Sail Training: Day 1

Today was a day of firsts; the first day of sail training, the first day sailing an Astréa 42, (indeed the first day sailing any Fountaine Pajot boat), and the first day sailing s/v Long Summer. In fact, the last time we were aboard a yacht was when we were floating around the Gulf of Thailand back in February...

Our trainer, Alain Girard, met us aboard and we instantly felt confident with his relaxed and knowledgable approach. After a quick brief we motored over to the fuel dock to fill her up whilst we bonded over bowlines and fenders. The rest of the morning was spent practising our manoeuvres in the marina - doughnuts, docking, and the infamous “crab exercise”… Surrounded by brand new million-dollar yachts, the pressure was on not to destroy our dream or somebody else’s!

In the afternoon we motored out of the marina and into the bay to get some real sailing under our belts. It was time to literally learn the ropes of our new floating home and get to grips with all of the technology on board. As the main sail crept up the mast there was suddenly a huge sense of responsibility for this big piece of equipment. It now seems very important to look after s/v Long Summer so that she can look after us in return!

Have we bitten off more than we can chew? Perhaps. But what we lack in knowledge we certainly make up for in enthusiasm and optimism! Everybody’s got to start somewhere. And what a sense of achievement to have sailed her for the first time - this is really happening!