Learn How to Sail: A Step-by-Step Guide to SAILING 

The greatest video on how to sail on RU-vid. Subscribed! Thank you sir!! I've been sailing a dozen or so times with a mad captain that's not the best at explaining things. I just do what I'm told and live in constant fear, but he mixes good rum & coke drinks for me. I don't know why he puts me up at foredeck I just end up grenading that area.

This might sound crazy but the sea is calling me. I've never been sailing and can't stop thinking about it.

They call it a "boom" because of how it sounds when it hits you in the head.

Today I had a sudden urge to be a pirate but I have no idea how to sail so here I am learning how to sail instead of doing my homework

This was THE best explained sailing video I have seen. I have been sailing for about 10 years and still learned something.

I'm a Brazilian sailor with 33 years of experience and I need to say that this was the best video with the walkthrough I've ever seen, especially for the vocabulary, which in my opinion is the hardest part. Surely this video will help change the idea that sailing is hard. Thanks for sharing. Good winds.

Dood. You just taught 80% of ASA101 in less than 30 minutes! Very nicely done, sir!

I can absolutely understand the attraction in this. As someone who has never even been on a boat before, I'm genuinely getting the sense I've been missing out on something both unique and peaceful. Great presentation.

I have never been sailing and doubt if I will ever get a chance to do so. (I am 76). I often wondered how sail boats and ships can go in almost any direction regardless of the wind direction. After and while watching Vickings and The Last Kingdom, I just had to become more knowledgeable about sailing. I believe this is an excellent video on the basic of sailing. Thank you so much! Nando

When i started to feel a sudden real interest on sailing after watching some other cruising channels - around 9 months ago - this was the first instructional video i saw, first just out of curiosity, in order to have an idea of what i was getting into, and if it would be a feasible aspiration to someone with no experience like me. I was suprised on how simply you explained the whole theory, which i thought would be impossible to learn in adulthood, since most yachters grew with it since they were children. I was thrilled to discover through this video that i could easily learn it, and thus a crazy idea became an objective, thanks to watching this video. 9 months into it, i am now on my RYA skipper theory course, but also acquired a 28 foot sloop (Fellowship 28) this January, which became the healthiest decision of my life... so here’s what i have to say to you Josh: THANK YOU! I should have left this comment longer ago. Today, while sending this video to a friend as an essential tutorial (in her case refreshment), i realised that i should have written this already months ago. Just so you know the impact of this tutorial on my life - and probably many others!

Hi Josh, Thank you for the clear instructions and encouraging approach "it's not that difficult". The video has made a difference... This is what happened to me: 1) watched your video 2) started dreaming about sailing 3) bought a boat 4) started to learn sailing based on your advice 5) after two seasons still happy + learning more and more every time going out to the sea I wish you all the best on your sailing trips. Stay safe and take care! Br, Otto "Rookie Captain from Finland"

In just 25 minutes of watching this video Im now confident I can sail across the Pacific. More info here in 25 minutes than reading 10 sailing manuals. GREAT VIDEO.....

He simplifies the process very nicely, making it easier to understand and follow.

A (hopefully) Easy to remember summary; Halyard = Any rope that lifts a sail (Main halyard = rope that lifts the main sail up the mast) Sheet = Any rope horizontally that pulls sails for trim (Main Sheet = Pulls the main sail in and out) Tack = The corner of a sail that connects to the boat Clew = The corner of the sail that connects to the sheet Head = The corner of the sail that connects to the halyard Stay = Ensures the mast "Stay(s)" up. Fore stay (front of boat) and Back stay (Guess)... Bow = Front of boat Stern = Back of boat Cockpit = The secure area with boat and sail controls Deck = The flat walking surfaces outside of the cockpit Beam = Side of boat (hence "wind abeam" is wind to the side of the boat) Hull = The boats floating structure Keel = Underwater vertical structure protruding from the hull. Can come in different shapes. Rudder = Underwater vertical surface used to turn the boat Block = Anything that turns a ropes direction Cleat = Secures a rope in position Port = Left Use phrase "There's no PORT LEFT in the bottle" also, Port (the fortified wine) is RED! Starboard = Right (The other side) ;-) Thanks for posting a clear and well made video on the subject!

I've literally never learnt so much in 25 minutes my whole life - Great beginners guide to some basics. Thank you.

Man this is such a great and well explained video. You found the sweet spot between simplifying and still using the traditional vocabulary

honestly just turned this on because my dnd character is a pirate and I am not😆 but thank you SO much for making this!

Basic but brilliant. From an old sea dog, you've saved a lot of people a lot of money and they should be very thankful.

I'm and old Norwegian Sailor, But I'm taking a Green guy with Me, and I'm going to make him Watch your Video until he got it down path before we leave for the Caribbean. That was a Very good Video. Thank's.

Watched this over a year ago without knowing anything about sailing, bought my first boat, a 15' Chrysler Man o War dinghy, and needless to say I did learn a lot from this video and it lent well when I actually took it out.

Allo Josh, I know it 5 yrs old but, without doubt one of the comprehensive basics I’ve ever seen. Thanks so much. All the best from UK 🇬🇧

This is fantastic! There's nothing like learning from someone who knows it well, but hasn't forgot what it's like not to know. Your presentation follows the natural progression. I, who have sailed a bit, just learned a ton. Thank you Josh!

Dude ! I sail . 30 foot Catalina. This is the most straight forward awesome sailing video Ive ever seen. Basic and true. I also go alone. Well frickin done. I am subscribing now !

This is the first instruction video on sailing I’ve ever seen and have already memorized everything you said since your instruction was so clear and simple. I’ve got my eye on a 28ft right now. I’ve never been sailing but I’ve wanted to since I was a kid. Last year I got an inflatable boat with an outboard motor to putter around the coast. The best feeling in years! I’m determined to get out there sailing within the next six months. Planning on taking lessons in August for my boat license. Looking forward to watching all your video lessons!

As a father and a husband, I thank you and highly appreciate this knowledge.

I'm here for writing research for my fantasy novel, and let me tell you this is SO helpful!!

Thank you Josh! I've been a motor boater much of my life, have sailed in friend's boats sporadically for many years; but finally, after being in a yacht race last summer, I'm going through my sailing courses right now with the intent of sailing the seas when I retire in 5 or 6 years. This is the best video I've seen on the basics of sailing anywhere. You are a natural teacher - calm, explanative with an ability to take complex terminology and ideas and make them simple, and with a soft, yet enthusiastic inspirational tone - and I've been a teacher/professor since 1988. Well done! Much appreciation...

Good job. Videos like this will grow the sport and the culture and allow more people to enjoy what sailors already know. It's a feeling like no other. Well done, Skipper.

I just watched CAPTAIN RON so now I have an overwhelming desire to sail the Caribbean......I grew up on boats in Santa Cruz but it wasn't my thing, I road horses over jumps & my family sailed. Let's say there was too much alcohol & arguing 4 me to stay interested but now, life has come full circle & I'm truly empathetic towards my family so I'd really like to revisit sailing. These tutorials are great, thank you for breaking it down without overdoing the terminology! best wishes & smooth sailing to everyone! 😉🏝️🌅☀️

As a novice sailor who’s stupidly just bought a sail boat, that has helped me a great deal. 👍🏻

This guy is so down to earth and such a great teacher, it’s a blessing to have these videos publicly available, thanks so much, I learned a lot more than just sailing from watching your videos! 🙏

This video has reignited the fire to learn to sail, get a boat, and head into the wind.

Feel like a whole new world just opened up. Dunno why I thought this stuff was so unapproachable. Thanks man.

I didn't have a clew until I watched this.

I’m going to be a counselor at a sailing camp and have been sailing for 6 years, and I honestly still don’t know how to really sail so I went to RU-vid and here we are fingers crossed

You know something? I never thought I would understand sailing, but I believe it's not impossible anymore. Like you said, though, it's the jargon that makes it so scary at first. The basic mechanics of it seem within reach now to my little brain. Thanks for this great explanation. I find it endlessly fascinating that you can use this free fuel (wind) to travel the world.

Me: I really need to finish my work. I got lots of submittals! RU-vid: Would you like to learn how to sail, kind Sir? Me: Well I don't mind if I do! *click

This is the clearest explanation of sailing that I’ve ever seen. Thank you

I'm a total layman but sailing is the most beautiful relationship between nature and physics and engineering. The boats and ships look beautiful to the eye, but then there is even more beauty in realizing they are crafted in such a form for a skilled sailor to make the most out of nature and the water and the wind to propel them. It's so inspiring when knowledge, either on the physics/engineering side or on the being out in the sea side combine to make it so a human being can travel around the world. The sheer amount of different elements and specific vocabulary to them goes to show how advanced and deep all of it is. Thanks for this video.

Are you sailing Tampa Bay? I had my first sailboat, an Oday 25 33 years ago in Tampa Bay. The highlight of my sailing career was single handing off a three sided concrete pier , sailing and the docking without ever starting the engine. Now I'm ready to retire and buy a 40' and sail the world until my dying days. Thanks for the fabulous video!

You had me at “Is sailing difficult? Is sailing expensive? No” Great video.

I've just completed my RYA Competent Crew course with no prior experience of sailing, and this video explained more than my tutor did in 5 full days! Wish I had watched this before I went!

Didn’t think I could grasp sailing in one 25-minute video. Then I watched. Since I started watching Sam Holmes Sailing videos, I’ve been intrigued with sailing. Don’t think I’ll ever solo across oceans but the possibility is there.

Learned to sail when I was in 7th grade. All comes back watching.

OH MY FRICKN GOSH!!! You are so amazing. I've purchased books and studied and that wind, water and ice example just made me blush! I am looking to buy my 1st boat / home, a 1985 Hunter Wish me the best!! And thank you SO SO SO MUCH!!!

A lifetime of Joy Ahead who wouldn't want to really Live so many years to learn and experience I'm so READY

Crisp, clear, clean, with no fluff. That was really informative - thank you.

Watching this while sleeping in my tiny sail boat..

I learned to sail as an 11-year-old at summer camp in Wisconsin but never bought a boat nor took the helm of one since. Forty years later my passion was rekindled when I bought my neighbors Laser. Like riding a bike the basics were never forgotten. A few capsizes at first but not any more. It's a small, simple, one-man boat but so exciting to hear the dagger hum at speed on fast, windy days; to hook-up and hike-out, hanging on for dear life, hoping the sail won't shred and nothing breaks. On calmer days the kids like to hang their feet over the bow and ask me to capsize on purpose.

I know this was put up 5 years ago or so but I just shared it with my son who lives near the Gulf in Tampa Bay and I also intend on watching it again tonight with my husband. Great information in just 25 minutes. Thanks so much for your quick and determined lesson on the water!!

This is awesome Thank you! I watched it once, didn't understand most of it, it was fun to watch. I will watch again and again to help me learn. I am a beginner and can't wait to go sailing! I will probably take some classes or hire a private teacher.

Thank you, the best video I've seen yet!.I'm 62 and have always want to learn to ⛵ so I've purchased a 30ft fisher motorsailor here in New England and am going for it! so much to learn but I have a safe comfortable seaworthy vessel. thanks again very informative.

the pinching the ice is a nice analogy Thank you for over dubbing the voice

My kind of dude! “This is not super safe but im going to do it anyway”. Yes sir!

You did an extremely good job with this video. I know how long this took, especially with all the post-audio and caption work that you did. Very very nice job -

Awesome! I recently took sailing lessons, so I understood everything you were talking about. Though for someone who hasn't sailed before they might appreciate a small thing in the corner of the video showing where the boat is in relation to the wind. So they can see in realtime what tacking and jibing is. Like the drawing you did earlier. Awesome video!

Never knew sailing could be taught so straightforwardly. Good for you. I knew most of the vocabulary, but the points of sailing were new to me. All I need now is a boat. Maybe at 71 I’ve missed the boat? Ah well, back to dreaming 😴.

Watched this while living in China, returned home, bought a sail boat and have learned to sail. Thanks!

Sailing is easy. Docking is difficult..... Thanks for sharing! With all of that said, several companies offer inexpensive sailing classes, ASA (American Sailing Association) is the one I've used. As noted, there is much more to sailing than this video, such as rules of navigation, Coast Guard regulations, docking manuvers, and much more. I didn't find any of it difficult, but as I discovered when I took motorcycle lessones after 30 years of riding, just because you can move a boat or a bike doesn't mean there isn't a better or safer way to do it.

This is the textbook example of the word fabulous

I knew you could saill against the wind (sorta) but no one ever explained how it works until you did in this video. Thanks so much!

Quality videos like this are what keep RU-vid propped up. My Thanx.

You have no idea how happy I am to have found this video on my first search!! Comprehensive and to the point.

Josh, you're a good communicator. Enjoyed the video. Appreciated your explanation of courtesy/safety warning about not getting hit by the boom. When she was single, my wife actually got a concussion from being hit by the boom when sailing with a former boyfriend. His loss, my great gain.

I watched this before I had even touched a sailboat. Now having done my RYA and my own boat for a year I have to really thank Josh for a great and comprehensive video

FINALLY-- straight talk! THANKS

18:20 "Prepare to come about" (or "Ready About!")...."Helm's Alee!"

Super Nice video! HOWEVER: it stings in my heart to see you walk around alone WITHOUT a life jacket. Safety comes first and starts BEFORE you even leave the harbour and is THE most important thing to learn when you’re a beginner. Apart from this huge mistake: SUPER good explanation and super way of turning something relatively complicated into something relatively simple. Also good angle of recording.

I realised before I sat down to type this I was just going to be echoing others comments, however STILL want to say this was an excellent introduction to sailing for a complete novice. I've just bought a small yacht (a forever dream) and now need to learn how to use it. Found this in my first search & easy to see why there's 3.4 mil views. Easy to understand, comprehensive but not overwhelming and while focused on the topic, not boring OR condescending, a truly excellent example of an instructional video by a high-quality RU-vidr. Great stuff and keep it up!

Best how to sail video on RU-vid, easy to follow along and understand.

Solid video! I am a Navy Vet, Shellback, salty dog that has spent 62 days at sea. My family owns an oyster farm which I just spent 10 hours on the water working. I also scuba diving, water ski, crab, and fish on the water. I have spent a signification amount of my life on a boat. I must admit I learned a few things. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. Great job with the video editing. I just shared your video with C-dog who is going to sail the seven seas. I know he will appreciate the tutelage. Thanks. May the wind and your lover always blow you in a good direction.

Woooot! Look Mom No hands, and no Safty line or life vest! Awesome Video just wich you had mention life lines for solo sailing! Best Video for Sailing on RU-vid :P

I’ve never sailed a day in my life, but you explained it very well, sir. Thank you! Great video!

awesome... thanks for sharing!

ready for my first Atlantic crossing peace of cake

Finally! I found a video, that I can recommend the person I sold my sailboat to. He bought it and I have never had a moments peace. Thank YOU!!!!!

Great info! Thanks for posting!!

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing

I've always been a power boater. I'm in my later years now and sailing appeals to me.

I spent 4 years steaming away on the ocean while in the US Navy, and I've been missing the ocean. I've considered taking some sailing lessons (and become a true sailor) so I looked up "Sailing 101" to find this video. Thank you for putting a straight forward (no pun intended... ok maybe a little) video that I'll be studying until my wife lets me take some sailing lessons.

Im 53 and I know I will never go sailing. However I like learning new things. It keeps my mind active. And you are a wonderful instructor. Strait to the point. If I was which I'm not going sailing I would watch this video along with books and get hands on instruction. Awesome video

That was an awesome refresher. Thank you!

Buying my "new" sailboat in 3! days:)74 Grampian 28' Learning a lot in a short time. This is one of the best videos I have seen so far.

Beautifully presented...!!

Great video! Thank you for making this!

You are a gifted teacher young man. You repeat the basic comments as you introduce new ones. Very comprehensive and thorough! Well done.

I enjoyed every minute of it. I would like to point out the you were exceptional in mentioning the hazard of going to the bow. Nothing is as funny in hindsight as being tossed do to judgement errors, I know I would enjoy seeing some different sailing safety gear presented for single hand sailing.

Good video just make sure particularly when you're solo sailing to wear a life preserver and when off shore to wear a safety line.

Probably the best basic sailing course I have seen online

Thanks Josh!

This is exactly what I've been looking for. Great video.

This was brilliant! Perfect prep for taking my weekend sailing class next month. The vocabulary and physics were great and you explained things so well as you did them on the boat.

« Look Mom, no hands! ». Haha brilliant ! Great video!

Great video by the way thanks

I grew up sailing right around there. It's like RU-vid is telling me to come back home, haha

Thank you so much Josh! You've really helped me understand how all this stuff works. You explain it so well. THANK YOU! Fair winds friend!

Great stuff! You make it look easy, thanks

Outstanding! Thank You so very much!!

Thank you, your presentation makes me feel like I can do this!

The amount of knowledge you were able to pack in 25 minutes, with demonstrations, is simply spectacular. Thank you!