sailing update
Apr. 22nd, 2010 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gilanaSince my first solo sail last Monday, I went out a few more times with more experienced people (mostly on a slightly larger boat, but once on a Mercury), and got to take the tiller for a while on all of them. I learned that a lot of the things I had been feeling badly about doing wrong my first time out were probably not wrong at all. Like when I thought I couldn't find the wind... there probably just wasn't really any at that moment. So I'm learning how to look at the water and see what the wind is doing, and see what's coming my way, and just wait and be prepared for it. It's amazing how much information is there that I've never seen before -- slightly darker shadows to ripples, the patterns to the scatter of light on the surface, subtle lines of lighter and darker water, all with something to tell me.
(Also, I ran into![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
miss_chance last Thursday and was chatting with her about my sailing experiences, and how hard I was being on myself about that first sail, when I realized that it had been only a week and a day from my first time there, learning to rig a boat and going out for the first time on a Mercury, to my first solo sail. And I had only gone out twice more with other people first. Geez, and I couldn't do it all myself perfectly? What a slacker!)
Anyway, yesterday afternoon I checked the web site and saw that the green flag was up, meaning the wind was light enough for beginners, so I thought I'd give it another shot. And it was *way* better than my first time! I found a way of sitting and handling the tiller extension and sheet that was a lot more natural and comfortable, and I made some nice clean tacks and caught some nice wind and had some great moments of skimming along on a close haul. Fun! After about 20 minutes the wind started picking up and getting gustier, and I looked over at the dock house and saw the red flag had come up, so I went back in. Had one scary jibe coming back where I forgot to change sides first and almost capsized, but I managed to get it back under control.
I put in my card for an instructional sail and got to go out again with two other people in a keel Mercury (as opposed to the centerboard ones I'm sailing on my own), and we were out for almost two hours, so I got a bunch more time at the tiller. The woman who took us out said I did really well, and she didn't have to correct me very much, and I got to practice jibing more with her, so that was good.
I'm signed up for a mainsail class Sunday morning, where they'll take a small group of us out on the water and run us through drills, so I'll get more practice time with feedback. When I signed up for it going in yesterday I was unsure if I was ready, but by the end of my time on the water, I was feeling a lot more confident about it. After all, it's a class -- if I were doing everything perfectly already, I wouldn't need it, right? So as long as I have the basics more or less, it should be a great opportunity to learn.
Sadly, my cheap-o 30-day membership expires May 4, and I can't really afford the full membership. I'm planning to go talk to them and see if there's any way I can barter design services (although I thought I'd wait a little so they can see how often I go and how serious I am about this), but we'll see. Meanwhile, if you're looking for me anywhere between 1pm and sunset, I'm probably out on the water.
(Also, I ran into
miss_chance last Thursday and was chatting with her about my sailing experiences, and how hard I was being on myself about that first sail, when I realized that it had been only a week and a day from my first time there, learning to rig a boat and going out for the first time on a Mercury, to my first solo sail. And I had only gone out twice more with other people first. Geez, and I couldn't do it all myself perfectly? What a slacker!)Anyway, yesterday afternoon I checked the web site and saw that the green flag was up, meaning the wind was light enough for beginners, so I thought I'd give it another shot. And it was *way* better than my first time! I found a way of sitting and handling the tiller extension and sheet that was a lot more natural and comfortable, and I made some nice clean tacks and caught some nice wind and had some great moments of skimming along on a close haul. Fun! After about 20 minutes the wind started picking up and getting gustier, and I looked over at the dock house and saw the red flag had come up, so I went back in. Had one scary jibe coming back where I forgot to change sides first and almost capsized, but I managed to get it back under control.
I put in my card for an instructional sail and got to go out again with two other people in a keel Mercury (as opposed to the centerboard ones I'm sailing on my own), and we were out for almost two hours, so I got a bunch more time at the tiller. The woman who took us out said I did really well, and she didn't have to correct me very much, and I got to practice jibing more with her, so that was good.
I'm signed up for a mainsail class Sunday morning, where they'll take a small group of us out on the water and run us through drills, so I'll get more practice time with feedback. When I signed up for it going in yesterday I was unsure if I was ready, but by the end of my time on the water, I was feeling a lot more confident about it. After all, it's a class -- if I were doing everything perfectly already, I wouldn't need it, right? So as long as I have the basics more or less, it should be a great opportunity to learn.
Sadly, my cheap-o 30-day membership expires May 4, and I can't really afford the full membership. I'm planning to go talk to them and see if there's any way I can barter design services (although I thought I'd wait a little so they can see how often I go and how serious I am about this), but we'll see. Meanwhile, if you're looking for me anywhere between 1pm and sunset, I'm probably out on the water.
