Newbie

I also have done courses with both, having taken up sailing as someone in their 30s so was in a similar position to you a few years ago.

First I had a good browse on the forum here (thanks to Heidi and others for being very helpful!!)

Here's what i did, which is an approach I would recommend - however someone else might tell you different so i guess it is up to you. But it worked well for me.

1. Do a weekend intro course with INSS. It's much cheaper than a day skipper and will give you a very good feel for whether sailing is for you.

2. once you do this course witrh INSS you can continue to sail with INSC (it's a sister- club - run in conjunction with the school). The annual fee is nominal (like maybe 30 quid) and it's pay as you sail after that, so no commitments and it;s a nice setup. Lots of people on their own, and foreign silicon docks googler types seeking a hobby. Always somone new and interesting to chat to on the boat and you can learn from the more experienced sailors as well.

3. Once you have a bit of experience you could do you day skipper. i wouldnt recommend doing this without some experience though, as you won't benefit from it in the same way at all. I did my day skipper after a year and then the following year skippered a yacht on a flotilla holiday which was amazing - skipping on a holiday was a dream of mine since I first started sailing.

You can charter a yacht with an ICC alright, but most countries recognise the Day Skipper as well. Note that in some countries to charter a yacht you also need a VHF cert, and this is another short course you need to do.

After this is up to you how you proceed if you want to stay sailing. I made some contacts (again through this forum but also just by emailing the class captain of one of the racing classes) and got myself into a few whatsapp groups for crew for cruising and racing, which is great, although sporadic. being an occasional crew means you just have to take what's going!! Generally speaking, I found people to be sound and welcoming.

During lockdown last year I did my yachtmaster theory at home and when things opened up again i got my coastal skipper cert with Irish Offshore Sailing which is something I really enjoyed as well. With the qualifications and the bit of experience I feel I am becoming a slightly more competent sailor.... (hopefully anyway!)

So where to from there? Well perhaps you would consider joining one of the main clubs in DL? This is something I also considered / am still considering as I am based way inland and its not easy to make contacts for those looking for crew. Perhaps a club would be a more reliable way of doing that? I don't know, perhaops Heidi can advise there.

I'd love to crew for an ISORA race next. Made a few enquiries for crewing positions but haven't had any luck so far.