Do You Need Sailing Lessons?

If you aspire to owning a sailing boat or just want to try sailing should you bother with sailing lessons?

It’s possible to go sailing with friends if you are lucky or head down to the local yacht club and get a crewing position on one of their members boats for free. Certainly this is a good way to get some sailing experience.

However there are some disadvantages to only going down this avenue:-

The skipper and crew are not there to teach you and, even if willing, may not be suited to teaching.

Often until you have proved yourself you are assigned to a minor role in the crew.

Taking some sailing lessons can certainly speed up the learning process and provide you with a more rounded sailing education. A good instructor will make sure everyone understands what is happening and gets a go at everything. There are courses for all levels and you can be slotted in where appropriate.

Many sailing schools offer a lot more than lessons. Some organise sailing weekends or longer trips under the supervision of an instructor/skipper. This can broaden your knowledge and experience under sound professional guidance. Some sailing schools may have their own social races or enter the local yacht clubs races. Often there is a post sailing BBQ and drinks. All in all it can be a great way to meet a variety of people with a similar interest.

Alternatives to Standard Lessons

You can hire an instructor to take you sailing on your own boat if you are new to sailing. This can help you with procedures for reefing, gybing, MOB drills etc if you are going to be sailing shorthanded. Also in general sailing lessons, things like anchoring tend to dealt with fleetingly. Feedback from some novice cruisers suggests that they were well grounded in sailing and navigation but didn’t get much sleep whilst at anchor. This would also be a good oppurtunity to get some docking practice under some professional guidance.

To ensure a high standard of training always use a Yachting Australia approved training centre or instructor.