Leisure sailing is older than you think. Three days after early man stopped breathing through gills and stood upright there was an evolutionary breakthrough with the introduction of the RYA’s very first Day Skipper course. Although only a theory course – as Westerly wasn’t quite ready to go into production with the 22 – it created a yearning to return to the sea which endures to this very day. Thus did civilization begin, and golf came shortly after that.
The rest is history. The RYA devised a Day Skipper practical course, which led to the opening of chandleries selling tea towels printed with the Rules of the Road and Britain’s total domination of the seas forever.
Yet, in its very infancy, leisure sailing could so easily have foundered. For with Westerly 22 still on the drawing board they decided to produce a stop-gap model made out of leather from very big cows. But just 20 minutes after the early man had set off in his Westerly Coracle along the Jurassic coast to take part in Cows Week one of them wanted to go to the loo, and decided to dig a hole. You can guess what happened next. They didn’t discover America.
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Practical Boat Owner.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Practical Boat Owner.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Orca sink yacht in Strait of Gibraltar
Spain's maritime rescue service, Salvamento Maritimo, has reported that a 15m (49ft) yacht sank in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar following interaction with a pod of orca.
No kill cord or lifejackets were worn during fatal powerboat crash
A kill cord and lifejacket are useless unless worn-that's the warning from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), following its investigation into a powerboat crash that killed a 32-year-old woman and five-year-old girl on 2 October 2022.
Multihull sail work
Brush up on multihull sailing skills before heading off on charter with Gavin Le Sueur's guide to spinnaker handling, tacking and gybing
Five top causes of engine failure and how to prevent them
Jake Kavanagh talks to Sea Start marine engineer Nick Eales about how to avoid the five major causes of an engine breakdown at sea
Sail the Atlantic with strangers
Would you sail across the Atlantic with someone you've just met? Ali Wood meets the cruising crews who've done just that
IZIBoat: simple sailing
Rupert Holmes sails an innovative catamaran design intended to widen participation in sailing among those with little time to get on the water in more conventional craft
30 WAYS TO GET AFLOAT
From tall ships to small dinghies, you needn't own a boat to sail. Ali Wood looks at the options, and how skippers can also find crew
Boats for restoring under £20,000
Duncan Kent picks the best sub-35ft sail and power boats to look for when aiming to undertake a restoration on a budget
Seaworthy dinghies for less than £500
For low cost traditionally-styled GRP trailer-sailers, consider the Foreland and the Otter available at bargain basement prices
Playing with coloured sails
Maintaining an hourglass-shaped balloon and ratcheting up the log numbers
