Decided to swing the other way....... (And see if I like it)

[Lakesailor]

I don't make long passages and probably put in more tacks than most of you in a trip. The wind changes constantly.
So as long as it's chuckling along I'm happy.
Maybe I've been lucky, but my last two boats seemed to get along fine without constant fiddling. Slippy even went very well, despite having a slack luff on the headsail. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But I do get real pleasure from sailing single-handed and leaving and picking up the mooring under sail. http://www.lakesailor.co.uk/

 

[Allan]

At the risk of sounding really girly, everytime I switch off the engine I get a wonderfull shiver up my spine and the few hairs I have on the back of my neck stand up! On Monday I sailed against the tide in the Bristol channel, about an hour going nowhere. Sailing at a standstill is still sailing! If I turn on the engine I feel I have failed, unless it is to get into a berth or the Cardiff barrare locks. I think barrage control may get upset if I tried to sail in! Not to mention the owners of expensive craft already in the locks!
Allan

 

[tome]

[ QUOTE ]
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Disagree with those that say sail trim doesn't matter - it can make a big difference to speed and more importantly it feels good when you've set her up just right and see your speed increase by 0.5 knot or more. It isn't difficult to get the basics right, but getting the best out of a boat takes experience and is immensely satisfying

[/ QUOTE ] I wouldn't expect you to say any different /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
But whilst I applaud your right to disagree, it is a matter of personal taste. I've not come from a racing background and don't get excited about the ultimate set of a sail.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you've never experienced the sweet spot you would say it doesn't matter, no?

 

[Lakesailor]

On the contrary. I've had some fantastic sails with the boat really batting along. It's just not achievable every time out and not that important.
Being on the boat, seeing the views, being relaxed; just enjoying the experience is what it's all about for me.

Different strokes...........

 

[flaming]

[ QUOTE ]
It's just not achievable every time out and not that important.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why is not achievable every time out? Assuming you're talking about similar conditions that is....

 

[Lakesailor]

We don't have similar conditions minute by minute.
I was out today trying to work out if I had weather helm, or lee helm or if the mast was stepped in the correct hole. But as the wind strength was up and down and changing direction with each change, there wasn't a lot of chance really.

It is not important to me. It was just lovely to be on the water.

 

[Searush]

Lakey's sailing is exactly that - lake sailing! Trees, hills, gusts & eddies are a pig to trim for, any inland dinghy sailor will tell you. It's different in the open sea where waves are generally the big problem and the wind is (relatively) steady and consistent in direction. It makes a tremendous difference to the value of sail trim detail if conditions are so variable, just keeeping the sheet tension/angles reasonable can be a full time job - so close enough is often good enough.

Any way I would recommend any boater to play in different boats, life needs new experiences to keep it fun.

 

[tome]

I learned to sail a dinghy by the keep-going-it-til-you-don't-capsize-so-often method on a Yorkshire lake so well remember the variable winds which were a bu<span style="color:black">gger to deal with. Wish I'd known more about sail trim back then when we were racing!

And agree that it's very different at sea where winds are reasonably constant.

Optimum rigging & sail trim are most elusive and valuable skills which every passagemaking sailor should strive towards IMO. Nothing to do with racing, just know there's more to be had of her and how to get it if you need to

 

[peterb26]

Just to close off this thread, I have now finished my Coastal Skipper (Sail) course with Rob and Jules of RuSailing.Com in Lagos, Portugal. So, in a way - I'm a raggie! I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it - and in particular our final day 35 mile passage in winds up to F6 and seas up to 3 metres. Great fun - and it would not have been that in a motorboat by any stroke of the imagination.

Rob and Jules of RuSailing were recommended to me by Richard Faulkner who is a regular poster on here.

His recommendation was one of the best bits of good fortune that I have had - I could not have wished for more professional tuition, or to be hosted by two nicer folks. And unlike most of the other schools I contacted, they were prepared to tailor something so that it exactly fitted my needs.

Anyone else with a requirement for sail training of any sort would do well to keep Rob and Jules in their address book.