Long considered one of the last bastions of freedom, sailing has an enduring Corinthian spirit, with yacht owners often taking great pride in learning from experience and working things out for themselves. But, with yachts becoming more complex than ever, is it time to invite the experts on board?
What it takes to run a happy, safe – and hopefully fast – yacht demands a diverse range of skills, knowledge, and experience. As a baseline, RYA courses offer an excellent framework to build on, but first-time yacht owners tend to realise quickly how much is not covered, and particularly how much they need to know that is specific to the model of yacht they have bought.
With first time yacht owners increasingly ambitious in their plans, many planning bluewater adventures for their first yacht, the option of getting some expert tuition aboard your own boat is well worth exploring.
Inherently flexible, shaped around the specific requirements of the owner, tuition at a one-on-one level is also far more intensive than the usual 1:4 – or more – students commonly found on a sailing course.
KNOWLEDGE DOWNLOAD
Peter Sterling’s sailing CV is, by anyone’s standards, extensive; 400,000 miles at sea, including 39 Atlantic crossings and skippering two Clipper Round the World Race entries. The latter is perhaps the best indication of his skillset and temperament when it comes to helping others, with varying levels of experience, get the most out of their yacht.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Yachting World.
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
Nikki Henderson- Want to be a better skipper? think like an instructor
Recently I was fortunate enough to find myself on the bow during a race. Well, I thought it was fortunate but appreciate that sentiment could be up for debate... I don’t get so much opportunity to play on the pointy end these days. It was fun!I was readying the symmetric spinnaker for a bear away set. Having just fed the sheet and guy around to the starboard side and under the jib, I was bracing myself in some sort of yoga-starfish position. Right foot braced on a stanchion, left foot on the pulpit, my core muscles just about keeping me upright as I rolled the lines around to make sure they weren’t twisted before attaching them to the clew.
NIKKI HENDERSON
WHERE DO YOU FIND HANDY BILLY WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
IS OLYMPIC SAILING ACTUALLY HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS A SHOWCASE OF THE SPORT FOR BOTH COMPETITORS AND SPECTATORS?
Building fleet for Baltic Sea Race
The second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race, a 635-mile race out of Helsinki, Norway, saw varied conditions and a new benchmark course time set.
New cruising charter 'Odyssey'
Charter company Dream Yacht has launched a new round the world supported cruising programme for yacht owners which draws on the company's extensive network of charter bases.
Mixed fortunes at Marseille
The Paris 2024 sailing regatta saw mixed fortunes for many favourites - some confirming their dominance, others crashing out as variable winds played havoc.
The yacht Bayesian
Bayesian is one of Italian yard Perini Navi's 56m series, originally named Salute.
Seven dead in superyacht sinking
Seven people are dead following the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, a 56m/184ft British-flagged Perini Navi, off the coast of Sicily.
5 EXPERT TIPS HELENA DARVELID ON MULTIHULL CONTROL
Performance multihull racing is growing hugely in popularity. Helena Darvelid shares some key learnings with Andy Rice
PALMA'S FUN FACTOR
FUN ON AND OFF THE WATER IS AN UNBEATABLE COMBINATION AT THE SUPERYACHT CUP PALMA, WRITES PHIL RILEY
