rmd | sailing as a learning experience

it was my first time out as the 'captain' of a boat. it was my first time out captaining a boat in very gusty and variable winds. my crew was the very able and fun

tcb.

it was, to say the least, an educational experience.

the boat had a fair bit of freeboard (the distance between the water and the gunwale of the boat), but i still managed to - quite unintentionally - dip the edge of the gunwale under water as it heeled over.

(reference pic of the type of boat i was sailing here:
http://bostonharborsailing.com/images/pearson26_fleet_lg.jpg)

pushing the tiller so i come up into the wind as we heel over more than i want to is becoming a reflex, but i'm way *way* too slow letting the mainsheet out in that situation.

so we dipped the gunwale and sloshed a bunch of water into the boat and that's about when i decided that perhaps i'd had enough education for the day and that discretion would be the better part of valor. so i managed to get us into the wind, rolled up the jib and then dropped the main and got the motor going and made our way back to the mooring.

it was, as i said, educational.

also, incredibly fun.