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Looking for a Sailing teacher

887 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  rgscpat 
#1 ·
Hello everyone my name is Solon and I have a dream I'm going to start fulfilling in a month or two. I am now a retired electrician at the age of 46 years old.
My whole life changed two years ago I was in a very awful car accident. It broke my back in two places, crack my knee cap in half and tore off my right leg. I'v had five surgeries on my leg I was so lucky they saved it for me. I'm very lucky to be alive so I'm going change the way I live. The money from my accident settlement will let me retire and do what ever I want. The two year recovery has been long and very hard. I'v put on about 35 pounds in weight since the accident. Just in laying bed bossing people around and eating way to much ice cream. I only have a small limp now it feels good to be back!!
I can't wait to buy a nice boat anywhere from a 35 to 40 foot sailboat. I hope to go where ever I fill like it. I hope to meet some one from the Gulf of Mexico area in the North East Florida or Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico that can teach me to sail on my boat. I will pay cash and they may stay on my boat while teaching me. I will do a back ground check.
So if anyone may know some one who might be interested please let me know..Thanks SOLON
 
#4 ·
Solon,

Sorry to hear about you misfortunes. Life has a funny way about it.

If you're currently not a sailor, let me pontificate for a minute. I suggest you get a trailer sailor in the 23 to 25 foot range. Make sure she has a shoal keel. Then sail you tail off. Lessons are great if you can afford them, but if not, study, watch videos, take a Sailing and Seamanship class from you local power squadron and get out there. You'll find out if you're a sailor soon enough. If you don't like it, you're out some short money. If you LOVE sailing, and you should, then sell the little girl and go for her big sister. You made your mistakes, and they will be many, on a small boat that's easy to correct.

Don
 
#5 ·
Don gave you good advice. A Catalina 22 or 25, O'Day, or even some of the Hunters and MacGregors would be great for you to learn on. You can keep it close to home at a lake. The idea is just to learn to sail, and to do so at your pace. The boats in that size range don't get blown over easily, so if you have residual mobility issues, they are a better choice than the 12-18' dinghies that are typically suggested on here for beginners.

If you don't like that approach, you could also go to something like Offshore Sailing School. That would be a great way to get your feet wet, see what it's like to be aboard a big-ish boat, and to see what sailing is all about.

Compared to the kinds of boats you've discussed in the other thread, both of these can be very minimal investments (22-25' Catalinas in decent condition can be had for a few thousand dollars).
 
#6 ·
Welcome, Solon!

You can mix and match a lot of different ways of learning sailing and cruising skills according to your needs, budget, interests, learning style, etc. That could include hanging out with other sailors and begging rides, lessons at a school, basic boating "ground school" classes, videos and books, helping out with sailing events, formal on the water classes in a school, hiring an instructor to come on your boat, joining a sailing club or co-op/community sailing program, messing around with small boats, and others. One other tip might be to not do formal instruction all ganged up with multiple courses in a week or two, but rather spaced out so you more time to practice, experiment, and then ask questions.
 
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