We have been looking forward to living close to the ocean to take up some new water sports. Being from the middle of the prairies, with the Pacific ~1400 km to the west and the Atlantic ~4500 km to the east, it wasn't very often when we'd get the chance to experience a fresh sea breeze! Now there is hardly a day that we don't see the ocean.
Sailing was one of the first things we started looking into once we got here. Neither of us knew the first thing about sailing, other than which way port, starboard, stern and bow were, but that was about it. I had no idea what to expect...no clue about the size or type of boat, clothing that we should have, whether we'd be in the water the first day (or the 2nd weekend), what is considered good sailing conditions and I was curious about the groups experience level (having never stepped into a sail boat before was slightly concerning!)
We arrived at the boathouse for a 9AM start along with 12 other people. The instructor was fantastic, he was a British fellow in his sixties who had been sailing since childhood. There were 5 other helpers there as well which made it great for getting all our questions answered, getting the boats rigged up and down to the water.
I was expecting a morning classroom session the first day, and then hands-on training at the boats in the afternoon...but I assumed wrong! We did intros, then a quick 101 about proper sailing gear and where you can buy it in Oman. We were given a beginners handbook, written by the Royal Yachting Association which was 40 pages and covered the basics. However, we didn't go through the book, just that it was a good read for homework. Then over to the boats we went. Which, I actually prefer the hands on training anyway, but we were all brand new to sailing, so I didn't expect the quick progression.
By 11AM we had 8 Laser Classics (1 man boat) rigged up and 2 Laser 2000s (2-3 man boat). By 11:30 the boats were on the beach and we had started to sail! I was very grateful for the helpers who came out, the winds had started picking up, making it quite challenging to even get off the beach. It was trial by fire! We did 1 steering drill prior to launching the boats, then you were sent out to sea, 1 person per boat - just you, the elements, a handful of ropes and a boom that can cause a severe headache if you weren't watching!
We were supposed to work on 'tacking' around the buoys, which I didn't exactly know what that meant, but could see that the instructors were turning to the left. The lead instructor launched a motorized boat for rescues, and I didn't think that there would be many capsized boats, but all of us went over at least twice! We didn't do any capsize drills on the beach, so you just had to figure out how to upright the boat, get in, and get control again. It was a bit nerve racking going over the first time! They were small, light boats, so it wasn't too bad to tip it back over. As long as you could jump on the centerplate in less than 3 tries, it was easy. The centerplate was about 2-3 ft out of the water, so after more that 3 attempts and expending all your energy, it took more time and possibly some help. I felt bad for the people who went over 10 times...they looked exhausted once they made it back to the beach! Also, no one mentioned all the work that goes into getting the boat ready and put away, and also the body bashing. We had rope burns, cuts, sore backs and bruised shins! I thought this was supposed to be relaxing...
By the second day, we were on the water by 9:30. The winds were strong, which made some people happy and left others anxious. I suppose it's better to learn on rough water with support and learn faster, than to be by yourself out in the ocean in rough water. I didn't think I would be using the toe strap as a beginner, but with the wind, if you didn't balance out the boat by leaning over the edge, you'd capsize.
Speaking of capsizing...Adam was matched up with 2 others on the Laser 2000 on the second day. It was getting pretty rough by mid-morning, and so only the larger Laser 2000s were left on the water. The Classics were being put away when all of a sudden there was some commotion out at sea. The Laser 2000 had capsized! (this typically doesn't happen). The boat was turned right side up, but the mast had snapped in two! I knew it was not good from the reaction of the other sailors on shore. The rescue boat went out and towed the 2000 back in and gathered up the passengers. It happened to be the boat Adam was on, and he was helming at the time...unfortunately those things happen in adverse conditions, the instructor wasn't sure how the mast broke.
Needless to say we didn't go out in the afternoon, but practiced rigging up boats and we covered some theory. I'm starting to feel like I know a bit more about sailing, at least I can speak some of the lingo and pick out the skill in a nice tack or gybe.
Hopefully this weekend brings better conditions as it's my turn on the 2000.
Sailing was one of the first things we started looking into once we got here. Neither of us knew the first thing about sailing, other than which way port, starboard, stern and bow were, but that was about it. I had no idea what to expect...no clue about the size or type of boat, clothing that we should have, whether we'd be in the water the first day (or the 2nd weekend), what is considered good sailing conditions and I was curious about the groups experience level (having never stepped into a sail boat before was slightly concerning!)
We arrived at the boathouse for a 9AM start along with 12 other people. The instructor was fantastic, he was a British fellow in his sixties who had been sailing since childhood. There were 5 other helpers there as well which made it great for getting all our questions answered, getting the boats rigged up and down to the water.
I was expecting a morning classroom session the first day, and then hands-on training at the boats in the afternoon...but I assumed wrong! We did intros, then a quick 101 about proper sailing gear and where you can buy it in Oman. We were given a beginners handbook, written by the Royal Yachting Association which was 40 pages and covered the basics. However, we didn't go through the book, just that it was a good read for homework. Then over to the boats we went. Which, I actually prefer the hands on training anyway, but we were all brand new to sailing, so I didn't expect the quick progression.
By 11AM we had 8 Laser Classics (1 man boat) rigged up and 2 Laser 2000s (2-3 man boat). By 11:30 the boats were on the beach and we had started to sail! I was very grateful for the helpers who came out, the winds had started picking up, making it quite challenging to even get off the beach. It was trial by fire! We did 1 steering drill prior to launching the boats, then you were sent out to sea, 1 person per boat - just you, the elements, a handful of ropes and a boom that can cause a severe headache if you weren't watching!
We were supposed to work on 'tacking' around the buoys, which I didn't exactly know what that meant, but could see that the instructors were turning to the left. The lead instructor launched a motorized boat for rescues, and I didn't think that there would be many capsized boats, but all of us went over at least twice! We didn't do any capsize drills on the beach, so you just had to figure out how to upright the boat, get in, and get control again. It was a bit nerve racking going over the first time! They were small, light boats, so it wasn't too bad to tip it back over. As long as you could jump on the centerplate in less than 3 tries, it was easy. The centerplate was about 2-3 ft out of the water, so after more that 3 attempts and expending all your energy, it took more time and possibly some help. I felt bad for the people who went over 10 times...they looked exhausted once they made it back to the beach! Also, no one mentioned all the work that goes into getting the boat ready and put away, and also the body bashing. We had rope burns, cuts, sore backs and bruised shins! I thought this was supposed to be relaxing...
By the second day, we were on the water by 9:30. The winds were strong, which made some people happy and left others anxious. I suppose it's better to learn on rough water with support and learn faster, than to be by yourself out in the ocean in rough water. I didn't think I would be using the toe strap as a beginner, but with the wind, if you didn't balance out the boat by leaning over the edge, you'd capsize.
Speaking of capsizing...Adam was matched up with 2 others on the Laser 2000 on the second day. It was getting pretty rough by mid-morning, and so only the larger Laser 2000s were left on the water. The Classics were being put away when all of a sudden there was some commotion out at sea. The Laser 2000 had capsized! (this typically doesn't happen). The boat was turned right side up, but the mast had snapped in two! I knew it was not good from the reaction of the other sailors on shore. The rescue boat went out and towed the 2000 back in and gathered up the passengers. It happened to be the boat Adam was on, and he was helming at the time...unfortunately those things happen in adverse conditions, the instructor wasn't sure how the mast broke.
Needless to say we didn't go out in the afternoon, but practiced rigging up boats and we covered some theory. I'm starting to feel like I know a bit more about sailing, at least I can speak some of the lingo and pick out the skill in a nice tack or gybe.
Hopefully this weekend brings better conditions as it's my turn on the 2000.
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| My Laser Classic - 'Fluffy' |
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| Early morning - hardly any waves! |
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| Laser Classics - mix of Radial (smaller) and 4.7 sails |
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ReplyDeletePlease can you remove the link in Leo Bowen's comment (the first comment on this post).
ReplyDeleteKind regards
First Class Sailing