Iron wind

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david noble

it's still a challenge

Light wind. Been there many many times. But thats the real challenge of sailing. Making the most out of what you have in any conditions. I'll do anything not to crank the engine. Heel the boat, Losen tension. Hell i'll even use light sheets. I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I can sail in light air. I get satisfaction knowing I can handle extreme conditions as well. It's what makes a sailor a sailor. D. Noble
 
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Alan

Here, Here David N(as I beat my purist chest);)

Isn't it great to be able to ghost past other boats with seemingly no air!! I've been yelled at on more than one occasion to 'turn your motor off' as we pass a group that is sitting unable to move.
 
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Jim Kolstoe

Jeez, Guys, . . .

the question as posed was not a holier/purer than thou question. It was posed as you're single handing - no spouse, significant other, etc, to decide for you, with no destination - in other words, no external pressures or considerations. Under those circumstances, how slow is too slow. Most if not all of us have engines or other form of none-wind propulsion (I have a friend whose daughter and her swim-team buddies once towed in from a mile out), and use it appropriatly. We motor in and out of moorages and as circumstances dictate. The fact that person choses to use or forego using an engine at any particular wind speed is not related to their worth as a person or a sailor. There's room for an entire spectrum of views, so long as we each respect the rights of each other. Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
 
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Mike Thomas

Love this stuff

As you "real macho hombres" "Ghost Past" those unworthy/less skilled sailboaters - make sure your nose isn't so far in the air as to get hit by a swinging boom!;D
 
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Bob

Sailing in my Mind

All things being equal, I go sailing to sail. None of us ever leave home saying to ourselves "What a great day for motoring". Motoring, like other things, happens. But alone, in no hurry and with no set schedule or destination, I will sail until it gets too hot to stand it, which, on the southern Chesapeake in July and Aug, comes early in the day. Then, like most reasonable people, it's time for the iron spinnaker. See you on the water!!
 
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A.P. Jackim

All sailing

Rough weather, slight wind, total sailing experience is adjust and appreciate everything.
 
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tomD

depends on the day

On the west coast, there are currents: if you don't boost the sailplan with the iron Gennie you could be going backwards. Also we often have a destination for moorage and a time to be there--2.5 knots and we "assist" our sail plan. But with my Catalina 22 on the big lake, makes no nevermind. We ghost along and enjoy being in the moment.
 
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Kurt

ITS ALL GOOD

What differance does it make if we motor or sail. Just the fact we all have the ability to get out on the water is great. I enjoy sailing and motoring, if Im out with my friends ITS ALL GOOD!
 
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Dan

Sometimes both

Whilst crossing the Gulf Stream in light air, we found a combination of motor and sail helped us get across with major savings in fuel consumption had we not used the sails at all. However, at home on my lake, if I don't have to be anywhere on shore, I let the wind take me wherever it wishes.
 
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Stu Mills

It Depends

It depends........on how many stinkpots are in the area messing up an otherwise beautiful Narragansett Bay.....my family and crew know that two knots is the lower elastic limit and below that we will motor over to the mooring and go swimming,(eating, drinking,dinking,whatever)
 
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Andy

How slow can you stand to go

I slow can one stand to go? This depends on when you wish to get to your destination. My family and I home port in Groton CT. We spend may weekends in Napa Tree (Watch Hill). If the wind is right and tides favorable, we sail. If it is a beautiful day with no commitments, we will sail regardless to take advantage of the pleasantry of sailing. If we are wishing to get on the hook at a desired time, we might motor sail to make it. The adage; Sailing - Once your on the boat, your're where you wish to be, regardless of where you are or are going.
 
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ex-admin

Final results

Final results for the Quick Quiz ending Decmeber 7, 2003: I'll continue to sail and forgo the engine as long as the boat is moving:    40% 2 knots  30% 3 knots  21% 1 knot or less 09% 4 knots  1,432 owners responding
 
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Tom O'Neill

Start her up or Knot?

It's amazing, There have been moments in high winds and rough seas when I prayed for the dead calm of a summer day. Thinking to my self, and sometimes aloud, "I'll never complain about a windless day if I can just get through this." While on those calm days dream of the adventure that is known as storm chasing. Everything else is pure heaven. As long as there is the slightest wind I hone my skills and reach for every knot, only cranking her up during the dead calm.
 
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Paul Carson

We don't need no stinkin engines!

I sailed a Soverel 26 (roughly 5,000 lb displ.) that didn't even have motor mounts on it, singlehanded, from the time I was 12 yrs old till dad sold it while I was in college. Our wind sucks. Now we have a Soverel 39 and I occaisionally sail it into the marina just to stay sharp. The feeling of finessing a vehicle the size of your garage for miles and then sliding it silently and perfectly into its holster is supremely gratifying. This isn't a "holier than thou" post. It's a plea to the aesthetic inherent in all sailors. Sail everybody! If it goes light, slack everything and heel it to leeward. Keep sailing. Hold the tiller like a paintbrush, not a club. Listen to the gurgle as your motion makes its own wind. Wet your shirt to better feel the shifts. Smoke a cigar (smoke is a great wind indicator!). The world is full of morons who can make noise and go fast. For a few hours, be one of the wizards who can pull motion out of thin air!
 
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Rusty in NC

Savor the slo-mo physics lesson

I enjoy any amount of wind, but sometimes get frustrated in light wind. The other day I took an Isotope (small racing cat) sailor out on my Mac 26 and was disappointed at the light wind. I figured my friend would be bored. However, he said he prefers light wind because, as he put it, "anyone can move with lots of wind". I got his point that it takes a better sailor to move in light wind. He said that you know you are being outsailed when in light wind someone is passing right by you, and extending their lead -- and you have plenty of time to notice. Further, in light wind you can really notice what helps and what doesn't -- because the difference is stop or go. So I appreciate light wind much more now.
 
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Bob

You said it, Paul

and your friend was right, Rusty. Getting the boat to move in light air is a special skill not known by all who sail. When your ears become your knotmeter you can really find out what small changes in sail/boat trim do. But when the smell from that steak on the grill back on shore wafts by, well, time for a re-vote.
 
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tom

sail trim butt position

When I was first learning to sail I would sometimes sail in Murrel's inlet near Myrtle Beach, SC. Sometimes I would encounter the perfect conditions to learn sail trim. Sailing up the tidal creeks going into the current in light winds. I was very surprised that moving my butt 6" fore or aft would make the shoreline pass faster. Also I learned that tightening the mainsheet doesn't increase speed. Usually I sailed off the beach in the open ocean so a small change in speed was undetectable. But with the creeks shore only 5-10' away any small change in speed was obvious. When the wind was strong with the laser all I did was hang on. Ankles under the hiking strap. Butt over the water and stretched out flat for the best ballast. Great fun but not conditions to learn the fine points of sail trim.
 
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