Take your father out and let him be the captain!
Poor balance is unforgiving on a sailboat. Let your father handle your boat. Go out in nice weather, reef early, go slow, don't heal and let him stay in the cockpit at the wheel; your go on the deck and raise the sails, etc. Small boat can scare you cause they heal so fast and round up at a little puffs, so go with him on your boat. Treat your father as if he is licensed to handle a 100 ton vessel. I lost my father and still miss him very much. He was a great guy, a non-sailor, who never told me of any of his fears and I never ask what they were. At 50 now, I have some fears and I don't discuss them with my children either, it not something we do easily as fathers and sons. From one perspective, we don't want our sons thinking we are afraid of anything, on the other hand, we want to communicate to our sons about everything, so they don't make the same mistakes we did; its a intersting situation. Years ago I got over the fear of sailing by understanding the mechanics of a sail boat, the heal, ballast, why she won't go over easily, etc. because of the keel. That pure intellectual endeavor helped me, but some people never do get over it. I had a friend once who loved sailing but had the same problem and he was just 25 at the time. So, all in all, just go easy with your dad, he does not want to stop sailing or he would sell his boat, which is the best excuse not to go, if you don't have a boat. Most of all my friend, love and respect your father for all the things he has had the courage to do. Fairwinds, Arthur
Poor balance is unforgiving on a sailboat. Let your father handle your boat. Go out in nice weather, reef early, go slow, don't heal and let him stay in the cockpit at the wheel; your go on the deck and raise the sails, etc. Small boat can scare you cause they heal so fast and round up at a little puffs, so go with him on your boat. Treat your father as if he is licensed to handle a 100 ton vessel. I lost my father and still miss him very much. He was a great guy, a non-sailor, who never told me of any of his fears and I never ask what they were. At 50 now, I have some fears and I don't discuss them with my children either, it not something we do easily as fathers and sons. From one perspective, we don't want our sons thinking we are afraid of anything, on the other hand, we want to communicate to our sons about everything, so they don't make the same mistakes we did; its a intersting situation. Years ago I got over the fear of sailing by understanding the mechanics of a sail boat, the heal, ballast, why she won't go over easily, etc. because of the keel. That pure intellectual endeavor helped me, but some people never do get over it. I had a friend once who loved sailing but had the same problem and he was just 25 at the time. So, all in all, just go easy with your dad, he does not want to stop sailing or he would sell his boat, which is the best excuse not to go, if you don't have a boat. Most of all my friend, love and respect your father for all the things he has had the courage to do. Fairwinds, Arthur