Wednesday, April 02, 2008

It's Only Rock and Roll

Thurs Mar 27

On the first day of the Sailfit seminar at Clearwater Beach we focused on boat-handling... specifically tacks, gybes and mark roundings. Coach Kurt Taulbee gave us a talk on these maneuvers and then it was out on the water for some drills which included some of the old favorites...
  • tacking on the whistle
  • gybing on the whistle
  • leeward mark roundings

and a couple of drills I hadn't done before...
  • tacking with the eyes closed
  • tacking without using the rudder.

Then some short races followed by some longer races.

Pretty standard stuff but the best part of the day was the feedback that Kurt (who was also sailing with us) gave me on the water.

Some of the things I learned today were...
  • how to position my weight better on a run
  • how to use my feet more effectively when on a run
  • better sheeting technique on a run
  • how to sheet for more efficiency during a roll tack
  • three different modes of light air steering
  • how to do a run-to-run gybe without changing direction.
A good day with plenty of learning experiences.

Then off with Tillerwoman to Joe's Crab Shack for crab nachos, crab cake and fish and chips washed down with a couple of long draft beers. Life is good.


1 comment:

Mal Kiely [Lancelots Pram] said...

Tacking with eyes closed sounds like an interesting concept! But yes, that sounds like a really positive experience for you...

to take into your new career as Olympic Sunfish Champion! hahahahaa

Cyalayta
Mal :)

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