How long does it take?

An interesting discussion evolved this afternoon between Johnsee and myself while we were “working”.

How long does it take to learn how to sail?

How long have you got???

You can learn how to play soccer, rugby, netball, tennis, badminton, darts, basketball, and hockey within a very short and limited time. The rules of the game are easy, and the whole thing is usually over pretty quickly. Compared to sailing, there really isn’t really much to these games that are played between a set of lines.

You see, there are people out there who say they can sail, but guaranteed you stick half of them in a boat, and they wouldn’t know the aft end from forward! Many can’t even tell you what colour represents starboard! (It’s purple isn’t it…? Ha ha, just kidding.)

This then reminds me of the recent release of the song by the Bloodhound Gang called “Foxtrot, Uniform, Charlie, Kilo”. The first time I heard this song being plugged on radio I laughed my head off! It was hilarious listening to the DJ’s who were trying to work out how this crazy bunch of musicians come up with such random lyrics. When I then spoke to some of my non-sailing friends, they thought the song was really catchy, and when I asked them if they knew the underlining meaning they just gave me a blank look.

Sailing takes a life time to understand, and those whom have been yachting all their lives are still learning each and every time they venture onto the water. It’s a sport that is constantly changing and will always be developing with new designs, faster concepts and improved materials with each generation.

So… We have opened this topic for discussion and would be extremely interested to hear your thoughts on how long you think it takes to learn and understand the secrets of sailing.

This could be interesting…!