PRACTICE

[Don Guillette]

Today I had an interesting exchange of Emails with a mate from a recently defunked Catalina list. He has come over to sailboatowners.com and saw my name and remembered me from the old days. He told me he was practicing and practicing and getting nowhere. I can understnad that because I had the same problem with golf. I'd go to the range and hit a bucket of balls. Every once in a while one would be a perfect hit and I'd wonder to myself - how did I do that. My problem was no consistency and no solid basics. I decided to take golf lessons last year and the pro immediately changed 5 things. My wife took lessons with me and he only had to change 3 things for her. How embarrasing is that!! I really enjoy golf now and shoot in the low 90's but I won't be happy until I break 90. It all boils down to this, you have to have sail trim basics on which to build, unless you like reinventing the wheel. You could probably learn to sail by yourself just as the Wright brothers learned to fly, but do you really have the time or want to spend the time to do it that way? I don't think so and that is what I told him.I used a line from Bobby Jones, the great golfer who said it best and made my point better than I could. He said "there are any number of golfers (sailors) who have devoted an inordinate amount of time, energy, thought and effort to the game (sailing) and they could have become very good golfers (sailors) if they only started out with an accurate conception of what to do". So where do you get the basics? Any number of places. Get a book or a video and develop a plan - I told him about the lesson plan using my book but there are others also. My point is don't go out there willy nilly or you'll get frustarted just like my friend did.

 

[Alan]

On Practice

Sailing is a combination of black magic and aero/hydrodynamics. I have no magic wand so I'm stuck with the science. Playing the combinations of sail trim, heel, helm and so on is something the crew and I are always messing around with. We've tried dropping our main in the middle of a race when the wind died and flew the asail only. We won the race. Others copied our techniques even though conventional wisdom would NEVER say drop the main, because it works. Daring to try new(unconventional) things is part of our bag of tricks. Some work some don't. Those that work become part of our practice routines. Everyone onboard contributes suggestions and practice sharpens our skills.

 

[Don Guillette]

On Practice

Alan; The is the same question I asked Stu - how about taking a swing at writing about some of your routines that you guys have perfected to make sailing easier. Some times we forget what it is like to be a sail trim beginner (they are the main focus of this forum) and anything we can do to make the sailing experience easier for them will be appreciated by them. I remember what it was like for me to get a handle on sail trim and it was no fun. It was more like exhausting.Also, if there is anyone else out there that could take a swing, please be my guest. Guys like RichH, RW Landau and my Canadian brother Rick M or Joe from San Diego (I wonder what happened to him). No one will bite you (no one is rude to me when I go off the deep end - I take that back as one dude was recently) but they may have questions or two. If you have any questions you can contact me at yankee3223@juno.com or on this forum. If you have ever noticed the sail trim articles in sailing mags, you will note that they are generally talking about one single point that they manage to fill up a page with. Take it from someone who knows, there is a knack to it but it is pretty easy. I'm just a common seaman and if I can do it anyone can!!

 

[Wayne]

Basics

Having played golf for 28 years and reaching a 4 handicap and only been sailing seriously for 6 months I can see how the two are similar. When I take to the practise golf range I only think of one thing, and thats the basics of the golf swing which is Grip, alignment and posture, when I know I have these 3 elements right I then start to hit balls with one other element ONLY in my mind which is rhythm. I see these long handicapers go to the 1st tee with no idea what and how they can make that ball go forward, they would never had considered warming up on the practise tee. I consider Tiger woods as the perfect golfer, watch how he goes about it and learn. Golf Like Sailing is easy as long as you know the simply basics. I am reading Don's book on sail trim and the one thing that stands out is he makes it simply and basic. I know with Golf if you don't grip the club right you will never hit the ball correctly, its the one contact you have with the club. With sailing its the sails, its the one contact with the wind. Posture, if you don't stand correctly you can't make a correct golf swing, Sail trim controls the balance ( posture ) of the yacht, incorrect sail trim you won't get maximum boat speed. Alignment, If you don't square up to your intended target how can you hit the ball straight? quess what? you can't. If your angle of attack ( alignment ) is wrong, how can you get there in the quickest time. Fairly basic isn't it? I guess your wondering what happened to Rhythm? well thats the sound your yacht makes when its sailing to its maximum hull speed.Next time Don when you walk to the first tee don't think about anything else except these 4 basics, and i will do the same when I sail next. I hope I have helped you as much as you have helped me. I can see an 85 coming soon.Wayne

 

[Stu Jackson]

The only downside of accepting your offer

is that the material disappears after a (few) day(s). That's disconcerting, because, except for those of us who use it daily and perhaps save some important information (like many of your posts), we end up having to repeat it because people don't use the archives.If there was a key tag phrase used in ALL of the respondents threads, the archives would work great (like "Don G. Sail Trim" or something even shorter.What I wrote, which I enjoyed doing, is literally gone unless someone knows to look for it.Other boards keep stuff in a different way, still searchable, but you can see the titles of the threads.This board is great and I enjoy it daily, but for what you are proposing, it really does get lost to the casual and non-daily reader.Keep up the good work and let me know when you're in town again, you can get a ride on a C34!Stu

 

[Don Guillette]

The only downside of acceting your offer

Stu: I could not disagree with you more. There is no downside to dispensing information of any kind. If I felt that way this forum would have ended 5 weeks after it started. The only time info disappears is when you and I are discussing some sail trim subject on a dock and then walk away and go on to something else. When it is discussed here, it goes out to thousand of sailors worldwide in a snap shot of time and if 5 beginner sailors worldwide get something out of it then I have accomplished my goal. Beginner sailors are everything to me. If I have to repeat the same story to the ever changing membership over and over then that is the way it goes but if 5 other sailors grasp what was said and it stuck with them and they then passed the info on someday to another sailor, it is a win. It is no different than an article published in a monthly magazine - the entire sailing world does not read it and it is almost impossable to access it after the article is published. Sail trim articles are not published in stone to be displayed like the 10 commandents for posterity. Sailboatowners.com does not have the capacity to archive all this info. Their ultimate goal is to sell products. They are not the History Channel and neither is any other forum I know of.Thank you for your comments but I don't want to discuss the subject any further. I don't want to turn off folks that might be considering an article because writing an article is not an easy task. On the other hand, it is relatively easy to comment on what someone has written. On that note: here's the deal to sailors out there - if you are a experienced sailor that has a sail trim idea to share that, when you think about it, had you know about it when you were beginning your sailing experience and it sure would have made your sail trim curve easier, then please share it with us. It may disappear as fast as the wind but it might turn the light on for someone who is struggling with the subject. Sail trim is like the second act of the Wizard Of Oz - it has not changed since the play was written - but I'll tell you when one person writes back to you and thanks you for the info and tells you how they benefited from your material you can't believe how you'll feel. It will make your day. I can't count the number of days I've recieved warm fuzzies. That is one of the few reasons I spend the time that I do on this forum - it sure ain't the money. This is a no pay gig.

 

[Rick Macdonald]

Oh Canada

Don - thanks for the invitation. I have taken a stab at contribution before. My "Fun With Vectors" posts seemed to be too anal for everyone, but I have to say that I'm just more comfortable knowing exactly how things work and add up. That's why I like your book so much.I will take another stab at it and have been mulling over an idea related to practicing for awhile now. In a couple of hours I'm heading off to the lake and my boat for two weeks. I have internet access only two days a week so you might not hear from me much until after Aug 8th....RickM...

 

[Alan]

Thanks, Don for the invite.

I understand what you mean about reaching, maybe, just one other sailor. As time goes by and sail trim becomes second nature, you tend to forget how many guys out there don't get it yet. I am inclined to be a bit heavy handed with my comments, which is the wrong thing for trying to help a newbie understand some sail trim technique. Your demener and tolerance is so much more subtle than mine. Many times I post on the other forums, and wind up trying to convince a skipper that, for example, halyard size is not nearly as important as stretch. Having said that, I would be glad to try help in whatever way I can. Got any suggestions??

 

[Stu Jackson]

Keep it up

AlanThe only suggestions can offer is to continue to chime in. That's pretty much what we around here, and many like you do it so well.You've seen my thoughts on the subject, and I'm still here. I just keep thinking that ti would be a great idea to post some of Don's "highlights" and keep them somewhere like a "quick link" so that in addition to his book, he doesn't have to keep repeating himself all the time. Nor we. My Top Ten List went somewhere.It's always fun to help.Stu

 

[Don Guillette]

Alan: Thank you for being willing to share a tip or two. Additionally, this goes for anyone out there - if you've got a technique that makes your sailing life easier, other sailors could benefit by hearing about it. On heavy handed - I've mellowed from my days on these lists, which started in late 1998. At that time I had a very short fuze and I never minded lighting it. There are times on this list where I could be critical but I feel so sorry for some of our brother sailors that are trying to master the simple art of sail trim. Sail trim truely is simple but when your beginning your sail trim experience it is very confusing. I've mentioned before that I feel the basics of sail trim is a "limited" science. Once a sailor understands the principles of draft depth, draft position, twist and angle of attack and how all the sail trim controls for the main and jib control those 4 items he has pretty much arrive. The next step is to master the adjustments for each point of sail and wind condition. At that point the mate is at the high intermediate level. In tennis he would be a high B or a golfer shooting in the middle 80's. With that being said and because the science is limited, I'm stuck answering the same questions time and again but I really don't mind because I put myself in the beginners shoes. Over the years, I've seen a lot of beginners slapped around and I never minded going to their defense. With a lot of folks, you wack them once and you'll never hear from them again. I have never forgotten where I came from from a sail trim standpoint and I just hate to see folks go through what I did in order to learn how to sail a silly boat.What I'm trying to do is open up the forum. In other words, we normally get questions which are answered and as Stu has indicated, they go into the archieve or somewhere in cyber space. The problem is that "a man does not know what he doesn't know" and accordingly many guys do not know what questions to even ask so my lot in my sail trim life is to think of the questions he should be asking. Everytime I'm on a dock or a boat or even walking the dog down the street, I see sailing things or think of them and think that sailors may be interested in knowing that. Things like the preventer snubber or lifting the anchor. Even down to flipping the line off a winch. I'll see a mate struggling with it and I think I know a better way. The advantage I have is that I get a ton of questions by private email and calls so I feel I really know what the beginner sailor is thinking. That is where the vast majority of the stuff I wrote about comes from. You'll notice a lot of my stuff starts with "I was talking to a guy and.........". Sometimes I'll see an article in a sailing rag and use it as a basis or it will trip my mind to something else.