Island Dreamer Sailing School Blog » learning about sailing

An Island Dreamer Video from a Guest

Harold Ochstein — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:49:07 +0000

One of our guests from last year shot this, at the end you can see the “catch of the day”.

Weather and it’s effect on cruising with your sailboat

Harold Ochstein — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 10:45:30 +0000

One of the great things about cruising is the day to day freedom to go and do what you want to do. You quickly learn that to enjoy those carefree days you have to choose whether today you will head out on a nice downwind run, stay in the harbor, or tuck yourself and your boat in a mangrove canal in preparation for a passing front or tropical system. The key to making those decisions and the root source for weather information is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecasting. There are many places that take NOAA’s data and repackage it, some with great insight, but the 1st place I look each morning is NOAA.gov.

On of the critical skills that Margie and I teach couples that join us on for our cruising classes is finding and applying today’s weather forecast to our days activities. It is an inexact science and having different viewpoints when big systems are coming is great. There is some really wonderful computer modeling out there but, and this is a big caveat, you still need to be able to interpret it to for your area with the knowelege that things can change. Getting different viewpoints is a big part of the interpretive process.

Back to NOAA, I was reading a post this morning from Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, he is visiting the national hurricane center this week as a new tropical system (Tomas) ramps up in the Atlantic;

Since this is such a large increase in intensity from what was forecast–Tomas was not supposed to have 60 mph winds for another 24 hours–this necessitates issuance of a special advisory package. A full set of forecast maps, a marine advisory, wind probability forecast, and a discussion just went out to the world. While all this was occurring, several phone calls to Barbados, St. Lucia, and Martinique were made, alerting the islands to the fact that a Hurricane Warning may be required with the 11pm advisory tonight. NHC has both French speaking and Spanish speaking meteorologists on staff that can coordinate with the islands that don’t have English as their main language. I listened in on a 5-minute conversation in French between the weather service in Martinique and NHC meteorologist Mike Tichacek, as they discussed when Martinique may want to issue a Hurricane Warning.

What a great job our government does in providing this information and making it available to the world. Sometimes it’s hard when you get your tax bill to immediately appreciate all that we get, Noaa is one of the unsung heroes in the US.

Comments about a Recent Sailing Charter

Harold Ochstein — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:53:39 +0000

Just got this by email;

Greetings Captains Margie and Harold,

We had a fantastic week sailing with you on Island Dreamer in the Florida Key. The lessons, your excellent instructions and sailing knowledge are exceptional. After returning to sail our boat it was surprising how much our sailing skills had improved. The week of instruction, food, company, laughter and stops along the way truly exceeded our expectations.

Have a great Thanksgiving and Happy Sailing,

Monica and Keith

Offshore Couples Crusing Classes

Harold Ochstein — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:14:03 +0000

Want to learn to sail around the world? Buying your dream boat for offshore passage making? Already bought it and want a little help learning its systems? Our friends Captain Jeff and Captain Jean take couples who have some sailing experience to the next level of sailing on their Skye 51′ sailboat. In addition to both being ASA instructors Jean is a marine surveyor and Jeff is an expert in marine electronics. They are also happy to join you on your new boat. Visit them at Twocansail.com.

If you are not quite ready for advanced sailing classes and want to learn what its like to live on a sailboat in calm and protected waters come Sailing with Captain Margie and I in the Florida Keys. In any case don’t wait to start cruising, it’s a lifestyle that can’t be beat!

Sailing Cruising Consultants

10 ways make your wife want to go sailing

Harold Ochstein — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:02:50 +0000

After having talked to taught many couples about sailing together, and of course boating with Margie for the last 30 years here are some ideas to help you work together;

1. Listen when she speaks- when Margie hears a sound thats different, wants to reef the sails or just doesn’t like the way something is going, I find after my instinctual response (what do you know), that she is/was right.

2. Don’t lay the boat over on its side (heeling more than about 10 degrees). The boat will make less leeway and go faster this way as a bonus.

3. Take your time, explain whats happening, enjoy the serenity of sailing. If you are in a hurry get a boat with 3-300hp outboards.

4. Know what the weather is, the boat can probably handle much more weather than you want to be out in. Know and teach her how to make the boat safe when the wind and weather picks up.

5. Show her where the safety equipment is, the basics of how to use it, and what to do when you fall overboard. If you have been nice maybe she will come back to pick you up!

6. Teach her about navigation, charts, and markers. When you know where you are going you feel much more in control of your environment.

7. Give her the helm, when she gets comfortable go make lunch for her.

8. Sailing is all about where is the wind coming from. Make sure she knows this first. Then you can teach how to set the sails.

9. When you do something stupid don’t lash out at her. Yelling is a sign that YOU do not know what you are doing.

10. I just asked Margie for some input, she suggested that if the above does not work you might try just lying about how great it will be. I guess that means I must have made some of the mistakes above in the past!

3 Questions about Learning to Sail

Harold Ochstein — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:28:41 +0000

I was recently contacted by Luisana Suegart, Associate Editor of Brickell Magazine about a article that she is writing about retiring on a sailboat . These were 3 of her questions;

1. How long does that process of learning how to sail take?

After 30 plus years of sailing I am still learning new things. On a small boat in calm waters with an easy day of instruction you can learn the basic principles of sailing. Being comfortable standing a watch at 2 AM on a 50′ sailboat with miles of ocean around you, the lights of a ship heading toward you in the distance and a thunderstorm off your port bow may take a little longer.

That said, with a week or two of live aboard classes you probably would be ready to strike off on your own to do some coastal cruising (daytime cruising in local and regional waters in moderate winds and sea conditions). After a couple of months of sailing in a place like the Keys with a variety of calm-water to open-ocean sailing areas and safe harbors with plenty of marine stores and mechanics nearby, it may be time to head to the Bahamas for the winter season. From there a trip to the Panama Canal may be feasible.

There is no need to be in a hurry, however. The longer we have been cruising the slower we go. Spending time savoring different cultures, meeting new people, and gently sailing after having waited for the perfect weather window are all part of learning about sailing.

2. What can someone expect from taking sailing classes?

There are many styles of sailing. Choosing the right type of class and instructor to suit your interests is important. There are three broad areas and they all have something different to offer the cruising sailor.

Keelboat classes focus on how to safely and comfortably operate a bigger sailboat. In addition to the basics of sailing you learn about navigation, anchoring, docking and the systems that make life comfortable for long- term voyaging. This is not about having the boat heeled (leaning sideways) 20 degrees and waves breaking over you!

Small boat sailing is the best way to learn how the wind effects the boat. The imediate response of a small boat when you make a change makes it easy to understand how sailboats work. Getting wet when the boat tips over might be considered annoying.

Racing sailors are concerned with techniques that will increase speed under sail. Competitive spirits will enjoy this. Comfort, learning about mechanical systems not related to sailing and boat handling under power may not be as important as how to make the boat go fast.

3. What kind of person should you be if you are willing to pursue sailing?

Sailing is enjoyed by many personality types because it becomes different things to different people. These are some of the things that interest us.

I enjoy being out in nature, gently gliding along with the power of the wind; tweaking the sails to make the boat go half a knot faster; watching the stars while under way at 2:00 AM totally surrounded by the ocean; arriving at a new destination, dropping the anchor and watching the sunset; how easy it is to meet new friends; sharing my passion for sailing with everyone I meet; making improvements on the boat or just fixing something that broke; finding a remote anchorage, jumping in the water and catching a couple of lobster for dinner. I could probably think of a few more if you pressed me…

Margie enjoys moving quietly through the water, traveling at a slow pace and being more in touch with nature because of the silence in sailing. She likes the independence that sailing gives the traveler and the closeness that is fostered between you and your partner because you rely on each other. At the same time you gain more confidence in yourself. She likes the challenges that long-term sailing presents such as how to live life simply and efficiently in a small space.

Keeping Calm and Successful Cruising

Harold Ochstein — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:29:33 +0000

In my college days I was the House Manager at the TKE house at Butler University. One of the rooms caught fire due to an electrical short. After calling the fire dept. and using several fire extinguishers to no effect we evacuated everybody from the building. Needless to say I was quite concerned, adrenaline pumping, and racing around in a tizzy. The fire dept showed up and quite calmly went about putting out the fire and making sure everybody was safe. Watching how they methodically approached and calmly dealt with the situation was a life lesson for me.

Life on a sailboat is full of little adventures, though hopefully no fires. Even though your gut may tell you its time for instant action, the safest response is to take a moment to access the problem then take your corrective action. Practice for issues that may come up so when it happens the solution will seem natural and easy.

Look for early warning signs, like Margie saying let’s reduce the heeling. The boat will actually go faster when its not laying over on its side!. Prepare for problems in advance – backing down on the anchor to make sure its set is much easier than getting up at 3 AM in the squall.

After this much excitement maybe you can find a nice sunset in a protected harbor, a cold drink and some tunes from the island play list on the ipod. My guarantee – This will surely cause your calm to increase rapidly.