[i670684]

Thought you might be interested in some feedback on what has worked. Firstly, thanks again for the helpful replies.

My original guidance was use a landmark to steer to, rather than getting overly focused on the compass. That worked for my son, but not for my wife. We''re all different, so when I finally gave up on my "guidance" and asked that she use the windex to determine when we were heading into the wind, then lock in the heading and focus only on the compass from then on, things went much better. We practiced several times motoring, with no intent to raise the main.

I''m just now seeing some of the posts-- I suspect the sailnet "view new messages since last visit" doesn''t work very well.

Duane: My thoughts exactly. Only enough way to maintain steerage is our approach.

BigRed56: Thought about cattle prod, but I''m no prize and she might take offense.

Pi: Don''t think I''ve got the attitude but I guess it''s in the eye of the beholder. She''s not strong enough to raise the main. Your description of the "visual circuit" makes sense, it''s what most of us do intuitively, but it''s worth discussing explicitly so I think I''ll introduce it once we''re at the next stage.

Sailormon6: Oversteer is still a problem. We''ve tried the "follow me while I change course" method, no major impact however. This is gradually improving and will take care of itself I think.

Paulk: That worked a treat!

JeffC_: That worked well with my son several months ago but didn''t help my wife. Everyone''s different and I should''ve realized the need for a new approach rather than coming back to this one again and again.

My partner has shown real persistence and an amazing willingness to enjoy "my" hobby. I hope that at some point her level of enjoyment becomes self-sustaining. In the meantime, I''m lucky that she cares enough to hang in there. BTW: She got a 99% on the Power Squadron test-- not bad for someone with no boating background.