Keelboat Training: Day 1
The sailing (finally) begins!
About six months ago we booked in to a RYA approved 2-day beginner sailing course. It was unexpectedly delayed by three months and eventually cancelled by the club we had initially booked with - a bitter disappointment in the starting blocks of our big adventure. We had a few challenges which certainly showed us that it's going to require bags of patience to ensure we get the experience we need. A valuable lesson for us to learn early on. For an island surrounded by water, ships and plenty of space, it may be surprising to learn that there aren't that many places in Singapore that offer sailboat training.
Thankfully, the Changi Sailing Club came to our rescue with their Competent Crew Course. Not only that, they were very accommodating in helping us to arrange customised sessions to fit in around the commitments of our young family. Their Level 1 course is run over four days on a J/24 Keelboat and is certified by the Singapore Sailing Federation.
It may not be the catamaran cruising that we'll eventually be doing, but we were dying to get out on the water to test our mettle and see if we'd like it. Could we go from complete novices to competent crew in a matter of weekends? Let's find out...
17 September 2016
Changi Sailing Club is is located in the far east of Singapore, just north of Changi Airport. Surrounded by coconut trees and away from the hum of the city, it sits on the water's edge looking out to Pulau Ubin. It was relatively cool with the coastal breeze; the weather was overcast with a low wind and not too stuffy.
We started the day off in one of the outdoor classrooms amongst the spare sails, masts and hulls, where our instructor went through the basic parts of a boat and an overview of wind direction on a whiteboard. Next it was into the pool for a swim competency test before grabbing some life jackets and getting a ferry out to our training boat, Just A J.
The 24 foot long boat had probably seen better days, but it was perfectly suited to being scuffed about by beginners. There was no messing around - we were straight into the learning. We checked out the mooring, rigged the boat up for sail and cast off.
We spent the next couple of hours tacking and gybing, reading the wind in the sails, navigating the strong current, mooring, using the VHF radio, and trying to stay out of the way of passing container ships.
After lunch the wind had dropped, so we got back into the classroom for some revision, and theory on how to dock a ship. But before long we were back on the water learning how to motor and berth the boat. Fortunately the wind picked up again in the mid-afternoon, so we put up our sails underway and worked on more of the practical stuff. (Side note: At this point we may have crashed into a parked boat during a tricky maneuver. Well, it was more of a passing kiss... Honest!)
Although we didn't understand everything, we did have a great time. We were expecting more theory on day one, so it was a pleasant surprise to get stuck straight into the practicalities and get a feel for it. There is so much to learn that you can't know it all in advance, so it's better to just jump straight in at the deep end. We slept so very well that night!
We finished the day off with a well earned ice-cold beer on the beach at sunset. Cheers! Now to get our land legs back...