New Sailors (Was Shore Power)

Hi, all been tracking the advice. All very valid. Just wanted to inject another class of things that will come in very handy. Those little things that can make a big difference. This is where an experienced person can really be a help. Things like: -How to avoid a winch override -How to dump a sail -What should halyard tension look like -Sequence of events in basic moves like tacks or gybes And then there is stuff like basic sail trim. Sailing is always more fun when the boat feels lively under you, and nothing got fouled up or busted. Cheers Charlie

Yeah, I would second that. I learned basic sailing by myself, and considering that I can tack the Cal 2-27 up a channel less than 100 yards wide, I think I did ok as to the bare mechanics. I think that is learnable from books plus lots of practice and going back and reading those books again. But sail trim is something else. Most days I feel like an idiot. The worst is when I am doing pretty good (not competitive, but ok) looking at wind speed/wave/aparent wind angle vs. my speed through the water. Then there is some small change in the wind and I'm off a knot, and can't seem to get it back. I need alot more time with skilled sail trimmers! I'm a cruiser, not a racer, and I've heard some people say, '...but if you are only cruising...' Well, given my choice between a 100 nm day and a 120nm day, I'll take the latter. td From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Husar, Charlie Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 2:58 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] New Sailors (Was Shore Power) Hi, all been tracking the advice. All very valid. Just wanted to inject another class of things that will come in very handy. Those little things that can make a big difference. This is where an experienced person can really be a help. Things like: -How to avoid a winch override -How to dump a sail -What should halyard tension look like -Sequence of events in basic moves like tacks or gybes And then there is stuff like basic sail trim. Sailing is always more fun when the boat feels lively under you, and nothing got fouled up or busted. Cheers Charlie DISCLAIMER: Important Notice ************************************************* This e-mail may contain information that is confidential, privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not an intended recipient of this e-mail, do not duplicate or redistribute it by any means. Please delete it and any attachments and notify the sender that you have received it in error. Unintended recipients are prohibited from taking action on the basis of information in this e-mail.E-mail messages may contain computer viruses or other defects, may not be accurately replicated on other systems, or may be intercepted, deleted or interfered with without the knowledge of the sender or the intended recipient. If you are not comfortable with the risks associated with e-mail messages, you may decide not to use e-mail to communicate with IPC. IPC reserves the right, to the extent and under circumstances permitted by applicable law, to retain, monitor and intercept e-mail messages to and from its systems.

Downing, Thomas wrote: > But sail trim is something else. Most days I feel like an idiot. > > =20 > I need alot more time with skilled sail trimmers! I'm a cruiser, not a rac= > er, > and I've heard some people say, '...but if you are only cruising...' > =20 > Well, given my choice between a 100 nm day and a 120nm day, I'll take > the latter. > I agree, Tom. It's important always to be working for that extra bit of speed and efficiency. That's what sailing is about--making the boat go as well as possible. When I'm at the helm, I'm always looking at the wind, at the telltales, at the sail, and trimming sails or making course adjustments to follow the puffs. It drives me NUTS to hand over the helm to somebody else and they're daydreaming and way off course. I become a terrible nag--"why don't you head up a bit.... Is this the course you want? Then let's ease the main a bit.... I think we're getting headed a bit.... Maybe we'll get a bit more speed if we fall off some...." I just can't help myself. Being a sailor is all about attending to what the boat is doing, coordinating what you see and feel. This doesn't mean that I've perfected the fine art of sail trimming or tuning, just that I do like to make the boat do as well as possible. To paraphrase L. Francis Herreshoff, if you'd rather gab or daydream than sail, you should stay home and drink beer in the back yard. I can tolerate the ineptitude of a beginning sailor. It takes a while to get a feel for where the wind is and what to do about it. But the ineptitude of a careless sailor makes me nervous. "I'll start that jib a little.... " It's much more fun when you're talking about what you're doing, discussing sail trim, sail shape, all that cool sailor stuff. Chris Campbell