Learning to Sail – The Cruising Cat

By The Cruising CatJanuary 14, 2017

RYA Yachtmaster Exam

After 5 days Practical and Theory drills and lots of sailing we were ready for our Yachtmaster exam and Nick seemed pretty confident that we would have no issues. For those of you not familiar with the Yachtmaster exam, it is an intense 12 hour…

By The Cruising CatJanuary 9, 2017

Learning to Sail

RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Course

So being a bit a bit of a glutton for punishment, it was time to jump back on the training bandwagon and this time go for the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Certification. Trevor was easily convinced to join in, probably because he didn’t want me gloating…

By The Cruising CatFebruary 15, 2016

Learning to Sail

Winter Sailing Fun

Perth is listed as one of the top 3 windiest cities in the world and for a good reason, as it certainly blows a lot here, although Winter can be a bit hit or miss at times, but at others it comes howling through. Being…

By The Cruising CatFebruary 5, 2016

Learning to Sail

Port Geographe to Mandurah

Goodbye Port Geographe So Being proud boat owners, we needed somewhere to keep her – Fremantle Sailing Club was high on our list of possibles, soon to be shot down in Flames with ridiculously long waiting periods and exorbitant joining fees, which put us…

By The Cruising CatJanuary 5, 2016

Learning to Sail

UFO 34 Astro-0

So after viewing many boats of varying standards and sizes we came across a few UFO 34’s at varying price points. The UFO34 is a fast and seaworthy cruiser/racer based on the highly successful IOR 3/4 ton Unidentified Flying Object. She was produced in large…

By The Cruising CatDecember 14, 2015

Learning to Sail

Trailer Sailor Fun…..

After the course, Trevor invited me out on his 26′ Macgregor, in what turned out to be not the best conditions to sail such a boat in 🙂 The day started off early and in a light breeze, which by the time we had gone…

By The Cruising CatNovember 12, 2015

Learning to Sail

5 Day Practical RYA Day Skipper

After the long but informative Online Theory, Its time for the fun and games and Practical training. Running out of Bunbury, West Australia OceanWest Charters which are TripAdvisors #1 Attraction in Bunbury (which says as much about the quality of OceanWest as it does about…

By The Cruising CatOctober 22, 2015

Learning to Sail

RYA Day Skipper Course Online Learning

A Clip from the Nav At Home Course So before we got underway with the practical training we had an online theory course to complete. Now 40 hours of online learning does not sound like a lot when you have a few months to…

By The Cruising CatOctober 14, 2015

Learning to Sail

RYA Day Skipper Course

Selene Our Training Home for 5 Days Next up on my learning to sail agenda was to get some Skippering training and experience, so after a bit of research I came across Bunbury’s No 1 Trip Advisor Tourist Attraction (That speaks volumes for Bunbury!) which…

By The Cruising CatSeptember 29, 2015

Learning to Sail

The Racing Season

So Racing consists of Grinding winches and providing ballast and listening to the Skipper shout out commands, Luckily for our crew Michael was relatively chilled, unlike some of the other skippers who hurled a non-stop torrent of screaming mixed in with abuse at their crews…