-Sailing- “The fine art of moving slowly at great expense.” The joy of sailing is universal, timeless, and refreshing in ways that few other outlets in life can compare. The wind is free, mysterious, and invigorating for the young at heart. I began at the age of 3 in Mission Bay, San Diego; racing with my dad from the tender age of 4 till I was 6. Freedom came to that 6 year old boy upon completing a deep water salt water swim test in the middle of winter.

I should have been glad it wasn't in Montana. Montana’s cold waters did come 23 years later racing in the North American Ski/ Yachting Championship. Flathead Lake's only thawed section was in the northwest corner, by Flathead Lake Lodge--so that's where we raced! That summer of 1985 Doug Averill hired me on to tune and skipper his 51’ Q- Class “Questa” originally built in 1929 for JP Morgan, but now it was the trophy boat of Flathead Lake.

Years before, I bagged my first 3 solo races in my Sabot sailing class at the feeble age of six, I settled in for some wonder-filled years sailing our Snipe, Sabots, Star, and our Columbia 29. Let me share my passion in this first draft and you eBay reader's can help me refine: First you start by cutting a few feet of tape off of that wasted Jimmy Buffet cassette. (The cassette might still be good for someone like my friend Bob, but ol' Jimmy is probably still wasted). Set the ribbon of cut tape aside in a ziplock bag with a small roll of Scotch Magic Tape. Now start simple: 1.) Life jacket to keep you afloat while unconscious; 2.) Turn in your homework, complete your honey-do's and pay your mortgage/rent; 3.) Don't tell your mother anything 4.) Cut the finger tips off of your old leather gloves AFTER you take the gloves off your hands. 5.) Cut the bottom off an empty plastic bottle and tie a 3'-6'cord to it... any cord may do as long as it's not plugged into your significant other's stereo. 6.) dress for the weather possibilities; think layers and wool for warmth; Sunglasses, sunscreen, towel, and shorts for hot days. 7.) Bottled water, fruit, and carbs for light snacking only. 8) Remember: car keys, wallets, and wedding rings don’t commonly float. Smaller boats are the easier, more intimate way to learn. Stand apart from the body of water you are about to sail and observe the mystery of wind at work: reflect on this reading: The Ancient Hebrew writing of Ecclesiastes 11:5 tells us that we ‘. . . do not know the path of the wind. . .’ So herein lies the challenge: How can I move a boat --using the wind upon a sail-- to travel over the water? I suggest that you will find your best result "winging it," in your flight across the water. The only difference from a bird or plane is that your "wing," --the sail-- is more vertical than horizontal. The important dynamic at work here is the angle of the sail to the wind. Let's just say 45 degrees for starters. A secondary force at work is the boat’s designated underwater resistance to slipping sideways as the wind fills the sail. This resistance is called lateral resistance and may be a leeboard (on the side of the boat), a dagger board, a pivoting centerboard, a fixed keel, or banana shaped narrow vee hull such as in a Hobie 14 catamaran design. Your objective is not merely to fill the sail with wind, but more ideally, SPILL the wind aft from the mast over the back of the sail, (the leech) while attempting to maintain your steering course of sail in one direction. That may mean you will be adjusting your sail trim by pulling in or letting out the line that controls your sail(s) to keep the wind working your boat forward. With 4”-6” Jimmy B. cassette tape ribbons applied to the sail, the shrouds, the mast, and the boom you may begin to see where the wind is moving at that moment. Be prepared for wind shifts that can occur every 15 to 40 seconds. Read your ribbons & ask what are they saying? At other times you will have to adjust your steering direction to keep the boat moving forward. This could be the result of a wind shift or a sail that wasn’t trimmed –by pulling in or letting out the line(s) that controls your sail(s). The steering works opposite on a rudder/tiller rig than you might first imagine. What you will discover is that when you swing the tiller to the right, or: "starboard" side of the boat--then then boat turns left, (to the "port" side of the boat). Plan your sail upon the water with a clear understanding of how to return to where from you started. It is far better to learn sailing in small repetitious circuits within close proximity of your place of return. Experiencing the variations of boat & sail handling in sailing small circuits will enhance your adaptation to wind & boat orientation. There are two ways to turn: 1) into the wind: TACKING –or sometime called beating 2) away from the wind: GYBING (the G is pronounced as a J) I recommend that you practice and master TACKING over gybing. Why? #1 Safety; #2 Optimizing your approaches toward the wind, #3 Reducing the wear and tear on the sail(s) and rigging. Speaking from personal experience of 40+ years of sailing on both coasts, the boom is not forgiving to the human head if a gybing maneuver is not executed with a well-orchestrated set of timely procedures. Using the wind to accelerate your boat can be a rush! It’s fun, but all good things must come to an end: whether you lose a crew overboard or you are sailing back to the beach or to dock your boat, BRAKING your boat’s forward velocity requires planning & foresight. You must sail into the wind to slow your boat, but if your overboard crew is downwind, you have to gybe! Next you must sail to a place directly downwind of their location and then tack into the wind in a button-hook pattern back directly into the wind toward them. Release the sail control line(s), (ie: mainsheet, jib sheet) and allow the boat to ”go into irons”—sails, sheets, & boom flapping up & down, side to side. I do recommend the following site to visually experience sailing principles at work: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/volvooceanrace/interactives/sailing/index.html