Here at Boatshed Thames we like to try different things and increase our boating knowledge. So last week I attended a RYA Competent Crew Course with Sunsail’s Sailing School www.sunsail.co.uk

The course was 5 days long and tutored by the brilliant Stan. While I have 30 years motor boat experience I have never sailed! So for 5 days I spent it aboard one of Sunsail’s F40 sailing boats we covered everything from learning to sail both during the day and night, MOB, safety and rope work. We crossed the Solent multiple times and I now hurt in muscles I did not know I had after hauling sails up and down and turning winches. Weather wise it was everything from snow, rain and sunshine which tested my wet weather clothing. I was kept warm and dry by my Musto BR2 Off Shore trousers and jacket and my HPX race boots. www.musto.com

It was thoroughly enjoyable and some more sailing will be on the agenda, perhaps I will wait for some slightly warmer weather.

At Boatshed Thames we encourage customers to take RYA training courses www.rya.org.uk and an Inland Waterways Helmsman’s Course would be an ideal place to start, tuition can take place on your own boat and multiple members of the family can benefit from knowing how to handle their own boat. There are a number of schools and tutors on the Thames available.

We very rarely see any sail boats for sale on the Thames, however if you are interested in buying or selling one my colleagues on the various coasts at Boatshed are happy to assist.

If you are looking to buy or sell a boat on the Thames please contact me for a no obligation chat. www.boatshedthames.com