Advice for a rookie.

[RichandHelen]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Practice your sailing terminology, so when someone says "ease the kicker and tighten the cunningham" you will have a clew.

As one of the old says-- Eyes and ears open, mouth shut, head on a swivel at all times.

Have a "clew" LOL?

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Wihglah

I am going on an RYA Competent Crew sailing course soon.

Any advice about what to do and look out for.

(I have been on several motorised sailing vessels before, but never sailed)

Welcome.

I would suggest updating your profile with your general location and your boat make & model or “Looking” in the "Boat" category. This info shows up under your UserName in every post in the web view. Many questions are boat and/or location dependent and having these tidbits under your UserName saves answering those questions repeatedly. If you need help setting up your profile then click on this link: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3308797

I would happily help more if the link above is not enough.

[Bent Bugle]

Also try to go with a professional outfit, the 1st course I went on was with a sole operator & it was ordinary - too many on board, he did'nt own the boat, we only did some of the stuff that was promised, I felt it was just a cash grab, very disappointing...I then went with a reputable outfit & there was a world of difference - I learnt heaps & had a good time...

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Dinna fret yersel'n!

I'm with Trente. Don't fret.

I dug up my old RYA Logbook and here's the two pages of the RYA Competent Crew curriculum.

So you don't need to practise knots in advance or practise anything in advance! Your instructor will take you through the syllabus. You'll learn lots.

Have fun!
LittleWing77

[Clivevon]

First of all - well done. Excellent that you are doing the Competent Crew course. Lots of people seem to skip that one for some reason - often due to a misplaced sense of their own abilities I have often found. A truly Competent Crew is a person of great value - immense value - on board any boat, & the RYA course is a great place to start. I would suggest you study the syllabus before turning up so you have some idea what to expect - you will no doubt be on a boat with other crew doing different courses.
Don't sweat it - have fun, but pay attention. Keep an open mind, a willing attitude, & a smile on your face.
Make sure to take a totally soft bag, & enough kit to sleep warm at night & stay warm & dry during the day. Your top layer - jacket & trousers - needs to be 100% waterproof in the UK - not just showerproof. Doesnt have to be top of the range Goretex - which can come later - just needs to keep you dry from the outside at least. A good hiking jacket should be fine. Ask the school if they supply oilies - some do. They may provide joining instructions with kit suggestions - pay close attention to that.

Join a club. You will get loads of the cheapest possible crewing opportunities that way. Dont know where you are but here are a couple that sail around the Solent & English Channel:
Channel Sailing Club - Home
https://www.guildfordsailing.org/

[lo2jones]

Watch out for instructors that never stop telling sea stories. Not likely with RYA, but be prepared to ignore 3/4 of what you hear.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by lo2jones

Watch out for instructors that never stop telling sea stories. Not likely with RYA, but be prepared to ignore 3/4 of what you hear.

Instructors have very entertaining stories in my experience nothing like exposure to a wide variety of student personalities and the trials of boat handling to generate a slew of interesting stories.

Many instructors have considerable sailing resumes behind them.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Wihglah

I am going on an RYA Competent Crew sailing course soon.



Any advice about what to do and look out for.



(I have been on several motorised sailing vessels before, but never sailed)

Just turn up. Dress for the climate , never arrive with a hard case always a soft bag

Other then that go and enjoy yourself. It’s a basic course , easily managed by anyone that has any sort of interest in the subject.

Don’t bother preparing beforehand. The course assumes no prior knowledge and it’s better if you don’t form predetermined ideas

Dave
Ex RYA instructor

[boatman61]

Best way to pass Competent Crew..??
Make sure your Instructors glass is kept topped up..

[lo2jones]

In the USA, there is an incentive for instructors to exaggerate their experience, many times in the form of anecdotes, sea stories. When you hang out in the same spot for 30 years and know where to bodies are buried, you know when, who is telling the truth and who isn’t. The USCG system is rife with miracle 100 Ton licensees. At one place I worked, the maintenance staff nick-named someone “Gelcote Bob” because every time he took a boat out, it required gelcote repairs.
The instructors job is to educate, not entertain…though no entertainment can be boring. The most truthful, competent instructors in my experience were marine professional, riggers, etc; or professional fishermen.

[Goodxcharly]

No worries, relax and have fun! Sounds like your crew course should take care of all the rest.
If you are not having fun and paying for this course, move on! To try another one.

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by Moana Bella

Some useful pre-work would be to learn the points of sail...

While maybe good advice, not very practical before actual experience b/c there is a big disconnect between the point of sail concept as diagrammed in a text versus how it works on a sailing vessel underway. The diagrams depict points of sail as would be viewed on a boat at rest tied to a dock, say. In that case, the true and the apparent wind directions are the same. So, a vessel on a beam reach would appear to have the wind directly over its beam as the Windex would indicate, and et cetera for the other points as portrayed around the diagram of relative wind directions. But when the vessel is underway with the true wind direction still directly abeam, the apparent wind direction moves fwd and takes the Windex with it. So then, the Windex will not point directly abeam as it does at the dock or as portrayed in the text diagrams. The boat must fall off to bring the apparent wind directly abeam. Now, the confused student (with maybe a confused instruction) working out of the book would no longer be sailing on a beam reach relative to the true wind, but on a lower reach, and how low depending on the wind speed and the speed of the vessel.

POINT: The Windex will not give the student the “correct” point of sail when the vessel is underway, a major departure from what the student sees in the text diagrams and likely what the instructor puts up on the board for instruction.

The second thing is that in many texts one point of sail is incorrectly monikered. UK-based courses might not contain this error. The basic points are beat, the various reaches, and dead downwind. THERE IS NO “Close-hauled” point of sail. Close hauled is a trim setting which is basically sailing as close as possible to eye of the wind (true wind). (Note there is no relative angle noted.) It is confuted with a beat which means sailing near 45 deg of the true wind direction in diagrams. However, the ability to sail close-hauled is actually governed by the apparent wind direction, determined by wind velocity to a certain degree. The apparent wind direction is variable on the same true wind direction depending on gust velocities. The vessel can be kept sailing close-hauled in gusts, BUT its heading relative to the true wind direction may be changing when the vessel lifts and falls.

POINT: A boat may be sailing close-hauled and be sailing on a close reach (not a beat) relative to true wind direction etc. (Or some other point.)

A beginner is going to have a hard time boning up on the nuances of this of misconstrued “concept.”

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by Auklet

While maybe good advice, not very practical before actual experience b/c there is a big disconnect between the point of sail concept as diagrammed in a text versus how it works on a sailing vessel underway. The diagrams depict points of sail as would be viewed on a boat at rest tied to a dock, say. In that case, the true and the apparent wind directions are the same. So, a vessel on a beam reach would appear to have the wind directly over its beam as the Windex would indicate, and et cetera for the other points as portrayed around the diagram of relative wind directions. But when the vessel is underway with the true wind direction still directly abeam, the apparent wind direction moves fwd and takes the Windex with it. So then, the Windex will not point directly abeam as it does at the dock or as portrayed in the text diagrams. The boat must fall off to bring the apparent wind directly abeam. Now, the confused student (with maybe a confused instruction) working out of the book would no longer be sailing on a beam reach relative to the true wind, but on a lower reach, and how low depending on the wind speed and the speed of the vessel.

POINT: The Windex will not give the student the “correct” point of sail when the vessel is underway, a major departure from what the student sees in the text diagrams and likely what the instructor puts up on the board for instruction.

The second thing is that in many texts one point of sail is incorrectly monikered. UK-based courses might not contain this error. The basic points are beat, the various reaches, and dead downwind. THERE IS NO “Close-hauled” point of sail. Close hauled is a trim setting which is basically sailing as close as possible to eye of the wind (true wind). (Note there is no relative angle noted.) It is confuted with a beat which means sailing near 45 deg of the true wind direction in diagrams. However, the ability to sail close-hauled is actually governed by the apparent wind direction, determined by wind velocity to a certain degree. The apparent wind direction is variable on the same true wind direction depending on gust velocities. The vessel can be kept sailing close-hauled in gusts, BUT its heading relative to the true wind direction may be changing when the vessel lifts and falls.

POINT: A boat may be sailing close-hauled and be sailing on a close reach (not a beat) relative to true wind direction etc. (Or some other point.)

A beginner is going to have a hard time boning up on the nuances of this of misconstrued “concept.”

Should read: “However, the ability to sail close-hauled on a true beat (Point of Sail) is …”

[Bunnellr]

What ann said. But read three times. With pencil. Note questions. Most instructors are committed to giving you info, but don't know your holes.

[GrowleyMonster]

Sunscreen. Hat. Spare hat. Backup spare hat. Extra backup spare hat. Additional hats just in case you lose all of those hats. See a pattern here? And sunscreen, too.

Your favorite seasickness remedy. Take it before you set foot on a boat. Nervousness and anticipation could contribute to queasiness that you ordinarily would never experience. Second day just have it handy, you probably won't need it.

Knife. Backup knife. Spare knife. etc. And a handy and convenient way to touch up the edge. Not serrated saw bladed knives. That is lubberly. For quick touchups the Lansky Quad Sharp pullthrough is great, rides in your pocket nicely. A few strokes and it's sharper than your mother in law's tongue.