I'm 54 years old. If memory serves me correctly, I sailed for the first time when I was 13 or 14. So that's about 40 years, give or take, though I've really gotten serious about this for the last six. At this point I'm beginning to wonder just when I'm going to get to the point when I know everything I need to know. Make no mistake, I think I know quite a bit. I know a lot about sail trim and balance and yes I can reef. I know a lot about navigation. I can change the oil and the filters on my Yanmar and bleed the lines and swap out the raw water impeller when need be etc., etc. But just when I think I'm beginning to get it down, I'll spot a short control line on the leech of the main just below the reef cringle with a nearby fitting with a jam cleat, and realize I don't know what it's for. I know I need to disassemble, clean and lube my winches, but I don't know how (YET). It's a source of frustration and yet also part of the challenge of sailing to know that it's not easy to know everything. And then I wonder how long it's really gonna take. Maybe another five years? Maybe never? How long have you been sailing? How long does it take? Gary Wyngarden S/V Shibumi H334
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54 huh!
Gary: I suppose that you will be learning for another 5-6 years. Then the good ol' CRS will settle in (really good) and you'll trying to remember what you had forgotten. <g> I honestly think that this is ALWAYS a learning experience. And you know that you NEVER get too old to learn something new.
Gary: I suppose that you will be learning for another 5-6 years. Then the good ol' CRS will settle in (really good) and you'll trying to remember what you had forgotten. <g> I honestly think that this is ALWAYS a learning experience. And you know that you NEVER get too old to learn something new.
always more to learn
Gary, like you I have been sailing for a few years. I have had a boat since 1967. Some years I logged over 100 days( my fire dept. schedule allowed that). The last few years I have been doing spinnaker work on races and my learning curve has increases. In the past 3 months I have studied for the coast guard exam. Last year I decommissioned and recommissioned a 380 on the two coasts. Even with all that, I am always learning. It seems that every time I go near a boat there is something to be gained. I think thats what keeps me interested.......Always something new!!!
Gary, like you I have been sailing for a few years. I have had a boat since 1967. Some years I logged over 100 days( my fire dept. schedule allowed that). The last few years I have been doing spinnaker work on races and my learning curve has increases. In the past 3 months I have studied for the coast guard exam. Last year I decommissioned and recommissioned a 380 on the two coasts. Even with all that, I am always learning. It seems that every time I go near a boat there is something to be gained. I think thats what keeps me interested.......Always something new!!!
The day you think you've got, you're in trouble
Gary, You have me beat by a bunch of years, but I've got a few on the water myself. One of the things I love most is that you never can know everything. And on the day you get complacent that sea can knock you silly. The continuing lesson in humility is positive force in my life. Oh - that line is for tensioning the leech as the sail ages. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Gary, You have me beat by a bunch of years, but I've got a few on the water myself. One of the things I love most is that you never can know everything. And on the day you get complacent that sea can knock you silly. The continuing lesson in humility is positive force in my life. Oh - that line is for tensioning the leech as the sail ages. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Wonder
Learning is the most marvellous part about sailing. You can never know it all. I sailed with an 84 year old guy who designed and built his boat in 1928 and had it ever since. One day it arrived with long pieces of black tape on the side decks radiating out from the helm position. He had decided these were so that he could better judge the port and starboard crossing lines when cross tacking whilst racing. Other strips gave the gybing lines and even more were the lay lines to the windward mark. He had been considtently winning before these refinements. I realised then that, if after 70 years one can still improve ones skills then one can never know it all. Regards,
Learning is the most marvellous part about sailing. You can never know it all. I sailed with an 84 year old guy who designed and built his boat in 1928 and had it ever since. One day it arrived with long pieces of black tape on the side decks radiating out from the helm position. He had decided these were so that he could better judge the port and starboard crossing lines when cross tacking whilst racing. Other strips gave the gybing lines and even more were the lay lines to the windward mark. He had been considtently winning before these refinements. I realised then that, if after 70 years one can still improve ones skills then one can never know it all. Regards,
Gary, For me, boredom says it's too long.
I have raced almost anything with a motor for 45 years with the main interest being drag racing. It got to the point that you unloaded off the trailer, qualified, run and picked up the money. BORING!! The sail,the boat and wind are never the same twice. I could never get bored doing this and at my age I'll forget what I learned today and have a reason to try again tomorrow. You sound like a person I would love to meet. So until I forget my name I'll sign off. Ray
I have raced almost anything with a motor for 45 years with the main interest being drag racing. It got to the point that you unloaded off the trailer, qualified, run and picked up the money. BORING!! The sail,the boat and wind are never the same twice. I could never get bored doing this and at my age I'll forget what I learned today and have a reason to try again tomorrow. You sound like a person I would love to meet. So until I forget my name I'll sign off. Ray
Contol the wind
And not to be too quaint, but.. Who was it that said (parphrasing) "We can't control the wind, but we can change the sails" Sail on brother(s) (and sisters)
And not to be too quaint, but.. Who was it that said (parphrasing) "We can't control the wind, but we can change the sails" Sail on brother(s) (and sisters)
The hardest part is to define one's goals....
Gary's question "(when am I) going to get to the point when I know everything I need to know" cannot be answered by anyone until he has defined what he needs to know; i.e. what his goals are. Is the goal to gunkhole around the Chesapeake Bay without regular mishaps? To place in the upper division of the weekly club races? To design and/or build his own boat? To make a single-handed passage across the ocean? To circumnavigate with a family of four? etc. etc. Each of these goals requires a different set of skills, tools and data. Apparently it took Ellen McArthur just four years to get to the point where she was able to compete successfully in the Vendee Globe. That does not necessarily mean, however, that she is able to sail around the Chesapeake Bay for a couple of weeks without running aground or that she can anchor in Pellican Bay without dragging in 30 knots of wind, or that she can take care of two young children while cruising around the world. Every year try set a challenging but realistic goal for the upcoming season. prepare yourself and your vessel as well as possible for that specific goal, build in enough redundancy to cope with possible setbacks and then have a go at it. IMHO that's as good as it gets (and I mean PRETTY DARN GOOD!!!!
)) Flying Dutchman "Rivendel II"
Gary's question "(when am I) going to get to the point when I know everything I need to know" cannot be answered by anyone until he has defined what he needs to know; i.e. what his goals are. Is the goal to gunkhole around the Chesapeake Bay without regular mishaps? To place in the upper division of the weekly club races? To design and/or build his own boat? To make a single-handed passage across the ocean? To circumnavigate with a family of four? etc. etc. Each of these goals requires a different set of skills, tools and data. Apparently it took Ellen McArthur just four years to get to the point where she was able to compete successfully in the Vendee Globe. That does not necessarily mean, however, that she is able to sail around the Chesapeake Bay for a couple of weeks without running aground or that she can anchor in Pellican Bay without dragging in 30 knots of wind, or that she can take care of two young children while cruising around the world. Every year try set a challenging but realistic goal for the upcoming season. prepare yourself and your vessel as well as possible for that specific goal, build in enough redundancy to cope with possible setbacks and then have a go at it. IMHO that's as good as it gets (and I mean PRETTY DARN GOOD!!!!
)) Flying Dutchman "Rivendel II"Rob's sailing teacher told him this
"I'll teach you everything you need to know about sailing in a day. You'll spend the rest of your life getting it right." Love that. LaDonna
"I'll teach you everything you need to know about sailing in a day. You'll spend the rest of your life getting it right." Love that.
LaDonnaA little learning is a dangerous thing
Buying a sail boat was a totaly new learning experience for me. It took me away from my regular daily existence, and created a new channel for my thoughts and ideas. I was a pilot of Cessna aircraft (Private) for 20 years, and the knowledge was profitable for my mental well-being. But, even with an A.& P. Mechanics license, actually working on the aircraft didn't exercise the spirit of adventure and "sense of wonderment" that harnessing the wind does with a sailboat. In the airplane, we resisted the wind and made adjustments so that we could achieve the desired results in our "battle" with the forces of turbulence. In the sailboat, we could cooperate more with the forces of the wind, trim the sails to get more control, loose the sails, or even lower the sails to reduce the power the wind had on us. We sort of had a deal with the wind that we were both out to have a good day, and one wouldn't spoil things for the other. Learning / Living
Buying a sail boat was a totaly new learning experience for me. It took me away from my regular daily existence, and created a new channel for my thoughts and ideas. I was a pilot of Cessna aircraft (Private) for 20 years, and the knowledge was profitable for my mental well-being. But, even with an A.& P. Mechanics license, actually working on the aircraft didn't exercise the spirit of adventure and "sense of wonderment" that harnessing the wind does with a sailboat. In the airplane, we resisted the wind and made adjustments so that we could achieve the desired results in our "battle" with the forces of turbulence. In the sailboat, we could cooperate more with the forces of the wind, trim the sails to get more control, loose the sails, or even lower the sails to reduce the power the wind had on us. We sort of had a deal with the wind that we were both out to have a good day, and one wouldn't spoil things for the other. Learning / Living
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