A Holiday for Some: Why We Are Spending a Week Learning to Sail Better

For many people, a week beside the River Thames might sound like a relaxing holiday.

There may be sunshine, boats, fresh air and time away from the normal routine. However, for Paul and me, our week at Upper Thames Sailing Club in Bourne End will not simply involve sitting beside the river and watching the boats go past.

We will be taking part in a week of sailing training centred on the RYA Level 3 Better Sailing course.

It will certainly be enjoyable, but it will also involve concentration, physical effort, repeated practice, mistakes, corrections and probably more than a few wet clothes.

That is because owning a sailing boat is one thing. Developing the skills needed to sail it effectively, confidently and safely is something very different.

Buying a Boat Does Not Automatically Make You a Sailor

It is relatively easy to buy a boat.

You can search the advertisements, examine the photographs, arrange the transport, pay the money and suddenly become the owner of something capable of carrying you onto the water.

What you cannot purchase quite so quickly is experience.

Experience has to be earned through time on the water. It comes from making decisions, getting things wrong, receiving good instruction and repeating manoeuvres until they begin to feel natural.

Paul and I have already completed our RYA Level 1 Start Sailing and RYA Level 2 Basic Skills training. We have also taken the RYA Powerboat Level 2, First Aid and Safety Boat courses.

Each course has added another layer to our understanding.

Level 1 introduced the foundations. Level 2 helped us become more independent in light winds. Powerboat training taught us that powered craft have their own handling characteristics and responsibilities. First-aid training made us think about what happens when an enjoyable day on the water becomes a medical emergency. Safety-boat training taught us more about recovering people and assisting damaged or capsized boats.

The next step is not simply to repeat what we already know. It is to improve the quality and consistency of our sailing.

The RYA describes Level 3 Better Sailing as an opportunity to consolidate the skills developed during Levels 1 and 2 while trying additional skills in a variety of conditions. It can also introduce elements of advanced areas such as seamanship and day sailing.

That word consolidate is important.

It is one thing to perform a manoeuvre once while an instructor talks you through it. It is another to perform it smoothly when the wind changes, the river becomes crowded and the boat does not behave exactly as expected.

Moving Beyond the RS Toura

Much of our sailing development has taken place in our RS Toura.

The Toura is a modern training boat. It is stable, practical and designed to help sailors learn. It gives us time to think, communicate and correct mistakes.

Even so, it is still possible to capsize it, mistime a tack, allow the sails to flap unnecessarily or approach a mark from the wrong angle.

The boat may be forgiving, but the river is not always equally forgiving.

There may be trees creating sudden wind shadows. Gusts can arrive unexpectedly. Other boats may limit the room available for a manoeuvre. A badly timed tack can leave the boat losing momentum in the middle of the river.

The Toura has therefore been an excellent classroom.

However, we are now moving towards something very different.

The Challenge of Sailing an A-Rater

Our Thames A-Rater, Champagne, is longer, faster, more powerful and considerably less forgiving than the RS Toura.

An A-Rater is not simply a larger training dinghy.

Its size, sail area, speed and handling characteristics mean that every member of the crew must understand what is happening. Communication has to be clear. Manoeuvres need to be planned. Weight must be positioned correctly. Ropes must be handled quickly without becoming tangled.

A small mistake in a training boat may result in a slow or untidy tack.

The same mistake in an A-Rater could involve much greater forces, more momentum and more expensive consequences.

Champagne is also an older design with its own character. That is part of the attraction, but it also means we cannot assume that every modern training technique will transfer directly without thought.

We need to understand not only what to do, but why we are doing it.

Why does the boat lose speed during a tack?

Why does changing crew position affect balance?

Why should the sail be eased before a gust rather than after the boat has already started to heel?

Why does the boat accelerate in one part of the river but appear to stop in another?

Why is an approach to a pontoon that works in one wind direction completely unsuitable in another?

These are not questions that can be answered by ownership alone.

They require instruction, practice and reflection.

Turning Individual Actions into a Crew Routine

Sailing is rarely about one isolated skill.

A successful tack, for example, involves a sequence of connected actions:

• checking that there is enough room;

• looking for other boats;

• considering the wind and current;

• warning the crew;

• steering smoothly through the wind;

• releasing and adjusting the sails;

• moving body weight at the correct moment;

• settling the boat on the new course;

• rebuilding speed.

When learning, it is easy to concentrate so much on one part of the process that another part is forgotten.

The helm may turn the boat but forget to communicate.

The crew may release one rope but not prepare the other.

Everyone may move across the boat at once and disturb its balance.

The manoeuvre may technically succeed, but the boat may come out of it almost stationary.

Training allows these actions to be separated, practised and then rebuilt into a coordinated routine.

This becomes even more important on Champagne, where we may have a helm, a middle hand and a forward hand all performing different but connected tasks.

A good crew should not need to shout constantly or react in panic. Each person should understand the plan, recognise what is happening and anticipate what will be needed next.

Can We Learn to Capsize Without Getting So Wet?

One of the questions we have is whether we can improve our capsize technique and perhaps learn how to complete a “dry capsize” recovery.

The name is slightly optimistic. Sailing instructors have an impressive ability to describe an exercise as “dry” while everyone involved still finishes the session dripping wet.

The basic idea is to anticipate the capsize and move across the boat in a controlled way, possibly climbing over the side or centreboard rather than falling fully into the water.

Whether this is practical depends on the boat, the conditions and the exact situation. Nevertheless, capsize training is valuable because it changes the event from a frightening surprise into something that has already been rehearsed.

A capsize creates several immediate problems:

• Where is every member of the crew?

• Is anyone trapped or injured?

• Is the boat drifting towards danger?

• Are ropes, sails or equipment creating additional hazards?

• Can the crew get back into the boat once it is upright?

• Does outside assistance need to be requested?

During our previous capsize, one lesson became particularly clear: getting the boat upright is not the same as getting everyone safely back aboard.

We found that we needed a rope ladder at the back of the boat.

That experience demonstrates the difference between theory and reality. From the shore, it is easy to imagine simply pulling yourself over the side. In the water, wearing sailing clothing and a buoyancy aid, with tired arms and a boat moving beneath you, it can be much more difficult.

The capsize therefore taught us something about both technique and equipment.

A small modification such as a properly positioned boarding ladder may make a major difference during a real recovery.

Practising Problems Before They Become Emergencies

Good training is not intended to remove every possible risk.

Sailing will always involve wind, water, moving equipment and changing conditions.

Instead, training helps us recognise risks earlier and respond more effectively.

There is an enormous difference between thinking:

“The boat is leaning over. What do we do?”

and thinking:

“A stronger gust is approaching. Ease the sail, move the weight and keep the boat driving forwards.”

The first response happens after the problem has developed.

The second prevents the problem from becoming serious.

The same principle applies to many situations:

• approaching a crowded mark;

• losing steerage during a tack;

• getting a rope caught;

• recovering a person from the water;

• coming alongside a pontoon;

• assisting another boat;

• dealing with an injury afloat;

• deciding not to launch because the conditions are unsuitable.

Seamanship is not simply the ability to perform dramatic rescues. It is often the ability to make good decisions early enough that a rescue is never required.

Learning to Use a Spinnaker

Another skill we may encounter is sailing with a spinnaker.

Fortunately, Champagne is not allowed to use a spinnaker while racing on the river. Considering the size of her existing sails and the speed she can already achieve, that may be a relief.

Nevertheless, learning how a spinnaker works would still be valuable.

A spinnaker is a large sail used when sailing downwind or across the wind. It can significantly increase speed, but it also introduces additional ropes, equipment and crew responsibilities.

The crew must understand:

• when the sail should be prepared;

• how it is hoisted;

• how the pole is controlled;

• how the sheets are adjusted;

• how to prevent the sail twisting;

• when it should be taken down;

• what to do if something goes wrong.

The RYA offers sailing-with-spinnakers training as one of the advanced pathways that follows the core sailing levels. The aim is not merely to put up a larger sail, but to understand how to sail an effective downwind course while controlling it.

Even if we do not use a spinnaker on Champagne, learning to handle one can improve our general understanding of sail shape, wind direction, teamwork and downwind sailing.

There is also considerable value in deliberately learning something outside the immediate requirements of our own boat. Broader knowledge makes sailors more adaptable.

Why Take Formal RYA Qualifications?

It is reasonable to ask why qualifications are necessary.

After all, generations of people learned to sail from relatives, friends and other club members without collecting certificates.

Informal learning remains extremely valuable. Some of the best advice comes from experienced sailors who know a particular river, boat or club better than anyone else.

However, structured training offers several important advantages.

A Recognised Learning Path

RYA courses provide a clear progression.

Rather than learning disconnected tricks, students develop a foundation and then build upon it. Level 3 is specifically designed to strengthen Level 1 and Level 2 skills before sailors move towards more specialised areas.

This makes it easier to identify both progress and gaps.

Instruction from a Different Perspective

It is easy to repeat the same mistake without realising it.

An instructor watching from another position may notice that the helm is turning too sharply, the crew is moving too late or the sails are being adjusted in a way that slows the boat.

A small correction can sometimes produce an immediate improvement.

A Safe Environment for Making Mistakes

Training allows difficult situations to be practised under supervision.

Capsizes, recovery exercises and challenging manoeuvres are much better attempted with suitable safety cover and experienced instructors than discovered unexpectedly during a busy race.

Shared Language Between Crew Members

Formal instruction gives sailors a common vocabulary.

Commands and descriptions become clearer. Everyone understands what is meant by heading up, bearing away, easing, sheeting in, heaving to or preparing to tack.

Clear language becomes particularly important as boat speed and crew size increase.

Greater Confidence

Confidence should not mean believing that nothing will go wrong.

Real confidence comes from understanding that something might go wrong and knowing how to respond.

Training replaces some of the uncertainty with rehearsed actions.

Understanding Personal Limits

A certificate does not mean that someone is ready for every boat in every condition.

One of the most valuable lessons is knowing when not to sail.

Wind strength, river conditions, crew experience, health, fatigue and equipment condition should all affect the decision.

Qualifications provide a foundation, but good judgement remains essential.

Sailing, Powerboating, First Aid and Safety Cover Are Connected

Our different courses should not be viewed as completely separate qualifications.

They support one another.

Sailing experience helps us understand what a capsized or disabled dinghy may do.

Powerboat training helps us approach another craft safely and control our own boat at low speed.

The RYA Safety Boat course builds upon Powerboat Level 2 and develops practical recovery and fleet-management skills for sailing and training environments.

First-aid training prepares us for the possibility that a sailing incident may involve more than damaged equipment. The RYA First Aid course is specifically designed around the demands of providing first aid afloat, where help may not be immediately beside you.

Together, these areas help create a more rounded sailor.

We are not only learning how to make a boat move faster. We are learning how to plan, prevent problems, assist others and respond when circumstances change.

A Week of Deliberate Practice

One benefit of spending a complete week training is continuity.

During occasional sailing sessions, several weeks may pass between opportunities to practise a particular manoeuvre. By the time we return to it, some of the earlier learning may have faded.

A concentrated week allows us to practise, reflect and then try again while the previous session is still fresh in our minds.

We can identify a weakness on Monday, work on it during Tuesday and Wednesday, and hopefully see an improvement before the end of the week.

Possible areas for improvement include:

• making smoother and faster tacks;

• controlling the boat more effectively during gusts;

• maintaining speed through mark roundings;

• improving communication between helm and crew;

• approaching pontoons with greater control;

• recovering from poor manoeuvres without panicking;

• understanding sail trim rather than merely copying settings;

• improving capsize and reboarding techniques;

• developing greater awareness of other boats;

• recognising when conditions are becoming too demanding.

Not everything will be mastered in a week.

That is not the purpose.

The aim is to leave with better habits, greater understanding and a clearer idea of what we need to practise next.

Learning at Any Age

There is sometimes an assumption that learning adventurous new skills belongs mainly to younger people.

I do not accept that.

Learning may feel different as we get older. We may be more aware of the consequences of falling into cold water. We may take longer to recover after a demanding day. Climbing back into a boat may require more planning than it once did.

However, maturity also provides advantages.

We may be more willing to listen. We may understand the value of preparation. We may be less interested in showing off and more interested in doing things properly.

Taking sailing qualifications later in life is not about pretending to be younger.

It is about continuing to learn, accepting sensible challenges and refusing to assume that new experiences are only available to other people.

The Certificate Is Not the Final Objective

At the end of the course, it will be satisfying to have another qualification recorded in our sailing logbooks.

However, the certificate itself is not the main objective.

The real benefits should appear later:

• in a smoother tack;

• in a calmer capsize recovery;

• in a better decision about whether to launch;

• in clearer communication aboard Champagne;

• in recognising a gust before it causes trouble;

• in helping another sailor safely;

• in returning to the pontoon with both boat and crew intact.

A qualification records that training has taken place.

Competence is demonstrated through what we do afterwards.

Conclusion: Preparing Ourselves for Champagne

Our week at Upper Thames Sailing Club may look like a holiday from the bank.

We will be outside, beside the river and spending our days in boats.

But it is also an important stage in our development.

The RS Toura has given us a valuable and relatively forgiving platform on which to learn. Champagne now presents a much greater challenge. Her speed, size and power require better teamwork, better judgement and a deeper understanding of sailing.

We cannot assume that because we own her, we automatically possess the skills needed to sail her well.

Those skills must be developed deliberately.

The purpose of taking further RYA training is not to remove every risk or turn us instantly into expert sailors. It is to make us more observant, more prepared and more capable of making good decisions.

We may learn to complete a drier capsize. We may learn how to control a spinnaker. We will almost certainly discover several things that we currently do badly.

That is precisely why the week matters.

A boat can be purchased in a day.

Becoming the sailor that boat deserves takes much longer.