What are some good sailing opportunities?

[Chiny]

First a little explanation:

l'm a college student in Chicago right now, but I am going to be returning home to Long Island for the summer. I have been stalking these boards for a while and only just recently made an account. So far I have read a lot of questions about how to get started with sailing and the most popular answer I have seen is that you have to get out on a boat however possible and learn from experience.

What I want to know from you guys is how exactly do you recommend getting out there. I mean, I know they have ASA courses you can take but the ones on Lake Michigan and Long Island cost a lot of money. I figured their wouldn't be a cheap easy way to do this but do I have a better alternative.

I just want to know what the best way for an eager and able bodied 19 year old to get out onto the water and learn to sail (more specifically on Long Island or Lake Michigan).

[MtHopeBay]

do a search in these forums for similar threads. There's one nearby called "sailing - where to get started" about BC. I would think Long Island has lots of sailing opportunities/clubs. I know that our clug (in Oregon) especially likes to have young sailors join in the fun because we're mostly old and need young blood in the club.

Sailors seem to have so much fun that they can't wait to share with people.
Mike

[carl762]

Mike, what club are you in? This Oregon boy is interested.

[nolatom]

Find a club near you that races, and hang there til you get a ride (shouldn't take long, everyone's looking for crew). Start with the more casual "beer can" races, typically in the evening (?), they're quicker to take a newbie along. then do what you're told, and when it's quiet, ask questions of whoever seems to know stuff and wants to talk.

This is the cheapest way to learn, at least once you get your foot in the door.

I'm not from there so this is more of an educated guess. But theres LOTS of racing on the Sound.

[cruisingdream]

College? many colleges offer wind surfing classes , it may not be a large sail boat but it is still sailing (and college phys ed credit)

[SW329xl]

Originally Posted by Chiny

First a little explanation:

l'm a college student in Chicago right now, but I am going to be returning home to Long Island for the summer. I have been stalking these boards for a while and only just recently made an account. So far I have read a lot of questions about how to get started with sailing and the most popular answer I have seen is that you have to get out on a boat however possible and learn from experience.

What I want to know from you guys is how exactly do you recommend getting out there. I mean, I know they have ASA courses you can take but the ones on Lake Michigan and Long Island cost a lot of money. I figured their wouldn't be a cheap easy way to do this but do I have a better alternative.

I just want to know what the best way for an eager and able bodied 19 year old to get out onto the water and learn to sail (more specifically on Long Island or Lake Michigan).

Cheap is relative. I am not sure of the schools in LI, but Croton Sailing School in Westchester, NY offers a weekend class for $395. That is actually not bad for a full weekend on the water with lessons. It will be easier to get a ride on a race boat if you already have some skills, and you will also get more out of the racing experience if you have some skills going in. Once you get the basics down, it is definitely a buyers market for used boats right now. There are lots of high performance dinghies that can be had relatively cheap, and which you could launch and retrieve the same day, which means no need for slips and storage fees.

[Chiny]

Thank you everyone for your responses!

SW: Could you point me in the direction of what a good and affordable dinghy would be. A quick google search found me a huge array of prices and boats. I figure I could probably learn to sail on any of them but some of the cheaper ones look like they would sink in my bath tub.

Cruisingdream: I wish man. Too bad I go to a private university and the liberals in charge don't offer any PE courses god forbid somebody might get hurt doing exercise.

MT and Tom: sounds like either a club or racing is the way to go. I see a lot of charter opportunities online that are requesting crew. Is that something I should put off until I already have the experience or are some of those guys willing to take newbies onboard?

[SW329xl]

Originally Posted by Chiny

Thank you everyone for your responses!

SW: Could you point me in the direction of what a good and affordable dinghy would be. A quick google search found me a huge array of prices and boats. I figure I could probably learn to sail on any of them but some of the cheaper ones look like they would sink in my bath tub.

Cruisingdream: I wish man. Too bad I go to a private university and the liberals in charge don't offer any PE courses god forbid somebody might get hurt doing exercise.

MT and Tom: sounds like either a club or racing is the way to go. I see a lot of charter opportunities online that are requesting crew. Is that something I should put off until I already have the experience or are some of those guys willing to take newbies onboard?

There are lots of good dinghies out there, some of it will depend on the kind of sailing you want to do, and how athletic you are.

Lasers are a nice popular boat, that you can usually find good examples of. They are designed to be sailed solo, and can even be cartopped, although if you sail solo you will want a trailer. Also, if you want to get into racing, there are tons of opportunities with this boat.

Sunfish are great little boats as well, although a little slower, and less performance oriented. If you are lightweight, or want to sail in heavy air without a major workout, this might be a good boat. This is also the least expensive boat of the group. You can readily find decent examples for under 1k.

Then there some newer boats out there that really fly. Someone posted a link to Craigslist on another thread which had this boat. This is a very fast high performance boat. The asking price is slightly higher than what you would pay for a Sunfish or Laser, but it is a fantastic and fun boat. Because there were fewer built, there is a smaller racing community around it.
MX-Ray Sailboat

If you are looking for a two person boat, I have always liked JY15s. These are fun simple boats, with lots of racing available. They don't require a super athletic duo to race, and are affordable. They are easy to rig and sail. These boats do not carry a spinnaker, but are quick nonetheless.

[Barquito]

Cheap is relative. I am not sure of the schools in LI, but Croton Sailing School in Westchester, NY offers a weekend class for $395. That is actually not bad for a full weekend on the water with lessons.

This might not be close enough, however, the Hoofers club in Madison, WI (UW-Madison) costs about as much for a whole year of unlimited sailing and lessons. Lasers, scows, J-22, J-24, and larger keelboats.

[sevent]

Chiny, hopefully you've gotten on a boat by now, but... once in your situation... I found a racing club with J27's (on a river in Philly - so there must be some on LI's north shore). I was surprised that they were happy to take people with no experience at all as long as you were willing to follow orders. I had sailed a sunfish before but others were virgins. you also need thick skin, 'cause in a racing skippers have no manners. I'm glad I had some dinghy sailing knowledge. It cost me $700 for the year (March-Nov) - almost unlimited sailing. $1000 for skipper membership once qualified. But your best bet is first to rent a sunfish somewhere for $50 and just get the basics down. You can probably do that on your own after watching a youtube video and a little trial and error. If there is any breeze at all you will have a blast and learn a lot (except the names for everything - never call a rope a rope!) Also look for dinghy rentals in the small lakes in MI, not the great lakes. Lastly, I agree w/ the others who suggest hanging out at marinas on beer-can race evenings. Especially once you have a little experience - they will fight over you.