Enough is enough

Just how do you know when you’re ready to take a boat out on your own

The most surprising thing for the majority of RYA Day Skipper  candidates I’ve sailed with down the years is that they actually pass. I know it was pretty damned surprising to me.

A good instructor will give you the opportunity to take on each part of the syllabus – plan a passage, skipper the passage, park in the marina, take the boat out and so on, safe in the knowledge that he’s keeping a watchful eye on you and giving you a review of your performance at the end. But even the best of the best can only give each candidate one or two goes at each task, and for most of us those first times don’t go very smoothly. Many a candidate finds themselves pretty dispirited by the middle of their course and far from confident they’ll get that piece of paper at the end of it.

Probably the most valuable lesson most of us take away from those beginner’s courses is that the piece of paper at the end of it isn’t enough.

But how do you know what is enough?

Not enough

So, you know you need more experience before taking a boat out yourself and fortunately there are plenty of ways to get it. Most sailing schools also run mile-building weeks or sailing holidays, rather like a skippered charter with some training and tips thrown in. Sailing clubs will give you a chance to crew for other people and web-sites like Crewseekers can help you find opportunities to get out on the water in interesting places too.

And you could always go for a higher qualification, such as Coastal Skipper  or Yachtmaster so you’ve got something tangible to show for all that extra mileage.

More than enough

When sailing other people’s boats though, you’re limited to the things the owner will let you do. This may well exclude many of the areas (like parking) that you’re most concerned about. You may enjoy crewing other people’s boats for the sailing break itself but you’ll probably find you quickly reach the limits of the rope-monkeying left for you. More advanced education without a solid experience base to build on can be both unfulfilling and distracting, and the cost of all those mile-builder weeks with tuition can soon mount up while you’re still only getting perhaps one or two goes at the areas you feel you need to gain experience.

And even the most sociable of us can get tired of being thrown together with a bunch of strangers for a week in a potentially packed sailboat when all you really want to do is sail on your own, or with friends and family, going where you please when you please.

So how do you know if you’re really ready to take the next step and go solo? And how do you take it?

Enough is enough

How much experience you really need depends on what you want to do next. If you’re planning a friends-and-family charter in a sailing hot-spot you’ll almost certainly find you get plenty of help from marina staff when parking your boat, and from the charter firm if you have problems out on the water – they’re used to inexperienced sailors and quite motivated to protect all those expensive boats. If you’re looking at buying a small boat on the other hand you’ll be going out with less of a support network around you; no-one else who’s responsible for the boat who you can call in the event of a problem and marina staff largely indifferent to your comings and goings.

Like most of us you’ll probably find you’re ready before you’re really ready. Whether you’re the gung-ho, confident type itching to take that next step right away, or the more risk-averse type who instinctively wants to know everything there is to know first, you’ll reach that point where you’ve had enough of c other people’s boats, you’ll know you aren’t getting much out of it any more and you need to go it alone even though you’re not fully confident about it.

Fortunately there are a few things you can do to make that step a little less daunting.

If it’s chartering you’re aiming for you could consider a flotilla first, where you take control of the boat yourself but you’re sailing in close company with other boats and with close support from the charter company.

If it’s your own boat you can look around for an experienced pair of hands to help you on those first trips. Whether it’s an experienced sailor you’d be happy to take along, someone you’ve found via a sailing club or Internet site, or perhaps a sailing instructor who offers own-boat tuition, you can take responsibility yourself safe in the knowledge that there’s someone more experienced close at hand. And just because you’ve got your own boat doesn’t mean you can’t carry on with those mile-builders and crewing opportunities. As you learn more from sailing your own boat you may well start to get more out of them.

It may not be quite your dream but taking a little extra knowledge and a little extra crew along when you first sail for yourself is a great way of breaking that next step down into more manageable strides.