I receive this type of phone question about once every 3 weeks and every time it throws me for a loop. If it comes from a sailor who knows and understands the basic function of each sail trim control for the main & jib, the answer is easier but when it's coming from a newbie it becomes harder to answer. Sometimes I think it's like being asked if I could teach them to play the piano over the phone in 5 minutes or how they could skip flight school and start practicing landings!! Hopefully, jackdaw will have some suggestions. We both deal with sailors who want to improve their skills but he deals with a more experienced group of sailors than I do.
The first group has purchased my book and chart so they have a basic knowledge foundation to build on - that's how they got in contact with me and since I've sold over 19,000 products it generates some calls/letters & emails. Generally, they tell me they want to work on the traveler or whatever. I advise them that doesn't work as all the sail trim controls work together or it's like shifting a sports car to 2nd gear, flooring the accelerator and then applying the emergency brake. I advise them to tape my chart to the bulkhead and pick one point of sail (closehauled) and go for it and fine tune the setting for their boat. Once they get their boat sailing at what they feel is 100% efficiency for the practice session they should stop the boat and do it over again until it becomes second nature. Maybe try the procedure for downwind on the way back to the dock. That's plenty for one day. The next practice session will be different because the wind conditions are always changing.
The second group is more difficult because generally they don't know "poop from shinola" about the sail trim controls. I'm not being derogatory (that was me years ago), it just how it is since we were not born with sail trim this knowledge. When I lived in So Ca and could arrange to sail on the persons boat, it was simple -- I had a small model sail boat which I used to describe the function of each sail trim control and most importantly WHAT each control was adjusting. Rick D from So Ca knows what I'm talking about because I used it on his boat. It took about 15 minutes and then we left the dock -- sadly, there was no wind, which is the normal condition in Long Beach in the AM. We tried to generate wind using the engine but tit didn't work too well. The friendship, beer & sandwiches made it a good day. Connecting with the on boat experience is not possible when the person say lives in FL and I live in Tucson.
During the phone conversation with the second group, I feel like "Mr. NO" because everything they suggests I advise them that in my opinion it won't work. I then end the conversation suggesting they start with sailing lessons. They some times counter with "I have a friend who'll teach me" -- ask jackdaw how that works out most of the time!!
So if you're a beginner to intermediate sailor wanting to improve your skills what would you want to hear from someone like jackdaw, Joe from San Diego, Stu J, ScottTbird and some others or myself? Einstein once said "'a person has to be able to explain whatever to a 6 year old or he doesn't know what he's talking about". Unfortunately, with the second group of sailors I can't even start the explanation.
v
The first group has purchased my book and chart so they have a basic knowledge foundation to build on - that's how they got in contact with me and since I've sold over 19,000 products it generates some calls/letters & emails. Generally, they tell me they want to work on the traveler or whatever. I advise them that doesn't work as all the sail trim controls work together or it's like shifting a sports car to 2nd gear, flooring the accelerator and then applying the emergency brake. I advise them to tape my chart to the bulkhead and pick one point of sail (closehauled) and go for it and fine tune the setting for their boat. Once they get their boat sailing at what they feel is 100% efficiency for the practice session they should stop the boat and do it over again until it becomes second nature. Maybe try the procedure for downwind on the way back to the dock. That's plenty for one day. The next practice session will be different because the wind conditions are always changing.
The second group is more difficult because generally they don't know "poop from shinola" about the sail trim controls. I'm not being derogatory (that was me years ago), it just how it is since we were not born with sail trim this knowledge. When I lived in So Ca and could arrange to sail on the persons boat, it was simple -- I had a small model sail boat which I used to describe the function of each sail trim control and most importantly WHAT each control was adjusting. Rick D from So Ca knows what I'm talking about because I used it on his boat. It took about 15 minutes and then we left the dock -- sadly, there was no wind, which is the normal condition in Long Beach in the AM. We tried to generate wind using the engine but tit didn't work too well. The friendship, beer & sandwiches made it a good day. Connecting with the on boat experience is not possible when the person say lives in FL and I live in Tucson.
During the phone conversation with the second group, I feel like "Mr. NO" because everything they suggests I advise them that in my opinion it won't work. I then end the conversation suggesting they start with sailing lessons. They some times counter with "I have a friend who'll teach me" -- ask jackdaw how that works out most of the time!!
So if you're a beginner to intermediate sailor wanting to improve your skills what would you want to hear from someone like jackdaw, Joe from San Diego, Stu J, ScottTbird and some others or myself? Einstein once said "'a person has to be able to explain whatever to a 6 year old or he doesn't know what he's talking about". Unfortunately, with the second group of sailors I can't even start the explanation.
v