Lots of sailing and yacht clubs are looking for new members, and you don't have to own a boat to join. As well as looking for members, most clubs offer instruction in the fundamentals of sailing. This should include some terminology, general boat safety, “rules of the road”, and some theory about how a sailing boat sails. Lots of these courses are low cost, or free to join. Part of the fundamentals of sailing is the terminology associated with sailing. This can be a little confusing to a novice at times. Even simple things you may take for granted like left and right, and moving backwards and forwards, all have their own terms left becomes port, right becomes starboard, backwards is astern, whilst forward is still actually forward, though may be pronounced forard. Another basic fact in the fundamentals of sailing is that there are no ropes on a boat. Even though there appear to be millions of them going everywhere, they are know as lines (for mooring boat), sheets (for controlling sails), halyards (for pulling sails up and down). To avoid confusion aboard a boat it is therefore necessary to learn the fundamentals of sailing, preferably before taking to the water. This will allow you to concentrate on enjoying your day out on the water, and not be wondering what everyone is talking about. Once the fundamentals of sailing have been learned, you can then start to improve on them. This improvement will make your sailing both safer, and more enjoyable for you. You will find that whatever situation arises whilst sailing, you will have the skills to deal with it, and you will be able to pass on the fundamentals of sailing to the next generation of sailors. As your sailing skills improve you may wish to venture further afield, and take sailing vacations. This may be in your own sailing yacht , or you may wish to embark on a yacht charter vacation. This can be in your own home waters, or may be somewhere more exotic such as a Carribean yacht charter. Wherever you go, you will know that you will enjoy the experience more having first mastered the fundamentals of sailing.
I'm 40 + (or even a few more +'s to be accurate ! ) I am currently working as a nurse, but I am planning to retire in a few years, when I'm 55. I own a 26' sailing boat (yacht) and I am in the process of buying a 38' boat which once refurbished, and made seaworthy, I will live on. Then once retired, my dream is to sail around the world – well, we all need a Dream!
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