Re: motersailer to real sailor, by accident -- OarClub

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Date Posted: 14:39:48 09/29/09 Tue
Author: Ari
Subject: Re: motersailer to real sailor, by accident
In reply to: Bob Lee 's message, "Re: motersailer to real sailor, by accident" on 18:59:15 09/27/09 Sun

Cool stories! Something about a post from the wilds of the Gulf Islands followed by another from the Urban wilds of NYC really gets the imagination running! Hope you guys post more!

The engine failure story is all too common (especially for me since I'm a shitty diesel mechanic), and is why I started sailing engineless -- it's like how glider pilots make better airplane pilots. (like that guy who landed a commercial jet in the Hudson.) I think even if you sail with an engine, you gotta be prepared to sail safely when your engine craps out.

I'm not smart enough to figure out the horsepower equivalent, but it's got to be damned low. Fraction of a single horsepower? The only thing going for it is that it's got a lot of torque.

Totally agree with the other posters. Not to get all politically correct and Zen and all but...

Growing up in a petroleum-based culture, (and especially as guys) we've learned to solve problems with muscle horsepower instead of finesse. To recycle an analogy from another post, it's like thinking we need a gas-powered pogo stick to go up a down escalator. Take away the gas, and we naturally wonder how we're going to get up the down escalator just by hopping. The answer is that sometimes you just can't. You gotta figure out a better way.

So to be specific and non-analogical: when you've got beautiful 15-20 knot headwinds, get to work tacking into 'em! Your velocity made good will beat the hell out of your parallel-rowing-universe evil twin.

On our little boat (santana 22), I can row the boat at maybe a couple knots in a calm with the sweeps. But to be completely 100% honest, I have sometimes felt on the heartstopping, pants-crapping, and thankfully few occasions when I've tried to scull a becalmed Macha against any sort of current that the oar may just be there to keep me occupied with some exercise while I'm drifting around like an idiot.

Seriously, an oar is not for moving against strong currents or headwinds.

If sailing were pinball, the oar would be that maneuver in movies where they nudge the machine with their hip when the little silver ball is balanced on the edge of some target.

An oar is for when you're like "Fuck, we've been bobbing here for an hour and now we're losing our favorable current, and gee, there's a windline 200 yards from here..."

An oar is for that slim window of opportunity that exists in the limbo between sailin' and prayin'. (Like the bumper sticker says, "Nothing Fails Like Prayer") :-)

Again, coming from a "horsepower culture", we often think the challenge of sailing engineless is going to be in being overpowered by strong winds or waves or something. But in fact, what's been hardest and scariest for me are the times when the wind is so light I lose steerage.

In a motorboat or motorsailor, the difference between 0.75 knot and say 0.5 knots is really a matter of ETA. Either way, you're going nowhere fast. But in a sailboat, there is a huge difference between slowly going exactly where you want to go, and drifting out of control like a kook.

So, the envelope to be pushed is, how quickly and efficiently can I sail in light winds? That's the area of sailing where I'm still taking baby steps, because sailing with an engine never taught me that! Big, lightweight sails are the key! Do you have a big genoa, or spinnaker or drifter? As a guy, I've learned my adrenaline-fueled need to "DO SOMETHING" with my muscles is usually better served by changing a headsail than by rowing.

Also, non-jerky moves on the helm. The rudder is a brake! Get moving first, then steer.

And also, I'm trying harder to avoid getting becalmed in the first place by learning local wind and weather patterns as much as possible. Definitely easier in SF Bay...

- Ari

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Replies:

Re: motersailer to real sailor, by accident -- Carson, 11:47:17 09/30/09 Wed