Re: Sailing tips for a newbie

Tpbnna1@aol.com
Fri, 4 Jun 1999 12:15:08 EDT


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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>From one newbie to another, I'm still riding that learning curve too. Took
my daughter out sailing for the first time yesterday. Fair conditions, the
wind dropped to almost nothing a few times, but other than that it was pretty
steady. I figured out something on the boat. I've read about the 'slot'
effect between the jib and the main, but never really experienced it until we
were on a big boat at sea last month. The air goes through the slot between
the sails and there's a venturi effect like an airplane wing develops. I
never thought my little boat would do that, but I'll be darned, while my
daughter was steering I played with the jib sheets and I got it! I could
tighten the jib sheet and squeeze the air into the main, which back-winded it
and slowed us down, or I could release it and it would create a suction
behind the main when I got it just right, and you could feel it hit the
groove and the boat pick up speed. Very cool to slice into the wind and
harness it so efficiently. Now I need some front end ballast.......
So keep on practicing!

Butch
Knoxville, Tn
P-15
Top Banana