If you’re an experienced sailor and you’re in a relationship with someone who doesn’t know, but wants to learn, the ropes, your best option is to book them in to a series of courses at a sailing school. Why? Because there will be fewer disagreements on your boat and they will not pick up your bad habits!
If you need help in selecting such a course, you may want to read my article, How to Find a Good Sailing School – 10 Questions You Should Ask .
If you plan to take off on an extended cruise, you really need to be sure that your other half has received sound training and, hopefully, picked up some qualifications along the way.
For example, when navigating a passage. If your partner becomes skilled on the helm, you will be able to go below and check the charts, update your position and make any corrections to the course, knowing that the boat is in safe hands.
The level of skills you should share also depends on whether you carry crew. If there are just the two of you, the ideal is for you to have equal skills, particularly if you plan on ocean travel.
So, the basic rule should be, the fewer of you and the further you go, the more you need to know.
No one would want to be left in tragic circumstances in the middle of an ocean without the ability to get home alone.
Got something you’d like to add? Please leave a comment, below.
Tags: good sailing school
That’s exactly what our family did years ago when I was feeling dessicated in the desert and wanting to buy what would be our first boat. We combined sailing lessons with pleasure by taking a half-week of basic keelboat classes in Santa Barbara, California. We also took time for leisure, with visits to a winery and a trip to Catalina Island. It worked very well to get myself, who mostly was experienced with power boats, my spouse, and then ten-year-old son a basic common set of skills and vocabulary.
I think everyone on the boat should have about the same skills. Its also good to get kids involved just in case there’s some emergency, they can be familiar with the boat and won’t panic and could even be helpful.