First Time Sailing Refelections
Sailing – Something for Everyone
Have you ever wondered how you would “fit-in” on your first time sailing?
For those of us who have been sailing a long time, might just struggle to recall the early emotions before our first sailing trip. This short piece is taken from a recent sailing trip to the Baltic where Jari was sailing for the first time. We have used it as a little case study of out pet theory about “fitting-in” when sailing. We would love to know your views at the end.
Baltic Sail 2013
Our First Time Sailing Theory
It has been my firm view of many years, that sailing has “something for everyone”. Yes I accept that you require a certain spirit of adventure and motion sickness can be a trial for some; this still leaves a pretty substantial group of people who each find something in yachting that really attracts them.
For some it’s bouncing around on the foredeck in a storm, for others it’s finding the comfy bit of deck with the most sunshine. Many thrill seekers like to find something to jump of in crystal blue waters, whilst I know many who are just as happy creating culinary masterpieces of substandard marine cooking apparatus!
Fitting In
It was interesting to see where, according to my theory, our sailing novice on this trip would “fit in”. It soon became obvious that one of the ways that Jari would cope with being outside his comfort zone, was to know and understand the navigational techniques we were employing.
In plain english, he was more comfortable knowing where he was going!
Normally it would take a number of week’s in the classroom to fully grasp all that is needed to navigate a yacht safely, yet, as an interested bystander, it is still possible to understand the rudiments and follow what the navigator’s thoughts are pretty accurately and pretty quickly, and even begin to contribute to the process. And so it was the case here.
It is true that Jari has a penchant for solving problems and an eye for detail. But this just adds further weight to the theory. There are no doubt other aspects of sailing that would have benefited from this type of skill, but on this occasion the dynamic allowed Jari to genuinely get involved with the safe navigation of the boat after a very short time.
The picture above shows Jari assisting Jaime, our Navigator elect.
We are not entirely sure whether our new friend is a convert to the marine world, but we are impressed at the way Jari stuck to the challenge and got involved in a way that suited his personality. We think this image waiting for the transport home sums it up!
So if you’re wondering where you will fit in, why not join us on our next trip to the Baltic. We promise a mixture of challenge, learning, camaraderie, fun and excitement. What do you think about our theory and I ask you this question…
Where would you (or did you) fit in first time sailing?
We would love to hear your comments on our page on on Facebook below. You can also ask questions about future trips.
