Learn to Sail

I wasn’t planning to race sail boats competitively this summer.


Last summer with two hockey teams, wakeboarding, biking and sailing, life was just too hectic. I vowed not to do it again. Needless to say I couldn’t say no to either hockey team, still own a wakeboard boat, bought two bikes and one night decided to fill in one night on a J24. Turns out no one on the J24 had raced J24s before and some had no sailing experience. They originally were just out for a good time but after a few good races the skipper got competitive. With some experience I was a welcome addition to the crew. So first came a new set of sails and next he brought out Paul, an expert to coach us. Paul is currently a North Sails consultant and previously designed keels for ten years for America’s Cup boats. Racing with him the last two Tuesdays has been amazing. I know now the mechanics of trimming jib and spin on a J24. My execution has also gotten much better. And tonight, with Paul on the helm (since our skipper was out of town), it was incredible to set beside him and listen to him explain everything that was going on around the race course. Of course, the stream of information was never ending and quite overwhelming. And so while I’ve been sailing quite awhile, I realize it will be many many years before I begin to fully understand just how the game is won.

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2 Responses to Learn to Sail

  1. Dad says:

    Once again, eating my heart out.

  2. Pingback: blog.mattgoyer.com » Cleaning the boat

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