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i went to netflix. they have 4-5 dvds available, do's and don'ts, how to's, safety, rough weather, etc. but at the end of each they recommend a sailing course --hands on type. i'm talking with a lot of people about their boats and picking up the sailing language as i go. i'm either going to buy a daysailer or crew this year if anyone will have pity on a newbie. good luck.
Good basic sailing courses are taught by many local Coast Guard Auxiliaries, the American Red Cross, and the American Power Squadron. Costs are nominal, and sometimes they include on-the-water training with a small boat, like a Sunfish. I think you'd get much more out of one of those courses than any "How to" DVD, because you'll be able to ask questions of an instructor. They're equally helpful for people who are planning on taking courses from the good commercial sailing schools, because you'll learn some of the "language" of boating before you get to the sailing school.
"Sailing with Confidence" (http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70016469&trkid=174833) is probably the best they have for beginning sailors, although I'd caution you to keep your expectations as low as possible. It was fun that they were using a Rainbow 24, which I later sailed on the Chesapeake.
We also saw most of the Annapolis Book of Seamanship videos, and there were parts of the first that were enjoyable, but in it and others there were some relatively serious sleep-inducing sections.
Last, but not at Netflix, we saw a Learn to Sail with Steve Colgate video that was pretty humorous because it had some B-list hollywood actors as the sailing students. Love that "Big Hair" of the eighties!
So, some parts of the videos/DVDs were good at illustrating concepts, but don't try to stuff your brain too much before your classes.
Learn the basic rules of the road and hit the bay. at the harbor entrance Red on Right Returning and Green on right going out learn to tie a bolan knot and to read a chart the little numbers mean how deep ect. But really if you have a boat take her out slow and back slow never get in a hurry at the dock or everything will go wrong.Also some local yacht clubs race on Wed afternoon fun run stuff and they usually need crews ask around. Tell them you know nothing dont lie you will be better off telling them your a newbee. Don't jibe the boat unless you know what your doing. Ahhh what is a jibe well learn the language and have a blast.
FYI: Netflix no longer has instructional sailing videos. If I am doing something wrong and anyone else finds options on Netflix, please give me the title or how you found it. Thanks
i think the main point is to sail you need a bit of theory and a lot of practical then as you gain skills go back to the theory
and fine tune
whether dvd, online, books or classroom for theory is irrelevant chose the medium that works best for you
but you need to put the theory into practice to really learn
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