Frustrated Beginning Sailor

[CBinRI]

Originally Posted by Newport41

Go it alone. Buy the laser. When you're on a boat alone you'll pay attention to the wind and the sails in a way you didn't before. Laser's are easy to sail and very very fun. THe best way to build your skills and your confidence is to get out there. If you take your basic safety gear then the worst that will probably happen will be your pride getting hurt if you do something stupid. But that's how you learn. You can always flag someone down for help. People on the water tend to look out for each other. My grandfather put me in his laser when I was five. I just figured it out myself. I'm sure you can handle it. Good luck and don't be affraid.

I couldn't agree more. You learn by challenging yourself. But pick a day to start when the wind is moderate or light so you don't get discouraged.

[DFWSailor]

I can vouch for watching the winds when you are just starting! I've had my MacGregor 26D for all of 2 months and finally took it out solo yesterday. The LAST time I had sailed was 19 years ago in the BVI on a 44 ft yacht we had for 10 days. (Pre kids!). I remember being proud soloing it in the harbor while everyone else was shopping in town.

Well - I had decided to take out the Mac next time I could after work. I chatted for a few minutes with another sailor while looking at the wind speed meter at the marina in Grapevine, TX. I said "going out alone?" He said "As much as I can". My confidence high - I went to the slip to get Whisper ready for my solo outing. I would be using only the main so it would be "easy". Sounds good so far, right?

Here's the bad part:

The wind was blowing 18 with gusts to 25 mph. That used to be fun in an older Chrysler 18 I had 25 years ago...

The Mac 26D has a horrible problem with weather helm in winds above 15 mph (I did a LOT of research on the last night - a bit too late!)

The rudder is not wide or long enough on the boat. (excessive control movement required in medium to heavy wind)

The jib wouldn't be up. (more weather helm)

The main is older (sail won't go all the way flat anymore)

The boat has no Vang (Can't tighten it up in wind)

No Cunningham (Loose - easily filled main)

No Traveller installed - can't "wing it out"

Centerboard all the way down (up should help WH)

THE RESULT?

I head into the wind - quickly winch up the main and set SAIL!

The boat turned QUICKLY to a reach, healed over like crazy and started swinging rapidly to the wind.

I let out the main a bit and cranked the tiller over to the weather side HARD. It took most of my arm strength to nurse it between neutral and back to hard to windward just to keep the boat straight.

I realized that with 18-25 mph winds it would not be easy to practice sailing manuevers. The work was going to be not breaking or hitting something since I couldn't stear very well.

Changing over to a broad reach helped - but the wind would gust me into a run. THAT made me nervous about doing a quick JIBE in that wind with marginal tiller stearing.

The bottom line is I had to head into the wind and get the main down FAST. Since I had run the Halyards to the cockpit the previous week, it was a quick but stressful few minutes while I pulled the main down and into the cabin to stop the craziness!

Once down and secured, I "sailed" across the lake at around 3-4 miles per hour with no sails up at all.

Kind of long-winded I know, but I've learned so much here and other sites by reading others experiences (good and bad) that I thought I would share some of the insights.

My TODO list includes taking care of several of those items that cause weather helm, including practicing reefing the main while solo in wind.

LESSON:
- Know your limitations
- Know you boats characteristics
- Know how to DEPOWER the boat partially or completely quickly.
- WATCH the winds
- Don't be so excited about sailing that you ignore common sense!!

[jhnpldng]

I was nervous the first time going out on my Rhodes22. So I used the mainsail only because the only other boat I had sailed before only had a mainsail. I just looked at a picture of a cl14 and it looks like the perfect size to start out in. I just bought a sailing dinghy to sail while I pull the Rhodes out to do some work to it. As others have wrote I know I will be learning a lot about sail trim. I bought a Force 5. Little larger and more stable than a laser but since it only weighs 145 lbs and has half the sail area as my 3000 lb boat any little adjustment made is really noticable. From what I've read about these little ones, I will eventually be going in the water one day. pdf. but man it's fast and fun. So either way, stick with the cl14 and start with mainsail only or get a dinghy. Just go for it. And don't worry about all the technical stuff just yet. Rudder and mainsheet is all you need to deal with at first. PS I had an experience similar to above except it wasn't that windy when I went out. Came from nowhere and had to do some scrambling. Don't let it scare you. Watch the forceasts and don't start off if it's already that windy. 5-10 knots is fine sailing.

[skipperpete]

Ref Mac26D, I had a 2000 Mac 26X a few years ago.
Found that windage on the bow was a big problem, especially when coming into a dock! Wind could easily blow the bow off to the side.
I later bought a 98 Hunter 280. I found that boat with it's heavier displacement a pleasure to sail.
Now unfortunately had to give up that 280 when I retired and became landlocked! Have fun...
Pete...Suwannee County Florida

[MaestroSeven]

The second time I took my wife out on the CL-14 I had a similiar experience. She has NO sailing experience (mistake number one).

I sail in a small lake (3 miles long give or take)

We headed out, wind was very calm. We got out in the middle of the lake and a gust hit us and hit us hard. It pushed us into a cove. I tried to walk the wife through pulling the main sail down well I held on for dear life to the tiller.

Needless to say there were tears and we got trapped in the cove and couldn't get out. We eventually had to have a local fisherman tow us out of the cove and back to the Yacht Club.

Happy to report I didn't dump the boat but managed to scare my wife something silly.

[sailingdog]

Sailing singlehanded on a small dinghy or keelboat isn't all that dangerous if you take basic precautions and the boat is well-maintained. Having older sails, which don't allow you to de-power the boat properly in stronger wind conditions is rather dangerous... especially if you're a novice.

Listen to the weather forecasts, talk to the people at the marina, and on the docks, and then decide if you're capable of handling the conditions if they get worse than are reported to be.

[jhnpldng]

If you think about the people on PWCs and tubes hitting the water at 30 kts. Sailing is not scary at all. I think injury to the boat and our pride might be our big fears. I've been out on the force5 a couple of times since this thread started and it's a blast. Considering it's a sock sail, I do need to put a quick release on the clew. One of the fixes I'm pulling my other boat out for is to run all sail control lines to the cockpit. I didn't like going up on the foredeck on my knees and bracing my feet against the cleats to let bring down the jib with 20kt winds and gusts to 30kts. scary moments are learning experiences.

[sailingdog]

Personally, my favorite days are the days where it is blowing 20-25 knots and with swells of 3-4 feet...

[FrankLanger]

Sailingdog,
I appreciate your many posts on these various Sailnet sites. Given your reply above, that your preferred sailing conditions involve 25 knot winds and 3 - 4 foot waves, can you let us know what make and size of boat you sail, and what sail configuration you use under those conditions (ie. single/double reefed main, 95% jib or storm sail, etc.), as that may help some readers understand how you manage those conditions safely. Based on my sailing experience, those conditions would be fine in my Ericson 30+, but wouldn't have been manageable in my previous Southcoast 22', or possibly even in my San Juan 23'.
I wouldn't want some of the novice sailors on this site to be heading out in a light boat, with full sail in those conditions, simply because you mentioned that it's great fun!
Thanks again for your many helpful replies.
Frank.

[sailingdog]

Ahh.. good point.. the boat I'm on is a 28' trimaran, and has an 18' beam.

In those conditions, I generally have a double reef in the 150% genny (which is pretty much equal to a 100% jib) and the full main up, if I'm out with crew. Otherwise, I'll sail with either just the main up or the main with a single reef and the genny with a double reef if I'm out singlehanding.

I definitely don't recommend going out in a small boat in those conditions. Even a J/24 would be pressed under those conditions without an experienced crew. A Laser or other sailing dinghy would pretty much get clobbered in those conditions.

Most boat manufacturers have some basic guidelines for how much sail area the boat can handle under various wind conditions. This should be tempered by the experience and skill of the crew... A more experienced crew can usually use a bit more sail than a novice crew, under the same sailing conditions.