There's a different way to sail than we have been sailing. I get it. When you have around you a small group of people who get your boat, get competing on the water, and get along together, you can approach each race day in a different frame of mind. That's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it used to be for us. And that's the way it can again become.
Today the missing man finally showed up. We were missing someone knowledgeable to challenge my boat handling, sail trim, and tactics. Equally important, someone who can take a leg or two at the helm so that I can tip my ancient feet up and a cold beer down. In addition, New Man believes in the application of GPS to derive Velocity Made Good (VMG). Which I have never been able to turn/coerce past crews on to! I have always argued that only VMG can arbitrate all on-board
disputes pertaining to DDW and pointing vs footing. Today, I was even delighted to lose a couple of debates to Newman and his VMG.
But those losses are acceptable on a day when your team loses to just one other boat on the water.
I can take it.
Today the missing man finally showed up. We were missing someone knowledgeable to challenge my boat handling, sail trim, and tactics. Equally important, someone who can take a leg or two at the helm so that I can tip my ancient feet up and a cold beer down. In addition, New Man believes in the application of GPS to derive Velocity Made Good (VMG). Which I have never been able to turn/coerce past crews on to! I have always argued that only VMG can arbitrate all on-board
disputes pertaining to DDW and pointing vs footing. Today, I was even delighted to lose a couple of debates to Newman and his VMG.But those losses are acceptable on a day when your team loses to just one other boat on the water.
I can take it.
It's all relative. If you hold your head down close to the water you will perceive that you are really going fast, even if you aren't. So who cares what the electronic whosimawhatit says?
ReplyDeleteThere's a case to be made for not having your head too far into the instruments. But it's also important not to be fixated on how fast you're going over the water. Last Wednesday, a couple of skippers in our fleet were not looking where they were going and a costly T-bone collision occurred.
DeleteI don't have the facts on this collision on the 31st. But what I hear is that serious damage is involved, and there is no agreement as yet on which boat was in the wrong. That's concerning in the way of safety for all, going forward.
DeletePanda, you can't be serious. If there's another Lido-14 or Sea Hopper on the lake, there's a race on. Declared or undeclared. And direction matters.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. Sailed on a couple of crews like that and one factor I always noted was whether or not the skipper shouted. Best skipper I ever had used a conversational tone the whole time, no matter how critical the situation - "Oh look! We appear to have raise the spinnaker sideways. Novel idea but could we try turning it around the right way?"
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that skipper is the one I sailed with last week - we raised the spinnaker sideways because someone packed it with the wrong bits sticking out of the bag and the skipper made a similarly laconic remark. But, I suspect he didn't raise his voice because he was the one who packed it wrong.
Delete@ Nick: You have a nice site, too, Sir. Good publications.
Delete