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.
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