What’s Your Background in terms of Sailing Experience?
My experience of sailing before the class was minimal:
I had an intro to sailing week camp when I was around 7 years old.
I later worked as a au pair for a family that spent a lot of time at a yacht club, I was sailing every once in a while but I was mostly hanging out around the boat yard.
I was a passenger on small sailing trip to Catalina Island in California and Corsica but I wasn’t responsible for anything.
What Problem Were You Trying to Solve?
I was looking for tools and tips that would allow me to sail with confidence on my own boat someday so I can take vacation with the family and get them interested as well.
Important point that I wanted to address was getting a large sail boat in and out of a marina as well as parking maneuvers or driving in a crowded or tight places.
I wanted to learn to control my reaction in stressful situation, anticipating problems and solving them.
How Was The Problem Affecting You?
I considered those areas problems because it forced me to rely too much on the men or others sailing the boat to deal with that part.
I feel it was important I know how to sail and maneuvers the boat to not be a passive agent. I wanted to feel as competent- and confident as anyone else of the boat.
What Possible Solutions Did You Consider before coming to Wild West Sailing?
Before turning to Wild West Sailing I consider taking a week vacation/sailing course in Mexico where it’s closer to home and condition are more forgetful but I changed my mind because I feel it’s better to learn in changeable weather and “tougher conditioner so I am exposed to more possible problems. I was also interested in Ireland as a country and the sailing culture there. In the meantime I was looking at video on YouTube and downloading apps to get a familiar with what I was signing for and sailing vocabulary. David’s website seems to be more about sailing than just vacation like most website present themselves.
Why Did You Choose Wild West Sailing?
I wanted to have a RYA certification and the website came up in the search, It seems the training was more in depth than the ASA certification, it had navigation course which I was very interested in. David’s resume was also very impressive. I wanted to combine a vacation and a learning experience with a certification at the end. There was no package on the website but David adjusted the schedule for us to make it happen.
What Would Have Happened If You Had NOT chosen to progress your passion for sailing further with Wild West Sailing?
I think if I didn’t chose WWS and went with the ASA in Mexico I wouldn’t have not build enough confidence or learn about navigation. I still need more practice but WWS gave me the tool and the knowledge to perfect my sailing. I know now where to seek information. If I didn’t do the course it would have not open a new way of traveling and discovering places and island. WWS also gave me a new hobby and subject of interest; it’s nice to learn a skill that has nothing to do with work or productivity: one skill/knowledge to dive into purely for the fun of it and adventure.
What Risks Did You Consider?
I had concern that most people had boat experience and were older men so it would be hard for me to fit. I didn’t want to be though as “not as capable”.
What Reservations Did You Have?
I was concern that I would be behind anyone when talking about specific term and doing boat manœuvres…
What Measurable Benefits Have You Seen?
The course has help me beyond just sailing. It has been something that I wanted to do for a long time but I never got around it because of how much I work. I was happy to invest myself for something that has nothing to do with work skills or production. It was only for passion and the desire to sail boat. It has opened new doors for me as far as how I have been traveling the world and I am eager to improve my sailing and navigation, I want to find a team or people that I can sail with on my time off. I am looking forward meeting new type of people that has nothing to do with my field of work. David and the way he share is passion is contagious. I really want to have sailing has part of my life now and not only for just a vacation every other year.
Did you have any fun?
I did have tons of fun because everything was done in a none threatening way. We got to combine an awesome vacation with a new learned skills and share time with people we would ordinarily not cross path. I discovered the county of Sligo and Donegal as well as Irish tradition. It was an absolute blast and confidence booster. I would recommend David and WWS for anyone who wants to get hooked on a new passion or improve an existing skill.
