Perhaps you want to sail the open seas or take your friends out and enjoy a session on the wake foil board for your next summer vacation. Either way, you first need to find your sea legs. Boating is a skill that is perhaps best described as easy to learn but hard to master. So, where do you start?
On The Water
It’s one thing to read about boating and something entirely different to get a boat out on the water. It is like the first time you get behind the wheel of a proper supercar. You know how driving works. You can get going just fine. What you have never experienced is burnout when you feather the gas.
There are just some things that you need to learn from experience, and to that end, you need to take your new boat out on the water. At first, slowly and then progressively increase the speed and the difficulty of your attempted maneuvers.
Ask An Expert
It is never a bad approach to get advice from an expert. All the better if you choose to learn with a sailing school. It is invaluable having someone at your side that can help you avoid learning bad habits.
Just be mindful that your expert is an expert. So, for example, old Bob from the club might believe himself to be the world’s leading authority on all things nautical, but old Bob might suffer potentially dangerous overconfidence.
It’s Not The Autobahn
Casual and recreational boating is not about speed. If you are interested in speeding across the waves, you should consider taking lessons from a qualified instructor. Furthermore, the ocean or lake is not a smoothly paved highway offering precision control.
Therefore, there is no such thing as repeating a perfect turn or maneuver. Boating is not a hobby to exercise any need for perfection. One of the most important things to take to heart is that you should try to find joy in the experience.
Don’t Plan Around A Schedule
If you have a meeting at 1 pm and decide to take a one-hour boat ride before that time, you will miss your meeting. Naturally, that is not a rule, but how these things play out. Boating is not objective science.
You can’t control the water, nor can you control the weather, the surf, the swells. Boating is, in part, the joy of experiencing those things, not overcoming them. To that end, adding a deadline to your boating experience will only sour the experience.
Boating is not for everyone. It’s as simple as that. Anyone who seeks a hobby that allows for perfection might instead look to a sport. Boating is something you do for the mind, for your inner self. Although it also offers health-boosting benefits. It’s also an opportunity to truly let go of the stress of everyday life. All you need is the patience to learn and not try to rush things. Happy and safe sailing!
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