Why Sailing ?
As a passionate windsurfer sailing is not the most obvious thing to do. At least I thought so for quite some time. Why ? Honestly, I thought, sailing must be boring as on our local lake the sailors went back into the harbour at the same time as we prepared ourselves for the next windsurf session. Were they afraid of the wind?
Anyhow, having spend a lot of time waiting for enough wind to arrive I thought more than once ‘maybe I should try at least one of these quick catamarans, those guys seem to have fun’.
Finally my girlfriend (not being really fond of trying to windsurf) persuaded me to do a sailing course on our nearby lake. And, what shall I say, even on this lousy little lake with its very poor wind statistics, we had some really good days, either enjoying the ‘remoteness’ out on the lake or the action, while trying to cope with our new little tool in the middle of some nasty gusts.
We went on doing the official licence for the sea too, although sparing out the bigger licence for the moment as I first need to figure out how to overcome my sea sickness (yes I know) on the open waters....
Knowledge about Sailing / Yachting
Still being rather a sailing rookie than an expert it may seem inappropriate to write too much about sailing myself at this point in time. However, while studying for the licence I found it sometimes difficult to understand certain terms and thought it might be useful to share some theoretical information and links with any prospective or even advanced and interested sailor. One of our other sections gives you already an overview about our most important tool for sailing: the wind. The following sections will elaborate a bit more about several other different skills (sometimes referred to as seamanship or ‘Seemannschaft’) needed to enjoy your next trip on the water.
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About Weather & wind
(see surfing section)
