# Learning to sail?



## mattie (Jun 3, 2010)

I realise that you landlubbers probably don’t have a clue, but I'm too scared to go and ask on a sailing forum.

Anyone know a good place to learn how to sail in the Brizzle/Bath environs?  Keen to start small - but perhaps bigger than a laser - and learn the theory for larger boats.

I've got a RYA Powerboat Level 2 Licence and a shortwave radio licence - but my scuba kit was nicked with all my cards in so I've no documentation - would this be of any relevance to sailing?

Ahoy etc


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## kyser_soze (Jun 3, 2010)

Sailing is probably the most non-prole thing you can do, so along with your climbing everyone here will probably hate you.


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## Diamond (Jun 3, 2010)

I used to be a dinghy sailing instructor. Is that the kind of thing you're after?


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## mattie (Jun 3, 2010)

kyser_soze said:


> Sailing is probably the most non-prole thing you can do, so along with your climbing everyone here will probably hate you.



Climbing?

Anyway, we're a seafaring race.


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## mattie (Jun 3, 2010)

Diamond said:


> I used to be a dinghy sailing instructor. Is that the kind of thing you're after?




Yep, that's it!

How easy is it to learn, btw?  Was also thinking of going for day skipper in the longer term.  Just to be called skipper.


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## Sweet FA (Jun 3, 2010)

My brother's just done his first sailing qualification. Though he went to Croatia to do it so I don't suppose that's very helpful. 

This is part of an email he sent me when he got back :

"It was frankly fucking ace. Pretty technical but amazing when you've cracked it, catching force 5 winds and bellowing things like "lee ho!" whatever the fuck that means while dolphins are leaping around off the right hand pointy end. 

As ever, sports that rich people do are brilliant, which is why rich people do them. But jesus, rich people. Braying loudmouth dipshit ginswilling fucking walking Daily Mail editorials every one. One more course and I can charter my own boat, paint the fucker black and install a cannon".


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## mattie (Jun 3, 2010)

Sweet FA said:


> My brother's just done his first sailing qualification. Though he went to Croatia to do it so I don't suppose that's very helpful.
> 
> This is part of an email he sent me when he got back :
> 
> ...



That's his chrimbo present sorted then.  A parrot and an eyepatch.


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## fogbat (Jun 3, 2010)

Dinghy sailing is _awesome_. Especially if you get to go on the trapeze.

And I used to do it in Cardiff, at a Local Authority funded place. Some of the kids were horribly common. Though quite a lot weren't.


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## Spion (Jun 3, 2010)

kyser_soze said:


> Sailing is probably the most non-prole thing you can do, so along with your climbing everyone here will probably hate you.


Not entirely true. It depends what you're sailing and where. Where I am (the NW) most of the dinghy side of the club is made up of current and retired skilled workers and there's quite a tradition of post-war w/c dinghy sailing and building. A large part of the pastime is a technical craft - it's a perfect fit with the skilled worker strata. Or was


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## Spion (Jun 3, 2010)

mattie said:


> I realise that you landlubbers probably don’t have a clue, but I'm too scared to go and ask on a sailing forum.
> 
> Anyone know a good place to learn how to sail in the Brizzle/Bath environs?  Keen to start small - but perhaps bigger than a laser - and learn the theory for larger boats.
> 
> ...


Look for somewhere doing RYA Dinghy Level 1 (or 2 if you feel that's where you're at). I'd google it and add Bristol/Bath to the search.

The relevance of power boat 2 to sailing is that you should have learned about the effect of tide and wind on the boat when maneovering at close quarters. Maybe rules of the road too, but I dunno having not done it.

Day Skipper is not as focussed on actual sailing as the dinghy courses. It contains basic navigation, some boat handling, MOB - the basics for sailing your own small boat in the daytime in familiar waters.

HTH
Spion (RYA Coastal Skipper)


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## Spion (Jun 3, 2010)

How bout this lot? 

http://www.clevedon-sailing-club.co.uk/

I'd learn where it's tidal btw. Best to get that factored in to your thinking from the start, IMO


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## mattie (Jun 3, 2010)

Ta for comments.

I saw day skipper as a complementary but seperate course, mainly done out of a classroom.  Is that correct?

First steps will be getting the hang of sailing, can't recall much of the powerboat course but we did practice mooring quite a bit.  Tricky as hell in a pure inflatable, simple in a RIB.  I suspect murder in a sailboat.

We learnt about etiquette, again can't recall it but I'm sure a quick read will remind me.

I've had a look at a few places, one club sails on the Avon?  Tempted to go there as you're never more than 20 yards from dry land!


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## Spion (Jun 3, 2010)

mattie said:


> Ta for comments.
> 
> I saw day skipper as a complementary but seperate course, mainly done out of a classroom.  Is that correct?!


You do a theory course of either 25 evenings or 3 or 4 full weekends plus a practical of 5 days. 



mattie said:


> I've had a look at a few places, one club sails on the Avon?  Tempted to go there as you're never more than 20 yards from dry land!


 LOL. There'll be safety boats on hand wherever you are training


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## Diamond (Jun 3, 2010)

Yep, RYA levels 1 and 2 are where to start.

Getting the initial technique sorted out can be a little bit tricky/counter-intuitive. It involves a fair bit of co-ordination to tack and gybe effectively in a dinghy, especially the relatively slow ones that they start you out in.

But once you've got that under control, you're more or less set in terms of having a base to work on.

The tricky parts come in when you want to sail efficiently, i.e. faster, that is working out how your boat should be balanced, trimmed, what you should be doing with your daggerboard and so on.

But you could start learning the points of sail more or less now and you'd be one step ahead of the rest.

Lasers are great fun - though you need to be quite heavy to sail them to their fullest potential.

In the long run asymmetric dinghies are where it's at.

Give it a couple of years, a shedload of cash and some enthusiastic mates and you could be sailing something like this:


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## BlackArab (Jun 3, 2010)

http://www.bristolsailingschool.co.uk/

google is indeed our friend. I used to live in Hotwells and if its the same lot I'm pretty sure they do their lessons in the docks near the SS Great Britain. If you do get there you may need to look into whether jabs for leptospirosis unless the water quality has improved in recent years.


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## mattie (Jun 7, 2010)

Feedback - I went to the Bristol Avon Sailing Club Open Day, they're in Saltford and sail along a mile-long stretch of the Avon.  Looked pleasant enough, decent people there as well, and you can borrow club boats for a few quid as part of membership.

Lessons not until May next year though, but will try to get out as a buddy to literally learn the ropes.


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