Quote:
Originally Posted by KC911
^^^^ How would you suggest that Chris "learn the ropes" about sailing in general and a cat that size?
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Great question. If I planned to winter 6 months per year in the Caribbean aboard a $1M cruising cat I would probably do all of the following to some degree:
- Like performance driving the traditional method is to start out on a small dingy or beach cat and learn the ropes when you can really feel what is going on with the boat. As boats increase in size you lose a lot of the feel which tells you what is going on and when you need to make adjustments before you break the boat.
- Another method is to enroll in cruising classes which may be required by the insurance carrier for coverage. Great for all of the things like weather, currents, radio, radar, right of way etc. No significant hands on experience.
- A common practice these days is to connect with an active FT sailor and agree to act as working crew aboard their boat. Costs vary a lot from simply contributing to running expenses to comprehensive coaching and training while under passage across an ocean
-If I wanted the best training from world class experts, I would connect with Annie Gardner and Eric Witte aboard their Catana 472 El Gato. She is an Olympian and 2 time world champion who now sails full time aboard their cruising cat. I sailed with Annie many times back in the 80s-90s and she is not only supremely skilled but is a great communicator and coach. Getting folks up to speed in cruising quickly is one of their passions.