built a Wharram design and spent a few months with a guy that knew how to sail. Set out from Plymouth UK and after a thrashing in Biscay,arrived Gibraltar as a qualified " old salt".

I believe that the biggest danger is land and other things that get in the way. A sound boat , a fair knowledge and then space to practise set me in good stead. Hope this is of interest to you.

BobFord said..

I believe that the biggest danger is land and other things that get in the way. A sound boat , a fair knowledge and then space to practise set me in good stead. Hope this is of interest to you.

All valid points, but I believe the biggest danger to the new sailor is an overconfidence of their knowledge or abilities, especially when the shyte hits the ventilator.

Too many times people ask what sort of boat they should get to go world cruising without once ever stopping to ask if they themselves are up to the task. More often than not, the boat is way more capable than what the new sailor is.

I bought a yacht with zero experience, never even stood on a boat.

Watched how to sail videos on youtube. Sailed over 100kms to home.

Never had a lesson, never had a skippers ticket, didnt even know how to reef my main which would have been handy on my first voyage.

6 months later and over 1000 miles under my belt, day and night sailing, solo, with passengers, offshore with no land in sight and still dont feel i really know what i'm doing.

Guess i have been lucky nothing bad has happened. Comes down to good first boat choice.

Couldn't have done any of this if i had of picked a boat that was too big, to concretey or too old.

Oh I missed this thread lucky I found it for some more riveting entertainment!

I was on the tiller in Sydney harbour when I was just 6 months old (photos and a DVD to prove it!).
By the age of 15 I was sailing the gulfs with my ratbag mates on the same keel boat.

Anyway your statement claiming you can learn to sail in a few hours is just outrages I assume your only joking Len?
The ocean is a dangerous place and only experence and focus will get you back to the shore safely.

Sailing overseas you will need high navigation and weather forecasting skills? Do you know what cross track error? Lat and long? High and low pressure systems are? Current flows? Etc? Would you take a map or a chart with you? Omg

After 35 years of sailing and messing round in boats I'm still learning.