I live in Florida and am interested into meeting people that sail with the intent to be a hand on a sailboat for the experience and training. I know nothing about sailing nor do I know anyone that is into it. How can I get into the scene to meet people and feel things out?
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Yacht clubs often have Wednesday afternoon sailing races and those crews often need extra folks on board. I learned sailing that way when I was in university. An inexperienced reliable crew is member is better than an experienced unreliable crew.
Go get your basic keelboat cert to lock down the basics. Then do a bunch of beercan races until you’ve got the hang of it.
Volunteer to crew anywhere and everywhere.
You’ll be a salty dog in no time.
Contact your local sailing club/yacht club. They often have classes and rental boats. Even if they don’t, you can sometimes find someone with a boat who is willing to teach a beginner.
Could just get a personal size boat to get accustomed to the feel of it. Be aware of the boom when you turn with the wind (jibe if I recall the term) lest you get whacked out the boat.
See if you can find a 3 hour tour to get you started
A 3 hour tour?
well if you want to sit back you can hear a tale…
I don’t have any personal experiences with any of these crew finder sites but I know lots of people who’ve used them. The catamaran designer I appreciated under met his wife through one. She had no prior sailing experience but was willing to learn, and he needed crew to do a Caribbean crossing, and that’s how the story began for them like 25+ years ago. They still sail together all over the world.
The other advice is good too. Just walk the docks and ask around. People love talking about their boats.
Go to your local marina or their website and see if there are sailing classes.
