The First Few Days of Sailing in our Very First Sailboat

[pateco]

@ScubaGuy2 ,

Congratulations on a successful first couple of outings. The first couple of times out are always a learning experience.

On our first sail, we were so anxious that we had our dock neighbor follow us out to the Atlantic, and shadow us all day. Below is a picture he took of our maiden voyage.

Now you need to understand that you are not truly a sailor, until you have broken something on the boat. So, let us know once that milestone has been passed.

By the end of the summer, your confidence should be greatly improved, and Murphy will ensure that something will break. Enjoy the summer sailing up north, while we sweat down here with either little to no wind, or a hurricane on the way.

Its an adventure. Enjoy it.

ps. Gotta get my dive gear all organized this week. Lobster season start in a couple of weeks, and its time for some new VIPs, and a couple of my tanks are due for Hydros.

If we take the sailboat out for some dives, I will try to get some pics.

 

[weinie]

A 150% sail can be a handful.
A 135 is much more manageable and still good for the light days.

 

[T_Cat]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful first trip. Nice pictures...

 

[IDtrucks]

Congrats guys, keep expanding and you will find the groove, heel+weight+sail area. Feel for neutral helm / just a little weather helm (boat wants to round up into the wind) and you got it. If you want to go for super sexy tacking, look up roll tacking. Yeah typically a dinghy maneuver, but the crew sync looks almost effortless when done right. Another fun game (only in light wind) keep the tiller centered and steer by trimming the sails and where weight is in the boat. The 22 isn’t a dinghy but you’ll be surprised by how much these effect the boat.

Thanks for the reminder on the roll tack. I didn't fully grasp its benefit in light air sailing, so we will for sure be working on our roll tack timing next time we're out. My 22 usually has a total of 4 on board during a race, so that should provide a noticeable amount of weight shift I hope.

 

[Grotto]

Thanks for the reminder on the roll tack. I didn't fully grasp its benefit in light air sailing, so we will for sure be working on our roll tack timing next time we're out. My 22 usually has a total of 4 on board during a race, so that should provide a noticeable amount of weight shift I hope.

Yeah it is fun to feel the little squirt of speed when executed correctly

 

[Siren]

If you want to go for super sexy tacking, look up roll tacking. Yeah typically a dinghy maneuver, but the crew sync looks almost effortless when done right.

@Grotto - Interesting! Thanks for the advice! We both just read about and watched videos on roll tacking. The synchronized rolling makes perfect sense. @ScubaGuy2 has already figured out the benefits of trimming the main, easing it out, and then trimming it in again during a tack. I'm intrigued about the idea of backwinding the jib and aiming to keep it full of air for the duration of the tack, not letting it luff. That's a thinker.....

I will play around with that today and let you know how it goes. About to head out on another sail.

 

[Grotto]

@Grotto - Interesting! Thanks for the advice! We both just read about and watched videos on roll tacking. The synchronized rolling makes perfect sense. @ScubaGuy2 has already figured out the benefits of trimming the main, easing it out, and then trimming it in again during a tack. I'm intrigued about the idea of backwinding the jib and aiming to keep it full of air for the duration of the tack, not letting it luff. That's a thinker.....

I will play around with that today and let you know how it goes. About to head out on another sail.

Sweet, love to here how it goes, the key is patience, which can be challenging hanging out on the low side while the boat comes around.