One of the most fun activities you can sample on any
vacation is sailing. Most major Caribbean resorts offer watersports packages that incorporate sail training, as well - occasionally - as the chance to take a ride on a full-sized sailing ship.
So if you know you're going to be doing a little sailing on your vacation, and you're a complete newbie, what should you do to prepare?
A key thing, as with any watersport, is confidence in the water. As you're likely to be learning in a small sailing dinghy it won't take very long for you to be tipped in as your boat capsizes. You'll be taught how to handle this, and how to right your boat. But it's important to realize that bobbing about in the water wearing a bouyancy aid isn't a big deal.
However, a little bit of pre-prep can be useful for this sort of experience. Because of the mandatory use of bouyancy aids and the typically safe waters in which basic sail training takes place, being able to swim isn't really vital for most elementary sailing lessons, though the rules and regulations of the resort or school you attend may stipulate otherwise. However, if you haven't been to the pool for a long, long while a quick visit could be worthwhile just to reacquaint yourself with the sensation of bobbing around the water. If you're going to be doing your waterports at a resort in the Caribbean, the water temperature in the shallows where you will likely be working won't be far off the temperature of your local pool!
It's also a good idea to have a check-up with your doctor if you're particularly unused to strenuous activity. Although you may have an image of sailing as a sport where you just gently drift over the waves holding on to a tiller and trimming the sail, it can actually be quite arduous, especially in choppy weather or if you're practising capsize drills. The simple job of lugging your boat to and from the water and hoisting sail can be a little tiring, too - so it's best to make sure that you're going to be in tip top shape. Also, if you're asthmatic make sure you take all your inhalers and medication and that your instructor knows about your condition. Falling into even quite warm water can knock the breath out of you. That, combined with the simulataneous adrenaline rush, is quite enough to trigger an attack, and floating in offshore waters, however pleasant they may be, is not the place to have on of those!
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