Sailing

[Jolly O'Grog Rogers]

I'm interested in finding a boat that will be sailing this summer for an extended period of time (May-August). I am new to sailing and hope to learn this summer. I am a very fast learner, physically fit, a hard worker, and not too bad of company either! If at all possible it would be nice to be able to work to cover my costs (e.g. food while out at sea)... I am not concerned with making a profit, other than learning to sail. I cannot afford to pay to be aboard.

Please, if anyone has anything or suggestions on where to find something... let me know!

[Red Cat Jenny]

You can start at ASTA American Sail Training Association

http://tallships.sailtraining.org/

Good luck!

[StrangeBayPirate]

check out this group Mr.Rogers

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sailingonline/

thar you will find folks already in the same boat you are ... lookin for a ride, along with folks with vessels a lookin for crews. Heres wishin you fair winds and following seas

[MorganTyre]

Try posting in your local yacht club. Also, if your just looking to learn see if there is any local club racing going on and see if you can hop on one of those boats. Depending on where you are in the world there may be a large fleet somewhere near you. Most (but not all) cruisers want to bring someone with some experience but racers frequently just need another body on board for weight. Once you get on make it clear that you are interested in knowing more and soon you'll be learning all you can stand. While sailing schools are nice (especially if you are looking for more traditional sailing) they are generally out of reach if you have little to no money. However, club racing can generally be done for free and in my mind is a better learning environment than what a school can provide as the ratio of teachers to students isn't 1:20 but more like 5:1 and you can see the direct cause and effect of every action as it relates not only to your own boat and crew but also how it makes the boat respond vs other similar boats. Also, the focus and specialization that having one job to learn at a time (sail trim, helm, foredeck, etc.) rather than trying them all out at once will teach you how that job effects each other position in turn - if you are making another crew member's life difficult they will let you know.

[Matusalem]

Jolly'O, If I may speak freely, first where are you located? Lake or sea?

I would highly suggest finding an organization that specializes in sailing school or camp that teaches sailing, at the very least a minimum of being on the water a dozen times. The easiest boats to sail are 12-14 ft (3-4 meters), particulary Sunfishes or Phantoms, Vanguards, and Lasers.

As for me, I was fortunate when I was 12 yrs old, to enroll in a 14 day daily camp in my home town of Bristol, R.I organized by Roger Williams University. Every day we were on Sunfishes and Lasers. I was jealous of other students because theipr parents were rich enough to enroll them in the dorms (and get stoned afterwards ), while mom picked me up and drove me home. My mom inevitably bought me a sunfish (which was $750 new in those days) afterwards, which I have spent many a summer day breezing through all corners of Narragansett bay. Having my own little sailboat also gave me the courage to handle the heeling, wind, surf, currents, whixh I was initially petrified. And to sound idealistic, when Capt jack Sparrow speaks that the Black Pearl is...freedom, it is exactly that type of "freedom" for me. I was able to sail, even alone, to uninhabited islands such as Hope islands, despair island and claim them for myself for a few hours. Those who know Narragansett bay know what I'm talking about. Not a bad deal when you consider these were waters once sailed by Wm Kidd, Thomas Tew...you get that felling. That's my story, good luck!

[Matusalem]

Jolly'oOI think I misinterpreted your question. Sorry, I must have made you feel like a little kid, my apologies. I would contact a local Yacht club to see if any crew are needed. Again, I don't know where you are so I wouldnt be able to point you in the right direction.

[Matusalem]

Sorry to rant once again, but These sites come to mind. Kind of a working classroom on tall ships The Kalmar Nyckel in Wilmington, Deleware are looking for volunteers...so I guess this would be close to free, no tuition:

http://www.kalmarnyckel.org/learning.asp

And the schooner Sultana:

http://www.sultanaprojects.org/

Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks:

http://www.riverheritage.org/preservation/...pjack_crew.html

and a tall ships site:

http://www.tallshipformidable.com/maritimelinks1.html

Well...that's the East coast I know off-hand. ...at least for volunteer/learning stuff.

[the Royaliste]

Well, I guess I missed this one while underway......ROYALISTE is now on the 'east coast'. While in port, we teach period sail training, and almost always allow interested folks low on doubloons to sail 'for free'. We are now in Beaufort, NC. End of may we start our'special event' sailing season...Our volunteer crew is basically filled in for the journey, but we generally end up searching for more, especially when we make our turn and run south again. You might contact us, then again, it doesn't look like you responded to the other posts......Summer ports are shapin' up like this so far: Portsmouth, Hampton Blackbeard Festival, Norfolk , Essex, Conn., Newport, RI, Halifax, Sydney,Lunnenburg, with more to be added....

[Matusalem]

Summer ports are shapin' up like this so far: Portsmouth, Hampton Blackbeard Festival, Norfolk , Essex, Conn., Newport, RI, Halifax, Sydney,Lunnenburg, with more to be added....

Royaliste, I looked at your website, but I did not see any schedule of events....or where ya headed next. maybe I didn't look closely enough.

[the Royaliste]

Actually mate, we're so damned busy trying to get the ship back in order from the grounding incident, that we haven't had the time to update either of our websites. Behind in our dues to ASTA, so we aren't shown on their site either.....many thousands in the hole, or behind at present. Also, even if we had some free time, the connection speed here in Beaufort for our Sprint aircard in the laptop is waay slow; too slow for uploading codes. I have been updating things way back on the ship's forum (which also crashed last fall, and no one seems to know it's back up)...Check under 'ship's log', 'from the gundeck'....I also try to post somewhere here, when I can wade thru the fantasy stuff and the multitude of 'Captains'

[Hawkyns]

Hey Cap'n.

What's your planned date and event for Essex, CT?

That's the backyard for us, no more than 30 minutes away. Let us know what is going on and if there's anything we might be abke to help with.

Hawkyns

Ship's crew of The Mermayde.

[the Royaliste]

Ahoy Hawkyns, I'm just putting the dates together with the folks at the maritime museum, and this one has a short tayle to it. Last year, when we did the Oyster Bay Festival on Long Island, I was swappin' historical book titles with one of the guys, and he just couldn't express enough ways to try and get us to 'come accross' the sound...The weather window started closing, and we had to cut and run for the Jersey Coast and safe harbor. Our closest ASTA stop is Newport, so I gave him a call, and offered him a stop by for safe harbor, and a spot for my crew to mingle. You and your group would be more than welcome, as due to all circumstances this year, I'm running a short crew at this point. Not so much as sailin', but more towards our more normal contingency of reenactor and living history types...I'll let you know shortly when we have a date; it looks like the weekend or week before Newport, but for how long is up in air at present.