Dinghies or yachts: a sailing course or a cruising course?
Dinghies and yachts both require a knowledge of sailing. In both cases a sailor must know how to set their sails correctly, and how to handle a boat in various situations. However, when it comes to actually learning to sail, there are great differences in how one goes about handling the boat, and what one has to learn. Dinghies are very light boats which are sensitive to changes in wind direction, wind strength, waves, and the crew’s balance. They can be very tippy. Under certain cirumstances, they can capsize (however, they can be righted and drained very quickly). The person at the “helm” of a dinghy has a great deal of control over how the boat sails. A dinghy sailor usually does many tasks at the same time: steer, control the sails, and adjust several other controls. Yachts – often called keelboats, due to the heavy metal keel which prevents them from capsizing – are much heavier vessels and are less vulnerable to changes in wind and waves. They have more complex systems – fuel, me
