In 1966, Sir Francis Chichester sailed round the world on a 54ft ketch called the Gipsy Moth IV.
He was 65 years old. I still remember grainy black and white television pictures of the Gipsy rounding Cape Horn with storm-battered Chichester at the helm. For me, the sight of that tiny vessel, heeled against those giant waves, epitomised something in the human spirit that demands to be tested.
Appropriately for a boat with such inspiring heritage, the Gipsy Moth is now owned by the UK Sailing Academy, based on the Isle of Wight. On a chilly April day Jon Ely, UKSA’s chief executive, shows me around the cabin.
“We bought it for £1 and a gin and tonic. But it has cost us an awful lot more than that over the years,” he says. Not all of the aspiring sailors who come to UKSA will get their sea legs on the Gipsy Moth. But the boat is still a potent reminder of sailing’s appeal.
Over the next few months Pursuits will devote some of its sailing coverage to a series of articles about taking up the sport for the first time. Perhaps, like me, you’ve seen holiday brochures of yachts anchored in azure seas, and envied the idea of a private, peaceful leisure activity. Or perhaps you have visited the Isle of Wight during the annual regatta week in August, and marvelled at the hundreds of boats dodging under sterns, converging on marker buoys and hoisting spinnakers.
To get a piece of this action, the first thing you need to do is select a course, and decide on what kind of sailing you want to pursue. Here are a few suggestions.
Choose your course
The UK Sailing Academy in Cowes has a roster of courses that includes everything from familiarisation days to full-time maritime education. “People come here to do something as a one-off and others come to embark on a new career,” says Ely.
But before choosing a course, it’s worthwhile spending some time working out just what you’re looking for in sailing. Is it single-handed dinghy racing, big boat crewing, Caribbean cruising, or all of these?
People become hooked on the sport in different ways. Round-the-world sailor, Steve White, who skippered his yacht, Toe in the Water, to eighth place in this year’s Vendée Globe race, was a comparative latecomer to sailing. He started just 12 years ago, almost by accident.
“I had a good friend who had built a 17ft Lysander trailer-sailer dinghy from plywood but he didn’t have a tow bar on his car and I did, so we took it down to Weymouth and launched it,” says White. He had no previous sailing experience but four days later he had bought his first boat, a 21ft long Tucker Ballerina sloop.
Not everyone is going to experience such a dramatic conversion. Probably the best thing is to start simple with dinghy-sailing or a taster course that will give you some idea of how quickly you will adapt to this demanding and technical sport.
To buy or not to buy
I learnt the basics in dinghies on a former gravel pit at the local sailing club. Even here, however, there are issues to consider. Is it best to own or to hire? I opted for ownership and bought a second-hand boat. The idea was to learn with my children, so I chose a GP14, a stable dinghy that lends itself to family use.
The problem was that the club concentrated on racing, not cruising, and only one of my boys was interested. We passed the basic dinghy course and raced for a season before he lost interest. Most of the club’s racing fleet comprised middle-aged men – just like me – competing alone in Solo dinghies, so the two-handed GP14 felt a little redundant. In retrospect hiring a dinghy would have been the better option.
“There’s a lot of choice in starter dinghies,” says Ely. “I like the Wayfairers, and Picos are good for youngsters, but I think it also helps to try something a little bit challenging early on, which is why we encourage some of our younger learners to try the Lasers.
“We have a range of different yachts in various sizes here and we try to get people into as many types as possible so that they can compare them.”
If you’re buying a boat it might be an idea to choose a used model and get someone with more experience to help you. A reasonable second-hand dinghy can be bought for about £1,000. You should also consider materials. If the boat is going to be left out all winter under a cover, a composite or plastic construction might be preferable to wood.
Captain or crew?
If you see sailing as a social pastime, you might think of crewing as a way into the sport. I started ocean racing through invitations to join a crew competing in the annual Royal Ocean Racing Club cross-channel races.
When Sir Chay Blyth invited me to join his BT Global Challenge, a round-the-world race that runs against the prevailing winds and currents, he asked me which leg I would like to do. “The one with Cape Horn,” I said, with Chichester in mind.
Race sailing is a good way to build specialist and team-working skills but there is rarely time when competing to develop all-round expertise. Undertaking a 6,000 mile, 43-day voyage from Rio to Wellington across the Southern Ocean would probably not be the best starting point for anyone. This is why the Royal Yachting Association courses, delivered by UKSA and other reputable training organisations, are ideal for those who want to learn the basics.
What to expect
There’s plenty to master: first there are nautical terms, rope work, anchor work, safety, maritime regulations, navigation, including compass readings and charts. Then there are the tides, weather knowledge, preparing a passage and pilotage, plus understanding a boat engine, leading to tests of theory and practice.
These are the essential elements of the day skipper course that I will be undertaking for forthcoming issues. One day I’d like to think I might be confident and knowledgeable enough to gain the more demanding Yachtmaster qualification, which is recognised around the world. But first the groundwork. It’s safer than the Southern Ocean.
Next month: Richard Donkin begins his day skipper course
The details
UK Sailing Academy, www.uksa.org
Royal Yachting Association, www.rya.org.uk
