Sailing wise there is no substitute for practical experience, but if you haven't got a yacht of your own, chartering one is expensive.
Alison's brother has a 30 ft Colvic motorsailer moored at Whitby. He offered to take us out on it.
Once out of the River Esk the sea was quite choppy as we bounced about uncomfortably. Sleeker yachts than ours cut gracefully through the water past us, heading in the direction of Sands End.
Alison's brother David did not want to risk putting up the sails with an inexperienced crew, so we turned around and went back to port. Don't blame him but we were disappointed.
We decided to hit the classroom and enrolled on a RYA Day Skipper night class. Taught by the very knowledgable David Williams.
Julie came with us to gain some nautical knowledge as her hubby Roger was up to Yacht Master.
It was all pretty new to us and we found it quite difficult, especially without much practical experience under our belts, or a boat to practice what we were learning.
We are so glad we did the course though. We would have probably gone sailing regardless and been a hazard to ourselves and others by not knowing navigation, tidal streams, what each buoy signifies, the rules of the road etc...
There were others on the course with plenty of experience who learnt a thing or two also.
When summer came we booked a 5 day, 1 night Day Skipper Practical course with B & M Sailing aboard 'Silora'.
Skippered by Paul Gretton.
Everything came together, as what we had learnt in the classroom was put into practice.
We hadn't done the Competent Crew course which we should have done first.
Mainly because I'd had plenty of holiday experience on my parents cabin cruiser and Alison's family were keen on boats.
In retrospect it wouldn't have done us any harm and we would have gained a more gentle entry into the workings of a yacht.
As it was we were on a steep learning curve and agreed with Skipper Paul that if we weren't up to scratch after the 5 days he would just 'pass' us as competent crew and not Day Skippers.
Paul was very patient with us. Especially Alison, as I had told him of her mental problems. If we were doing something wrong he would just let us muck it up, explain where we went wrong and we'd do it again.
The same applied to the other two guys on the boat also. David and Paul. We got along well.
At the end of the week we did the night sail part. How different it is to day sailing. You listen for the buoy's bells and have to keep a keener look out as the shore lights are dazzling.
Alison and I were given the task of doing the pilot plan to get us back into Hartlepool. We were chuffed, after a successful pilotage, when Skipper Paul told us it was the best plan he'd seen.
We both passed the course as Day Skippers.
Here is a video took at Runswick Bay.
Bob Moncur sailing course rare downtime - YouTube
www.youtube.com/w...
Jul 8, 2010
Another year another night class.
We enrolled on the RYA Yacht Master course.
Julie didn't come with us as she said Roger would be doing the skippering and she was already way over qualified to open a tin of chilli-con-carne.
We both passed the course and were glad that we had gained a more comprehensive knowledge on our chosen subject.
Another step closer.
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