Cross Training

Check it out-- that's me at the tiller!  Yes it's true: I've been secretly studying the art of sailing under the guidance of my friend Dick, who lives on a boat and has been sailing for the past 50 years.  Most recently I consumed the little book, "The Complete Sailor" which is well-written guide for beginners and very enjoyable to read.  It's the text used by the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle.  Now I know what a boomvang is!  I still need to practice all those knots though.

I must admit that as a kayaker, when I go to blogs and someone posts an article about something other than kayaking, like cycling or sailing, I just tune out.  So to keep you interested here are a few first impressions of sailing from a kayaker:

Sailing is very dry.
Forget all that immersion wear -- you can wear cotton.
Sailors know everything there is about rope.
Sailing close hauled is cool!
Sailing can be very slow. 
Sailors really don't have any routes planned out ahead of time.
Sailing all afternoon does not count as a "work out".
If you actually want to get somewhere stick to kayaking.

There are some very important skills that crossover into kayaking, such as reading the wind and waves, piloting and navigation, and of course, everything related to boat design and building.  If you couldn't make those little boats out of wood I probably wouldn't be interested in sailing at all (Am I giving away the next project I'm planning?)

Comments

[ah g!]

OH MY! You sneaky bastard! Good for you! You're going to build a small sailboat, eh? Cool!

[Andrew]

Ha ha, I was just waiting to hear from you, ah g! We should get together sometime and check out a boat at CWB. Look for us at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival this weekend.