Live and learn

August 20 2010

There’s a chinese proverb that goes something like… “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand”....  and if you get all three you learn!

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Well we’ve been out twice now…the first sail was a bit of a non-event…bugger all wind and lots of time spent fart-assing around with sails with little more than a breeze to fill them and a lost tender (recovered thank Christ)…. As per usual though there was some good learning to be had, namely how important it is to have enough fuel to motor away from danger areas (rocks and reefs etc.) and how frustrating I find it when I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m continuously being surprised by how much I’m learning things I didn’t even know I didn’t know.

Our second attempt was much more satisfying. A much stronger and consistent wind which meant we could check out the rigging a little more (Genoa needs trimming) and get a bit more of a feel for how Hafskip travels on the water. Whilst she may not be speedy (we did a max of 4.2 knots) she certainly feels steady, but I guess you get that in a vessel with a 10 tonne displacement eh.

The steady wind also meant I was able to get a better feel for wind direction, it’s relationship to the sails and the impact that has on bearing.

We had enough of a breeze to able to get far enough away from shore to empty the holding tank (a shit job) and sail almost back into the mooring...noice!....but even better I started to feel just a fraction more of a sailor….

Maybe…just maybe…. I’m learning a little.