Your top two - three yak sailing tips

[Terri]

What would be your top two or three tips for those new to sailing a kayak? Serious or humorous tips welcomed!

[Terri]

What would be your top two or three tips for those new to sailing a kayak? Serious or humorous tips welcomed!

[Scott]

pick a warm day, light winds, and review a few sailing tips before going out. the deal with sailing is that in heavier winds everything happens faster, sails fill faster, heeling happens faster, going over happens faster. Pick a good weather and warm water day.

Now I watched a guy learning how to sail a Sizzler, this is a very, I repeat very fast catamaran sailboat. He was learning in a relatively windy 15-20 knots, in a man made harbor with concrete walls on three sides and boats on the fourth. He rammed that sucker into the walls a dozen time. Finally the guy teaching him just got off the cat and walked away from him on one of the walls. It was hysterical!!! boat was seriously beat up. so youmight want to find a private area to learn so you don;t have people laughing in your general direction. Scott

[Apalach]

Hey Terry,
I would say that it might be a good idea to rig the sail and then purposely put your yak on its beam ends in water over your head to see if you can (1) get it upright and (2) do a re-entry withut flipping it again (all in "shallow" water, but deep enough to be over your head!). Having said all that, it occurred to me that maybe I should try it all myself first! OK, OK--next time I go sailing--I promise...

[Guyton]

I used to teach windsurfing and probably allot like kayak sailing you get allot of people who are very interested and want to get into it with very little or no sailing experience. Typically (people trying to learn on their own not my students;-)) this would translate to many hours and sometimes days for some just getting to the point where they could actually sail. Once the person is up and actually sailing the thrill of the accomplishment and feeling you get from actually moving along by wind power magically seems to erase any shred of common sense and the skippers would sail away down wind in blissful ignorance until the sudden realization hit them that they will actually have to get back to shore some how.

This is when I usually got involved in some sort of rescue effort and suggested they might want to sign up for a lesson.

Just make sure you have some sort of upwind sailing ability before heading out to sea on a downwind tack and you and your family/friends will appreciate it;-)

It is addicting so be aware of this.

[Stobbo]

I go along with "pick a warm day and good weather" but I would add a third which has been alluded to - "...and no audience" (apart from the guy in the rescue boat).
Now I have windsurfed for years and sailed & surfed & I can tell you that you may think that there is no audience, but there is !
They are there: hiding in the dunes, lurking behind the beach huts, skulking in the shadows of the pine trees patiently waiting for a novice to show up with a new toy.... whereupon they spring from their hiding places calling to each other "oooh look everyone: a guy with a <insert name of toy>" and then they line up like statues to watch and comment behind their hands as you drown in the undertow or chase your rig as it gets carried off in shorebreak or as the waves suck your shorts off and you end up chasing $3,500 worth of kit in & out of the waves buck naked for 20 minutes(oh yes, been there!) followed by the walk of shame to cap all walks of shame (In this instance I chose a cold day if you get my drift...).
So, sure it is good to pick a warm day and it is definitely best to go when the weather is good, but you must never EVER go out without both belt & braces on your beach shorts !