How We Learned to Sail

Some may call it unconventional. But hey, we did it! This is the story on how we learned to sail.

This article is part of our series, Sailing Zafiro (Sapphire), which chronicles our adventures as we learn to sail AND learn to live WITH a sailboat. We’re highlighting the nitty gritty details that often get lost on those who dream of owning a sailboat.

With that said, the information in this series is strictly based on our personal experiences and is not meant to teach you how to sail (they make entire books about that). But rather, serves as a compilation of experiences that you may draw some usefulness from. Because, let’s be honest, we’re not entirely sure if we’re even sailing correctly or not. Either way, we’re glad you’re here to follow along our crazy adventure!

How We Learned to Sail

Maybe it was the rum. Maybe it was the bad weather. Or maybe it was the pure joy of finally getting those sails up successfully. No matter what it was, our first sail on our 14 foot hunk of floating fiberglass was a thrill.

She was a 1977 (rough estimate) Alcort Sunfish – the iconic single-handed, single-masted sailboat often spotted at every summer camp ever. And that’s precisely where we got her from: a former summer camp employee met me in Chicago to pass her along. Soon after, I hauled her south to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And what do you know? A few weeks later, she was sailing around the bay in Sebastian Inlet. Not bad, eh?

Learning with no experience

And no. We had no sailing experience when we first launched her. And honestly, that was the idea. That’s why we bought something as small as the Sunfish. To learn. To play. And to make mistakes. So given that, we aptly named the Sunfish, Beginner’s Luck. Because hey, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, a few things, actually: torn sails, snapped boom, hull damage and fiberglass repair – just to name a few. But good thing it was only on a small Sunfish and not a new 30+ foot sailboat or catamaran, right? And again, that was exactly the point.

Learning on a small sailboat

If you’re going to learn to sail something, start small. I know a lot of people dream of owning the big sailboats or catamarans, and believe us, so do we. But we wanted to make the costly mistakes before they really turned too costly. Damage done on Beginner’s Luck (ha! Get it?) is minor in comparison to a larger vessel.

With that said, if you’re interested in teaching yourself how to sail, these are widely known as the best small sailboats to learn on:

• Alcort Sunfish: as described above. Again, every camper ever has learned on one of these things (for good reason). It’s relatively easy to master once you get the basics down.
• Optimist Sailing Dinghy: living in Fort Lauderdale, you see just about every yacht club kid using one of these. They’re awesome sailboats to learn on but their size is limited. It may be laughable catching a grown man/woman on one of these bad boys.
• Laser: at first glance, it’s near identical to the Sunfish. However, it’s widely known as a slight step-up from the Sunfish. In many cases, the Laser is actually used for international races.
• Marlow-Hunter 18: while working for the Boy Scouts of America in the Florida Keys, lots of hte kids learned on the Hunter 18. This vessel is perfect for couples who want to learn the basics of sailing with a jib and main sail together.

Again, we obviously chose the Sunfish due to its reputation and affordability compared to some of these other vessels.

Our first successful sail

After a few failed attempts (in actuality we were too scared to even launch it) we received some help from dear friends up north.

It was a camping trip to Sebastian Inlet State Park along the east coast of Florida. Nicole and Joey (Laura’s good friends from college) made the trip down from Saint Augustine as we traveled north from Miami / Fort Lauderdale. And of course, we brought Beginner’s Luck with us.

Thankfully, they come from a band of sailors and knew their way around a boat or two. So with that said, the Sunfish was no issue. A few things they taught us as we made our first successful sail:

• Your sailboat can tack outside a 30 – 45° heading into the wind (windward).
• Aim your boat 15-25° to the right or left of the wind for your sail to catch.
• Watch your head when you tack. The boom will swing quickly!
• Point your tiller towards the danger to veer away.
• When in doubt, let it out (your main sheet, that is).
• A bottle of rum is a necessity for four people aboard a 14 foot Sunfish.

And with those few bits of information, we did it! Granted, we’re familiar with boats (after all, we both work on dive boats for a living). But no matter, the basic concepts of sailing were better understood.

So my advice? Get yourself a Nicole and Joey (someone who knows how to sail). Even if they’re technically novice sailors, they’ll take you a long, long way. Believe us.

Mistakes made and lessons learned as we mastered the sails

For the next few months, we sailed Beginner’s Luck every so often when the stars aligned: we both had work off, the winds were just right and the sun was shining (adulting, amirite??). We skimmed around bays, the intracoastal and even the open ocean from time to time.

It was great. And again, mistakes were made. Many of them.

Know your limits

For instance, one day, I was insistent on launching the thing from the beach. “It’s our only day this week to sail”, I thought. Never mind the gale force winds and the 6 foot waves crashing along the beach; I was determined.

Laura, reluctantly obliged (like the wonderful fiancé she is).

It was a horrible idea. Not a minute after getting it off the trailer and into the water, we plunged into a wave, hurdling us backwards toward the beach. I didn’t even get on the damn thing and now here it was: the boom was in two separate pieces and our brand new sail had a tear in it. Great.

But you know what? Those are the boneheaded mistakes you need to make. The mistakes you will make. Because as you read this, you’re probably thinking, “Well, yea. What did you think was going to happen?”. But in that moment, that’s obviously not what I was thinking or what you may be thinking in a similar situation. Hindsight is 20/20.

And the lesson to learn in all of that, is don’t push it. Sure, your busy schedule may conflict with your planned sailing day. However, know your limits. Know your boat’s limits. Know what the weather is doing. And plan accordingly.

Sure, some days you’ll get blown out. And that’s apart of it – you will have more days to sail. Just be patient and wait for the right one.

Have a good place to launch your boat

The amount of times I tried to foolishly launch Beginner’s Luck on the beach (some successfully, some not so much) is mind boggling. The boat was literally on a trailer I could pull with my Jeep! Why would I exert the energy to pull it by hand on the beach?!

But I just had to launch it from the beach. Not sure what I was thinking. And as a result, I was limited on how many times I actually took it out.

My advice? Find a good place to launch your boat and stick with it. Whether that’s a lake, a boat ramp or a beach. Find something that works for you. You’ll get more out of your boat and learn to sail much quicker than we did.

Successful sails

But for all the mistakes made, we learned a few lessons. And for all the bad sails, we had just as many good sails. One of the best ones was down in the Florida Keys with little to no wind, but we made it work. We had such as sense for the wind, we caught it in our sails.

Another was a similar situation off of Fort Lauderdale Beach. Light winds with a mild sea breeze coming from the open ocean. We launched, caught wind and even popped in for a quick snorkel. It was an amazing day.

Captain’s Notes: How We Learned to Sail

So with a little help from a few seasoned sailors, a small sailboat, hard lessons learned, and a little reading, we successfully learned how to sailed. Now, we still have a long way to go – sailing a Sunfish is nothing compared to some larger vessels (or our dream boat, for that matter).

The boats get bigger: more sails, parts, engines, length and money are all added to the equation. But I think we’re ready. It’s time to move onto something bigger. The Sunfish consists of a main sail and a few lines. And that’s it. But without the knowledge of those basic concepts, forget about sailing anything bigger any time soon.

So in summary, how we learned to sail was a few parts all around:

• Learn on a small boat and work your way up.
• Make mistakes. That’s what you have a cheap, small boat for.
• Find a friend who knows how to sail. Pick their brain and have them take you out.
• Set sail on your own. You’ll never learn if you heavily rely on others.
• Don’t push your limits and be patient. Sailing is extremely finicky when it comes to the weather and you may have to a cancel a day even if it’s your only one for awhile.
• Find your spot and stick to it. Get comfortable in an environment you’re familiar with.

How We Learned to Sail: Trading Up

And after you master a skill, it’s only a matter of time before you trade up and challenge yourself even more. That’s our thought process, at least. And that’s why we sold Beginner’s Luck to search for a larger boat. Something with more sails and almost double the length.

Stay tuned for our next post to find out how we found our next sailboat!