Getting Started

[BigVern]

So having tossed a coin between ESail and Sailaway and Sailaway having won, I'm now feeling a little overwhelmed. The game dumps you at the start somewhere in the Caribbean (?) with a brief series of pop up tutorials which kind of left me going, "what?"

Where is the training lagoon so I can learn the terminology and basics without surging forward into 30ft waves? Where is the free play mode so I can pick a gentle North Sea port and sail across to Holland or France? I don't want to race or take part in multiplayer, I was expecting something akin to a nautical version of Flight Simulator so I could take things at my own pace and go where I want.

Hoping I can be convinced not to refund...

[Nomad]

You can sail freely from the beginning, you can use autosail to do all of the lines and whatnot. I do recommend u doing the tutorials but there is no real need to. Get on, change your options to autosail and get a feel for the boat. Teleport to a locale you want... Then change level, do some tutes and watch some of the guides video's and... yes, you can take things at your own pace,

Good Luck.

[The Monk]

It does kinda throw you in the deep end donesn't it? Especailly if you arelike me and never sailed in RL, been suddenly presented with all this unfamilair stuff and wouldn't know a backstay form your backside.

The entire game is in Free Play mode, you can got to any part of the worlds oceans to find the conditions you want. Your 'training lagoon' is where you choose it to be. Use Windy.com to find a place with calm seas (anything 5-10kt winds will be perfect) and teleport there.

My suggestions are similar to Nomad's. Start simple, start slow, ramp up your difficulty as you feel comfortable. Do the tutorial to at least get a bit of an idea of some things helps, however nothing teaches like experience. Find spot to sail, watch the wind and your trim tab (under the compass rose) and follow it's hints. Once you know what sail to use in what conditions, which tbh isnt that hard, only down to angles mostly unless in extreme winds, and it will come to you pretty quickly. The basics are easy. Get those down and increase your manual control, maybe do some short challenges to practice the basics, and go from there.

Also don't be shy to sing out in chat, there is a help channel, and though I can not guarantee someone will always be around to answer, it can be rather quiet at times, but if they are, and able to answer, they generally will however. I found this comunity to be more helpful than most Ihave encountered in the last many mnay years of gaming.

[Twelvefield]

Looks like OP refunded, a shame.

The early tutorials do help quite a bit. The later ones, not so much. Also, the simpler, smaller challenges are worthwhile for rookies.

Definitely start with the smallest boats first, since there are fewer controls. Just a sail and a rudder to begin with! Once you master that, you can take on a boat with more lines and more sails.

In flight sim, you ought to start with the Cessna, since there's only one engine and you fly VFR (and use the same platform to learn IFR). Same for sailing: fly the Cessna first, and don't jump into the 747 right away.