Callum and Dan

 Windy, Spinnaker Fun and a Dip

Daniel, one of the Cadets at the Club, had just taken Paul and me out to help us learn to read the wind - I'm sorry, but that failed, and to learn to hike out - which succeeded. He really loved going out in the RS Toura. It has everything - A spinnaker and a double trapeze, so my Wife and I suggested that he take out the boat with a friend, Callum, who was on the safety boat that day. I swapped with Callum, so I went out in the Safety boat and Callum and Dan took the RS Toura for a spin.

The boys deploy the Spinnaker.

Dan noticed we had a spinnaker and was keen to deploy it in these gusty conditions. We hadn't used the spinnaker; the only time we had used it was on dry land on an RYA1 course when we were looking at the different types of sail. The sail did not deploy well, so the boys moored on a private jetty, with the owners laughing at them fixing the sail. Once fixed, they sailed up the river at speed.

Fun Sailing Adventures

 Lessons for Me

​I am so bad at sailing; many club members spent time with me over the weekend trying to improve my skills, which made a difference, so thanks to all of them. One of the sailing Instructors at the club lives a few doors away from the club and watched Paul and I sail across the river and back for an hour or so not really making it past her window, so she offered to help me and by tying the boat to the shore with not sails getting me to learn to lean out of the boat further and further to balance the boat as my son did the same the other side. We then put this into practice as Dan, one of the Cadets took us out as the helm in windy conditions. All of that and their adventures will have to be made into a film.

Learning to Lean out

I feel happy in the boat. I feel much less happy sitting on the side of the boat, I feel even less happy leaning out, trying the balance the boat. but after some practice we got there.

Time to Practice

Having tried to hang out of the boat, the time had now come to put some of this into practice. So we set the mainsail and crossed the river a few times. As the boat tacked, I sat on the gunwale a few times, and we did this at a slow and leisurely pace. Then Dan, one of the Cadets, came along and asked, "Would we like it if he took us out in our boat?" He took the Helm. It was a good opportunity, but the wind was gusty and the gust seemed to coincide with our tacks, so each time Paul and I had to practice pulling on the jib sheet really hard and moving from one side of the boat to the other to keep it balanced.