Our third practical session and I really felt like I was sailing today.
Rigged the Topper up in no time flat with the boys so that did the strength training for the day with carrying the masts and booms our of the shed.
It was a really windy day [and mornings are notorious for no winds] so it was an opportune time to tell us about reefing in the sail ie winding it around the mast to decrease the sail area. So we set that up while we were still on land so I got to fiddle with the outhaul and vang. Today’s new knot was a clove hitch.
They started us off sailing between two buoys and then added a third one upwind so we had to get used to hardening up the sail and sailing a zigzag course into the wind. So there were more than a few tacks.
Now last week my tacks were hopeless and my gybes were much easier. Now I know why. I was not being aggressive enough with the tiller on the tack and pushing it out fast enough. Hence I would get caught in irons. Now with gybing it is best to hold back a bit so my lack of confidence was working in my favour.
So today’s tacks and gybes were a lot cleaner. And I seemed to be better prepared and have my body parts in the right spots at the right times.
That doesn’t mean that I didn’t capsize. With so much wind we knew we would get a lot of practice and sure enough I even managed to turn the boat turtle twice. At least I had made sure my centreboard was firmly secured so that my centreboard didn’t fall out making it impossible to right the boat. Did one really spectacular capsize right in front of the motor boat. I was hiking way out, leaning way back and next thing I find myself hitting the sail. Not even just falling out between the boom and the hull. I suspect I will have a few extra bruises to show for that effort tomorrow!
The most fun part though was our instructor Libby constantly encouraging us to look at our sails to make sure they weren’t luffing [the front of the mailsail flapping around] and to keep pulling that mainsheet in and hike out when the boat started leaning over.
Hiking is that classic leaning out over the side of the boat. Hiking straps are a wonderful thing!
Now with wind, speed, a leaning boat and hiking there usually comes a point where you are racing along really smartly and then you can feel yourself tipping over too much…so you learn to hike out even more, then release a little of the sheet and, if that still doesn’t work, to push the tiller down and away from you [feathering]. Sometimes you capsize. But as the morning progressed there were fewer capsizes and more near misses. Which really felt like an achievement.
So it was a bloody good morning. Heaps of fun and things are starting to come together.
I’m hooked. Small boats are great.