Boating Instruction

Sailing is more complicated than operating a motor boat where if all goes well you fuel the boat, start the motor, cast off the lines and head for your destination. With a sailboat you quickly learn a number of basics: l. Without wind you do not sail. 2. You cannot sail directly into the wind and if you wish to go in that direction you must sail a zig-zag course. 3. A boat with one hull, called a "monohull", will lean or "heel" in the direction toward which the wind is blowing; heeling can be frightening to beginners. Boats with two or three hulls, catamarans and trimarans respectively, heel much less. 4. Boats do not have brakes and so stopping them may be difficult. These and other considerations suggest the wisdom of boating instruction, both on land and water.

As with many professions, one of the first things you will learn is a new vocabulary, in this case a boating vocabulary. On a sailboat every one of the myriad lines, fittings, etc., has a name and so sailing vocabulary is extensive. Did you know that on a sailboat a "sheet" is not a mattress cover, but rather a line controlling a sail? Or a "rode" is not the past tense of "ride", but the line tied to an anchor.

A number of organizations and private firms offer boating instruction, the largest of which is the United States Power Squadrons (www.usps.org, 888-367-8777)) with squadrons throughout the country. Safe boating is the primary goal of this organization and the courses, which range from basic boating to celestial navigation, are excellent and taught both in the classroom and online. The only expense for members is the cost of materials. The US Coast Guard Auxiliary (www.cgaux.org) is another group teaching boating safety.

There is, of course, no substitute for on-the-water training, available from a variety of sources including Power Squadrons, Coast Guard Flotillas, yacht clubs, private individuals and boating groups.