Sailors are a great bunch of folks that I'm very fortunate to do business with. I've sold over 20,000 books & charts worldwide to almost every country in the world except Russia & China -- don't know what it is with those two countries - and NEVER had a check bounce!! I've never met a sailor who wasn't willing to answer a question or give advise. When I first started sailing I wondered how I'd ever master what I considered at the time to be a complex skill. There were no sail trim forums and the only source open to me was dock neighbors and YC members. Some folks gave good info and others confused the devil out of me. The same thing happened with sailing articles. When I was trying to figure out sail trim by myself I happened on a article by Buddy Melges and a article by another sailor on the exact same subject. Both articles were the opposite of each other. When I tested both techniques - Buddy was right on. In the beginning it was hard for me to determine what was right or wrong. Many times it was like the sail trim question I asked folks was what they had for lunch and they told me how they drove to work!! Not one sailor tried to mislead me - some of them just didn't know what they were talking about but were well meaning.
Well meaning advise (good & bad) is everywhere. The other day I was at my gun club zeroing a rifle I built. Most of the snowbirds have left Arizona to go wherever they go so it's pretty quite in my neck of the woods and there was only 3 of us on the range. One of the 3 was a couple also in the process of zeroing their rifle but their shots were not even on paper and HIGH. They fiddle with the front elevation and the rear sight windage but were getting nowhere -- just like me messing with sail trim controls and guessing at the adjustment. Like well meaning sailors everywhere, the 3rd person decided to help. He told the couple that in order to LOWER the point of impact they should LOWER the front sight, which they did, and them he left the range. After a few shots, they still couldn't get on the paper. In fact, the shots were now going higher than before because to LOWER the point of impact you RAISE the front sight. The wife noticed me watching them and asked if I had any ideas. I told her to raise the front sight about 6 clicks. Every shot thereafter was a bulls eye.
I guess good/bad advise is everywhere - the golf course, tennis , pickleball courts etc. You name it but aren't you glad there's the sail trim forum where incorrect advise doesn't last long. It's immediately corrected - I know because some times I was on the receiving end of the correction.
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Well meaning advise (good & bad) is everywhere. The other day I was at my gun club zeroing a rifle I built. Most of the snowbirds have left Arizona to go wherever they go so it's pretty quite in my neck of the woods and there was only 3 of us on the range. One of the 3 was a couple also in the process of zeroing their rifle but their shots were not even on paper and HIGH. They fiddle with the front elevation and the rear sight windage but were getting nowhere -- just like me messing with sail trim controls and guessing at the adjustment. Like well meaning sailors everywhere, the 3rd person decided to help. He told the couple that in order to LOWER the point of impact they should LOWER the front sight, which they did, and them he left the range. After a few shots, they still couldn't get on the paper. In fact, the shots were now going higher than before because to LOWER the point of impact you RAISE the front sight. The wife noticed me watching them and asked if I had any ideas. I told her to raise the front sight about 6 clicks. Every shot thereafter was a bulls eye.
I guess good/bad advise is everywhere - the golf course, tennis , pickleball courts etc. You name it but aren't you glad there's the sail trim forum where incorrect advise doesn't last long. It's immediately corrected - I know because some times I was on the receiving end of the correction.
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