After a lot of reading and wishing, I attended the RYA Sailing Level 1 and 2 course at Ballyholme Yacht Club and got my qualifications. The days of the course, the winds were light but I still managed to capsize a few times as I got used to the trim of the sails and how to spill the wind during the gusts. The course was a great introduction and teaches the basics (and kudos to Alice) but it doesn’t prepare you for sailing in all winds. As Alice said on the course “This isn’t sailing, this is bobbing”.
I bought a RS Q’ba (equivalent to a Laser Pico) with the idea of actually learning to sail alone and independently after my course. You have to keep it up – and me squeezing into my wetsuit must have been a shock for everyone!
Living in Bangor was a big advantage though joining a club to get access to storage and a slipway was necessary. For ages I pottered around Ballyholme Bay on my tod (usually when the races were on so the Rescue boat was out). But even then there was no peace like it. Hearing the bubbling of the water behind you, realising that the power of the wind was propelling a couple of hundred kilos of sailboat and human. I took the kids out on it and also took my good friend Stuart. I regret not getting out more often.