Sadly, the sailing season is over now for many of the lister's on this forum. The forum will now go into the doldrums and wake up in the spring. As a kid growing up on Narragansett Bay (RI), I really hated the fall season -- the winter was no joy either!! When fall arrived I had to go back to school but more importantly my summer social activities at Edgewood yacht club (club dances, racing Beetle Cat boats and just sailing around the Bay) ended, In the years I grew up we had to invent our activities. We had all day to do it but we had to be home when the street lights went on. A lot of lister's maybe don't know what I'm talking about with the street lights but some will. Anyway, enough of nostalgia and on to the subject at hand.
This forum is dedicated to beginner sailors and that group is greatfull to the experienced sailors like jackdaw, Stan, Joe from San Diego, Scott T and others who graciously volunteer their knowledge that helps beginners through the learning process. As these new sailors develop they pass on their knowledge and help others. It's a great process.
So, what's the hardest thing for a beginner sailor to learn and comprehend. Here's a few - tacking, what's lift/drag, what's pinching, learning to dock, learning all the names of the parts of the boat and it's sails and learning how to get the boat back to the harbor. The last one is one of my favorites -- after about 1 hour out of Newport Beach, Ca on my first sail on a charter boat my daughter told me I looked preoccupied and asked what I was thinking about. I was ashamed to tell her I was trying to figure out how to turn the boat around!!
The hardest part of sailing for me was learning sail trim control. I didn't know the function of each control for the main & jib and had no idea what adjustment to make for the various wind conditions and points of sail. I had no idea of the trim sequence and ended up with the sails working against each other most of the time. I called it sailing because the boat moved through the water but I wasn't satisfied with my performance. Eventually, I fingered it out THE SAIL TRIM CHART told me WHAT to do but I needed the WHY which turned out to be THE SAIL TRIM USERS GUIDE. The WHY of sail trim is everything otherwise a sailor is just guessing at the adjustment. My learning process was one I hate to see new sailors go through. Sadly learning sail trim turns off some new sailors and they give up the sport. I read in another forum topic that it can be a pain dispensing over & over basic sail trim to newbies but they really appreciate the effort.
Anyway, do any of you care to share your hardest part of learning to sail and how you overcame it?
.
This forum is dedicated to beginner sailors and that group is greatfull to the experienced sailors like jackdaw, Stan, Joe from San Diego, Scott T and others who graciously volunteer their knowledge that helps beginners through the learning process. As these new sailors develop they pass on their knowledge and help others. It's a great process.
So, what's the hardest thing for a beginner sailor to learn and comprehend. Here's a few - tacking, what's lift/drag, what's pinching, learning to dock, learning all the names of the parts of the boat and it's sails and learning how to get the boat back to the harbor. The last one is one of my favorites -- after about 1 hour out of Newport Beach, Ca on my first sail on a charter boat my daughter told me I looked preoccupied and asked what I was thinking about. I was ashamed to tell her I was trying to figure out how to turn the boat around!!
The hardest part of sailing for me was learning sail trim control. I didn't know the function of each control for the main & jib and had no idea what adjustment to make for the various wind conditions and points of sail. I had no idea of the trim sequence and ended up with the sails working against each other most of the time. I called it sailing because the boat moved through the water but I wasn't satisfied with my performance. Eventually, I fingered it out THE SAIL TRIM CHART told me WHAT to do but I needed the WHY which turned out to be THE SAIL TRIM USERS GUIDE. The WHY of sail trim is everything otherwise a sailor is just guessing at the adjustment. My learning process was one I hate to see new sailors go through. Sadly learning sail trim turns off some new sailors and they give up the sport. I read in another forum topic that it can be a pain dispensing over & over basic sail trim to newbies but they really appreciate the effort.
Anyway, do any of you care to share your hardest part of learning to sail and how you overcame it?
.