Teaching Your Family to Sail – Should You Be Doing It?

Be honest – is it easy teaching a family member to sail?

For some families, who have grown up around yachts, spent their early days with ropes and rigging as a play area – those families probably don’t find it a problem.

But if you have returned to sailing, or recently been bitten by the bug and want to get the family involved, have you noticed that there are occasional rumblings in the crew when you keep telling them what to do?

Do you get frustrated or even impatient when they don’t pick up concepts as quickly as you would like? You are not alone. It happens to us all.

However, there is an easier way to train your crew and one that could make future voyages a very pleasant experience, whilst also avoiding a domestic mutiny.

Set Course for a Skipper

 
Sailing courses are your answer: an official RYA course run by a skipper who is not only experienced on the seas but also picked for their excellent teaching abilities.

FCS skippers have many nautical miles under their belts and are able to pass on the love of sailing with authority, while not taking the wind out of anyone’s sails.

After your family member has experienced a five-day Competent Crew course you’ll find they’ll come back better sailors, experienced deck hands and also keen to get back out to sea (with you).

Add to that list a Day Skipper Theory course and you may find it’s your family who is enthusiastically suggesting and plotting the next sailing adventure!

More Than Just Solving A Problem

Education is an investment that always pays off and you never know, you might need a refresher course yourself.

The joy families have when sailing together is best experienced with everyone having confidence in their abilities. To prove both points we’ve some extra reading that you might find useful.

This blog by Clive Loughlin goes into much more details about why training is beneficial and in some cases a perfect holiday.

Why get qualified? An RYA Yachtmaster Instructor Explains Why You Should

While for couples there is the joy of sailing together and in this blog Jan and Elena share their Mediterranean experiences.

From Students to Sailors: Elena and Jan sail the Mediterranean

Posted by: First Class Sailing