Yesterday was another episode of weather blues. Gusts up to 25kt kept -most- of our sailors ashore since the beginners are not ready for this kind of stress.
However we had workday on the boats. Unfortunately, we did not get ALL the boats cleaned and waxed, but we did get 5 of the 7 FJs spiffed up, they look much better now. Wax?!? Yes, preventative maintenance is an important lesson... it applies not just to sailing but to pretty much everything. With sailboats, a coat of wax helps the hulls resist water incursion, and it keeps them looking cleaner. The effort of compounding & waxing is repaid more than double!
Okay, gotta have at least one picture. This is from eariler in the spring: two of the advanced cadets sailing an FJ in good breeze and showing how to do it right.
Some of the advanced sailors did get out on the river in rough conditions. Coach Murphy, who is not intimidated by wind, sailed his boat over to Bridgeton and several cadets sailed his boat. The advanced sailors learn about REEFING (basically, making the sail smaller for strong wind) and other ways of coping. The beginners practiced a sailing drill on the lawn (easy to tell which way the wind is blowing) and also attempted to practice TACKING in a tethered Javelin.
...posted by Assistant Coach Douglas King
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