Learn to Sail - but where to start? We can offer you our own views on this, and being independent we can truly give you an unbiased view.

Initially it's good to understand what you're motivations are for wanting to learn - do you want to make a career out of sailing, will it be a personal hobby or do you see it as something your whole family can get involved in together? Understanding this will help you to decide what sort of training you require.

Making a Career in Sailing
There's no doubt that if you want to pursue sailing as a career you need to work towards and achieve formal qualifications. Although there are a variety of sailing qualifications available (RYA, International Yachtmaster Training, ASA, AYF and a couple more) only the RYA and IYT are MCA approved.

The RYA scheme has been around for a long time whilst IYT is fairly new, but gaining in popularity seemingly at a very fast rate. We have no preference between the two and would suggest that any decision you make as to which syllabus to follow is based on two things:

• the preferences of a prospective employer, if there is one
• the location of suitable training facilities

We promote RYA, IYT and ASA courses.

Learn to Sail as a Hobby
We started sailing as a hobby ourselves. We had some spare time, liked water and fancied giving it a go - so we did. Although we started in a Laser and then a Fireball dinghy, we progressed onto yachts. There are some who will call sailing an elitist sport - we strongly disagree. For a few hundred euros you can buy yourself an old dinghy and get afloat. You can of course spend a lot, lot more, but the point is you don't have to to get going and to see if you are actually going to enjoy it. As a hobby you can take it as far as you like - stick with your low cost boat if you like, mess around on lakes and rivers and go home safe in the knowledge that you will be getting as much fun out of sailing as many who spend 100 times what you did!

If you want to start entering competitions and be successful then you will have to spend more money and time on your hobby. At a club level we're still not talking loads of money here. If you want to get into the national circuit of competitions, then it will cost you more to be competitive.

Whichever route you take it's important that you undertake some formal training. It'll help your understanding of how sailing works, show you how to do things which would take you a long time to get to grips with otherwise, and make you a safer sailor. Whether you take an accredited course such as an RYA or ASA course does not in our view matter at all so long as you take a course somewhere.

However....by following the syllabus of an approved body such as the RYA, ASA, etc.., you will be guaranteed structure in your learning and a progression path should you wish to take it. You will need to learn how to cope in certain situations - for example what do you do if someone you are sailing with falls overboard? They're life may depend on your ability to do the right thing and quickly.

At the start of your entry into the world of sailing, we recommend that you do take one or two courses as a solid foundation which will help you move forward better, quicker and safer. We'd suggest taking the Level 1 (Start Sailing) and Level 2 (Basic Skills) dinghy courses, or the Competent Crew course if yachts are your thing. Time on the water counts for a lot though, and hence if you have access to a boat, use it at every opportunity. If you don't have access and your interest lies with yachts, take a look at some some of the Adventure Cruises available in our Adventure Sailing section as these will help you build miles and your knowledge. Then... well see what happens.

Learning to Sail as a Family Pastime
There's no doubt in our minds that sailing brings a family closer together. All the families we've met over the years bear witness to this. What else can you do where you get to spend so much quality time together for possibly days at a time? There's something to interest all members of the family for whilst one will like one thing, another will live for something else. And it's not just about being onboard, think about the life outside the boat, the water sports you can do at the same time (wind surfing, swimming and diving from the boat, nipping about in the tender, etc..).

Where to start? Take a look at some of the sailing schools and find one who offers a skippered charter option. For a family of 3 or 4 this may work out the same as paying for 3 or 4 courses but the difference is you will have the yacht exclusively to yourselves, with a qualified (RYA etc...) skipper instructor who can train all of you at once. You may all be Competent Crew level, perhaps one of you will be Day Skipper - it doesn't matter. So when you see Skippered Charter via a sailing school, think instead 'Personal Learn to Sail Course'!

Although you could move down the road of one of the family taking a course or two and then transferring the knowledge to the others, we prefer the group learning experience. Everyone will feel happier knowing that there is a professional instructor, who is qualified to teach sailing in overall charge. It also avoids the problem of chinese whispers...

As a starter here, True North Yachting in Cyprus and Brittany Sailing in France offer this Family learn to sail option.