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gilanaI've mentioned before the Mainsail class, which prepares you to take the Helmsman test. I took the class for the fourth time last Wednesday and finally managed to get out to the course without running around, figure out which way I was supposed to sail around the course, and successfully navigated to the buoys without losing them. And all this on a fairly windy day -- they actually had us take out Mercurys with keels, which are more stable than the centerboard ones we usually sail. Anyway, I did well enough that I thought I might be ready to try the Helmsman test, and my instructor agreed. And lots of people have to take the test a few times before they pass, so there's no shame in trying and failing.
They only let you take the test on red flag days, with higher winds, so I've been waiting for that since Wednesday. Today I spent hours checking their web site, watching to see the wind levels. When the winds were gusting to 30 knots, I felt that might be a bit much for me. But they finally settled down to about 9 knots, gusting to 20, and I figured I'd go down there and check it out.
When I got there, I asked the person in the dockhouse "How's it looking for the Helmsman test today?" He said "Grab a sail, let me know the number, and sail out to that motorboat on the river." I said, "Am I going to die?" He gave it a 50-50 chance. I said I'd take those odds. So I went to pick out a sail, carefully choosing a number that seemed lucky, rigged up my boat, taking my time to double-check everything and do everything I know how to de-power the sail a little for heavy winds, and sailed out to the course, taking a slightly longer than necessary path to give myself time to check out the conditions and try to settle my nerves. Honestly, the conditions weren't really much worse than I've been out in before, but knowing I was being tested made me extra nervous.
When I got out to the course, the guy giving the test told me to just go around the course, tacking and jibing as many times as I felt like along the way. Now, tacking is pretty easy; you're sailing as close in to the wind as you can, with the sail pretty tightly in, and you turn the bow of the boat 90 degrees so that the wind is coming from the other side and the sail switches sides. Piece of cake. Jibing, on the other hand... you jibe going downwind, so the sail is way out, nearly at right angles to the boat. You jibe by turned the stern of the boat through the eye of the wind, so that the wind catches the sail and SLAMS it over your head all the way to the other side of the boat. There are a lot of ways for this to go wrong. The most obvious is if you forget to duck; there's a reason it's called a "boom". Also, the weight of the boom hanging out over the boat can capsize you, if you don't get your weight over to the right side in time. And if you don't come out of the turn soon enough, the boat wants to keep turning into the wind, which makes you more unstable and can capsize you. So there's a lot to do very quickly, and it can get a lot more violent with strong winds.
Anyway. I made my tacks, kept close enough to the course, rounded the top buoy, and jibed my way back down. My first jibe was so smooth and controlled that I let out an involuntary "Yes!" I was just starting to turn to go around the course again, when the instructor zoomed up to me on the motorboat and said "You pass! Your tacks were good, your jibes were very VERY good. I don't have any feedback for you. As long as you dock ok, you pass."
Now, I've heard more than one story of someone passing the test only to fail for docking badly, so I was pretty cautious. I was a little worried that I was coming in too fast, thought about circling around and trying it again, but I had just enough space that I let the sail go entirely, came in at just the right angle, barely kissed the dock, and slowed enough that I could jump out and moor my boat.
Then all I had to do was furl my sail, let my legs stop shaking enough that I could walk to the dockhouse, get my card punched for "helmsman", take a picture of the card to post to facebook, and call my dad, from whom I get my sailing genes, to share the news.
So yay! From my first sail on April 4, to passing my Helmsman test on June 28. Not too shabby. Can't wait to start learning how to use a jib!
They only let you take the test on red flag days, with higher winds, so I've been waiting for that since Wednesday. Today I spent hours checking their web site, watching to see the wind levels. When the winds were gusting to 30 knots, I felt that might be a bit much for me. But they finally settled down to about 9 knots, gusting to 20, and I figured I'd go down there and check it out.
When I got there, I asked the person in the dockhouse "How's it looking for the Helmsman test today?" He said "Grab a sail, let me know the number, and sail out to that motorboat on the river." I said, "Am I going to die?" He gave it a 50-50 chance. I said I'd take those odds. So I went to pick out a sail, carefully choosing a number that seemed lucky, rigged up my boat, taking my time to double-check everything and do everything I know how to de-power the sail a little for heavy winds, and sailed out to the course, taking a slightly longer than necessary path to give myself time to check out the conditions and try to settle my nerves. Honestly, the conditions weren't really much worse than I've been out in before, but knowing I was being tested made me extra nervous.
When I got out to the course, the guy giving the test told me to just go around the course, tacking and jibing as many times as I felt like along the way. Now, tacking is pretty easy; you're sailing as close in to the wind as you can, with the sail pretty tightly in, and you turn the bow of the boat 90 degrees so that the wind is coming from the other side and the sail switches sides. Piece of cake. Jibing, on the other hand... you jibe going downwind, so the sail is way out, nearly at right angles to the boat. You jibe by turned the stern of the boat through the eye of the wind, so that the wind catches the sail and SLAMS it over your head all the way to the other side of the boat. There are a lot of ways for this to go wrong. The most obvious is if you forget to duck; there's a reason it's called a "boom". Also, the weight of the boom hanging out over the boat can capsize you, if you don't get your weight over to the right side in time. And if you don't come out of the turn soon enough, the boat wants to keep turning into the wind, which makes you more unstable and can capsize you. So there's a lot to do very quickly, and it can get a lot more violent with strong winds.
Anyway. I made my tacks, kept close enough to the course, rounded the top buoy, and jibed my way back down. My first jibe was so smooth and controlled that I let out an involuntary "Yes!" I was just starting to turn to go around the course again, when the instructor zoomed up to me on the motorboat and said "You pass! Your tacks were good, your jibes were very VERY good. I don't have any feedback for you. As long as you dock ok, you pass."
Now, I've heard more than one story of someone passing the test only to fail for docking badly, so I was pretty cautious. I was a little worried that I was coming in too fast, thought about circling around and trying it again, but I had just enough space that I let the sail go entirely, came in at just the right angle, barely kissed the dock, and slowed enough that I could jump out and moor my boat.
Then all I had to do was furl my sail, let my legs stop shaking enough that I could walk to the dockhouse, get my card punched for "helmsman", take a picture of the card to post to facebook, and call my dad, from whom I get my sailing genes, to share the news.
So yay! From my first sail on April 4, to passing my Helmsman test on June 28. Not too shabby. Can't wait to start learning how to use a jib!
