Safety
First of all, you need to be comfortable with deep water.
- Being able to swim is neccessary; you need to keep your cool if you fall in.
- Being able to swim well is not neccessary. Each sailor will be wearing a personal buoyancy aid. This will keep you afloat, you just need to keep your head out of the water.
Safety is paramount. Whenever anyone is sailing, there is at least one dedicated safety boat which can get to you quickly, should the need arise.
Experience
If you have never sailed before, you’ll probably need some help. The club is a registered RYA training establishment. Our courses are run for members of the club and the Scout Association.
The introductory courses run annually, May to July on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. An additional course is run over three weekends in September.
Please contact Ian Cox for course details.
Technique
Now that you know the pointy end from the blunt, and that the flappy thing should point towards the sky, you need to improve. Here are some ideas on how to do that.
- Consider sailing with someone more experienced than you. You’ll soon pick up stuff beyond the basics.
- Join in with the club racing. It’s just a list of buoys to visit in a particular order. Sailing in a race puts you closer to more able sailors, giving you boat handling practice and something to measure your progress against.
- Read books, web pages and watch movies. Immerse yourself and alien topics will become second nature.
- Enjoy your time on the water, and talk things through afterwards. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.