There Has Never Been a Better Time to Learn to Sail
From standing on the bank wondering what all the ropes do, to confidently sailing your first course
There is an image of sailing that has probably put a great many people off ever trying it.
You buy an expensive yacht. You keep it in an equally expensive marina. You acquire an impressive collection of waterproof clothing. You take course after course, buy charts, electronics and equipment, and somehow learn an entirely new vocabulary involving sheets that aren't sheets, ropes that aren't always called ropes, port, starboard, halyards, shrouds and goodness knows what else.
Looked at like that, sailing can seem like a pastime for somebody else.
But there is another route into sailing, and for many people it is a much better one.
Join a sailing club. Meet people who sail. Get into a boat. Start learning.
That is why the central idea behind this whole series is going to be very simple:
You don't need to own a boat to become a sailor. You need an opportunity to get on the water.
And there may genuinely never have been a better time to start.
The First Myth: Sailing Has to Be Expensive
Let us get one thing out of the way immediately.
Yes, sailing can be expensive.
You can buy a large yacht, equip it beautifully, pay marina fees, continually upgrade its electronics and spend astonishing amounts of money on sails.
You can also spend a great deal of money on golf clubs, bicycles, cameras, fishing equipment or almost any other hobby if you decide to.
But that does not mean spending heavily is the only way to begin.
For somebody who simply wants to discover whether sailing is for them, buying a boat is probably one of the last things I would recommend.
Why buy a boat before you even know what sort of sailing you enjoy?
You might discover that you love relaxed cruising.
You might become addicted to racing.
You might prefer a single-handed dinghy.
You might discover that you enjoy being part of a crew.
You might eventually want a keelboat, a river boat or even something rather more exotic.
Until you have spent some time on the water, you simply don't know.
Your first sailing boat, therefore, may be one you never actually own.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Start With a Club, Not a Boat Catalogue
A good local sailing club can completely change the economics of learning to sail.
I can use the Upper Thames Sailing Club as my own example, although it is important to emphasise that every sailing club operates differently.
At a club such as UTSC, you are not simply buying access to a piece of water.
You are joining a community of people who sail.
That distinction matters enormously.
There are experienced sailors. There are people who race. There are people who cruise. There are instructors and coaches. There are newcomers who are probably asking exactly the same questions you are.
And there are generally people who are perfectly happy to explain why somebody has just shouted:
"Ease the jib!"
when you are still trying to establish which rope the jib is attached to.
That human knowledge is one of the greatest resources a club can offer.
You Can Begin With Almost Nothing
Imagine your first proper sailing day.
You arrive at the club without a boat.
You don't own expensive sailing clothing.
You haven't bought a set of sails.
You don't have a trailer.
You certainly don't have a mooring.
At clubs with suitable facilities, you may be able to use or hire a club boat. There may be buoyancy aids available to borrow. You may be able to join an introductory session or go out with an experienced sailor.
At UTSC, club boats and borrowed buoyancy aids can make getting onto the water much easier for somebody at the beginning of the journey.
That dramatically lowers the barrier to entry.
For your first few outings, sensible clothing and footwear suitable for getting wet may be considerably more useful than a shopping expedition for specialist sailing equipment.
After all, there is little point spending several hundred pounds trying to look like a sailor before discovering whether you actually enjoy sailing.
Your Most Valuable Piece of Equipment May Be Another Sailor
One of the wonderful things about sailing is that experienced sailors frequently need other people.
Boats need crews.
That creates opportunities.
You may arrive knowing virtually nothing and find yourself offered a place in a boat simply because somebody needs another pair of hands.
Naturally, you should be honest about your experience.
Saying:
"I've never done this before, but I'm keen to learn"
is much more useful than pretending you understand an instruction you haven't the slightest idea how to carry out.
A good helm will tell you what to do.
Perhaps initially your entire job is:
"Pull that rope when I tell you."
That might not sound terribly sophisticated.
But then somebody explains that you are controlling the jib sheet.
You begin noticing what happens to the sail as you pull it in.
You feel the boat accelerate.
You notice the pressure building.
You learn to ease it as the boat bears away.
Suddenly that mysterious rope has become a control you understand.
That is how a great deal of sailing is learned.
Not from memorising vocabulary on dry land, but from connecting an instruction with what the boat actually does.
Literally Learning the Ropes
Sailing has an enormous vocabulary, and from the outside it can sound unnecessarily complicated.
But there is no requirement to learn the entire language before setting foot in a boat.
You learn it gradually because the words become useful.
The mainsheet matters because it controls the mainsail.
The jib sheet matters because you need to trim the jib.
The tiller matters because you are trying to steer.
The centreboard suddenly becomes extremely interesting when somebody explains what happens if you forget to lower it.
Port and starboard become much easier when somebody points and says:
"That's port. That's starboard."
And after hearing the same words twenty times on the water, they stop being strange terminology and simply become part of sailing.
The classroom can explain sailing.
The boat makes it make sense.
Coaching While You Are Actually Sailing
Formal instruction has an important place, and recognised sailing courses can provide an excellent structured foundation.
But club coaching can add something different.
Imagine you are sailing towards a mark.
The boat feels slow.
You cannot work out why.
A coach watching from another boat says:
"Your sails are pulled in too tightly. Ease them slightly."
You ease the sheets.
The boat accelerates.
That lesson will probably stay with you because you have immediately experienced the difference.
Or perhaps you repeatedly lose speed while tacking.
Someone watches and notices that you are turning too far, or moving your weight at the wrong moment.
A small correction produces a noticeable improvement.
This is one reason coaching sessions can be so valuable.
The advice is connected to what you are doing at that exact moment.
It turns theory into experience.
Sailing Clubs Are Social Clubs Too
There is another aspect of joining a sailing club that is easily overlooked.
The sailing may be what brings people together, but it is not necessarily the only reason they stay.
Clubs have social events, lunches, dinners, work parties, races, regattas, bar conversations and countless informal discussions.
And those conversations matter.
You may learn more about a particular boat over a cup of tea than you would from half an hour searching online.
Someone may mention that they need a crew next Sunday.
Another person may offer to take you out.
Someone else may suggest a boat that would suit you.
You gradually become part of the community.
That can be especially important for adults learning later in life.
There is sometimes an assumption that learning a new sport is something we do when we are young.
It isn't.
Sailing can be enjoyed at many ages, and clubs often contain an extraordinary range of experience.
You may be learning from someone who has sailed the river for decades while sailing alongside somebody who started only a few months before you.
What About Sailing Qualifications?
Courses are useful.
They provide structure, recognised standards and systematic instruction.
But qualifications should support your sailing rather than become a barrier preventing you from starting.
You do not have to collect certificates before you are allowed to enjoy being in a sailing boat.
For many beginners, a combination works extremely well:
formal instruction + club sailing + crewing + coaching + practice
The formal course gives you the framework.
Club sailing gives you repetition.
Experienced sailors give you practical shortcuts and advice.
Coaching improves technique.
And time on the water gradually creates confidence.
The important thing is that sailing becomes something you do, not simply something you study.
Why Buying Your First Boat Too Soon Can Be a Mistake
Buying a boat is exciting.
Unfortunately, enthusiasm and knowledge do not always arrive at the same time.
A beginner may buy a boat because it looks good, is inexpensive or happens to be available.
Only later do they discover that it is too demanding, too heavy, too complicated, unsuitable for their local water or simply not the type of sailing they enjoy.
Club sailing gives you the opportunity to learn what you actually want.
Try different boats.
Crew for different people.
Sail in light winds.
Sail in stronger winds when appropriately supervised.
Try helming.
Try racing.
Try simply sailing up and down the river.
Notice what you enjoy.
Then, if eventually you decide to buy a boat, you are making the decision with experience rather than guesswork.
And you may discover that you don't need to buy one at all.
A Realistic First Route Into Sailing
A beginner's journey does not have to look like this:
Buy boat → buy equipment → take endless courses → finally start sailing.
It could instead look much more like this:
Visit a local club → talk to people → try an introductory sail → join the club → crew for experienced sailors → use club boats → attend coaching → take suitable courses → practise → decide later whether you ever need your own boat.
That route is financially less intimidating and, I would argue, potentially much more enjoyable.
It also means that from the very beginning you are learning from sailors rather than trying to solve everything by yourself.
Don't Be Afraid of Looking Like a Beginner
Perhaps one of the biggest barriers isn't money at all.
It is embarrassment.
You walk into a sailing club and everybody else appears to know exactly what they are doing.
They are tying knots.
Rigging boats.
Talking about wind shifts.
Discussing tides, sail settings or race tactics.
Meanwhile, you are standing there wondering which end of the boat is the front.
There is a technical term for this.
Being a beginner.
Every experienced sailor was one once.
Nobody was born knowing how to rig a mainsail.
Nobody instinctively knew the difference between a tack and a gybe.
Somebody taught them.
They practised.
They got things wrong.
And sailing provides plenty of opportunities to continue getting things wrong long after you cease being a beginner.
That is part of its charm.
Your First Objective Is Very Simple
If you are considering learning to sail, don't make your first objective:
"I need to become a sailor."
Make it:
"I need to get into a sailing boat."
Find local clubs.
Look for open days or introductory sessions.
Ask whether beginners are welcome.
Ask whether the club has boats available.
Ask whether crews are needed.
Ask what you genuinely need to bring.
Then go and have a look.
You may discover a world that previously seemed inaccessible is surprisingly welcoming.
You Don't Need a Boat. You Need an Opportunity.
That is the message I want to carry through this series.
Sailing doesn't have to begin with ownership.
It doesn't have to begin with expensive equipment.
And it certainly doesn't have to begin with knowing what every rope does.
It begins with somebody giving you an opportunity to get onto the water.
One day you may find yourself standing on the bank wondering what everybody is doing.
A little later, somebody puts you in a boat.
Then you learn to trim a sail.
You steer for the first time.
You complete your first tack.
Eventually you look back towards the bank and realise that somebody else is standing there looking slightly bewildered.
And perhaps this time you will be the person who offers to take them sailing.
Because that is how sailing communities continue.
One sailor gives another an opportunity.
And your first boat may well be one you never own.
My name is Philip. I started sailing when I was 65.
I joined a club and because my son had already been part of a club for many years - borrowing all types of boat. He knew what we needed and the type of boat I would require.
So we did by an RS Toura - a virtually unsinkable dinghy which has given me the confidence to experiment and learn and take my RYA exams and become a competent sailor and then to move up to the boat of my dreams - the A-Rater.
Next in the series: Your First Visit to a Sailing Club — What to Expect, What to Ask and What You Actually Need to Bring.
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