Where would you go live to learn to sail?

[Jim Cate]

Simple comment: If I were wanting to live somewhere to learn and practice sailing, it surely would not be somewhere with 6 month sailing season. There are plenty of places with year round sailing (SF and further south in California, for instance, or many places on the east coast of Australia).

Simply reading the posts here on CF from folks o n the East coast of the US bitching about winter, and complaining about the costs of maintaining a boat on the hard for half the year, and yearning for spring... well, that would convince me!

Jim

[Uricanejack]

Originally Posted by JensenJourney

Oh, I'll let you know when we have a plan. We're letting our H.S. Senior graduate this spring before we move anywhere, so it'll be some time before we move. But when I do I'll definitely reach out and try to meet some people face to face when we do... not a lot of sailors to talk to here in the Rockies.

Because of the lead time before we move, we could consider other countries (like England, Croatia). My wife was a few days from paying for study abroad program in London when I proposed, so she likes that recommendation a LOT!

If you are currently in the Rockies. The west coast is nearer. It’s year round.
Where on the west coast?
PNW Puget Sound, San Jaun Islands, cruising grounds which are very hard to beat.
Why? Beautiful, Tons of Wildlife, sheltered, possible to sail year round, though it can get a bit wet cold and miserable at this time of year. A bit pric, compared to other areas.
I would suggest Bellingham, very nice yacht club, lots of options for sailing schools, and used or new boats. Finding rental accommodation not to bad within reasonable distance from boats not to hard.

Portland Cheeper very nice but much more limited opportunities for sailing.

Or California.

Take your pick.

Some already said Canada or international would be difficult.
Forget trying to go to England with the whole family to learn how to sail.
Unless you are independently wealthy.

Someone said why England? I would say the same, Why England?
The RYA program is very good.
Probably very very good. If you plan on doing the whole thing, spending a ton up front to take the whole program like full time practical course for Six months.
Which is aimed at people who want to get qualified to crew or work in the yacht world somehow.
Or want to take your own time on your own boat and doo all the courses.

If you just want to learn how to sail. Go to any good sailing school with good reviews.
It’s the quality of the instruction and the school what counts.
The RYA basic courses just do the same stuff, the ASA or anyone else does.

If the English were half as good at everything as they think they are. There football team would have won the World Cup regularly. actual English players would play for premier league teams. Even their cricket team doesn’t win.

And they would have won the America’s cup.

The Solent is probably very nice, and the sailing schools very good. But it’s not the only place in the world with tides.

The French are probably better at sailing.

[MuffinMan]

Originally Posted by Uricanejack

The French are probably better at sailing.

Idk about that. The french defintely build better boats. But the french lost the naval fight to England and they lost pretty bad. However once we got ahold of some french ships we sent the English on their way so your probably both are ehh at sailing and your best off learning in the US.

[Pete7]

Sailing in France isn't a hobby, it's a religion. Notice how all the French live on the coasts, no one lives in the middle, well apart from some expat Brits.

Pete

[33trippindaisy]

Yes Oriental has many benefits.....wide open sailing on very large but protected waters for learning the ropes, and access to many unique places in the Outer Banks, and then off shore if you so desire. You should pull up a map so you can see where it sits exactly. Dockage for your boat is as cheap as you will find anywhere on the East Coast that I have found. You can rent slips all day long for 150-250 per month vs South Florida at 850 per month on average. They did get hit last year with a Hurricane, for the first time in many years they had a bit of damage, but then again their record for safety is way above average. The fiishing is great if you enjoy that too. Trust me its worth a week stay right in the center of town at the Inn. You'll never regret it or forget it, and the New Years Dragon dance in the street is simply great fun, and we go do that without the boat. It's simply a great little town. Sometimes they tell the truth about the town, ie they have way more boats than people and about half the residents are dogs, lol. Okay not that many but they do go in the Mercantile and walk around town and it's quite cool to breathe in the peacy easy feeling and the vibe this little town has!

[mvweebles]

What makes San Francisco great is it has a robust and diverse sailing scene, not just water. There are a ton of yacht clubs of all levels and interests, some with youth sailing programs. There are plenty of opportunities to crew, racing, offshore, and a huge general awareness of sailing. I'd imagine NZ is similar. Sounds like logistics of these places are not convenient for you, but I'd look for this type of "scene" as it has many easy on-ramps to get involved, often without actually owning a boat.

Checkout www.Latitude38.com, the unofficial chronicler of all things sailing in SF Bay from Rolex Yacht Racing to ultra-casual Delta cruising. They also sponsor an annual cruisers rally to Cabo San Lucas, a week long 1000nm cruise rally that attracted 160 boats when I did it several years ago (and also a great crew opportunity). Heck, since you have a baseball-team passel of kids, maybe go all-in with a floating home.

I now live in St Pete FL and while the boating is decent, the focus on sailing and lifestyle isn't nearly as focused as SF. Perhaps the Chesapeake is close - I have only day sailed there.

Good luck! Great way to raise kids.

[RickG]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Tortola

That's where I went one January. We lived on the Chesapeake Bay. Our intended cruising grounds were the Virgin Islands. Seven years later, we live in the VIs on our second boat.

Learn where you want to sail.

Cheers, RickG

[Debbiej]

I would highly recommend Croatia. We found a sailboat to buy there four years ago and went there without knowing anything about the country. Fell in love. We now even own property there on an island. The sailing and beauty is extraordinary. Over a thousand islands. A lot of people speak a English. Affordable. Skilled seamen. All kinds of ocean and wind conditions. We really honed our sailing skills there. We learned to sail initially in Southern California, but really developed skills there. Best thing, is there is always an island nearby to,provide safe haven.

[lo2jones]

[QUOTE=JensenJourney;3037930]

Where do you want to live/sail after you’re finished with the basic lessons? Anyone who has learned on San Francisco Bay will say it’s the best place: It has everything you’ll ever deal with anyplace else, but not enough to kill you. Weather is fairly predictable, the tide range is only 3 meters, currents 2-4 knots, wind April-November never fails and rarely goes over 35 knots. I like the Cornwall suggestion, and the schools, MAY be a little better there. Kemah Texas has a good school, there are only three schools in San Francisco Bay that are worth a damn. Contact me privately if a review of the schools would be helpful. It takes two years of consistent sailing to get the fundamentals down. Good luck and be patient with your instructors: almost none of them will have training in how to teach!

[DHHerndon]

Lancaster County Virginia on Virginia's Northern Neck on the Chesapeake Bay. Upscale rural waterfront living. Low cost of living. No boat tax. Many yacht clubs, marinas, etc.

[fatherchronica]

I learned to sail in 20 minutes in a styrofoam Kool cigarette Snark at Hansen Dam. The rest I learned by reading, trial and error and dumb luck.

[exMaggieDrum]

We taught ourselves to sail (on a 42' ketch) up here in the Pacific Northwest. We found the most excellent place here - Anacortes. Beautiful beyond compare. Boats and marinas up the wazoo. Probably more per capita than anywhere else in the world (not sure about that but it might be true). The San Juan Islands are just a few miles away with hundreds of anchorages and cool marinas too.



But not really a year round area to sail in. Some hardy types do. Easy to get 6 months in if you don't mind some weather on the edges and fog. Some people will only come sailing here from mid-August to mid-September but those are missing out. There are sailing classes here, a great little laid back and friendly yacht club, sailing programs in the schools, etc. And the town is full of cruisers and racers who have been there and done that including many around-the-worlders.


Terribly expensive housing though but great schools. And we are in the "rain shadow" of the Olympic mountains. And our house will be for sale in the next few months....


The OP was in 2018 so something made this thread come alive. Old threads never die they just get abused.

[HereAndNow]

Agreed.. BVI. USVI. Great sailing!

Originally Posted by john61ct

Tortola

[Ivan.orlic]

By now you must be overwhelmed by choices,, here is one more exotic possibility,, CROATIA sailing schools are starting to operate in Feb-March when the weather is a bit nicer,, otherwise Croatia is an ideal playground for sailors,, I have been sailing here for many years as well as circumnavigating the world for over two years by following the trade wind route,, there are over 6000 charter yachts to choose from, over 1000 islands with practically unlimited anchoring possibilities and plenty of wind,, let me know if you are interested and you have more questions, cheers, Ivan

[edexter]

The Chesapeake! Marinas everywhere, lots of dockside restaurants, excellent marine services, sailing classes in Annapolis, Baltimore, Havre de Grace and Rock Hall - there's a reason the United States Sailboat Show is held in Annapolis!

Plus, there are active sailing education groups like America's Boating Club, my wife and I joined to take their excellent classes to become better sailors- we teach courses like Basic Boating, Seamanship, Piloting, Navigation at several levels up to celestial navigation, Marine Electronics, and so on, and there are chapters in Baltimore, Annapilis, Rockville, Kent Island, and many other places around the country. We joined for the courses but stayed in because we get to talk to and sail with more experienced boaters of every stripe, with all sorts of different boats.

Also for the rest of life issues, there are great public and private schools and universities, and as far as health care, there are the University of Maryland and John's Hopkins University teaching hospitals with the best docs on earth. Plus you are near major transportation hubs in DC and Baltimore for airports, Amtrak, and I-95, in case you need to get somewhere landwise.

Come check us out!