Becoming a Sailor

30 posts

Learning to sail

Learning to Sail describes when Rick and I completed our sail training courses in the Caribbean and invited a skipper aboard for the first few weeks until we gained confidence handling the boat on our own.

  1. Leaving My Family for Antigua Sailing Week: Mixed Feelings

    A stay-at-home mom of four leaves for three weeks of Antigua Sailing Week on a Farr 65: the worry, the stocked pantry, and a husband selling the couch.

  2. RYA Day Skipper Theory Online: It’s Not Child’s Play

    Studying the RYA Day Skipper Theory course online: tides, dead reckoning, collision rules and weather, and being told to redo sections before the exam.

  3. In Transit or In Range: Trail Markers of the Sea

    How sailors line up two landmarks, such as leading lights, chimneys or lighthouses, to follow a safe channel: being 'in transit' (UK) or 'in range'.

  4. RYA Day Skipper Anchoring —Navigating Namely Harbour Safely

    Stuck on the RYA Day Skipper Namely Harbour anchoring and tide question? How tide tables prepared us for real anchoring, down to 6 inches under our keels.

  5. Sailing Terms for Beginners: Shrouds, Reefing and Twiddly Bits

    Beginner sailing terms as I learned them: shrouds, forestay and backstay, spreaders, crosstrees, reefing, the Portland plotter, and why some say 'looward'.

  6. Family Sailing Transition: Preparation and Chaos

    An outhaul car slides along the boom and tensions the foot of the sail. I learned this when one broke in Rick's Grenada race, the week Paul got stitches.

  7. Rats on a Boat: How They Get Aboard and How to Remove Them

    An 8-inch rat in Rick's bunk on a Farr 65 in Barbados. Where ship rats live, how far they swim, and three ways to get rid of them: a cat, traps or poison.

  8. Hiking in Sailing: Why Sail Racers Sit on the High Side

    Hiking in sailing means sitting out on the windward side to cut heel and go faster. What it means, why race boats carry extra crew, and how it felt.

  9. Annapolis Boat Show for Beginners: 4 Things to Know

    First time at the Annapolis Boat Show? Wear slip-on shoes, tune out the show-offs, expect seasickness on the docks and be yourself. Tips from a beginner.

  10. Sailing Navigation Without GPS: Charting a Course by Hand

    What charting a course by hand means for sailors: drawing vectors with callipers and a chart plotter to allow for wind and tide when the GPS fails.