I read somewhere that niche bloggers like me should remember that many people coming to the blog are new to the topic, sailing in this case. So as well as writing articles for experts such as Ethics and Rule 42 or Whether to Pinch, we should write posts aimed at total beginners to the sport.
I'd love to do that and, having worked as an instructor recently, I do know some of the things that beginners need to learn. But it's so long since I started sailing myself that I can't remember what questions I had way back when.
So give me some suggestion please. What "how to" articles would newcomers to the sport want to read on a sailing blog?
10 comments:
Hi Tillerman
I desperately need help in light winds. force 4 + I love it but anything less I seem to go backwards...!
Forestplodder
Good idea, Tillerman. What about... ummm... what type of clothes to wear when out on the water sailing [for a noob]?
Hope your new home is starting to feel like home for you now.
Cyalayta
Mal :)
Today I was out sailing with my daughter who was at the helm for a while and we were discussing where to sit in the boat for optimum performance. Bare in mind that we were sailing and Enterprise in a F2 and a flat sea.
I was saying that it is a trade off, if you sit too far foward you dig the bows in and the boat makes more waves, too far aft and you dig the transom in and create turbulance. Different wind stregths and sea states create other variables that effect the position.
So the question is how do you know where to sit in the boat?
Thanks for all the suggestions. Keep them coming.
Mal - we are not in a new home yet. We are homeless.
Sounds like a good idea, we should all do our best to promote our sport and helps other as much as possible
I agree with Mal -- start with some of the very basics such as clothing and otherwise being prepared. For a beginning sailor, being cold and wet and miserable is likely to be discouraging.
I'd also suggest some of the basics of safety, such as PFDs, and other protection from the elements (sunscreen, sunglasses -- and don't forget hats!).
As a newbie to racing a little over a year ago, I know that some of what helped me also was mental preparation -- being able to concentrate on sail trim and not get distracted by other things going on on the water. Or, for that matter, things going on on the boat, such as a crew member's cell phone ringing.
Hmmm - that's a good one Carol Anne. I don't recall ever reading anything about cell phone etiquette on boats. Not that it's much of an issue on a Laser.
I've done a couple of e-mails/articles in the past on "how to get a ride on a boat". Maybe one of them even made it to my blog sometime in history.
The most annoying such incident was, thank goodness, not during an actual race, but rather while I was practicing starts, and my jib trimmer's boyfriend called. That boyfriend became history about a month later.
In some classes, such as the Etchells, all electronic communication, including cell phones, is forbidden during racing except for emergencies. That makes wonderful sense to me.
I know what to do with the wind shifts, however I don't know how to read them on the water, or prepare for what is happening. Perhaps address this?
Post a Comment