Beating to windward against an Easterly. Tiller is tied off.

I know, I know. I’m always complaining about the lack of seamanship.

So this is a short tutorial about how to let your boat sail itself.

No auto pilot. No wind vane, or electronics, just seamanship.

Beating to windward against an Easterly. Tiller is tied off.

All boats have different sailing characteristics. The hull used on my boat, a Cape Dory, was copied from the hull you found on Anglo Saxon work boats. This was before engines. The long shallow full keel with an attached rudder was designed for control and durability.

You can sail to a dock or mooring. Heave to and pull your fishing nets, or traps aboard.

I find I can have a neutral helm if I put one reef in the main and run 135% to 150% jib. However the boat has a weather helm for a reason. If the boat becomes over powered or over canvased, she will heel to a point. Then the wind spills over the top or head of the sails, and she rounds up into the wind and stops. If you let go of the tiller, like if you fall overboard, she rounds up into the wind and stops.



So when tying off my tiller under full sail I need to do several things.

I down haul the luff like on a windsurfing sail. This opens my leach, and reduces heel that would cause her to round up into the wind. I do the same to my jib by moving the jib cars aft.You want to spill wind off the top of the leach.

If you look at the video below, you will see that while the lower tell tails are streaming, the upper tell tail are starting to lift. And lastly you tie off the tiller a bit to windward to compensate for the natural weather helm.

I hope this helps you. It takes time, and a lot of experimentation to get it right. Once you do, the boat will sail for hours on her own. Not that Iv’e tested that theory. I tend to do most of my sailing in the western sound. A very congested area with a good deal of boat traffic.

My Summer of COVID

I’ll admit it. I’m lucky.

Iv’e been able to continue my career with minor interruptions this year.

Yes, I’ve had friends and clients who had died from this pandemic.

Yes, I’m earning less. Yes, my wife is working less. 

But because of what I do for a living…I have savings.

All told, I’m doing OK. I’m lucky. Not smart. Just lucky.

Most lucky people tend to think they’re smart. I know better.

I’ve been working from home since early March. So I don’t have to wear a mask each day. 

My wife has to wear one when she goes into work. It’s bothersome.

I only have to wear one when I’m with other people in close proximity, or indoors with them. I’m alone most of the time. I stopped surfing in April. The people at the beach are idiots. They seem to think they are immune there. So I just stopped going. But I can still go sailing. Except for a brief 10 minutes on the launch, I’m all alone in my own world. Thank my parents for Segue. Though I have been her caretaker since 1986, She became mine 20 years ago when my parents decided they needed a bigger boat.

Sunday May 31’st 2020 from drysuit2 on Vimeo.

See sailing at link

https://vimeo.com/424621824

Today, I really wanted to talk about Windsurfing. Or windsurfers. 

No one windsurfs because it’s cool, or easy. Windsurfing is hard. It’s always changing, evolving. There is always something new. Windsurfers understand and crave the learning curve. We understand we will never master something. Yet we keep coming back. We check our ego’s at the door and learn something new every time we go out.

Because of the Pandemic I missed this year’s OBX WIND in Hatteras. We rescheduled it for October, but canceled that as well. Springtime in Avon is more than just a great windsurfing destination, it’s the people. Everyone there, is there because they are just as stoked about windsurfing as you. You’re in a world were everybody understands why we build our lives around a seemingly frivolous activity. 

We all love this sport. Want to discover new things, learn new everything. Windsurfers are the most positive people I have ever encountered.

This year. This year is the year of the foil.

Foils have been around for ages. But we are just beginning to work out the kinks. Make it accessible to mere mortals like myself. 

And guess what? It's still hard. A lot like windsurfing a unicycle. But so worth it.

I wanted to take lessons. But clinics are pretty dangerous in a pandemic. So Andy Brant who usually runs ABK has been doing one day small clinics. No hotels to worry about. Just long drives, something new, and that feeling. That same feeling you had when you caught your first wave. That same feeling you had when you did your first jibe, the first time you planed in the footstraps, the curve. The learning curve we crave.

Yea that’s it. What pandemic?