Hallo everyone! I hope it is OK to introduce myself here. My name is Anna, I moved to Santa Ponça with my family about two months ago from Frankfurt. My husband got a job transfer and we decided to make the leap — best decision we ever made, even if the August heat is something else.
I have always loved being on the water but never actually learned to sail properly. Back in Germany I did a bit of Segeln on lakes (sorry, I mean sailing — the German word slips out sometimes!) but nothing on the sea. A friend recommended Mallorca Sailing Academy and I have just started my Competent Crew course. We had our first practical session last weekend and I was genuinely terrified during my first tack. The boom came across and I just froze. The instructor was lovely about it but I felt like such an idiot.
Does anyone else remember being that nervous at the beginning? I keep telling myself it gets easier but right now I cannot imagine ever being relaxed enough to actually enjoy it while it is happening. During the theory bits I am fine — I actually quite like the navigation and weather stuff — but the moment I am on the boat and things start moving fast my brain just stops working.
Anyway, looking forward to learning from all of you. This forum seems really friendly and full of useful information. Any tips for a complete Anfängerin (beginner!) are very welcome!
Welcome Anna! You are going to love it, I promise. And yes, absolutely everyone remembers that feeling — I froze during my first gybe so badly the instructor had to grab the tiller from me. Now I teach other people to do it for a living, so there is hope.
The boom thing is completely normal to be scared of. One tip that helped me early on: keep your head below the boom at all times and make the ducking part of your routine. After a few dozen tacks it becomes muscle memory and you stop thinking about it. Your brain is just processing a lot of new information right now — give yourself grace.
Competent Crew is a brilliant course and MSA are great. Enjoy every minute of it, even the terrifying ones. Those are the bits you will laugh about later.
Katrin, thank you so much for the welcome! That story about freezing during your first gybe actually makes me feel so much better. Yesterday we practised tacking again and I went the wrong way around the jib sheet winch and got it all tangled — the instructor was very patient but I felt like such a Anfängerin. (Beginner. Sorry, the German keeps sneaking in!)
Quick question — did you find it helpful to study the theory at home between sessions, or is it better to just focus on the practical and let it sink in on the water? I have been reading the RYA Competent Crew book in the evenings but I am not sure how much of it actually sticks until you do it for real.
Anna, both! But if I had to pick one to prioritise at your stage, it would be the practical.
The theory makes so much more sense once your body already knows what a tack feels like, if that makes sense. When you read about the wind flowing over the sail and creating lift, it is just words on a page until you have actually felt the boat respond to a sheet adjustment. Then you read it and think oh, THAT is what was happening.
That said, the RYA book is good to have by the bedside. I would skim the chapter on whatever you are covering next before each session so the terminology is not brand new when the instructor uses it. But do not stress about memorising everything — Competent Crew is designed to be learned on the water.