Prepare to Repel Boarders!

Okay, so I probably won't be repelling any boarders.  Or boarding any other boats.  But I thought it would be cool to hang my own saber (well technically it's a 1850 Staff & Field Officer's Sword...wrong era and even country but it looks good) in my own Surprise.  Just like in this Surprise:

 

It's not sharp or anything, but it looks cool and adds +5 modifier when channeling my inner Jack Aubrey.

 

Because what's life if you can't have fun with it? ;)

She Has a Name

My boat has a name now.  My lettering finally came in (got mine for 26 bucks from do it yourself lettering) and I applied it last night.

I have named her the Surprise, both because it was such a shock that I was given the boat and because it was Jack Aubrey's favorite command (in the books and the movie too).

Hit a Tree...

NOTE: This was last Wednesday, I think

14 MPH winds + 20 MPH gusts.  It sounded like a blast

I can't hardly wait to get out on the water.  The trees are rustling and, while I'm sure I won't be able to use all 150% of my Genoa, the wind is blowing and we are gonna be MOVING.

I start the motor, and we head out of the creek to the Ohio.  But you know what?  The wind pushes boats pretty hard.  Which is fine.  I'm used to powering a boat around in the wind.  But it turns out a 25' MacGregor/Venture does not handle like a 26' Chaparral deck boat.  This fact will shock no one but me-from-4-days-ago. 

The wind takes the boat and all H-E-Double-hockey-sticks breaks loose.  The bow starts turning to port (toward the trees), so I have to up the power on the outboard (which, also-not-shockingly...isn't as responsive as the giant mercury inboard on my dad's Chaparral).  Which was good, because a Bass boat was coming down the stream right toward us.  I ask about the fishing, he responds enthusiastically, and I turn back around abruptly because dodging this boat has put us on a path toward the low-lying branch...on the WRONG size of where it is cut off.

So, I back the motor and slow down.  Gonna have to adjust and try it again.  No big deal.  Better than to hit it with the mast trying to save face.

I cut the motor back around and put it in forward- as fast as I can because the bow is being pushed back again and we are very swiftly heading toward the bank.  I power up, but the motor doesn't want to stay down!  It's not pushing!  The man in the Bass boat very helpfully asks if it has a lock.  It does, but I already locked it down so this is quite baffling. 

I figure it couldn't be anything else so I adjust it again, just in time to miss- no wait, I meant to say hit- a big cut off trunk sticking out of the bank.  It strikes the bow on the port side just as I get the motor locked down (again...I've now figured out that it can vibrate loose).  This, after a frenzied minute or so of my wife frantically (well, frantically for her...she's a pretty cool customer most of the time...less so while pregnant) updating me about the location of our boat relative to said tree and bank.

But anyway, I hit it.  It was fine.  There's a teensy little scratch, but you wouldn't even notice it.  Right after, I maneuvered us back and away and then (outboard at full power) pushed our bow back toward the Ohio river.  The boat was fine, but my pride was wounded (seriously, why did it have to be in front of the only other sailor there? Lol).

Still and all, we got out onto the Ohio and hoisted sail.  That didn't turn out too well either.  We heeled that way, and heeled this way, almost always having to go right back into the wind.  And all the while my wife is getting frustrated and crying (she had been pretty emotionally stable- especially for being pregnant- until today...but it had been a long day) and we just aren't getting the headsail situated fast enough to do anything right.

I gave up.  I took down our sails, motored us back, and docked...only to find out that I was in the wrong spot (the wrong slip number was on the form I signed).  So I moved and docked again- and AGAIN (wrong place the second time)- and finally made everything ship shape and left.

WHEW!

Lesson of the day: little outboards need a lot of power to overcome the wind sometimes; the wing nut that locks down the motor mount can jiggle loose.  Keep tightening it!

My Luff is Luffing: One Word, Two Meanings

My luff is luffing!  That sounds redundant, or maybe just obvious.  Of course the luff is luffing.  It's got the word in it!  Except that it could also be the leech that is luffing. 

Wait.  Do what now?

Yeah, luff is actually two things: two words that mean different things.  One is a verb, and the other is a noun.

Source: http://www.seatalk.info/

Luff (noun)

As you can see, the luff is the forward edge on a three-sided sail.  Note that that is also the case for the triangular headsail, even though it's not the vertical part:

So that's what the luff is- the noun form.  Okay?  Okay.  Let's muddy the water a little then, shall we?


Luff (verb)

Here's the definition: to  turn gradually toward the eye of the wind so that the sails begin to take air on the lee side and shake.  There's more to it than that, but that's the gist.

When the sail is full, it's taut- it's tight and forms that nice shape we all love.  That's because the majority of the air around it is being caught by one side.  But change that so that the air is going over both sides, and the sail flops around- sometimes like crazy.

According to the definition above, that isn't the definition of luffing, but it is what happens when you luff.

But, in my (limited) experience, that's not how people talk about it.  People mostly seem to talk about luffing as something that happens to the sails.

Technically that's incorrect, but I've heard it a lot so in case you do to, here's the other colloquial definition: 


Luff (technically incorrect verb that everyone seems to use) and what it means to you

Definition: the sails are flopping around because you're too close to the wind or the sheets aren't tight enough.

According to this definition, the sails themselves can luff.  This can happen on the leading edge of the sail (the luff....the noun version now)...or the trailing edge (the leech).

If the luff (noun again) is the part that is luffing, then you're probably too close to the wind.  .

If the leech is luffing, then you probably need to trim the sheet a little tighter.

That's the long and short of it.  It may not all be technically correct, but this is some confusing stuff as it was explained to me.  Hopefully, it will be helpful.

If not, here's some more info from people who know WAAAY more than I do:
http://www.nauticed.org/freesailingcourse-m2-3

And if you have questions, people who know more can also answer it here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/sailing/

Happy sailing, friends!

Oh Yeah, My Boat Has a Mast: Why You Should Fear Trees

This will be a quick one, and you already know what happened from the title.

I took my buddy, his wife, and their two kids (about 2 and 6) to eat at Cunningham's Creekside, a local restaurant that is on the creek (duh).

No wind.  Like, at all.

Fine.

We just headed straight to Cunningham's, which was fine.  It was the day before Derby and there was a big to-do over at Captain's Quarters (nice place but mostly too rich for my blood....erm, pocketbook).  It looked like a lot of fun and we waved as we turned into Harrod's Creek. 

We puttered along nicely, trees and some wildlife passing slowly by on the port side.  I dodged limbs and other stuff left in the water from the flood.

Food was good, as usual.  We left afterward and headed back to Limestone Bay. 

Now this part is pretty funny.  I undid the hitches from the cleats, asking my buddy to hold onto the railing so we didn't drift away, then I got in the boat and prepared to put it in reverse.

Me: "Okay, go ahead and give us a little push away, you don't have to push hard or anything"

Friend: "Just push it away?"

Me: "Yeah."

So, that's what he did.  He pushed us away.  And there we are, staring at him on the dock as we drift slowly away.

"Get on!!"

"What?!"

"______, You're supposed to GET ON THE BOAT when you shove off!"

"Oh!"

We throw a line to him and he's good to go, but that was a lesson learned: skippers should be very specific in their instructions.  Next time I will not assume that someone knows to jump back ON the boat.


Now, pay attention to this part, newbies (like me):

On the way in, the trees were on the far bank.  Not so while coming back.  The first indication I had of this fact was the rustling of trees above my head and the light pressure of leaves falling on my shoulder.

I looked up and, lo and behold, someone had placed a mast on my boat!  Not only that, it went quite a ways up- far enough to graze some of the lower-hanging tree branches!  I hadn't thought of that at all, and hadn't noticed!  Frankly, I was lucky that all I did was graze the branches.

Okay.  Watch the trees and the mast.  Lesson learned.  Whew!

The rest of the trip was, thankfully, uneventful.

Maiden Voyage: A Skipper is Born

 

 

 

So I'm on my free boat, showing it to my parents- well, to my mom.  Dad came up the day I got the keys to look at it (guy was SO stoked, almost as excited as I was!).  And I look around, there's a slight breeze so I say "let's just go now!"

There were no objections.

 

Dad and I jump to it.  Dad, thankfully, is a bit of a sailor- and a heck of a powerboat skipper.  He also used to sail a little Hobie 16, so he's a great help as we figure out where the foot/clew/tack are and how everything attaches.  In a surprisingly short time (especially since we had to figure out how the roller worked with the jib, which has a wire luff like a second stay), we have the sails ready to go.

 

We putter along out of Limestone Bay.  Linda puts us into the wind with admirable precision for a first-timer, and then we haul on the halyards and she's under power!

 

...sort of.  There's not much wind.  In fact, there's practically none...

 

A gust hits, and I hear that sound that we all love so dearly...the sound of sails filling, and of water sliding by.  We were sailing!

 

My elation (and my wind) lasted about 6 minutes before an almost dead calm.  Not only that, but the Ohio had flooded recently and the currents were very strong.  So we furled sail, started the motor, and headed back in.

 

All in all, it was a pretty successful first trip.  There was some confusion about how much we should ease the jib when sailing downwind, and whether both sheets should be used when sailing into the wind, but we were able to make and hoist sail, as well as trim sheets and tack successfully.  Considering my experience is only 4 Saturdays the previous year plus a few trips 10 years ago with Dad (the entirety of my dad's experience too), I figure that's nothing special- but not bad either.

 

I was pleased.  I guess I'm a skipper now.  Time to get working on becoming a good one.

 

 

 

Someone Gave Me a Boat

Yep. 

Not long after I decided to write this blog, I decided I wanted to get some more experience sailing.  After all, I was probably going to buy a boat soon- probably in a few years.  So, I go to my local sailing club's website (Derby City Sailing Club).  They have a "Crew Bucket" which is kind of like a dating site where boats and crew can meet and hook up.

So, I filled out my profile, experience (none, except a 4-day sailing class), and other information.  Promises of alcohol were featured prominently in my ad.  Soon, I heard from an interested party.  A couple needed crew for their 36 foot S2 for local races.  It sounded like great experience, so I agreed.

About a week later, I got another call from an unknown number.  Expecting to have to turn an offer to crew down, I picked up.  The conversation that followed went something like this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: Hello?

Caller: Hi, is this Brent Dudgeon?

Me: Yes, this is he. 

Caller: Okay, well, I saw your name in the Crew Bucket for Derby City Sailing Club...

Me: Ah, yeah.

Caller:  Now, I don't need a crew, I'm actually giving a boat away...

Me: (stunned and slightly suspicious silence)
Caller: Do you think you might be interested?

Me: ..................Yeah!   I mean, you're just getting rid of it?

Caller: Well yeah, I've had it a while, and I just don't really sail it any more, and I'm lookin' to just sorta....pass it on.

Me: (Still somewhat suspicious, but not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth) Well, that's very generous of you!  Yeah, I'd LOVE to have a sailboat!  I mean, as long as there's no big fees or unpaid slip fees or something like that

Caller: Oh yeah, there's nothing like that, but [caller explains that he needs to get rid of it soon because the slip is only paid for through May 10th]

Me:  Well, I have to double check with my wife, but I think I can say with about 90% chance that I'm your man!

Caller: Well, great.

[we go on to set up a tentative meeting]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We met up at the boat a few days later, and I was absolutely flabbergasted to find the boat in GREAT shape.  It was extremely well-cared-for, to my eye, and had only been owned by the man: no previous owners.

The man went over everything about the boat- a 1981 Macgregor 25- and showed me where everything- including a jib, genoa, main, and even spinnaker w/ pole- was.  Then he handed over the keys, and with no more ceremony than a salute and congratulations, he headed off.  I had a boat!

Still just a little suspicious (but not very- he seemed legit), I began cleaning the boat.  No less than a week later, I had registration and a title in my name, and I was on the water!

And so, that's how I got a free boat!  I am so very thankful to the man- such generosity is practically unheard of!  The guy has got a very generous heart, and I intend to put his boat to good use!

Is there a lesson here or a trick to get your own sailboat?  I'm afraid not.  There are free sailboats out there, but from what I've heard they take a lot of work and need new sails/ rigging, etc. 

But you know what?  There are generous people out there who just want to pass on enjoyment to the next person.  And I think that's pretty great.