8th session, 2 much 2 sail

OK another day when there was TOO MUCH wind. But we had a constructive session at Bridgeton Harbor; getting some solid details in place and getting a few qualifications signed off.

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For example, we have worked a bit on the skill of bringing a sailboat with no brakes up to a dock without breakage. However, sometimes it is also challenging to sail away from a dock. Here's the theory...

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And here's the real world!

This is a great sequence to learn from. First, if you're learning to sail, you can see how sailboats don't always do what you want, or what you expect. You can see how that as the boat is cast off, it begins to move forward, then refuses to turn further and begins backing up. Look for the brief interval where the boat is sliding sideways, the centerboard has no effectiveness.



Head Coach Rezab quickly and decisively applies corrective action (steering in reverse) which also teaches us something about leadership.

Normally, we'd rather have still photos (much quicker to display) but as of right now, all we have is video.

So here is the main portion of Coach Rezab's sail. He & crew Coach Hittner perform a tack close to the camera; this is done from a reach (point of sail) to a reach because of constraints on space... not hitting the dock at 20 knots is a goal... but later they show some good tacks going close-hauled upwind between the docks. Here, it is very important to have good helm control, tacking from a close-hauled course to a close-hauled course. Turning the boat too far will give away distance already gained towards the goal upwind, turning the boat too little will leave the sails luffing & the boat will stall & slide sideways, or even stop & make sternway (again).


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Last, we have a video of Head Coach Rezab docking the boat under challenging circumstance. Notice how the boat makes leeway as it slows, looks almost like it is skidding sideways as the centerboard loses effectiveness.


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We have 2 sailing sessions left for the spring. With any luck, we'll have a good breeze & get a chance to practice some of what we've learned; then after that comes our regatta on Saturday May 15; then after that comes the summer sailing sessions (July). A lot to look forward to!

posted by Assistant Coach Doug King

Thanks to Coach Brian O'Flanagan for the video