Teaching Friends to Sail

I've been doing this, and I discovered something.

As we learn to sail, our instructors tend to focus on language. In fact, some of them delight in burying us in new vocabulary. Port and starboard aren't so bad, although only rarely is the reason for not using "left" and "right" explained. That makes all of it look rather arbitrary to some people.

Then we continue to explain, and explain, and explain.

Well, I had three newer sailors on my boat yesterday, two of them children aged 11 and 13. And I discovered something that I instinctively knew but hadn't put into words: learning to sail is largely physical. My friends were lucky. The wind was up, which made it very easy to tell where it was coming from. So with just a few words, they got the physical sensation of feeling the wind on their faces. All three of them actually had no trouble telling where the wind was coming from. Well, that counts. If I tell them to "point the boat into the wind" and I'm on the bow, they need to be able to tell where the wind is.

We only focused on a few things. I want them all, but especially the mother, to be able to handle the helm. I may have to count on the mother to do this while I'm undoing some fairly serious problem. What I noticed was that I was encouraging them to learn through their muscles, but that the mother kept using words to guide her children. I hope I was polite as I intervened and encouraged her to just let them *feel* how it feels to steer the boat. I have a very responsive wheel, and you don't have to move the wheel much at all to turn the boat. All three got that very quickly, and I made an active decision to explain as little as possible and let them experience as much as possible.

The children spent a lot of time crawling around on their hands and knees. Since I have netting around my boat, I explained to them that if the boat did something unexpected while they were forward, they were to immediately drop to their hands and knees. They actually had a lot of fun doing this, as well as walking around the boat.

By using just a few words and not overloading them with instructions, They very quickly got the idea that they must always be holding on to something, and not the lifelines (which pull them to the edge of the boat, but I didn't say that. I will, but I didn't want to scare them the first day out!)

As you may have guessed, we are planning a trip together.

I think that sometimes we bury newer sailors with too much language. They need to know where the luff and the clew are. Both are important to observe as we sail. I particularly want beginners to get familiar with the location of the clew. That will help them backwind the headsail during a tack in light wind, and controlling it will keep the headsail from wrapping around the forestay while jybing.

But they really don't need to know the name of all corners and sides of the sail their first trip out. They really only need to know luff and clew.

They can also learn to help you watch telltails on the headsail and mainsail. We do *not* have to give them chapter and verse of all the information those telltails can give you, or how it may relate to the position of the headsail car on the track (more vocabulary), etc. on the first time out, but if they can look at the telltales when you can't see them, that can be a lot of help.

My opinion? Pick a few things at a time to teach beginners. Don't try to cram in every little nook and cranny of every fact. Don't bury them in details when they're still working on port and starboard. I recently raced with someone who used "left" and "right" because there were beginners on the crew, and they had been so buried in new vocabulary that they couldn't retain any of it.

That was partly why I took this approach. But I also did because with an 11 and a 13 year old on board and actively learning, I knew that if you bury them in too many 'facts' for which they don't see the point, you'll lose their attention. I NEED them to be able to move around the boat safely. I NEED them to remain interested -- they could be tremendous help, say, tailing for an adult on a winch. But most of all, I need them to have a good time, so they don't beg their mom to turn around and go home!

Do you want to sail with these newer sailors? Are they important to you? Then don't use a chance to teach as a chance to show off. Be gentle. It's a lot to learn, and you may have forgotten just how overwhelming it can be. But the beginners on your boat are easily overwhelmed. With a little thought, you can still teach them a lot and have them step off the boat thinking 'Wow -- I learned a lot!" instead of "I'm not sure I'll ever get this."

You're the teacher, so the conclusions they draw about sailing are in your hands.

Why Sailing is not Like Driving a Car, No. 2

In yesterday's entry I wrote about how important it is to train your crew well, teaching even total newcomers some useful skill that you can count on in a pinch.

For how to teach, I used the example of how one club instructor put her hands over her mouth to force her to not give too many prompts when her students should have been performing independently.

While teaching sail school, she had realized that her students couldn't dock a sailboat unless they could do it without her giving them a single prompt, and she had her hands over her mouth as they approached the safety boat to dock next to it.

Last night I happened to speak with the father of this instructor. Her father said that she had been steering their tiller sailboat for 10 years when she signed up for driver's ed at school. Neither she nor her parents expected any problems. She was a straight-A student, and many students took "Driver's Ed" for the easy A of it.

Not this young lady. She was flunking driver's ed. HUH? NOBODY flunks driver's ed!

So her dad took her to a large, empty parking lot one Sunday, one without parking bumpers or other barriers, to see what was going on.

She started out driving straight, just fine. He didn't see a problem. Then he told her to turn left -- and she turned the car right!

She was handling the steering wheel like a tiller!

So if you have a crew member struggling with some basic skill, isolate that skill and watch carefully what is going on. Several months ago, I did this with a sailor I knew. He had been sailing the Catalinas for five years but his movement across the water was often erratic and unpredictable. He obviously struggled with tacking to the point that he would know he was going to run aground on a known high point, but seemed unable to turn the boat in time to get out of the way.

So I went out with him, and discovered that he really didn't have any solid idea of how to tack the boat. He just tried something new each time, hoping he would figure it out and get it right (it turned out that someone had told him to do this -- see my many references about people who give one bad advice!)

I wrote a very detailed, 15-step method for tacking and gave it to him. He said he would read it and study it, and agreed to go out with me on one of the little 16.5' Catalinas to sort it out.

After reading the list, he politely canceled the sailing date.

He canceled s similar date with someone else.

Finally he said to me one day, "I just want to be the best sailor I can." I said, "Then go out with me and let's sort this out."

So we did, and I and my list of things to do were driving him crazy. Finally he said, "Just let me do it my way," and I said "OK."

Turned out he was doing everything right -- except for one thing: he didn't know where to start the tack. Somewhere in sail school he had not learned that (probably because instructors always prompted  him -- too much "help"). So he would, say, have the wind nearly astern when he started the tack. Of course the boat would make a broad, slow turn, and it might end anywhere, including moving in a complete circle, ending where he had been before.  If you don't tack with a plan, how will you know when to end it? Or he might not have had enough speed by the time he got to the "no-go" zone, and the boat would swing back over to starboard.

All I had to do was remind him of the "no go" zone, and explain that he should sail along, say, the starboard side, build up speed, spot where he wanted to end, move through the "no go" zone -- and stop the tack.

He did it perfectly the first time -- with no prompts. Then he did it perfectly three more times.

So then we expanded the concept to a controlled jybe, keeping the boom close to center so there wouldn't be a huge snap when the sail picked up the wind on the other side. Then he did THAT perfectly with no prompts.

So then we just sailed around, and he started calling all the moves very well: "prepare to tack," and I had to hustle to keep up with him, because he now knew exactly what he was doing. Acting as skipper and calling all the shots, sometimes he tacked and sometimes he jybed, getting it all right every single time.

Meanwhile, the wind shifted to northerly. Uh-oh! When the wind is from the north, to get into the marina you have to sail up a narrow north-south canal to get to the entrance. It certainly isn't impossible, but unless you have a motor, you have to make a series of short, quick tacks -- or run aground at a place where this man had been notorious for running aground.

No problem this time!. He took charge as skipper, executed the tacks crisply and accurately, turned into the club's basin, and expertly sailed the little boat into its slip. He told me what to do, when to do it, and used one sail, expertly managed, to get the boat home -- just as he had been doing most of the afternoon.

Give too many prompts, and you keep your crew member from learning. This person's problem with tacking is the most concrete and perfect example I can think of to demonstrate just how important it is to let anyone you're teaching to perform completely independently, even if you see them making a mistake.

If they make a mistake, discuss it *afterwards.* Give them a chance to practice it, and when they get to that point on the next attempt, put your hands over your mouth if you have to, but DO NOT PROMPT THEM OR GIVE THE CLUES. Just don't. Discuss it afterwards.

Even then, don't tell them what they did wrong. ASK them if they know what mistake they made. Give them time to think. Give them a chance to learn.

Go to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boldlygosailing?skip_nax_wizard=true

Why Sailing is not Like Driving a Car, No. 1

Two days ago I wrote about how a sailor and his two friends ended up in a lot of trouble, going way too fast to be able to control the boat in winds and waves much too big for the sails they had up (which included a giant asymmetrical spinnaker). The title of it is "Too Much Sail Up!"

Nothing like that ever happens in a car. Cars aren't moved around by wind, waves, and current. This is why we get speeding tickets -- because we have such effective ways to slow our cars down. In the article named above, Dick ended up in a very dangerous situation because sailboats don't have brakes -- and because no one else on the boat knew how to steer her well.

The problem is that most of the people who read this blog are going to end up in a situation somewhat like Dick's some day -- unless it's happened already. Even then, something just as dangerous could happen to us again. And, like Dick, as our enthusiasm and confidence grows, we'll start inviting other people to sail with us, including some people who perhaps have never sailed before or who have very litttle experience. We'll think "I know everything I need to know to get my boat and friends in safely," but it doesn't always work out that way. All the adults on your boat should learn some skill that can help in a pinch, even if it's just "tailing" the sheets as you change a tack, or steering for short distances.

I'm going to list some reasons sailing a boat is different than driving a car, and explain a few things I feel are important about those differences. This is important because people new to sailing will tend to think about sailing as they think about driving. It's important that they know the differences.  I invite *anyone* who has a similar example comparing driving to sailing to send me an email at

Rakuflames@gmail.com

I know it can be hard to participate on this board and I want to fix that.

For now, please send only things you've noticed have to be done very differently on a sailboat than in a car. If it works well, we will open the blog up to other topics later. I have always wanted this board to be more interactive, and this may be one way to do it.

So here's some big difference between driving and sailing that occurred to me this morning. I hadn't really thought about this first one one before:

WHEN WE DRIVE, we drive in two dimensions. We're driving on what geometry calls a two-dimensional plane. No matter where we go, unless the car becomes airborne in an accident, we only have to deal with flat surfaces. We don't have to worry about whether the keel is going to catch on something. We don't have to worry about whether a mast is going to hit something. Length ("Are we there yet, Daddy? Are we there?") is an issue. Width (is that oncoming truck crossing the center line?) is an issue. But we don't have to worry about what is under or over us.

BUT WHEN WE SAIL, we sail in three dimensions. We have to pay attention to what is above and below us as well as what is all around us. Driving is like moving over a long piece of paper. Sailing is like moving through a very large tube.

WHEN WE DRIVE, it's very clear where our car is supposed to be. This makes both our car and other people's cars much more predictable than boats.

BUT WHEN WE SAIL, except in rare circumstances, there are no "lanes" on the water when sailing. Even when in a channel, often there's no hard and fast rule about which side of the channel to be on. I try to stay to the starboard side of the channel when I can, but if a section of channel is "shoaling," or starting to fill up with sand, I may have to move more to center or even port side of the channel so my keel won't play tag with the bottom.

WHEN WE DRIVE, we have brakes.

BUT WHEN WE SAIL, the closest thing we have to brakes is to put the boat in reverse. This takes several seconds. First you have to slow down in forward to a dead crawl. Then you have to shift into neutral, and then into reverse. The time we're most likely to do this is while docking, and timing can be critical. Tricky judgments have to be made at that point, so we don't give the boat too much throttle in reverse, but enough to keep from hitting that big cement pier that's coming closer and closer to our bow. (Of course if you are bringing your boat in stern first, that's all changed. You're in reverse, and now you have to move your gear shift from reverse, to neutral, to forward.)

WHEN WE DRIVE, steering is simpler. Unless we're driving on a very slippery surface such as ice, steering is easy.  There's a direct relationship between how much you turn the steering wheel on a car and exactly how far that car turns. That's why we can change lanes safely as well as parallel park without causing a traffic jam. It's very clear when to stop a turn, and the car straightens out immediately. That's because the car has traction.

BUT WHEN WE SAIL, we don't want traction. We want the boat to glide as effortlessly through the water as possible. The things that can give us traction in the water, such as barnacles and other crud on the hull, are bad, and we work hard to get rid of them.

In addition, because of lack of traction on a sailboat, deciding when to end a turn is trickier. We may spot a point on the land that we want to be the end of our turn, but we have to stop turning the wheel or pushing the tiller before we get to that point because the boat glides with no traction. It will continue to turn after we have "centered up" the wheel or tiller.


That's a very short and incomplete list of some of the important differences. Why waste blog space on it? If you're going to sail with beginners, you have to lead them past that stage where they're clueless to a point where they can seamlessly step up to their assignment and know how to do the job. If you have to go up to the bow to do something difficult like changing a sail, the boat has to be under control by a helmsman who understands the differences between driving a car and piloting a boat.

And unless you train them well, beginners will look to their driving skills to help them out. While there's some overlap, the differences are important and have to be acknowledged.

Go to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boldlygosailing?skip_nax_wizard=true

Too Much Sail Up!

I heard about a sailor the other day who, as they say, ended "up to his neck in alligators." I'll call him "Dick."

Dick had taken a several-day sailing trip with a couple of friends who had sailed some with him before but who didn't have a lot of experience yet.

Dick was the person at the helm. they were sailing with an asymmetrical spinnaker out. An asymmetrical spinnaker flies to either the port or starboard side of the boat, not out in front while running downwind, as a symmetrical spinnaker is used.

Asymmetrical spinnaker deployed on port side
Source for photo: http://www.yagersails.com/spinnaker.html

As you can see, that's a lot of sail. Now, there are some basic rules about sails.

• The heavier the weather for which the sail is designed, the heavier and stiffer the fabric will be. My ATN Gale Sail is only tricky to attach to the roller furler because the fabric is so stiff. But because it is stiff, I can make that sail completely flat, something you want in higher winds. 
• The higher the wind, the smaller you want your sails to be. This is why mainsails can be reefed. 
• The higher the wind, the stronger you want that sail fabric to be, so it can take the extra wind pressure without ripping.
• The higher the wind, the flatter you want the sail to be. A big belly in a sail catches a lot more wind than a hard, flat sail. Look at the belly in that picture above -- wowsa!

A spinnaker sail fails on all four points. Spinnaker cloth is just about the lightest-weight sail cloth made. When the winds pick up significantly, at some point it's time to take the spinnaker down, or "douse" it.

Well, Dick didn't pay full attention to what we call "rising conditions." Both the winds and the waves were picking up. All of a sudden his boat took off, racing on the overpowered spinnaker. The boat was out of control.

So now he had some decisions to make -- who does what? (Remember my article "Ten Minutes to Prepare?") Part of deciding who will do what is making sure that the person will know how to execute his or her designated task. Unfortunately, Dick is an optimist and did not anticipate this change in conditions. He also didn't assign tasks ahead of time, and he didn't train those people for their assignments.

But I know what the BIG thing is that went wrong for Dick -- he's a helm hog. He doesn't want to share the helm. Because of that, he did not have a skilled backup helmsman.

When he found himself overpowered, he had to go up to the bow in rough seas and douse that great big sail, keeping it under control and out of the water (having that sail go into the water would have been extremely dangerous. It could have pulled the boat over and then under like a submarine.) He had two relatively inexperienced people back in the cockpit, one of them on the helm. The person on the helm couldn't hold a steady course with the increased wind and waves, and who could blame him? You need to have someone else who can take the helm, but you have to teach that person and give him or her time to practice. Otherwise your backup helmsman is going to have a hard time. You have to share the helm if you're going to have an adequate backup helmsman in a pinch.

Dick called out instructions, but the new helmsman either didn't understand the instructions or couldn't execute them. It could have been a combination of both. In any case, they ended up with a line in the water AND wrapped around the rudder. When the people in the cockpit realized they couldn't steer, they started the engine. That is only a good choice if the helmsman and crew are certain that there are ... no lines in the water. The line then very efficiently wrapped itself around the propeller as well.

Again, this is a problem resulting from poor crew training and lack of time doing important things on the boat, what a friend of mine calls "time over water" (and not just as a passenger). There are extremely directive skippers out there, who give so many detailed instructions that the crewmember is just an extension of the skipper, doing no thinking for himself (picking a sex). The more prompts you give as a skipper, the less your crew member will actually learn.

Your crew has to practice these things under calm conditions, and "checking for lines in the water" needs to be drilled into everyone's head before they go *anywhere* near that engine -- in fact, all the time. That line wrapped itself around the rudder without any help from the engine. If you're going to take beginners out on your boat, you have a responsibility to teach them those basic things. If something happens, starting the engine is a very reasonable thing to do. They need to know how to do it safely.

He had to cut the spinnaker lines and let it drift away, but all's well that ends well. The skipper also had to go over the side to untangle that line from the rudder and propeller. That's not so good; he had to leave his boat for the water with crew on board who were already struggling. Again, all's well that ends well.

BUT:

You can avoid a lot of this by discouraging a casual attitude toward sailing on your boat. Make sure that your crew knows that it can be a little dangerous. Make sure they truly know how to perform the tasks you're going to assign them. Teach them patiently and give them a chance to practice.

I was on the sail school's safety boat one day when the students were learning to dock (those of us on the safety boat call that "target practice.") Each student boat made pass after pass, and we could hear the instructors giving tips and encouragement to their students. If the students were doing the docking, they should have been giving the directions to the teacher and other student, but each time, it was the teacher speaking.

Then one of the boats approached. I looked at the instructor, and she had her hands over her mouth! One student was in charge of the docking with the other student crewing. The student did a great job. Then they made another pass, and the other student executed the "mock dock." He did a great job too, and the teacher still had her hands over her mouth.

Hats off to her. She knows that unless those students can dock the boat without any prompting from her, they can't dock the boat. That's what you should do, too. If you want your crew to be able to tack the boat without your help, put one of them on the helm and one of them on the sheets -- and then zip your lips.

And for heaven's sake, don't be a helm hog. One day it could be your life on the line.

Go to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boldlygosailing?skip_nax_wizard=true

Ten Minutes to Prepare

     Or, This makes a good case for practicing!

See the last article titled "Storm!" It describes a fast-growing and fast-moving storm that lasted for hours. Such a situation requires quick action to get through the weather safely and as comfortably as possible.

Suppose you only have ten minutes to prepare for a storm? Here are some things you can do, in no particular order. Some of them won't be appropriate for you and your boat. There may be things you would add to the list. The point is that you must have a plan for how to handle storms. When it's bearing down on you, that's too late to be thinking about it for the first time.

So pick and choose from what I've listed. Think creatively, put them in the right order of importance for you (you may not get through it all) and add ideas as necessary.


* Make sure you have a knife, on a tether, tied to your clothes. Everyone who has a knife should do this.

* Set your marine radio to the weather channel.

* Put EVERYONE in PFD's.

* Encourage all crew to put on gloves. Wet lines will be harder to get a good grip on.

* Offer seasickness medication to everyone and encourage them to take it.

* Secure any pets. Put them in their carriers and tie the carrier down.

* Consider whether sailing or anchoring might be your best plan. 

* Assign specific adults to see to the safety of any children aboard.

* Put one or more reefs in your mainsail.

* Furl or partially furl your roller furler, or,

* Put a smaller hank-on headsail up (check that you led your sheets correctly. You don't want them to malfunction in a storm!) Or,

* Put up your Gale Sail if you have one. Or,

* Douse your headsail and put up your staysail.

* Check your chart and chart plotter. Is there any chance of being caught on a lee shore? (Remember, wind direction can change dramatically during a significant storm.) Move the boat to deeper water before it's a battle (or impossible) to do so.

* Use the head.

* Put something to eat and drink in the cockpit.

* Make sure all hatches and portholes are securely closed.

* Close the companionway securely.

* Set up the most comfortable arrangement you can for yourself at the helm.

* Put on foul weather gear.

* Get a swim mask handy in case the rain is intense, so you can see better.

* Police the deck and make sure it's clear of obstacles. Anything left on deck will be harder to see in a storm and be a much greater tripping hazard.

* Police the cockpit. Get lines coming into the cockpit neat and ready for easy use. Clear it of anything unnecessary, but think twice before putting useful things below.

* Enter your lat and long in your log, and keep it updated. If possible, have someone mark it on the chart so you have a visual representation of how the boat is moving.

* Check the perimeter of the boat for loose lines, and start the engine. You can keep it in neutral. Turn it off if the boat is consistently heeling more than 10º because after that point the engine can't move protective oil reliably.

* Suspend "destination" sailing. Your plan now should be to get your boat and your crew through the storm as safely and comfortably as possible.


Gee, that's a lot to do in ten, or even twenty, minutes. Plan with your crew ahead of time who will do what. Issuing expected reminders are much easier for people to follow when things get tense than brand new instructions they didn't expect.

Practice ahead of time, especially things like changing sails, reefing sails, and doing things like raising Gale sails.

Go to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boldlygosailing?skip_nax_wizard=true

OUT OF THE BATHTUB! (Part 3)

     Or, The buck stops here!

______

May 18, 2013

     “The chance of mistakes are about equal to the number of crew squared."

Ted Turner

Tom and I were in a bit of a pickle, in waters way too rough for either our experience or the boat’s size and equipment, and with multiple things going wrong. I had friends who had attempted something extremely dangerous trying to help us. It was time to take definitive action, and I called for Boat US on channel 16 to come and get us (they had us switch to channel 68), which at least ended attempts by crew from other boats to somehow climb onto ours. While a pair of experienced hands might have been helpful, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that we were overpowered for those winds and waves. Our most fundamental problem would still be there. I was also very concerned that if we lost steering, the waves would push us into the shallows, where the boat could get quite damaged.

Boat US recognized that we were potentially in serious trouble, and said they would make us their top priority, and get there as soon as possible. I told them what our new sail plan was. They called us every five minutes for updates of our latitude and longitude, which a handheld GPS provided (two boats from BCYC stayed near us, and if our GPS had malfunctioned, they could have provided that information also –- sailing with another boat can be quite helpful in a variety of ways.) Boat US warned me that because of the conditions, I might have only one chance to catch the tow rope. I looked at the skinny, bouncing bow, not relishing the idea of going back up there for a one-handed catch.

However, Boat US wasn’t the first “Help Boat” to arrive. I looked up to see a boat pounding toward us. It was from EC-SAR –- Eckard College Search and Rescue. Eckard College, a small school in South Pasadena, FL, runs a co-curricular search and rescue program staffed by highly trained, dedicated and brave students. I looked at them in surprise and said, “Boat US is coming for us.”

“We know,” was the reply. “We’re here because we heard them tell you that you would have to go to the bow to catch the tow rope. We’re here to fish you out if you fall in.” Boy, was I glad to hear that!

Well, Boat US did find us; I did catch the tow rope, I didn’t fall into the water, and the team from EC-SAR waved goodbye and scooted away to help someone else in trouble in those messy seas.

When we were under tow and safe, Tom went below to check out what the other two “thumps” were. I think he already had an idea.

The first thump had been his backpack rolling off the V-berth on to the floor. The second thump was the porta-potty, which flipped itself over the bungee cord and spilled its contents –- on to Tom’s back pack!

LESSONS LEARNED:

FIRST: So far I’ve only talked about what I did right that day, but I made several mistakes, one of them a “no excuse” goof: I did not decide for myself whether, when and where I should be sailing my boat. I should have checked the weather reports myself. Twin Dolphin Marina had a computer for guests, and the information was available to me. Instead, I entrusted that decision to “more experienced” sailors in the group. The problem with that is that they made the decision to sail based on their experience and their boats –- not mine.

If I had seen the wind and wave prediction, I would have done two things. First, I would have put Tom on someone else’s boat to go home, as he had to get to work on Monday, and second, I would have stayed at Twin Dolphin until the wind died down and the waves decreased (waves will continue to be riled up for some time after weather has settled down). I didn’t even have to know all that. If I’d asked questions of the other sailors about the next day’s forecast, the answer would have been enough to raise alarm bells in me. The staff at Twin Dolphin could have advised me.

I would have had to bring the boat back by myself (although someone from the club might have been willing to make the half-hour drive to accompany me back), and I could have gone back up the “ditch” along the Skyway Bridge, a much more sheltered sail than along the west coast of Florida.

Another option, had we had a little more experience, would have been to reef at the dock before leaving. However, if we had done that, I might not have realized how inadequate my reefing plan was for a while.

SECOND: As we left to sail south on Saturday, I told Tom we could “co-skipper” the boat, since we had similar levels of experience. But when things get bad, one person has to be the skipper, and typically that would be the owner of the boat (I would have had no problem turning the helm over to an experienced sailor in this situation, but we didn’t have someone like that on board). Our agreement on Saturday made it harder for me to assert myself as skipper on Sunday when most of the trouble occurred. My personal opinion is that if it’s your boat, you have to do the scary stuff. Tom wanted to go up to the bow both times it was necessary, but I felt that I had gotten us into the predicament we were in, and that I was obligated to do the dangerous stuff if I was able to.

THIRD: I let someone with inadequate skills work on my boat. If I had asked around the club, I would have found out that the fellow who “installed” the gas tank and the porta-potty didn’t exactly have the best reputation for quality work.

FOURTH: I did not check the work done on my boat the day before. Even the best, most reliable people can make serious mistakes (see my story, “Your Boat Could Sink! Really!” for an example of that).

FIFTH: I did not double-check information I was given about my boat. If I had asked virtually anyone at the club about my so-called “reefing system,”  each sailor would have pointed out the obvious risk and encouraged me to install a better one, something I did more or less immediately after getting back from this trip.

I DID DO SOME THINGS RIGHT: I studied the chart before sailing. I moved the boat away from the lee shore (over the protests of my crew). I took steps to keep the boat from rounding up so easily. I had a knife tied to my pants, which meant I couldn’t drop it overboard while freeing the headsail. I went forward to the bow prepared to do everything necessary to deal with the sail (bungee cord). I refused to allow a dangerous attempt at boarding my boat. And, importantly, I had towing insurance. While EC-SAR will sometimes tow disabled boats in, they are a search and rescue organization, not a towing service. If someone else had called them with lives on the line, they would have released me, as protecting people is their priority (see tomorrow’s story, “Oh, Dorothy!” for an example of how they do that.)

The major lesson learned was that you are the skipper of your boat –- and that with that comes responsibilities. Study the weather reports yourself. Be prepared to make hard decisions, such as not to sail –- or to not follow the advice of well-meaning crew. Tom, not realizing the danger, was having fun as the boat repeatedly attempted to broach, which is why he did not want to spill the sails. In addition he had not studied a chart of the area, so even if he had realized what the boat was trying to do, he might not have recognized that the “lee shore” shallows at that spot (off Bunce’s Pass) extend far out into the water.

Even more experienced sailors may overlook something you believe to be a significant problem. Or, they may engage in wishful thinking (“Oh, that won’t be a problem!”) These things are not for the crew to decide, although you should listen to what others think when there’s time to do so. But ultimately, it’s your boat and your insurance on the line, and you are responsible for the lives of those on your boat.

By the way, it turned out that the nuts on the bolt holding the tiller to the rudder mechanism were loose. They were easily accessible and easily tightened, but it took two monkey wrenches, and I only had one on board. Sometimes having extra tools is not a bad thing.

In addition, I put netting on the front of the boat after our return. If we had managed to drop the sail from the cockpit, the sail could easily have been blown off that tiny bow into the water – where it would have filled with water and created a true crisis. Make sure you can control your sails when they come down.

EC-SAR is a phenomenal organization. If you live or sail along the central Florida coast or Boca Ciega Bay, you should have their phone number on your boat: (727) 864-8288.  Also see their website at http://www.eckerd.edu/waterfront/ecsar/.  

After EC-SAR has come out to help me, which they have in  a highly skilled way more than once, I always give them a generous donation (whatever cash I have with me). Both times, they helped protect me and my boat from serious harm in a remarkably well-coordinated and efficient way. 



Go to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boldlygosailing?skip_nax_wizard=true

You Are the Skipper of your Boat

       Or, Be quiet and sit down! (Not you –- your crew!)

_______

April 28, 2013

"The chance of mistakes are about equal to the number of crew squared."

Ted Turner

I sailed, not all that long ago, with someone who had a couple of decades of sailing experience. However, he knew little about the hazards of coastal sailing, and did not know how to read channel markers. On the other hand, he was very good at sail trim, and there was a lot more he knew and could do very, very well.

How could this be?

Well, I’ll tell you: his experience was as a racer, not as a cruiser, and on other people’s boats, not his own.

What did this mean about his sailing skills?

First, he had never been responsible for any part of navigation. He didn’t have to know how to get the boat in or out of a marina. He didn’t have to read the charts. He had no idea how to use a chart plotter. He trimmed the sails and was very good at it, and he knew a whole lot about sailing in general, but he was never responsible for the overall safety of the boat and crew.

I know another sailor (me) who doesn’t race. I’ve gotten pretty good at leaving and returning to the dock. I’ve taken classes on navigation (and a bunch of other things) and have taken the boat out to practice the course material.

However, I’m not an expert sail trimmer –- yet. A little racing might improve those skills (depending on what I did during the race). I know nothing about racing strategy.

The problem with all but the most expert sailors is that they don’t know what they don’t know. (That includes you and me, of course).

This means we should listen to other sailors on our boats. However, it does NOT mean we turn the decision-making process over to them. I have been in a situation where I was criticized by an expert sailor because I started a tack two seconds before or after he would have started it, but guess what: we didn’t hit another boat (or a channel marker); no one went overboard; we didn’t run aground; the boat neither sank nor exploded; etc., etc., etc. In other words, both opinions regarding when to start the tack were equally adequate. Probably he was thinking as a racer, and I was just making a turn.

LESSON LEARNED: don’t let minor differences in judgment undermine your confidence. Just because someone else might have made a slightly different decision doesn’t make you “wrong.”

Here are some guidelines for hearing others out when possible without surrendering “skippership” of your boat:

1. If you have an emergency, and you’re certain you’re right, give specific orders and do not allow a discussion until the crisis is over. It’s your boat, and you’re the skipper. Afterwards, encourage discussion. You may both learn something.

2. If a decision has to be made soon but not immediately, and you respect the skills of the person who has an alternate idea, discuss both options freely. End the discussion if the other person will not hear your point of view. Then you make your best judgment.

3. If you’re in the middle of the discussion and the situation suddenly deteriorates (ex: you "skip bottom" -- the keel is brushing the bottom of the channel -- and you need to choose a safer course immediately), say “Discussion on hold” (not “Discussion over!”), and give directions. Not opinions -- directions.

4. People who do not own their own boats may have some very good skills, but if you own your own boat, you learn things about your boat that the crew doesn’t know (that’s why we call you “skipper!”) They may follow directions very well, but may not have the “big picture” when it comes to handling your particular boat. And besides, it’s your boat, and you’ve taken it out and practiced (you did, didn’t you?) You know your boat. If you don’t have practice sessions for yourself, pick a skill to practice. Be a skipper who is learning to make good decisions.

If you have people on your boat who are experienced sailors, explain all this to them ahead of time. If they can’t agree to it, they should, frankly, sail on their own boats. Do not sail with people who have come aboard to prove that they know more than you do, or who imagine that you would be better off if they took over. You may not be able to count on them to follow your directions when it is important to do so (see my comments above that you may actually know more than some very experienced sailors, especially on your own boat.)

As the Bible (almost) said, there’s a time to listen and a time to take charge. Don’t mix the two up on your boat.