Moon
When i was teaching myself to fly an ultra-light, I will admit that that was the dumbist thing I ever did. Prior to that I had never piloted an aircraft.
During my first flight, which was totally accidental, (thats another story)I remembered all of the books said, more or less, if in doubt, relax and the plane will head into the wind and fly itself. I found out, through faith in the books, that it is true.
When I took my first sail I remembered reading that if all goes to s**t, loosen the lines, that will buy you time to come up with a plan. That I found is also true.
Armed with that bit of knowledge, plus more, takes away MOST fears. A cool level head, armed with knowledge from reading is all that is needed to sail.
I was on a coastal cruise, not an ocean crossing. I guess the excitement of the trip was the most powerful of emotions.
As for learning by reading, I am learning from experts. All pretty much agree with eachother. Not really much to handling 3 lines total. From reading, I knew what to expect and what to do. There was some trial and error, but not much.
In our two week trip, there were very little surprises.
Tony B
