If you can drive, you’ll also be able to sail . . . eventually
Issue 40 : Jan/Feb 2005
Revelations occur no matter where you are. If you can turn the noise level off (radios, television, conversation, phone calls), your mind can wander freely. This is one of the reasons I enjoy sailing so much. We get away from the noise and can explore not only our cruising grounds but also the interiors of our minds.
But this revelation came while creeping along in traffic. The scene was different, but the interruptions were minimal. I was in just one vehicle among hundreds oozing along in a river of metallic molecules merging and flowing at millimeter speed along a clogged-up interstate. Stop and go. Uphill and down, following the Barrel O’ Fun Chips and Snacks truck. I realized suddenly that driving a stick-shift was something that came naturally to me.
I was no longer stressed by the first-and second-gear starts and stops on hills. I made it look easy now. I’d been doing this for years. When had I last been challenged by this sort of driving, with the occasional rump-rumps when the gear is too high for the slow speed, interspersed with occasionally killing the engine and the embarrassing restart? It had been years. There was a time when driving a five-speed was not so easy, demanding my full attention and humbling me upon occasion.
My sailing skills are still at that lower level. It demands all of my attention when I’m at the helm or making the calls as captain. I can’t steer in reverse worth a hoot. I am not necessarily one with the wind. If I’m at the helm when docking or leaving the dock, it’s a study in concentration. I can’t always see when the sails need tweaking or how a certain evolution is going to turn out.
Jerry can do all those things and makes them look easy. He’s a master of sail shape, thanks to many years spent racing one-designs. He can look ahead a couple of steps and tell me what my role will be when entering an unfamiliar port or taking on an evolution of any type that we haven’t already done a hundred times before.
I wasn’t born with a tiller in my hand, but I hope someday to acquire the same sort of easy comfort with sailing that Jerry has. I know this is possible because I have mastered driving a stick-shift without having to think about each individual action and reaction. The only way to accomplish the same thing in a sailboat, I realize, is to sail often. Practice, practice, practice. It’s a goal I can enjoy working toward.
See you on the water! But if I’m at the helm, especially if the boat’s currently moving in reverse, give me plenty of room. And don’t break my concentration just then. I’ll be plenty busy.
Regatta report
I’m pleased to report that in its fifth year the Good Old Boat Regatta in Annapolis (October 2 and 9, 2004) grew to 92 entries for the two-weekend event. The founders are thinking of limiting the number of participating boats in the future, in fact. Co-founder Don Frye reports that the most remarkable thing is the sense of community in the participants. He’s also grateful for other sponsors who have joined Good Old Boat in supporting this event, Heritage Marine Insurance and Herr’s, and host Shearwater Sailing Club. For more, visit our website and see this issue’s Mail Buoy on Page 83.
Farther north, another regatta, the Heritage Regatta Series for Good Old Boats, drew participation, particularly at the Race Rock Regatta part of the series, where 16 fiberglass classics came out to play with the wooden boats that have been racing there for years. Founder Jim Cassidy says the wooden boat sailors were vocal and enthusiastic supporters of this new addition to their race, and he expects to see an increase in fiberglass boats in all the events in the series.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
