Last night I attended a talk by Max Crittenden, Commordore of the Singlehanded Sailing Society, on solo sailing at the Bayview Boat Club. I was put on by Sailing Education Adventures, a group I had never heard of before, but seems very worthy.
Here are my takeaways from the talk, “Sailing Solo – the Bay and Out the Gate at your Glove Tips”, points made by Max Crittenden and Rob Macfarlane
- Don’t fall off the boat. Really. Don’t fall off the boat.
- Don’t get hurt. If you get hit it the head, consider lying there for a while.
- Do a 360-degree scan of the horizon for traffic before going below, and upon returning from below.
- Jibing the spin alone can be a 20 min process. Plan and route accordingly.
- Check out “screeming meemie” wake-up alarm clock used by truckers.
- Get a two-compartment dog dish, make a tether for it. Wash it out by dragging behind the boat for 20 min or so. You don’t need anything else to eat out of.
- Get a spinnaker net (done).
- Practice singlehanding techniques with a safety pilot. But do practice.
I taught sailing at SEA for 10 years and was on the board for 2. I left when they dumped centerboard dinghies, over my objections, and replaced them with keelboats for beginning sailing. You really learn fast how balance a boat and proper sail trim by sailing a boat that can capsize. That being said, I’m glad to hear that they sponsored this event.
JFC!