Where's Haggis?

an hour in a car i meant. i might join the rcyc eventually, but i
dont really know anyone there and probly wont get racing until i
get my own boat..

Brian,

I used to live in central london without a car and i used to have an epic to get to sailing. I strapped my foils to the back of my bike and used a drain pipe on my bike to hold the sails, and panniers for my kit. I cycled or should I say wobbled on my bike for 10 minutes to the train station. then I managed to fight my way through Waterloo station in London (and commuters in suits and tourists), to take a train for 45 minutes to a train station which was 2 miles from the club whereupon I would then wobble for another 20 minutes or so to get to the sailing club. In total this took about two hours from door to boat, and then 15 minutes to get on the water. Then I had to repeat the journey home again with wet kit which is twice as heavy!

Perserve it is well worth it. I now have a car and am 2 minutes from my boat and guess what I drive - how lazy!  

There is nothing like being out of control to show you, you are alive!!, I used to think keelboats were boaring but after having raced them in 30+ knots (sunfast 36 in Largs), the rush is just the same!!  The speed may not be there but the loads are so much higher, and it hurts a lot more if you get hit by something .  Each to their own, go get your fix your way!!

but when i said i was a sailing newb, i meant compared to u guys on the forum, i was and still am going for my level four (lvl preceding instructorship) on the ISA small boat sailing scheme

Brian - have you actually competitively sailed a keelboat, or a cat or an Oppie, Topper, 420? (What is your sailing experience?). We might all dream about how well we can sail the latest super fast skiff but the reality, for a large number would be lots of time swimming, frustration and broken rigs. Sail a J24 or 60' yacht in a race or extreme conditions - just as much adrenaline - esp if you work the foredeck and are trying to hank on the jib while the bow is dropping vertically what seems like 20 feet!

We all sail for different reasons and get something different from the sport, every class has something special - to say just one class is superior to another on the basis of the adrenaline rush, is, in my opinion, to completely miss the point.

I frequently deride the class a friend sails over a pint and the quid pro quo is he does the same to me. However, if he needed a crew I wouldn't hesitate to sail in it if I was at a loose end and if asked for advice would recommend it if I thought it suitable.

I suggest you get out and sail, whatever floats, be it the unmanagable pig like Hurley 22 (does anyone remember them?) Hurricane or Laser 5000, once you have a few gales/broaches/ripped mains under your belt in a variety of craft you'll be a bit more sanguine about what and why others sail what they do (even the funboat).