Re: P-15 safety and the P-19

GSTahoe@aol.com
Thu, 29 Jul 1999 12:47:46 EDT


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In a message dated 7/29/99 8:55:37 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
JBlumhorst@aol.com writes:

<< It's not the boat -- it's the sailor. Beginners don't learn fast when the
wind is much greater than their abilities and they scare themselves to
death.
And they can capsize because they make foolish mistakes (like leaving the
keel unlocked). That's why we call them beginners. <grin> >>

Judy,

You made some very good points and said them well. You put into words just
about what I was trying to say.

There's no experienced sailor that wasn't a beginner at first. There's no
available "injection" to give one experience. I have done some incredibly
stupid things with my boat. One thing I have learned, and definitely the
hard way, is to err on the side of conservatism. Before putting the boat in
the water, before even leaving the house, I listen to NOAA weather
predictions. If they are predicting winds over 25 MPH, I go mountain biking
or back to the office. If they say the wind can be up to 25 MPH, I know
conditions can change in a few hours and the winds may hit 35 MPH. That's
about as much as I care to be out in.

If it's blowing when I leave the dock, I leave reefed and use my smaller jib.
If I feel totally under powered once I'm out on the lake, I shake the reef
out. With our dicey mountain winds, I rarely use the Genoa, lest I get
caught "with my pants down" That's an expression that seems to fit the
situation. Only Solar Fry would take it literally- -for those of you who do
not know or remember Solar Fry, he said he got the name from falling asleep
on his back on his Potter and burning himself where the sun doesn't normally
shine :-). Solar Fry managed to find a hazard of Potter sailing they didn't
mention in the brochure.

These precautions in no way reflect the capabilities of the Potter. As I
wrote to another this morning, there is nothing that floats that can't sink.
If you can't handle that bit of knowledge you may want to take up bowling
instead.

I hope you guys enjoyed the story of the Titanic as much as I did. Now I
know for certain I won't be going out and purchasing a cruise ship!

Judy--Are you and Mr. Judy and Redwing still planning on joining us at Lake
Tahoe? Sure hope so.

Geoff
P-15 Lollipop
N. Lake Tahoe, NV