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I'm ashamed...I cheated!

2K views 17 replies 17 participants last post by  PaulinVictoria 
#1 ·
Not on my beautiful wife....on Mother Nature.

I took my little 16 footer out for a sail here in Abu Dhabi. My marina is close to a few little islands, so I thought I would go sail along Yas Golf Course as it looks pretty.

The wind was pretty quiet today; windguru said 8 but I think it was less. (By the way, is there a better site to use? WG only uses models for the archive, so when I want to find out what the wind was this morning, they don't have an actual measurement, only what was used in the model. But, I digress...)

So I'm trying to sail upwind, which is not easy to do being the noob I am. In addition, the channel I want to go through is pretty narrow, so there isn't much room for me to zig zag my way up...even though I tried. If I knew what I was doing, perhaps it would not have been a problem. After just sitting like a log, I decided, "Screw it" and fired up my little trolling motor to 'help' me along. It was actually pretty nice, and it got me to where I wanted to go. I then turned it off and used the sails....until the wind died again, and I was stuck using it several times. I hated having to use it, but I was kinda at my wits end and just wasn't moving.

My question: is it cheating to use motor, or should I be expected to use only wind each and every time? Are the purists about to go apesh*t on me?

Other than that, I used my jib for the first time today. Nice to know that I now don't know how to trim 2 sails...can't wait to add the spinney!

Thanks,
Mike
 
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#4 ·
It's common among most sailors to motor up narrow channels. Sadly if you go cruising in a popular cruising ground you'll find that it is common among some "sailors" to motor everywhere.

I personally like sailing up narrow channels, but have even fired up the motor when currents + wind are causing my forward progress to be measured in minutes per meter instead of meters per minute. Short tacking among currents and rocks in a narrow channel is demanding and that makes it fun for me.

I have two dinghies which don't have a motor installed (and I teach sailing on boats without motors). In those conditions occasionally a paddle or oars will be necessary.
 
#6 ·
I think the rule of thumb is that if there is enough wind to make headway - or the expectation of that wind arriving soon - it is always more pleasant to sail. But the reality is occasionally you get becalmed; or the wind is so light it would take you an hour to get to your slip, instead of 10 minutes, and it is getting dark; or similar situations, then use the motor.

But really sailing is for FUN. Enjoy your boat, do what you enjoy - if that means motoring more than others, fine. If it means taking longer than everybody to drift through a windless channel - fine. Be true to yourself and your boat, and all will be well...
 
#8 ·
It is not cheating if you don't do it all the time!

Huge ships with no sails also say they will "set sail" on such & such a date.

to sail -
1. Nautical
a. To move across the surface of water, especially by means of a sailing vessel.
b. To travel by water in a vessel.
c. To start out on such a voyage or journey.
d. To operate a sailing craft, especially for sport.
 
#9 ·
If you're cheating, then the vast majority of the sailors I've come across during the past decade are cheating as well. Last weekend, the winds on Chesapeake Bay were blowing 12 to 15 MPH all day long on Friday - it was beautiful and I sailed 50 miles down the bay to meet up with my son and his new girlfriend. While en-route, we we encountered at least 200 to 300 sailboats headed south for winter, boats from the Great Lakes to New York passed us and only a half-dozen had sails up. The others were all motoring down the bay's main channel, I guess in an effort to reach their destinations a bit faster than they would had they been under sail. Just doesn't make sense to me at all.

Now, there are situations where that motor can make the difference between life and death, and it can be a real life saver - especially when traversing a heavily traveled commercial channel. That's definitely not cheating - that's excellent judgement.

Good Luck,

Gary :cool:
 
#13 ·
Am I going day sailing or to a destination ?

On Long Island Sound depending on the current and wind direction :)

If the current is in full flood in Northport and that just right WEST WIND I could have a pretty good day sail just reaching the sound

If I need to get someplace I would spend the 18 minutes motoring that section VS the 90 + minutes sailing it

If I leave Northport on the Ebb and ride it out to Port Jefferson and the Ebb is still doing its thing then there will be a section of the Port Jefferson breakwater with 3 knots of current

On the other hand on are last long sail (70+ miles ) we rode the full moon flood home and covered it in 10 hours
 
#17 · (Edited)
The way I look at is that this whole boating thing is supposed to be fun!
What advantage is there in trying to do something in a way expected of you by others if you are stressing out.
If you are not racing, there is no such thing as "cheating". As you become more competent, you can continually challenge yourself and perhaps sail through that passage, but even then, don't hesitate to "cheat" if it will keep things fun, rather than stressful.
 
#18 ·
Yes it's cheating, hang your head in shame. You should be able to sail up a channel no wider than your boat is long and right into your slip in no wind against a strong current.

Or something like that ;)

I motor when I can't sail, or I can't get where/when I need to go via sail. It's only cheating if you do it when racing.
 
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