Not sure how many WI sailors there on this list so unless your familiar with the Lake Superior area (Duluth/Superior) the first part of this message won’t make much sense but the second part might. I was in the Superior area last week and friends of mine invited me out for a sail. It was a beautiful day on a beautiful boat (Hunter). At the end of the day we stopped at Grandma’s for onion rings (best I’ve ever tasted) and a few Leinenkugel’s (great local beer).
During lunch the topic turned to sail trim and the couple asked me what I thought of their sail trim. I told them it was fine but they kept pressing me for more detail. About that time the biggest ore carrier I have ever seen was exiting the Duluth ship canal so I excused myself to watch it go out. I was hoping the subject of sail trim would be forgotten by the time I got back to the table but no such luck. They started up again.
I told them I didn’t want to hurt their feelings but they kept pressing so I finally told them they had no idea of the function of each sail trim controls for the main and jib but that they are not alone – probably 50% of the sailors worldwide don’t know either. The husband asked for an example so I gave him some. During the sail he told me he was using the outhaul to adjust twist and later told me the boom vang adjusts draft depth (belly). Also, the fairleads look like they had never been moved. Both of them then admitted they had no idea of the function of the sail trim controls. The wife asked me if I could help them and how long would it take – I told them way less than 2 hours. Using a napkin as a sail I explained draft depth, draft position, twist and angle of attack and wrote down the sail trim controls for the main and jib that are used to adjust those elements. By far that is the hardest part to learn.
Next day was another nice sailing day, which I understand might be few and far between in Duluth, and out we went. Since they knew what each mainsail and jib sail trim control adjusted the rest was easy. First we worked on twist. They saw how the top of the sail opened and closed. Next we worked on angle of attack and how the boat was powered up and down. Next was draft depth and last was draft position. Draft position is hard to see for the first time but after you see it once you don’t forget it.
Dennis Conner is not calling these folks for advise but these guys have a good basis to build on as they master the settings for various wind conditions and points of sail. They now had the confidence to handle their boat and we ended the day at Grandma’s for Linnie’s and onion rings – on them!! I felt pretty good myself because it is a great feeling when you can share knowledge and give something back to the sport that has given me a lot of enjoyment.
During lunch the topic turned to sail trim and the couple asked me what I thought of their sail trim. I told them it was fine but they kept pressing me for more detail. About that time the biggest ore carrier I have ever seen was exiting the Duluth ship canal so I excused myself to watch it go out. I was hoping the subject of sail trim would be forgotten by the time I got back to the table but no such luck. They started up again.
I told them I didn’t want to hurt their feelings but they kept pressing so I finally told them they had no idea of the function of each sail trim controls for the main and jib but that they are not alone – probably 50% of the sailors worldwide don’t know either. The husband asked for an example so I gave him some. During the sail he told me he was using the outhaul to adjust twist and later told me the boom vang adjusts draft depth (belly). Also, the fairleads look like they had never been moved. Both of them then admitted they had no idea of the function of the sail trim controls. The wife asked me if I could help them and how long would it take – I told them way less than 2 hours. Using a napkin as a sail I explained draft depth, draft position, twist and angle of attack and wrote down the sail trim controls for the main and jib that are used to adjust those elements. By far that is the hardest part to learn.
Next day was another nice sailing day, which I understand might be few and far between in Duluth, and out we went. Since they knew what each mainsail and jib sail trim control adjusted the rest was easy. First we worked on twist. They saw how the top of the sail opened and closed. Next we worked on angle of attack and how the boat was powered up and down. Next was draft depth and last was draft position. Draft position is hard to see for the first time but after you see it once you don’t forget it.
Dennis Conner is not calling these folks for advise but these guys have a good basis to build on as they master the settings for various wind conditions and points of sail. They now had the confidence to handle their boat and we ended the day at Grandma’s for Linnie’s and onion rings – on them!! I felt pretty good myself because it is a great feeling when you can share knowledge and give something back to the sport that has given me a lot of enjoyment.
