Conference unifix::sailing

    
    John, 
    
    What's this new sport going to do to your diving time?
    
    I recently "fell out" of ogranized sport kiting due primarily to
    burnout, and picked up a Hobie-16 for use on a local saltwater bay.
    So far, you'd have a hard time keeping me off the boat!  For us, it's
    new, terribly exciting, and all too much fun.
    
    I've always enjoyed sailing for a number of reasons:
    
    1) It's a good "project," where you can never learn it all.  There's
       always something new to learn, buy, experiment with, and improve,
       so it keeps the mind (and wallet) active.
    
    2) It's a way of harnessing the wind, which I've always found
       rewarding.  It's neat to propel yourself over the water, taking the
       best advantage of the natural conditions, and not relying on gas.
       Most sailors would probably tell you there's no better feeling than
       being "in the groove," that magical point where the sails are
       trimmed perfectly and you're flying like a batouttahell.
    
    3) In the case of the Hobie, it's a little bit frightening at first,
       and we get an adrenaline rush on a good day.  Being out on the 
       trapeze, flying at high speed over the water, just a breath away
       from coming to a very sudden stop...well, it puts work in
       perspective.
    
    And that's not even considering the cruising aspect of sailing!
    
    Bob
    

    Well, I did my first boat dive off (now) my Buccaneer 20 years ago.
    I've already figured out where to stow my dive gear. (Actually, it was
    the first thing I figured out as soon as I climbed into the cabin for
    the first time in 15 years a couple weeks ago. My wife demands only
    that I keep my gear out of the galley and the v-berth, so there's no
    problem there.
    
    You're right, though, I'll be spending more time on the water than I
    used to. <g> 
    
    I'm looking forward to getting to the miles-away dive sites without
    that nagging feeling of guilt brought on by roar of a combustion engine
    and the foul odor of exhaust.
    
    Now I've got to find a portable compressor that's compact enough to fit
    without cramping my kids' playing room....
    
    I'm looking forward to two days on and in the water this weekend. My
    time on the water this week has been fairly distressing, what with
    finding two empty barrels in two different rivers, both of them with
    bullet holes to guarantee their sinking (.22 in the Shawsheen and .38
    in the Merrimack).
    
    What is it I like about sailing? Well, today, the day after four hours
    in the close quarters with motor boats on the Merrimack, I'm really
    looking forward to inconveniencing a lot of powerboaters on Lake
    Winnipesaukee. <grins>
    
    John H-C

    Hi John,
    
    try to keep the boat as long as possible in the water, just befor the
    water starts freezing. Buy a small parafin heater (1 kw) to keep you
    warm outside, a waterkettle and a bottle of rum to keep you warm
    inside, start sailing during the misty morning, enjoy the sun at noon
    and return early (not later then 4 pm) home. No motorboats, no waves.
    
    I like most the quiet and solitude in sailing. As soon as the boat
    leaves the mooring, I have my own world, like owning a house with
    hundred of miles unoccupied countryland around. Just sitting in the
    cockpit, listening to the water rushing along the hull and watching
    clouds, gulls, daydreaming, then going down into the cabin, closing the 
    door, and I'm at home again.
    
    
    Peter
    
    

Peter's reasons for sailing (.3) are certainly some of mine. At times there 
can be something quite magical about sailing. One of my fondest memories 
is sitting in the cockpit of my boat late on a warm night sailing in 
light winds and calm seas toward Bermuda while watching the most
incredible lightning illuminating towering thunderclouds to the north
over the Gulf Stream while overhead I could see stars. And later being 
able to smell the flowers and vegetation of Bermuda on a night with the 
full moon high over the island before seeing Gibbs Hill light or any of
the sea bouys. 

Part of my interest in sailing is also that it is challenging. In some 
ways sailing can be easy, but to do all aspects well can be intellectually 
quite challenging and require great skill and practice. This appeals to 
me as I find I need a certain element of both risk and intellectual
difficulty to enjoy what I am doing. True, sometimes the risk bit gets a 
little overwhelming.

Part of the allure of sailing for me is, too, the dream/fantasy/whatever 
that I can go anywhere in the world reachable by sea, to watch the 
sun set over a tropical island or to pass Cape Horn in the dawning of 
the day (probably a bit of emphasis on dream/fantasy should inserted 
here). 

Alan

    Couple weekends ago I got to a state park beach/ramp about 7 am. Put
    the boat together while there was hardly a soul there. Then I went out
    in 5-7 knt winds and started flying hulls. Perfect day.  I had that
    boat sideways more than upright. A nice slow ride on one hull past a
    beach, before tacking over to another beach. Just like a flying carpet as I
    would rise 8 feet into the air and float along until the wind lets out
    and returned me back to the ocean. Then I would pop the kite to get downwind
    and  start all over. Peaceful spashing of the water on the boat and the 
    sound of a rudder slicing a hole in the ocean.
    
    Came in about noon. No place to walk on the beach because of all the
    people. All kinds of noise from boom boxes and their owners, dust
    everywhere from  cars neogiating the parking lot as they looked for
    spaces on a 95 degree day (Wishful thinking or brain dead, you
    decide....).
    
    As I got back to my Jeep for a Liquid refreshment, the middle aged
    owner of a moterhome who had watch me assemble my boat came over and said
    he had been watching me out there 
    
    "Man, that looks peaceful out there"
      "It sure is"
    "Nice and cool too" 
      "Yup!"
    "Looks like you were having fun"
      "I certainly was"
    
    Sure we may carp about the costs, but head doctors cost big bucks too
    and you don't get the exercise or the view.
    
    But when it comes to WHY questions, this one hit me yesterday after
    pulling my 20th boat out of the drink (I was beach captain for a
    regetta)
    
    "Why is it you dread having to take a cold shower, but don't think
    twice about jumping into the cold ocean to help launch/retrieve a boat"
    
        Clueless, cold but restful
    
        john   ;>)

    Cold shower... why etc:
    
    The shower is optional and you have time to think about it.  Going into
    the sea for a 'rescue' has a purpose... NOW! Its sort of like stubbing
    your toe in the intensity of a beach game... didn't even notice it,
    till later.
    
    Jeff
    

    
    Challenging yourself, relying on (only) yourself, overcoming
    problems using only your wits, a few hose clamps, and some
    spare duct tape...
    
    Escape from earthbound troubles, if only for a little while...
    
    Freedom...
    
    Enjoying a fine sunset, the bleat of a bell in the fog,
    anticipating the currents, wind shifts, weather changes,
    island effects, ...
    
    Tinkering with boat toys, setting the sails just right,
    watching a magnificent boat sail past...
    
    lots of reasons.  Too bad I'm not sailing this year!
    
       *sigh*
    

    re .7:
    
    why, that must have been the Yin Yang going on by ...
    
    	:-)
    

    I enjoy it when you can look at the present conditions and say the wind
    will do this... and then take advantage of it to change a bottom of the
    fleet start to a top of the fleet finish.
    
    ie.  North Westerlies oscillate in gusts but slowly clock right...

    An eagle.
    
    6 (or so) whales.
    
    A sail in light light winds that consumed all concentration.
    
    A quiet evening at anchor in a lovely little cove with friends and
    family.
    
    That's why.

    John,
    
    I am relatively new to sailing and enjoyed reading the replies to your
    question about "why sail?"  They are all true!
    
    Just a suggestion:  I found the U.S. Power Squadron sailing classes
    invaluable in terms of navigation, safety, weather, piloting, engine
    maintenance, etc., etc.  
    
    Barbara
    

    Having just returned from a week in Maine with my memory refreshed, I
    can add:
    
    beating in a boat that goes to windward well
    the satisfaction of navigating successfully in fog without loran or radar
    the quiet sound of water bubbling along the hull
    the tang of salt air untainted by diesel or gas fumes
    seals, porpoises, whales
    four ospreys fishing at sunset
    still nights
    a black bowl of stars undimmed by human lights
    sailing along a full-moon path (not the same night, of course)
    the Northern lights in summer (we've seen them twice)
    
    And some of it lasts for a while.
    
    Lois
    

    Sailing has offered me more memorable "moments" in my life than other
    hobbies/sports that I've tried.
    
    Racing.....
    the thrill of a great start
    beating in "the groove"
    calling a windshift correctly.....before it happens
    rounding a windward mark and setting a chute perfectly
    reaching like a "batouttahell"
    surfing on a wave
    passing a boat with chute flying perfectly
    luffing a boat trying to pass to windward
    blanketing a boat trying to pass to leeward
    engaging in a tacking duel
    finishing the race in the top third of the fleet at the end of series,
    instead of dead last at the beginning
    recounting the race with the crew in a local pub
    
    Cruising......
    waking up to the "windchimes" of shackles against the masts of other
    boats in the harbour
    reading a good book, with soft music, a cup of java, on deck,
    alone, with the Sun rising
    necking, with soft music, a glass of wine, on deck, obviously not
    alone, with the Sun setting
    the wind on your face, hand on tiller/wheel, comfy body position, at
    peace with the world
    anchoring in your own "private" cove
    clear sky, clean air, light from the moon and stars, and the absence of
    "civilization"
    falling asleep to the sound of nature, a slight breeze through the
    windscoop, and the gentle rocking of your "home" on the water
    
    .....sigh........
     

For John H-J, and Barbara too in .11, I would recommend some good basic
sailing courses such as offered at Regatta Point Community Sailing on Lake
Quinsigamond in Worcester, or at the Boston Sailing Center on Lewis Wharf,
just down from the North End.  (I'm a member in both clubs.)

I had done some sailing many years before, knowing very little about what I
was doing, and enjoyed it pretty much.  Then, when I took some instruction,
I found out just how much is involved and just how much there really is to
learn.

I've sat in McQuayle's restaurant across from the White City Cinema, watching
the sailboats silently drifting along, and I've had to smile at some of the
comments made by people who have absolutely no idea just how busy and involved
it can get in the cockpit, even for a small sailboat.

Another thing I found out is that there are generally three ways of doing
things:  the right way, the wrong way, and your/my way.  The wrong way will
eventually get you into trouble.  Your or my way will work for a while but
there are no guarantees.  The right way can increase one's chances for staying
out of trouble and also the longevity for one's enjoyment of the sport.

Good Luck in your newfound endeavours!

    Hey, I'm already an experienced solo sailer. If there's a breeze on
    Lake Winnipesaukee, the Forever More is out on the water.
    
    Why do I do it? Well, I trance out, so it's hard for me to say.
    
    Basically, sailing turned out to be an addition to the short list of
    activities that eliminate time for me. 
    
    On a healthy river in my kayak, time and distance just cease to matter.
    
    Underwater after the brainwaves settle down, there is no such thing as
    time. If checking my pressure gauge hadn't become practically
    instinctive several years ago, I would have died a long time ago. I
    just don't have any sense of time when I'm underwater.
    
    Sitting at my keyboard with an idea flowing out of my fingers and onto
    the screen. I lose all sense of the external world. Half the time I'm
    just waiting to see what appears on the screen to find out what the
    idea is.
    
    Then there is sailing. Reading the telltales, the water, and the sails
    and basking in that unique mix of water, wind, and sun has the same
    affect as being on a healthy river in a kayak. If I commit to being
    back home in four hours, I have to set the alarm on my watch to
    remember to turn around in two hours. Then if still get home late, I
    have the excuse that I can't control the wind. <g>
    
    So, why do I sail? Well, it's magic. That's all. Plain and simple
    magic. And I have a blast learning new stuff each time I'm out.
    
    I took the sailing course at the Lowell Regatta, btw. Those little Cape
    Cod Mercuries are a lot of fun to sail, and the wind on Lake Merrimack
    is a tricky shifter. I was glad to be done with the course.
    
    
    John H-C