The best way is a beginner’s course with a sailing club or a recognised sailing school, followed by as much time on the water as you can get, for example by crewing in club races.
Most sailors learn in one of three ways, and the best results usually come from a mix of them.
- A beginner’s course. Sailing clubs and sailing schools run courses for adults and children, in dinghies or keelboats. A good course teaches you safely, in suitable boats and conditions, with an instructor who can see what you are doing and correct it straight away. In New Zealand, Yachting New Zealand, Coastguard Boating Education and many sailing clubs run courses; in other countries the national sailing body (such as the RYA in Britain or US Sailing in the United States) can tell you where to find recognised training.
- Crewing. Once you know the basics, crewing on other people’s boats, especially in club races, is the quickest way to build experience. You see a lot of tacks, gybes and sail changes in an evening, and skippers are often glad of a willing crew member.
- Sailing your own boat. Many people go on to sail a club dinghy or a small yacht of their own, which is where the skills you have been taught become your own.
Before your first lesson, it helps to learn the main terms (bow, stern, port, starboard, windward, leeward, sheets and halyards) and the idea of the points of sail. You will take in much more on the water if the words are already familiar.
Books, videos and simulators are useful for understanding what is happening and for revising afterwards, but they don’t replace time on the water with someone experienced. Start in light to moderate winds and sheltered water, always wear a lifejacket, and don’t go out alone until you have the skills to get yourself out of trouble.
More in the book: Chapter 1, The sailing boat